First time in trade paperback: the third novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series. In Circus of the Damned-now in trade paperback for the first time-a rogue master vampire hits town, and Anita gets caught in the middle of an undead turf war. Jean-Claude, the Master Vamp of the city, wants her for his own-but his enemies have other plans. And to make matters worse, Anita takes a hit to … worse, Anita takes a hit to the heart when she meets a stunningly handsome junior high science teacher named Richard Zeeman. They’re two humans caught in the crossfire-or so Anita thinks.
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This was so amazing I read this book I was so shocked and hooked on the author at the same time. Love the characters and the way they are written. Different and fresh.Enjoy
Vampires are back on the menu in the third book of the Anita Blake series. Jean Claude is increasing the pressure on our heroine to begin to publicly (at least publicly in the supernatural world) acting like she is his human servant which she refused to admit she is. To make her obey, Jean Claude permits a master vampire named Yasmeen to manipulate Anita into a fight with her own human servant. Anita comes close to killing both women and to getting herself killed because she won’t give Jean Claude the public acknowledgement he desires.
While all of this is happening, a pack of vampires is killing humans, and an anti-vampire group has produced a militant wing which decides to go after Anita when she won’t identify the master of the city and his resting place for them. As if Anita’s life isn’t complicated enough, Bert, CEO of Animators Inc., hires a college student to take up some of the slack since Anita’s police liaison responsibilities are cutting into her zombie raising time. The new guy, Larry, has a decent amount of power but no experience and he almost gets his clients killed when he fails to control a zombie.
Throw in a cobra so large its fangs are like sabers and it can swallow a person like an anaconda, a million year old vampire, a whole bunch of lycanthropes, the rogue pack killing humans that the police are looking for, a lamia, and everyone’s favorite cold-blooded assassin, Edward, and we have more than enough elements for a rousing good tale. And that’s before we introduce the first romantic possibility in the series that Anita will actually agree to go on a date with.
This novel is packed with action from beginning to end, but it also pushes Anita hard to determine where her boundaries truly are. How much does she value her soul and who is she willing to kill to keep it? Circus of the Damned builds brilliantly on the first two books in the series from first page to pulse-pounding conclusion.
I first read Circus of the Damned by Laurell K. Hamilton back in 2009. Now it’s 2020, and I’m glad I got a chance to reread it because I couldn’t remember this book. It was like reading the book for the first time. It was great to read this book, feeling like it’s brand new. Anita is dealing with Jean-Claude still on giving her the last two marks to be his human servant. Anita is again saying no. Unfortunately, she’s got to deal with other Master Vampires in her city now that want her as their human servant. They don’t believe that Jean-Claude is strong enough to be the Master Vampire of the City. Anita is going to deal with some vampire politics in this book. She’s also going to be introduced to some furry shifters that she has no idea that is close to Jean-Claude. In comes Stephen, a werewolf and Richard Zeeman, a Junior High School teacher who teaches Science. He has a secret, though, that he is keeping from Anita in the book. She’s bound to find out about this secret, though.
I enjoyed this book just like I did the first time. It was strange reading it again and feeling lost at first. It had been such a long time reading this book. There was a lot of trouble in this book for Anita. I felt terrible for her. She had no idea what she was in the middle of until it was too late. Let’s not forget about Jean-Claude. I love his character, even though he keeps secrets from Anita. He is trying to save her in this book, and also though she is stubborn. Although I do see why Anita fights him, if you read the first book, you would find out that Jean-Claude marked her twice, so she was halfway to being his human servant. She didn’t consent to it, which is why she’s mad at him. This book she’ll deal with some stronger Master Vampires that can force her to do things she doesn’t want to do.
I’m glad I got reintroduced to Richard from the beginning. He’s never been a favorite character of mine in the series. He was okay in the beginning, but later on, he’s going to drive me crazy. He’s already got the point against him from keeping a secret from Anita in this book.
Be prepared for an epic battle at the end of the book. Anita gets caught up in it all, and her life hangs in the balance. I give this book 4.5-stars and recommend it to fans of Urban Fantasy and PNR. This book has no sex in it. You will read some tension in the book, though.
Pretty good. Plenty of action. =)
LOVE the Anita Blake series!
A new man enters Barcelona’s life, another threatens the city…Lots of action, just a
little fab of romance and excitement will keep you reading.