Micah: An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel, Book 13

... well, I'm probably exaggerating a bit with the ratings, but in contrast to _Incubus Dreams_, this is ... a masterpiece.The book is 288 pages, the last 30-odd being a preview of Danse Macabre. And rather than the densely spaced tiny text, this is normal-sized text, double-spaced. It's like reading a Parker _Spenser_ novel -- and it reads nearly as fast. Short chapters -- even short sentences -- and, wonder of wonders, a plot that doesn't center on, or even consist primarily of (a) Anita having sex with people, (b) Anita learning she has new and terrible powers.Well, there's a bit of that, but it's a continuation of the previous volume. But most of what we get is a straightforward story, with a limited cast (only some of whom we've met), much of which centers around animating a zombie for the FBI. There's sex, yeah, but that's just sort of a blip in the middle of things. We learn some interesting stuff about the titular character (and some goofy stuff as well, dealing with how he, like the majority of the men in Anita's life, is Extraordinarly Well-Endowed). We get some gunplay. We get some personal conflicts not having to do with vampiric or lycanthropic politics. And we get something that resembles the original novel in the whole series far more than the past several volumes.I don't know if all of this was the result of Hamilton suddenly getting some editorial advice, having a contractual obligation to produce a book and limited time or inclination to do so, or if she just had only a short nubbin of a story idea and decided not to embellish it with ... well, the seemingly obligatory multiple sex scenes.This novel (practically a novella) restores my faith in the series, at least to some degree. Decent (well, recommendable) stuff.

First of all shame on all of you who thought this was going to be a full length Anita Blake story. Have we not learned that Laurell K. is such a big author that she only puts those out in hardback first & when she does their like 700 pages long? Of course a 245 page paperback is going to be Laurell K's version of a short story!To the story itself: For the first time Anita( beloved heroine of about 13 books or so)& her leopard king, Micah, are alone. No vampires, other weres, lovers, or homicidal maniacs around. Well, while Anita may be one of the most secure people in regards with dealing with dangerous situations, when it comes to love- as we've seen in the past books- she is anything but. The trip & Micah being romantic are kind of creeping her out. But she's dealing...up until she's knocked unconsious by a crazed zombie & shot by a mafia lawyer. At that point a doctor gives us a sneak peek into what makes Anita- what's swimming in her blood.But boy oh boy! While I found the short story good it was the sneak peek into Danse Macabre that blew me away!!! I won't ruin the HUGE surprise here but really you gotta read it for yourself cause its MASSIVE!!! You'll be so excited, you'll be howling for more!The Entire series:Guilty Pleasures, The Laughing Corpse, Circus of the Damned, The Lunatic Cafe, Bloody Bones, The Killing Dance, Burnt Offerings, Blue Moon, Obsidian Butterfly, Narcissus in Chains, Incubus Dreams, Danse Macabre Short-stories: Bite, Cravings, & Micah. Also, check out her Meredith Gentry Series which is great!

When her partner's wife pregnancy has complications, Anita is called in to fly to Philadelphia to raise a zombie. Micah goes along with her, and for the first time, the king and queen of the were-leopard pard are all alone.Like any Anita Blake book this one is packed full of sensual description, action, and a great story. I've always loved Micah's character and was happy to see him get a tale of his own. We learn information about his past, how he became a were-leopard, and it ties in neatly with the story.For those who said this was a return to LKH's old form, I believe they may be misguided. This story is truly a shape shfiter romance. Because it's a romance (and the fact they're not in St. Louis) Anita doesn't get to have sex with all her men, and the story focuses on Micah and Anita. I really liked the softer lens, though sensed that the character's story was being fitted into a softer, more traditional romance format.Still, LKH offers us another awesome installment in Anita's life, and a super teaser at the end of the book. I certainly thought I got my money's worth out of this book, and hope LKH returns to true form in her next story.

Micha is an interesting departure from the "normal" Anita Blake adventures. None of her other lovers appear, aside from Nathanial briefly at the begining and end, and it isn't the usual blood-fest that her other adventures have been. In a positive character developement it appears that Anita has decided it is okay to be a woman and that she doesn't have to out-guy every man around: it's okay not to be able to do something. After the last book it seemed it would only be a matter of time before she started peeing standing up. I was afraid that this tendency would continue to grow and make her into a caricature of what she started out as, as tough woman who did what was necessary to get the job done. She is also maturing as a person and seems to be more interested in keeping her relationships rather getting rid of them because the men have become too close. At some point she's going to have quit feeling guilty over how far she has strayed from her up-bringing and trust her moral compass, or she's going to go nuts. One interesting point that the story raised was, what consitutes murder; just actively killing someone or also creating a situation that causes the person to die. In general, the book is a good read, but as I said above, it feels like it's shortened.The actual page count is low as well, something the publisher attempts to disguise by inserting blank pages at the start of every chapter and having the chapter number on its own page. The bottom margin is also unusually deep. This has nothing to do with the actual content of the story and can't be held against Ms. Hamilton. It just feels like a cheat when you pay novel prices for a novella.

Also bevor ich mir dieses Buch gekauft habe, habe ich mir die anderen Bewertungen durchgelesen und war mir nicht sicher ob ich es kaufen soll! Fast alle waren/sind eher auf der negativen Seite!Doch ich mochte schon die vorherigen Teile sehr und nicht nur wegen Anita's Job sondern auch wegen ihrer Persönlichkeit.Jetzt ist es so, dass es FAST ausschließlich um ihre Persönlichkeit und ihr Privatleben geht, bis auf ein paar Fälle hier und dort.Da ich nur mein Schul-Englisch zur verfügung hatte bestellte ich mir vorerst nur diesen Band und sagte mir, wenns mir weiter gefällt dann muss ich die anderen Teile eben auch noch haben!Und siehe da, das Buch hatte ich schnell durch, inkl Wörterbuch und Übersetzungs-App, es kommen auch ein paar Redewendungen vor mit denen das Wörterbuch nichts anfangen kann.Also dann gleich mal alle anderen ebenfalls bestellt und gleich alle verschlungen! bin jetzt bei dem vorletzten neuesten Band und der nächste wartet schon!!!!Für alle die Anita als Person mögen und auch ihre Männer, denen würde ich empfehlen, kauft euch dieses Buch, ja es ist eine Art Kurzgeschichte bzw Auszug, und das nächste, wieder ein ganzes! Macht euch bitte wirklich selbst ein Bild, vl gefällt euch die Serie doch noch!Kurz zusammengefasst: Die Serie wird von einem Fantasy-Thriller zu einem Fantasy-Erotic-Thriller! Anitas Persönlichkeit wird ausgebaut! Und mal ehrlich, in den letzten Büchern in deutsch hat man dass doch schon gemerkt oder?

je dit stop, stop au personne qui critique ce livre et les dernier tome d anita blake,je pense qu il ne faut pas oublier que les personnages de c est livres sorte de l imagination de sont auteur et qu elle est en droit dans faire se qui lui plait avec, sa dit parlons de se tome. j ai aime sa reste du anita pur et dur alore oui c est court l intrigue n est pas des plus interessante mais sa reste pour moi un tres bon livre on en apprend plus sur micah et on le voit sous un autre jour se qui est plutot pas mal.je conseille se livre a tous les fan d anita blake les pur et dur qui se laisse emporter par sont monde et sont evolution plutot d essayer de retrouver les sentation des debut car comme dans la vrai vie le monde et les gens evolue et c set pareil pour notre anita et c est tant mieu.

A

The name of the book is Micah but he is hardly the focal point of the story. I wanted Micah! Other than his small part, the story was ho hum.