Malcolm, head of the vampire Church of Eternal Life, is no particular friend to Anita Blake. So when he shows up in her office, to ask for her help against creatures so feared that no vampire will willingly speak their name, Anita is surprised. But she believes him. Malcolm may not be a Master of the City, but he's an old and powerful vampire, a leader of men, and he does not easily ask for help - especially from Anita and Jean-Claude, whose power Malcolm considers corrupt. That was the first warning of The Harlequin. The ...
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Malcolm, head of the vampire Church of Eternal Life, is no particular friend to Anita Blake. So when he shows up in her office, to ask for her help against creatures so feared that no vampire will willingly speak their name, Anita is surprised. But she believes him. Malcolm may not be a Master of the City, but he's an old and powerful vampire, a leader of men, and he does not easily ask for help - especially from Anita and Jean-Claude, whose power Malcolm considers corrupt. That was the first warning of The Harlequin. The second warning is presented like a gift, left where she'd be sure to find it, with "Anita" printed on the box. Inside, carefully wrapped in folds of pristine tissue paper, is a white mask, utterly plain. The fact that it's white, Jean-Claude tells her, is the good news. White means they are only being watched. The flow of power that connects Anita Blake with Jean-Claude, vampire Master of the City, and with Richard, Ulfric of the werewolves, has been growing and changing, increasing exponentially. Their power seems to have attracted attention, and it's a kind of attention no one would desire. Jean-Claude and Richard need to be strong allies now. Nathaniel and Micah need to give all their love and aid. And Anita will need to call on Edward, whose utterly human ruthlessness in her defense makes him the right man for the job. Anita Blake has the authority to pass judgment on vampires. The Harlequin have the authority to pass judgment on her. It is forbidden to speak of The Harlequin unless you've been contacted. And to be contacted by The Harlequin is to be under sentence of death.
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Sleeping with multiple men was stressful, but now poor Anita is now facing pressure from her sweeties to actually DATE -- like a real date with dinner, a movie, and possibly popcorn. Scary stuff. As if that wasn't enough pressure, a mysterious menace is stalking and killing members of the local vampire congregation, and it seems to have taken an interest in Anita. When an apparently innocuous gift rattles the unflappable Jean Claude, Anita calls in reinforcements -- Ted Forrester and back-up (okay, she's not so thrilled when that turns out to be a psychotic, obsessive, serial killer and a sixteen-year-old kid), but by the time they arrive things have already gotten bloody. Marmee Darling is stirring, alliances are failing, and emotions, as always, are running high.
Harlequin is much, much better than the last few installments, although still not quite on par with the earlier books in the series. Anita is still conflicted, but there's more dialog, less spurious sex, and more plot to enjoy. (And maybe, possibly, the Richard situation is approaching resolution?) Definitely NOT the spot to start the series, but if, like me, you'd almost given up on Anita, you might give her one more shot.
annamorton
Aug 4, 2007
Anita Blake yet again wins our hearts.
If you are a fan of the world of Anita blake you will love this book. Hamilton throughs us head first into the world of vampires, werewolves and necromancers. As usual you are left with a feeling of what can possibly happen next and there always is something. Anita and Jean Claude find themselves up against that which no vampire is allowed to talk about unless they have been contacted THE HARLEQUIN. Guess who has just been contacted? The Harlequin see's everything, knows everything and canot be questioned as they are the ultimate vampire spies/killers/police and to Anita's distress they have their attention on St Louis. Is Anita Blake about to lose everything or in typical Anita style witll she kill everything that threatens her world and those she holds dear. The problem is not everyone is as stong as Anita needs to be. Will Richards problems inevitably endanger everyone she cares for again and if that is the case does she have the strength to stop Richard from getting everyone killed. The question is not can Anita defeat the Harlequin, the boogymen of all vampirekind but will everyone survive. As usual amid one disaster Anita's power base is growing at an unknown rate. They are the most powerful vampire, necromancer and lycanthrope coupling know (if Richard would only cooperate). They have no-one to talk to about what is happening and they cannot let their enemies know that they have absolutely no idea what is happening with them.
