- Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Jove Books; Reissue edition (May 1995)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0515134481
- ISBN-13: 978-0515134483
- Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 10.7 x 2.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,150,273 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
In Laurell Hamilton's wonderfully noir horror thrillers, Anita Blake never knows quite what is going to turn up walking the mean streets she lives on. She really does not appreciate the sexual attentions of Jean-Claude, vampire Master of the city she lives in and proprietor of the Circus of the Damned. No matter how cute he is, he is dead, and Anita gets enough of dead people in her work as zombie raiser and vampire executioner. His friend Richard strikes her as entirely more her sort of thing--sweet, polite and a high-school teacher; yet she knows with an awful inevitability that Richard probably has secrets of his own. Add to this volatile personal mix vampires with ambitions to seize Jean-Claude's throne and mount anti-human pogroms, an immortal snake-woman with agendas of her own and a hit-man with a contract on whoever the Master happens to be at the time, and Anita's problems start to be as entertaining and suspenseful as ever. Hamilton takes us to dark caverns and overlit night-clubs, and to the darker places that live inside human and formerly human sexuality--her books are terrific supernatural thrillers because she is keen to explore sexual heat as well as terror and excitement.--Roz Kaveney
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
ndre Norton
'I was enthralled by a departure from the usual type of vampire tale...'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Anita Blake once again is in a heck of a lot of trouble fighting monsters, zombies, human enemies and friends. As she comments, in the last four months Anita has been stabbed, beaten, shot strangled and vampire bit. In this book she has even more violence both physical and magical directed at her. And she manages to prevail through a combination of tenacity, toughness, talent and training.
In Circus of the Damned Anita continues her feud with Jean Claude who tries everything to get Anita to succumb to his wiles and become his human servant. Other master vampires are also interested in Anita due to her necromantic powers and reputation. In addition she is assisting the police in an investigation of several murders that are perpetrated by a rogue vampire pack, breaking in a new animator at work who is naïve and dangerously enthusiastic, and she has a new romantic interest and therefore is trying to go on a date. Fat chance because it's Halloween so business is booming.
The tale of Anita Blake continues to fascinate. She a tough cookie with a heart of gold and cannot bear to see people victimized. Nor will she tolerate any attempts to dominate or intrude upon her. Anita has a strong bullshit detector and does not have time for some of the hierocracy and niceties that most people expect--particularly from a female. She has a sarcastic sense of humor that allows her to see the funny side even in the face of death, and a laconic yet rich style of narration. Highly enjoyable non-stop read!
In Circus of the Damned Anita continues her feud with Jean Claude who tries everything to get Anita to succumb to his wiles and become his human servant. Other master vampires are also interested in Anita due to her necromantic powers and reputation. In addition she is assisting the police in an investigation of several murders that are perpetrated by a rogue vampire pack, breaking in a new animator at work who is naïve and dangerously enthusiastic, and she has a new romantic interest and therefore is trying to go on a date. Fat chance because it's Halloween so business is booming.
The tale of Anita Blake continues to fascinate. She a tough cookie with a heart of gold and cannot bear to see people victimized. Nor will she tolerate any attempts to dominate or intrude upon her. Anita has a strong bullshit detector and does not have time for some of the hierocracy and niceties that most people expect--particularly from a female. She has a sarcastic sense of humor that allows her to see the funny side even in the face of death, and a laconic yet rich style of narration. Highly enjoyable non-stop read!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After the second book in the Anita Blake series I was hoping that the series would keep up its quality. That would have been more than enough for me, but I was surprised by a book that is even better than "The Laughing Corpse". Anita, the animator / vampire slayer / necromancer, returns in a fast-paced, riveting thriller that does not let the reader go, not even for a second. For those fans of the series, you will even find some new elements in this book, like a new creature called lumia, but I will let you find out for yourself what its "features" are.
After some rowdy encounters in the last episode, Anita finds herself contacted by Inger and Mr. Reubens, two former human against vampires (HAV) members who are now part of a more radical group. In the eve of a new era, where the legislators are considering giving vampires the right to vote, Reubens and Inger are looking to kill every vampire in USA, starting with the master of the city. Naturally, the master of the city is none other than Jean-Claude, the vampire who has marked Anita twice and only needs two more marks to convert her in his human servant. Anita refuses to help the former HAV members and as usual will face unorthodox persuasion methods. In the midst of this problem and in her capacity of police advisor on vampires, zombies and the like, Anita is faced with a murder victim that shows fang marks from several different vampires. This is a clear indication that there is a rogue master vampire on the loose and that he is extremely dangerous. There are a couple of vampires that fit the "description", including Jean-Claude and Malcolm, but there also are new guys in town!
After some rowdy encounters in the last episode, Anita finds herself contacted by Inger and Mr. Reubens, two former human against vampires (HAV) members who are now part of a more radical group. In the eve of a new era, where the legislators are considering giving vampires the right to vote, Reubens and Inger are looking to kill every vampire in USA, starting with the master of the city. Naturally, the master of the city is none other than Jean-Claude, the vampire who has marked Anita twice and only needs two more marks to convert her in his human servant. Anita refuses to help the former HAV members and as usual will face unorthodox persuasion methods. In the midst of this problem and in her capacity of police advisor on vampires, zombies and the like, Anita is faced with a murder victim that shows fang marks from several different vampires. This is a clear indication that there is a rogue master vampire on the loose and that he is extremely dangerous. There are a couple of vampires that fit the "description", including Jean-Claude and Malcolm, but there also are new guys in town!
