Bullet (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #19) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Jul 06, 2010 The Flooze rated it did not like it

Shelves: urban-fantasy-paranormal, vanquished_2010, glutton_for_punishment

If my updates weren’t expressive enough, I’ll reiterate: This is the most tedious drivel I’ve read in a long time…or perhaps ever.

Although the idea of a vampire civil war should be a thrilling one, LKH’s writing deprives it of all excitement. The events of this book seem like a rehash of every other attack we’ve seen on the supernatural sect of St. Louis. If you’re a long-time reader of the series, very little will seem new.

I could easily blather on about the lack of innovation present in Bullet If my updates weren’t expressive enough, I’ll reiterate: This is the most tedious drivel I’ve read in a long time…or perhaps ever.

Although the idea of a vampire civil war should be a thrilling one, LKH’s writing deprives it of all excitement. The events of this book seem like a rehash of every other attack we’ve seen on the supernatural sect of St. Louis. If you’re a long-time reader of the series, very little will seem new.

I could easily blather on about the lack of innovation present in Bullet, but instead I’ll focus on a few irksome aspects. Although I’ve never envisioned Anita as a startling intellect, the dialogue here paints her as an absolute mental midget. Pages and pages of various men explaining simple concepts to her and Anita continuously parroting: “But why?” “What does that mean?” “What does he mean by that?” “What am I missing?” Apparently, my dear, you are missing a vast amount of brain power. And when she finally grasps the idea presented, her only response is: “I don’t know what to say to that.”

The basics of this exchange are repeated every few pages, making most conversations feel like pulling teeth and inspiring me to smack my forehead no less than twenty times. If Anita is this thick, I can’t imagine how she’s managed to live this long, never mind build her power center up to unfathomable proportions.

Hand-in-hand with Anita’s stupidity is her inability to be reasonable. Constantly on the defensive, she forces all of her men to tiptoe around her in trepidation. And yet! She feels immeasurable guilt about having taken away Nicky’s free will. Guess what, dumb-dumb. With every one around you in fear of getting dumped--or perhaps shot--absolutely no one in the group can exercise free will. They are all slaves of some sort to the sorcerous snatch.

Speaking of that wondrous body part, I’ve heard time and again that this series is as much about Anita’s “sexual awakening” as it is about vampires and weres, oh my. Though I grant that she’s come a long way from the virginal prude of Guilty Pleasures, Anita has not been awakened. She has been coerced, cajoled, convinced, and given the excuses she needs to allow herself--after much waffling--to fall into bed with various people. Even in this book, she spends more time trying to get out of having sex than she does actively wanting it. It is only when someone badgers her into responding to her “monstrous” side that she willingly goes along with physical intimacy. More often than not, she is embarrassed by her sexual desires. That does not scream “awakening” to me.

I’d already decided when I read Flirt that I would no longer throw money into LKH’s coffers. Having gotten Bullet from the library, I think even that small nod of encouragement was wasted on her. The quality of writing is beneath that of any writer I’m familiar with. Her plots have become secondary to descriptions of wardrobe, hair, and seating plans. Sex scenes are robbed of eroticism. Dialogue brings the action to a screeching, painful halt. I no longer find anything of merit in the Anita Blake series, so I bid these characters a not-so-fond adieu. Don’t let the door smack you on the way out.
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May 12, 2010 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it

Dammit my review didn't post for some reason and the GR app won't let a change of status to "Read" stick. So I'll try again..
Let me explain my choice of 4 stars, I am aware of the flaws in LKH's writing - repetitive phrasing, some clumsy sentence structure etc, story threads that go nowhere - it's just while I am reading I really don't care. I am just caught up in the lust, violence and urgency of the story. Bullet has a suprising amount of immediacy and tension especially since most of it takes ...more

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Mar 06, 2010 Roshio rated it did not like it

Shelves: urban-fantasy, couldn-t-finish

wow all I can say is enough with the sex!! funnily enough there were no sex scenes (Well up to the 7th chapter anyway, which was where I had to stop) but they TALKED about sex for so long. 'why won't you have sex with me?' 'fine lets all have sex then'...!!!! I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't take Anita being unbelievably annoying. Could someone please explain to me WHAT is so appealing about her?! what makes all the guys drawn to her?! she's selfish! unbelievably selfish. its me me me, I w ...more

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Jun 24, 2010 Jesslyn rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, cat-series-ongoing, cat-urban-fantasy, z2010-kindle-reads

A little too much creamy goodness, but I'll take that over all the 'spilling' any day of the week. I didn't find this as bad as some, but don't think I can recommend to anyone that hasn't enjoyed her books since Narcissus in Chains. I can damn with faint praise and say it wasn't the complete disappointment that Divine Misdemeanors was, though. ...more

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Jul 02, 2010 Ouroboros rated it did not like it

Shelves: series

Dreadful. Horrible. No plot. Pathetic porn. Repetitive writing. What man wears thigh-high leather boots that lace up the back?? I hate Micah and Nathaniel with a passion. She gives me Richard and Jean-Claude for what? Just to have them explain why she loves Micah and Nathaniel so much. Whatever. LKH should just kill JC and Richard and let Anita raise them as zombies because once great characters are already just mindless puppets.

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Jul 21, 2010 Jamie ~ Bad Boy Inspector rated it really liked it

Shelves: genre-urban-fantasy, subject-pn-vampires, subject-pn-shifters, read-2011

I love this series. Everyone either loves them or hates them because of all the sex in them now and I am one that loves them even more. IMO Anita is one LUCKY girl..lol ;)

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