Circus of the Damned

First read: 2005
Re-read: August 2015

This is the third Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novel and at this point in the series each book somehow manages to improve on the last, which is an achievement considering how incredibly good these books are.
In Circus of the Damned Anita is called in to give the police her expertise in a vampire murder which looks to have been committed by multiple vampires controlled by a rogue master vampire. This means turning to Jean-Claude for help in solving the crime, and in turning to him Anita is pulled even further into his world and all the machinations and politics that go along with it.

The Good:
- Two very different characters are introduced in this installment; Lawrence 'Larry' Kirkland and Richard Zeeman; show more both become long-running characters in the series, though IMO we don’t see enough of Larry in the later novels.
- The relationship Anita has with Edward is fascinating and in Circus of the Damned we get to see how far their friendship can be pushed when Anita refuses to give Edward some information he needs.
- The 'duel' between Jean-Claude and Mr. Oliver was creepy, gory and scary and showed just how inhuman the vampires really are.
- My favourite scene: Anita and several woefully underprepared police officers are searching the St Louis hospital morgue looking for a vampire who is more animal than human.
"I was breathing in quick, shallow breaths. The blood and carnage hadn’t been enough, but the sound of someone else throwing up just might be.
I pressed my shoulders against the wall and moved towards the next corner. I will not throw up. I will not throw up [...] Have you ever tried to aim your gun while throwing your guts up? It's damn near impossible. You're helpless until you're finished. After seeing the guards, I didn't want to be helpless.
The blond cop was leaning against the wall. His face was shiny with a sick sweat. He looked at me and I could read it in his eyes. 'Don’t,' I whispered, 'Please don't.'" (pg 135)

The bad:
- Mr. Oliver had the potential to be a really unique and interesting character; Anita discovers he is over a million years old; he had lived through so much his back-story would have no doubt been fascinating. However, he is set up as just another villain and he is killed at the end without revealing anything about his past and who turned him into a vampire in the first place. show less

It's been 14 years since I've read an Anita Blake book, but that didn't seem to matter. I picked it up just as easily as though I'd read the previous instalment a month ago. I remembered enjoying the series, but it wasn't until I quickly got sucked in by Hamilton's writing that I recalled the many reasons why.

Anita is witty, smart, and kick-ass in the best possible way. She has a big heart and an even bigger mouth, and she's so easy to root for. She's definitely the kind of character I love to go on adventures with! Throw in a slew of other well-developed characters, from Jean-Claude, the sexy Master of the City vampire, to Larry, the young, determined redhead who's just as stubborn and Anita, and, well, I couldn't stop reading!

The plot show more is fast paced, and the tone of the novel strikes a perfect balance between horror, suspense, and thriller -- with just enough romance thrown in to keep a girl happy. I'm so glad I picked this series up again. I can't wait to dig into the next book! show less

They say three times a charm; here all three were a charm, but it's a mark of a great, important new sub-plot that's born in this installment.

Richard, a powerful lycanthrope who from here on stays throughout the series as an important character, is introduced. This creates more havoc on the goal Jean-Claude has, as well as major changes in Anita's personality. This delicious sideline isn't explored more until the next book, but the introduction of it here is intriguing.

As always, the action kicks off in the first chapter, and the ending is another delightful show down between powerful creatures where it seems that nothing will be right again. As before, it ends with a depressing note between the lines, a sense of realism that's show more impossible to ignore when it's pushed right up in your face.

There's a great mystery on who hired Edward (another favorite character, the cold hit man you can't help but adore) to kill Jean-Claude, whether Jean-Claude will end up surviving, and what the other Master vampires in town want with our favorite necromancer.

Besides all this, Anita's personal life is being ran through the cleaners. More about her secret self and powers are explored, and as always the police work is dark, fascinating, and gore-laden. Jean-Claude's previous ambitions from Laughing Corpse are shown here more than ever - they have one or two truly steamy scenes that rocked my boat. With what happens at the end, the spark ignited by this series in my mind was lit even further. Powerful stuff.

