Reviews for Ardeur: 14 Writers on the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Series

The average rating for Ardeur: 14 Writers on the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Series based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-02-20 00:00:00 Alexander Bikov If you are interested in this book because you believe it's about the Ardeur, you will either be vastly disappointed, or incredibly relieved, because it's NOT about the Ardeur. Fourteen authors have written essays covering fourteen different aspects of Anita and her world. This is by no means a book touting how wonderful the Anita Blake series is. As a matter of fact, you'll find some authors that think the series lost it's value either when Anita finally had sex with Jean-Claude (no more sexual tension or leaving readers wondering who she'll pick) or by doing a 180 with her issues on monogamy in Narcissus in Chains. What we do have are some interesting and thought provoking theories covering topics such as: *Anita's relationships with other women *Romance, and why vampires are such a hot topic *How cold English words are for different parts of the body and how Laurell has avoided them *How Anita has to save someone before she can trust them, and why *How death shaped her *Edward *What becoming a monster has done for Anita *Why the level of violence exhibited by a woman was such a breakthrough in this series *The law and why it's so unfair to the preternatural community *And a whole lot more - and yes, there are a couple regarding sex Each essay is prefaced by a message from Laurell, not pointing out what she believes is right or wrong, but of her own experiences related to the topic and how they affected her writing or Anita's character. This adds a great deal of insight to the hows and whys. This is a really good book for making you see things in a new light. Of course if you have already stopped reading the series because you don't like the direction it has taken, this book probably isn't going to make you suddenly want to go play catch up with the books you haven't read yet. But I do believe you'd appreciate the insights and theories offered in this book.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-04-04 00:00:00 Bertrand Lemoine After recently finishing Flirt, and while waiting for Bullet, I found Ardeur to take the edge off of my Anita Blake craving. With 18 books chronicling Anita Blake's adventures as a vampire executioner/necromancer/succubus, it was nice to read something that reflects on the series and all that it accomplishes. Ardeur includes 14 essays on a variety of subjects, all pertaining to the Anita Blake universe. Everything from how the ardeur has helped Anita to develop and overcome personal boundaries, to lack of racial diversity among vampire characters, to how the series is helping our culture to heal its hang-ups on sexuality is explored. Each essay is also introduced by Laurell K. Hamilton herself, revealing background to the Anita Blake series as well as experiences in Hamilton's personal life that subconsciously made their way into the stories. One essay that stands out particularly to me is "Bon Rapports" by Marella Sands, a member of Hamilton's writing group. According to Sands, Hamilton had determined at the beginning of the series that Anita was to never, ever have explicit sex--"No sex on stage" as she says. Her essay also explores the lack of good words available in English for writing sex scenes. Something I had never thought on, but about which she makes a great point! Overall, an eye-opening and interesting read that makes you think twice about how Hamilton and Anita Blake have changed an entire genre.