The vital stats sidebar on the Anita Blake Wikipedia entry is hilarious.

[snarp]

It is.

Nickname(s): Ma petite (by Jean-Claude)
Chica
Niña
The Executioner
Little Queen
'Nita
Nimir-Ra
Negra Gatita
Anna
Kiddo

She is also known as the Kicker of Animals, and some guy called her Cutiepie once in book 3.

There are three entries under "Species" and 12 under "Spouse(s)". One of the ones under "Title" is probbbably not an official title of any kind.

Comments

[rydra_wong]

I love the last sentence of the "Biology" section with a deep and passionate love:

During a period of hospitalization at the end of the novella Micah, Anita's blood test revealed that whilst she is not a lycanthrope, she is a carrier of at least four, possibly five, types of the lycanthropy virus: wolf, leopard, lion (as a result of her violent contact with the panwere Chimera), and two so far unidentified but potentially tiger (this may be as a reaction to the machinations of the Mother of All Darkness), snake (as a result of being bitten by Chimera in his weresnake form), or lamia (as a result of the attack by Melanie). This is considered unusual because one type of lycanthropy usually provides immunity to the other forms. This method of thinking, as of The Harlequin, has resulted in the injection of a rare feline lycanthropy to combat a recent infection due to attack. Because the viruses counteract one another this would result in an infection-free blood test. The same may be true for the reptilian strain Anita may have. One exception to the viral immunity/nullification was Chimera, who had multiple forms of lycanthropy and first used the term panwere to describe himself (Narcissus in Chains). One Hypothesis about Chimera's condition is that because he was infected by multiple forms of lycanthropes before his first change, he thus developed the transformative abilities of each virus; this directly contrasts the medical procedure of deliberate infection used in The Harlequin. Another Hypothesis is that Chimera had somehow contracted a mutation (or caused the mutation) of the virus allowing all others to coexist without nullifying one another. Anita may have inherited this mutation from Chimera. Another hypothesis is that Chimera's feelings about his transformation caused his split personality and therefore allowed the multiple virus to exist together, which also caused the problems down the road.

The author of the series, Laurell K Hamilton, has a degree in biology, and said during a Barnes and Noble Studio podcast that she finds that degree very useful in maintaining the realism of her various wereanimals.

[holyschist]

said during a Barnes and Noble Studio podcast that she finds that degree very useful in maintaining the realism of her various wereanimals.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

[snarp]

Because the viruses counteract one another this would result in an infection-free blood test.

I am 100% convinced that this is how viruses work.

The author of the series, Laurell K Hamilton, has a degree in biology, and said during a Barnes and Noble Studio podcast that she finds that degree very useful in maintaining the realism of her various wereanimals.

I aspire to be just like Laurell K. Hamilton one day.

[ajnabieh]

I am leaving this post open for my wife when she gets home from work today. She reads these books. Given the level of snark I have seen about them on the internet, I continually wonder why...but I'm guessing it's for the epic lulz?

[snarp]

Well, the thing is that AB was the first urban fantasy/paranormal romance series of a particular modern breed: the competent female protagonist with a cynical worldview doing a dangerous job and protecting the weak. She's unappreciated for it - and realistically broke, which I think is an important element here - until some equally-competent supernatural guys in positions of power show up, admire her, vy for her affections, offer her wealth and security, etc.

The latter part is obviously not a new thing for romance, but the first part was. Urban fantasy heroines pre-Blake were like typical romance heroines in that they tended to be kind of passive figures, unable to defend themselves, much less anyone else. They might have some sort of special heritage or magical powers, but it was something that for whatever reason, they didn't actively use until forced.

And then here was this whole series about this sarcastic woman going out and fighting zombies every day. What makes these books important and attractive is that Blake, though she frequently seems outclassed early on, always ends up able to take care of herself and those around her. The first book was about her rescuing Jean-Claude, the vampire who's in love with her, from a female vampire.

...But then it all turned into weird softcore BDSM erotica! And now a lot of people know more about Laurell K. Hamilton's private kinks than we originally anticipated. Books 7 and 8 (Burnt Offerings and Blue Moon) were where the problem started to get obvious, as I recall, though I think it wasn't until the latter that scenes explaining werecreature pack mating/power dynamics and analyzing people's relative sexiness actually started outnumbering plot-related scenes.

Then there was book 9, Obsidian Butterfly, which was sort of a self-conscious backtrack to the early-series formula, and obliquely and maybe-accidentally self-analytical, with several scenes directly mirroring those from the first book. But having gotten that out of her system, she threw all shame out the window and wrote the demented Narcissus in Chains, and from then on it was apparently all werecreature orgies and metaphysically-induced orgasms. (I couldn't even finish NiC, so for this I rely on the reports of others.)

The early books haven't aged well, now that there are so many others following the same basic plotline and doing it better: they're simultaneously formulaic and badly-paced, and the prose lies someplace in between utilitarian and awkward. They're also very violent - I would say unusually so - but lacking the sense of humanity required to make it feel necessary and earned. And there's a lot of really unpleasant misogyny aimed at women who aren't Blake. With maybe one exception, they're always either victims she needs to protect or monsters she needs to destroy.

Basically, I would recommend Marjorie Liu, JD Robb, or Ilona Andrews instead.

[ajnabieh]

I am reasonably sure the only reason she still reads them is that she's a completist, and once she's started reading a series, she will read it until it actually ends, not just until it has jumped the shark so hard it has attained orbit.

*checks with her on the other end of the couch...yes, that's why*

rom then on it was apparently all werecreature orgies and metaphysically-induced orgasms.

Mmm, delicious, totally implausible pornographies. Normally I get mine for free on the internet, but apparently some people like them between covers.

Marjorie Liu! There's a book by her sitting on...um...that bookshelf! Not that I think I'll deviate from my summer reading plans (ALL THE FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST + ALL THE SANDMAN), but that name circulates in my house.

[snarp]

(Sorry, that comment got very long.)

[mikkeneko]

"She is currently of the Episcopalian faith, having left Catholicism since the Catholic Church has excommunicated all animators. "

ngl, when I first read this I wondered what the hell the catholic church had against cartoons so much.