There are a lot of connections to previous events in the series, and even though certain explanations are given to allow those the are encountering Anita for the first time to follow the story, it is much better if the reader is familiar with what happened in the past: Nikolaos, Phillip, Edward, Jean-Claude and the marks he gave Anita, etc. Compared to the previous books, I found that this one has more humorous moments and sexual tension, while maintaining the level of action and gore. For those that like vampire stories this is a series that you cannot afford to miss.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Anita Blake is an Animator. Anita and co. raise the dead to settle will disputes and the like, for a reasonable fee. On the side Anita is a vampire hunter -- she's been nicknamed 'the Executioner' and (obviously) isn't too keen on vampires. Circus of the Damned was an excellent read, and I found it to be the best book so far in the series.
We rejoin Anita as she's once again back on a murder case. There is a new master vampire in town and he's trying to challenge the Master of the City (Jean-Claude to you and me). Anita is the only human who knows who he is, and also happens to be his (in denial) human servant. So she's basically walking around with a whopping great bulls-eye on her forehead; making her a target for this new vampire. To add to her problems Edward is back in town and demanding that Anita give up the name of the master of St Louis -- Edward, having orders to kill him... once he finds out who the undead guy is. Can Anita give Jean-Claude up to Edward? It would leave her free of her human servant marks if she did. Choices choices.
The plot was very well paced and I never felt like the story lagged at all. Edward is brilliant and I enjoyed seeing more of him. Anita has said in the past that she thought Edward would kill her if he ever had to -- but here he seemed quite reluctant to harm her. I look forward to learning more about him in future books. I also really love the 'Spook Squad' characters. Dolph and Zerbrowski particularly are really fun. Indeed, Dolph and Anita at a crime scene are usually some of my favourite scenes in the books.
Circus of the Damned was the same mixture of dark humour, hard boiled detective work and character development as those prior. Highly recommended!
We rejoin Anita as she's once again back on a murder case. There is a new master vampire in town and he's trying to challenge the Master of the City (Jean-Claude to you and me). Anita is the only human who knows who he is, and also happens to be his (in denial) human servant. So she's basically walking around with a whopping great bulls-eye on her forehead; making her a target for this new vampire. To add to her problems Edward is back in town and demanding that Anita give up the name of the master of St Louis -- Edward, having orders to kill him... once he finds out who the undead guy is. Can Anita give Jean-Claude up to Edward? It would leave her free of her human servant marks if she did. Choices choices.
The plot was very well paced and I never felt like the story lagged at all. Edward is brilliant and I enjoyed seeing more of him. Anita has said in the past that she thought Edward would kill her if he ever had to -- but here he seemed quite reluctant to harm her. I look forward to learning more about him in future books. I also really love the 'Spook Squad' characters. Dolph and Zerbrowski particularly are really fun. Indeed, Dolph and Anita at a crime scene are usually some of my favourite scenes in the books.
Circus of the Damned was the same mixture of dark humour, hard boiled detective work and character development as those prior. Highly recommended!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
"Anita Blake Vampire Hunter" series book 3
Anita Blake is back for a third time in this very dark, violent urban fantasy series and she's doing what she does best; hunting down rogue vampires. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Book Addict
Great Ideas But Poorly Executed
I've read a few of the Anita Blake series and whilst I really like Laurell Hamilton's ideas, character variety and concepts I'm afraid that she simply can't write well. Read more
Published on 26 Dec 2009 by Maya
best so far - supernatural, violent and action packed.
Circus of the Damned, number three in the Anita Blake series is a huge step up in quality after the first two books.
This one has it all. Read more
This one has it all. Read more
Published on 21 April 2008 by Toby Andersen
A ripping yarn
"I had been stabbed, beaten, shot, strangled, and vampire-bit in the space of four months. There comes a point where you just have too many things happening too close together. Read more
Published on 30 Dec 2007 by John Nunn
Shockingly handsom werewolves and vampires ....... it can NOT get any...
It just seems to get better and better. I am completely and thoroughly hooked on these books.
It is just impossible to give a short version of the story, and not ruin... Read more
It is just impossible to give a short version of the story, and not ruin... Read more
Published on 21 Feb 2007 by Morbida
VAMPIRES...AND ZOMBIES..AND WEREWOLVES...OH MY...
In this, the third volume in the Anita Blake, vampire hunter, series of books, the author does not disappoint the reader. Read more
Published on 28 Jun 2006 by Lawyeraau
Excellent!!!!!!!!!
Having read all eleven of the Anita Blake series and thye first two Merry Gentry novels, I think this is one of the best pieces of writing produced by L.K. Read more
Published on 1 May 2004 by "vampyrejunkie"
Totally the best one in the series by far
i am half way through the series that are out so far but Circus of the Damned is my top favourate that i want to read it over and over again. Read more
Published on 20 April 2004
Another great book!
I love the Anita Blake books but in this one she mentions Nike trainers on EVERY page! I think the writer must me sponcered by Nike or something. Read more
Published on 10 Feb 2001
Great!
This was the book that introduced me to the whole Anita Blake series. I just so-oo love the whole series, especially this book! Read more
Published on 20 Feb 2000 by kiwigurluk@hotmail.com
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