Grrr... off to book club in a few minutes, but haven't even seen or touched the book- not for lack of trying either (tho' possibly for lack of money, since a new copy is 25 bucks and I'm broke). The first time I've ever not even read the book, and I heard it's good. Luckily the actual *book* part of book club takes 20 minutes, the rest is chit-chat and food. Maybe I'll talk about a book I have read since last book club, I just have to decide which one...

I actually like The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Dammed better than Interview.

Me, too. A lot. And although I've read the subsequent vampire books she wrote, I still believe that the vampire "series" ended with Queen of the Damned. Because the rest were so. fucking. execrable. (Merrick wasn't bad, but still meh.)

I *adore* The Witching Hour, and can even tolerate Lasher. Taltos was a joke, and what Rice did to the Mayfair family in Blackwood Farm and Blood Canticle makes me want to beat her to death with a grammar book.

Wow, I completely forgot about Blackwood Farm and Blood Canticle. I think I only vaguely knew they were Mayfair books. It never even occurs to me to riffle through the first pages of her books anymore.

There's nothing sadder (well, there are, obviously, many things...) than losing interest in a series or author. I adored both of Anne Perry's series of historical mysteries until a year or so ago, and Slaves of Obsession made no sense no matter how many times I reread the ending. In both series, too, she seemed to forego actual story and character for moralizing, sermonizing, and the more boring details of the end of the Victorian Age.

I think I only vaguely knew they were Mayfair books. It never even occurs to me to riffle through the first pages of her books anymore.

They dovetail the Mayfairs and the Lestat vampire clan (or, actually, just him) with some new characters; the new characters were actually interesting, and a book about only them, given to a good editor, would be pretty good, I think.

But what Rice did to my beloved Mona Mayfair in those 2 books.... Ptui! Let us never speak of it again!

With all of you on the LKH books--they're ALLLL supernatural now, and Anita has every power ever, and is magic magic magic, and it's just LAME. I liked Obsidian Butterfly, but since then they're just...oy. At least the Merry Gentry ones dont' pretend to be anything BUT an excuse for porn...

Obsidian Butterfly stands out very oddly in that section of the series. Yes, Anita has to use her powers, but the primary scope of the story is the interelation of the four highly-dangerous, human killers. It's more the nature of violence and how it affects people, more than the Powers of the Month Club and "which stone hottie can't keep away from me this book." Well, there is the one guy who decides she's his soulmate, but at least she isn't drawn to him.

I know I read Obsidian Butterfly....I downloaded all the Anita Blakes available at that time to Palm Reader for a trip. Was that the one with the old dude who got butterfly familiars?

Maybe I shouldn't have read them all at once. I kinda liked the first one, and by the time I realized I didn't like them anymore I'd read a LOT of them. Oh well, at least it's not boring Anne Rice porn (raises glass to deb).

Was that the one with the old dude who got butterfly familiars?

The one you're remembering is when the really old vampires come to play mind games with Jean-Claude, and the old dude with the butterflies can start fires.

Obsidian Butterfly is set in the Southwest, and Anita's hitman friend Edward calls in a debt she owes him to help him find a killer.

Oh! Yeah, that was a good one. I always like it when Edward shows up.

I like how Edward is looking forward to the day he and Anita throw down and they can figure out which one's tougher. Plus the presents of cool new weapons he leaves for her.

What was Anita's line that described her feelings for Edward ... "I trusted him to give me a good death."