Guilty Pleasures (novel)
| Guilty Pleasures | |
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| Author(s) | Laurell K. Hamilton |
| Cover artist | Steve Gardner (Ace edition) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter |
| Genre(s) | Horror, Mystery, Erotic novel |
| Publisher | Ace Books (Ace edition) |
| Publication date | 1993 (Ace edition) |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 266 p. (Ace edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-441-30483-4 (Ace edition) |
| OCLC Number | 28834618 |
| Followed by | The Laughing Corpse |
Guilty Pleasures is a horror/mystery novel by Laurell K. Hamilton.
Contents |
[edit] Plot introduction
Guilty Pleasures introduces the character of Anita Blake, vampire hunter, and her world, an alternate history where magic, vampires, werewolves and other supernatural elements exist. Blake, a zombie animator and licensed vampire executioner, investigates a series of vampire murders, and in the process comes into contact with many of the supernatural characters of her home city of Saint Louis. The novel blends elements of supernatural and hardboiled detective fiction.
"Guilty Pleasures" is the name of a vampire strip club operated by vampire Jean-Claude, one of the main characters. Hamilton has continued the pattern of titling the novels after a location for most of the books in the series.
[edit] Plot summary
Anita Blake lives in St. Louis, Missouri, in a world where magic, vampires, werewolves, and the like are, and have always been, "out of the closet" and, in some cases, even legal. Anita is an "animator," with the ability to raise or inter zombies. She uses this ability in employ at "Animators, Incorporated," where she raises the dead for various purposes including murder investigations, will explanations, and other legal services. Anita also works as a "vampire executioner," killing vampires (by court order) and advising the police on supernatural crimes. This first book takes place in July when Anita is 24.
In Guilty Pleasures, Anita is blackmailed by Nikolaos, the vampire master of the city, into investigating a series of vampire murders. During the course of this investigation, Anita begins her relationship with Jean-Claude, another master vampire, and receives two of the four marks necessary to make her Jean-Claude's "human servant." Ultimately, Anita identifies the murderer, but by that point has sufficiently antagonized Nikolaos and her underlings that she is forced to confront them. Ultimately, with help from Jean-Claude and Edward, a human associate who specializes in assassinating supernatural targets, Anita kills Nikolaos and many of her followers, making Jean-Claude master of the city.
[edit] Characters in Guilty Pleasures
[edit] Major characters
Guilty Pleasures introduces the following characters.
- Anita Blake: Anita is a hardboiled "animator". She is contrary, sarcastic, and has a protective streak, and also the ability to raise the dead. While she is a respected vampire hunter, Anita still has a healthy fear of their superior strength, speed, and metaphysical abilities. At this point, she strongly believes that vampires are irredeemable monsters: a view which changes as the series progresses.
- Nikolaos: The primary villain of the novel, Nikolaos is a 1,000 year old, very powerful, and very threatening vampire. She became a vampire before she reached her teenage years.
- Jean-Claude: The novel also introduces Jean-Claude, and offers hints of some of his defining qualities, particularly his manipulative and strategic personality; his seductive charm; and, his attraction to Anita. By the beginning of this book Jean-Claude is the third most powerful vampire in the city, and the owner/manager of Guilty Pleasures, the strip club from which the book takes its name. He is of French origin and delights in calling Anita "ma petite", much to her annoyance.
- Edward: A mysterious, cold sociopath that helps Anita confront Nikolaos. He was previously a human assassin, but quickly tired of the ease at which he killed humans. He soon switched over to werecreatures and vampires for the extra challenge. Anita and Edward have been acquaintances for an undisclosed amount of time, having met sometime before the first book.
[edit] Other recurring characters
- Guilty Pleasures introduced a number of recurring characters including Anita's civilian boss Bert Vaughn; her best friend Ronnie Sims; her co-worker Jamison Clarke; police officers Dolph Storr and Sgt. Zerbrowski; and recurring characters Malcolm, Willie McCoy, Dead Dave, and Luther.
[edit] Non-recurring characters
[edit] Burchard
Nikolaos's human servant, Burchard was 603 years old. He was bald, skilled with weapons, and carried himself like a soldier. Anita killed Burchard in Guilty Pleasures by stabbing him in the back and slitting his throat.
[edit] Phillip
A former pomme de sang (literally: "blood apple"; a person who regularly donates blood to a specific master vampire) to Jean-Claude. Phillip was a "vampire junkie" and a male stripper at Guilty Pleasures, and was the first in a long line of beautiful but wounded strippers who have looked to Anita for healing and protection. Within this novel, he was killed by Valentine and Aubrey, raised as a zombie, and then re-interred by Anita.
[edit] Winter
Built like a circus strongman, Winter was a human employee of Nikolaos. He attempted to kill, and nearly killed, Anita, before being slain by her.
[edit] Death toll
- The death toll in Guilty Pleasures includes murder victims Theresa and Phillip, and a long list of victims of Anita and Edward - Nikolaos, Aubrey, Valentine, Zachary, Burchard, Winter, and an unnamed vampire.
[edit] Adaptations
The Anita Blake series is being adapted into a monthly comic book by Dabel Brothers Productions and Marvel Comics. The first issue, adapting Guilty Pleasures, was released on October 20, 2006.
[edit] Release details
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