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Anita Blake

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  • Broken Base:
    • Books 1 to 9 are more or less about Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter. From book 11 on, they're about Anita, Vampire Marshal. Anita going from a Monster Hunter to one of the Monsters feels like a natural breaking off point for some. The epilogue of book 10 does read like the end of a story; yet for many others, it is just the end of Anita's first character arc and the beginning of the next.
    • While the The Killing Dance was the first book in the series to lean into the erotica part of horror/mystery/erotica, it would become common from that point on, more or less leveling off in Narcissus in Chains. While this change happened slowly and was heavily foreshadowed, it's understandable some did not like an increased focus on romance/sex/relationships.
    • The increased presence of LGBTQIA+ characters and polyamorous relationships were seen as more taboo in the late 90s/early 2000s when these aspects of the story came to the forefront.
    • When the Twilight backlash happened and there was a hard push against the series and many popular Paranormal Romance written by/for women.
  • Designated Hero: Several characters often skirt this line. Intentionally so, as one of the through lines of the series is the meaning of good and evil:
    • Anita at least starts out as a bigot toward the monsters, sometimes fulfilling a warrant of execution on a Preternatural she thinks might be innocent. Even after she starts to change these unjust laws, she utilizes some very dark vampire powers to get the job done and encourages/orders others to do very much the same.
    • Edward is a professional assassin and hunter of monsters who used to do some very ugly spook work.
    • Olaf, an especially vile serial killer, is allowed to run free because he's useful as a resource to the government and the main characters.
    • The books do not shy away from themes of government/police corruption, misconduct and abuse of minority communities. For example all three characters listed above are Federal Marshals.
  • Hollywood Homely: Anita insists she is this because she isn't a tall willowy blonde (like her stepmother and sister). She is described as heavily scarred (more so over time), 5'3", curvy/muscular and overly pale with a foam of black hair down to her waist. However, as the books are first person POV and everyone that Anita voices this to thinks she's nuts. It's pretty clear this is meant to be Anita's view of herself, not necessarily accurate. note 
  • Nightmare Fuel: This series has some serous body horror and moments of violation. See the Nightmare Fuel tab for a run down.
  • Questionable Consent: There are several moments of rape and Noncon. Most of this is villains, but not exclusively. With so many characters being Succubi/Incubi; what is and is not clear consent is often a topic of debate. Both within the books and among the fans.
  • The Scrappy: A large portion of the fanbase has bestowed the title on Richard somewhere between The Killing Dance and Narcissus in Chains. There is a rumor that his character was based on Hamilton's first husband. However, his journey to make peace with his life among the Monsters is well liked in the later books, even if he is frustrating at the midpoint.
  • Seasonal Rot: In any long running series there's going to a character, book or story arc someone doesn't like.
  • Strawman Has a Point: Richard, Ronnie and Doph are Paladin-esque characters, always ready to moralize and judge the other characters. This is not to say they're always wrong, frequently they're not. As it's a Dark setting sometimes the grey protagonist does the equivalent of "Sending the Paladin around the hillside so everyone can loot the bodies". At other times she doesn't even dispute the things they says. Which tracks, as few characters are a harsher critic of Anita's morality then Anita.

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