by Laurell K. Hamilton

Berkley, September, 2004.
Hardcover, 658 pages.
ISBN: 0425198243

Anita Blake returns in this sexy, violent and slightly kinky entry into the bestselling series. Anita's powers as a necromancer and vampire hunter have continued to grow, but as her powers grow so does the ardeur, which is becoming quite inconvenient, to say the least. Since her powers are based on sex magic (much to Anita's intense annoyance) and she lives with a houseful of men, well, you get the picture. When she's not otherwise occupied with her vampire consort, Master of the City Jean-Claude, wereleopard king Micah, or her ex-boyfriend the werewolf Richard, Anita is called into help investigate a series of murders committed by a group of vampires. As she sorts out her increasingly complicated personal life, she also goes up against a rogue Master Vampire who may be strong for her. But Anita is no shy, retiring flower, and she's ready to rumble.

There must be quite a bit of Laurell K. Hamilton in the strong-willied Anita Blake. Hamilton is not one to bow to the wishes of the mainstream. In a recent interview she explained the high sensuality quotient in the series: "In my books, the reason the eroticism is so high is that people in the publishing industry were disturbed by erotic content. Not for its own sake, but because I was a woman writing from a first-person woman's point of view. Had I been a man, they would have been okay with it. The erotic content has risen because they told me it shouldn't only because I am a woman writing about a woman. It's what my grandmother calls being contrary." It is that contrariness that makes Ms. Hamilton such a compelling writer. Her imagination, passion and love for her characters shine through on every page. A unique and powerful heroine and the the macabre atmosphere make for a gripping story with characters you certainly won't find anywhere else. And that's what makes this series so addictive.

Incubus Dreams is available for purchase on Amazon.com

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This review was published in the September-October, 2004 of The Internet Writing Journal.

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