Another A+ installment in the series. Read book 1 to 3 for a small slice of Anita Blake paradise. show less

Set in St. Louis, the third book in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, series takes the reader deeper into the world of vampires, lycanthropes, and other ancient beings. With Anita Blake right in the center of the action, it comes down to the fight for not only the soul of the city, but also for Anita’s soul. Circus of the Damned was by far the best in the series so far. Anita’s dry sense of humor, the sexual tension between she and Jean-Claude, the introduction of another possible love interest in Anita’s life, and the life and death battle scenes add character to the already exciting story, which had me sitting on the edge of the couch, not wanting to put the book down for anything.

Personalmente questa serie mi sta prendendo sempre più. Quuesto in particolare evidenza in modo perfetto l'estrema incapacità di Anita di confrontarsi con i sentimenti. Può combattere vampiri, licantropi e zombi ma quando si tratta di capire qualcosa di sentimenti fugge. E' ben visibile la tua attrazione per il Master della Città che, molto romanticamente, ricambia. Anzi, lui sembra offrirle addirittura una storia monogama. Questo ha l'effetto di far alzare tutte le difese di Anita che rifugge al vampiro per non dover peccare di incoerenza verso ciò che è e che ha sempre pensato nei confronti dei Vampiri. Sono morti. Stop. Il libro è un continuo susseguirsi di eventi che porteranno inevitabilmente ad esasperare la nostra eroina show more che, vedendosi costretta a ricevere il terzo marchio dal Master per salvarle la vita, arriva a tradirlo ed a venderlo ad un Master avversario che la portata con l'inganno a fidarsi di lui. Il momento in cui lei 'sente' di aver fatto una grande sciocchezza credo che sia il pezzo rivelatore del libro. Lei, non accetta compromessi e meno che mai la forza di conseguenza è arrivata perfino a volerlo morto più di torgliersi dalla sua potestà. Semplicemente magnifica la battaglia finale, un libro che consiglio caldamente a tutti gli amanti della Serie ma ancor più a tutti coloro che cercano qualcosa di nuovo, coinvolgente ed intrigante. show less

I read this series a long time ago. I was hooked on book one. Captivated by book two, still interested in book 4 and then it turned in to "romance" novel status. Yes, I continued to read the rest of the series, I'll admit it. But the urban part was gone and it really was just fantasy. Hamilton took a great character with a ton of potential and turned her into a sex goddess with so many lovers, who could keep track. What happened to the short, crazy haired, black nike wearing Anita. In it's place a nymphomaniac arose and I just can't find the interest to check out the most recent novel.

Circus of the Damned is better than the previous novel, The Laughing Corpse. Unfortunately, that does not mean very much.

The stakes of each novel are raised to an absurd degree. First, Nicholas, a thousand year old vampire. Second, Dominga, the most powerful necromancer priestess within the United States and possibly North America. In CotD, two separate vampires are revealed to be around one million years old. Not, say, two thousand. One. Full. Million. Spoilers, none of them survive past a single novel. Anita can take down anyone and anything. She can raise an entire cemetery with a single human sacrifice. She has successfully befriended the man nicknamed Death. No matter what happens, Anita will make it out alive. It makes what show more happens not even matter.

The world building is a mess and clearly not something LHK actually devotes time thinking about. The vampires have become legal United States citizens within two years ago. Yet, it is revealed that scientists (or a single one, at least) have known about vampires since the early 1900s, if not earlier, when experimentations in curing vampirism took place. Why does it take so long for the government to catch up to science? That is not revealed. Lycanthropes are considered human beings with diseases. They have legal protection against discrimination within the workplace. How long did that take to become law? How long has this world known about lycanthropes? Who came out to the world first: lycanthropes or vampires? None of this is revealed. None of this is even hinted at.

I hear LKH initially intended to kill off Jean-Claude in this novel, but changed her mind. I wish she had followed through. He continually harasses Anita with the intent of having her admit to her attraction to him. He does not take 'no' for an answer. It does not matter to him what she wants. Anita is wrong. Jean-Claude knows what she wants. He can smell her desire. He can almost read her mind. He wants more than her body. Jean-Claude wants to have complete control over her as his human servant. This is not sexy. This is disturbing. Yet he lives on. Haunting us forever. show less