Affliction

An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel

By: Laurell K. Hamilton

Narrated by: Kimberly Alexis

Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's Summary

Some zombies are raised. Others must be put down. Just ask Anita Blake.

Before now, she would have considered them merely off-putting, never dangerous. Before now, she had never heard of any of them causing human beings to perish in agony. But that’s all changed.

Micah's estranged father lies dying, rotting away inside from some strange ailment that has his doctors whispering about "zombie disease".

Anita makes her living off of zombies - but these aren’t the kind she knows so well. These creatures hunt in daylight, and are as fast and strong as vampires. If they bite you, you become just like them. And round and round it goes....

Where will it stop?

Even Anita Blake doesn’t know.

©2013 Laurell K. Hamilton (P)2013 Penguin Audio

I am still a fan :)

I like the series, from the very first book all the way up to the current one. The first ones were like foreplay, the later additions are down to the nitty-gritty :) Anita just happens to indulge in a little more gritty than the rest of us. LOL

I know LKH has gotten a lot of negative reviews lately, but I liked the story. I got to visit with Ted/Ed who is one of my favorite characters. I always love her action scenes and with this rotten zombie, mini apocalypse, there were a lot of good ones. It is a little hard keeping up with all of Anita's lovers, but that is certainly not a complaint! :) Hot vampires and were-men are always a plus in my book. But then again I like a little erotica mixed in with my mystery :) I got to listen to Anita hunt the bad, kick butt, and save the day.

I guess I am confused with all of the negative comments about which direction the series is going in. If this is the direction that LKH wants to go and she is happy in her world, then stop using your credits for the price of admittance. The rest of us are just happy to be there. :)

Oh, and Kimberly Alexis I really enjoyed your voices. Your Anita voice was great!

This is a good, solid addition to the series. It was worth my credit!

Used to be such a good series...

I’ve been reading these books since I was in HS many many years ago and I’ve kept up with the Anita Blak books throughout the years. There used to be an awesome story peppered with a little steamy sex scene here and there..now the whole book is just sex peppered with a small amount of story. Anita has too many men in her life now to be able to concentrate on her job anymore. So sad..I really enjoyed all these books up until about book 20-21. I miss the old AB. Time to find a new and better series to read.

Whatever happened to the Anita we all admired?

I remember when this series started, Anita was a bundle of problems, she could have kept a shrink in business for the rest of their life. Her ability to be competent at her necromancy job, and pretty darn good at helping the police with their paranormal murder mysteries, while still hanging on to her integrity, made for interesting books.

I loved the attraction between Anita and Jean Claude, it was scary and sexy at the same time. I even liked her love for Richard in the beginning, how she didn't want to sleep with him until she was ready, sure of their relationship. Her dilemma sorting out her feelings between the two men was exciting and believable It took 5 books before that issue was resolved. I remember when she and Jean Claude finally had sex, that was such an erotic scene, one of the best I've ever listened to. The way it was written, the music in the background, Kimberly Alexis made it something to remember. Then Micah came along and I thought, we'll, I can see how hard it was for her to resist him, he was something new, her animal to call and their attraction was very sweet. And now Micah is bi-sexual but only with Nathaniel, I guess this is so LKH can have a readily available Ménage à trois when needed. Really??

I also agree with a previous reviewer, because I have thought it myself, that LKH decided to make Anita like Merry Gentry. But, the premise for MG is that she is a fertility goddess, having sex with lots of guys was always part of the story, it wasn't for Anita, Anita has lost her way, probably about the time she started having sex with Nathaniel, yuck! She was supposed to be someone who offered him help and stability, but not as a sexual partner, he was just too damaged, to young mentally. That relationship has always felt wrong to me. Don't even get me started with the 16 year old she's recently added to her stable (whatever his name is). Double yuck!

And the arduour.... well, I could have accepted it thru a book or two, as long as it finally resolved itself, but we're still having to put up with this crap. I guess it's so LKH can roll out the screaming orgasm's, the oral sex with limp dicks, and multiple partners that Anita has no emotional commitment to, and neither do the readers.

Now, auto erotic asphyxiation is introduced as a new way to have sex. Really?? This dangerous practice has been around a while, causing death when men try having orgasms while partially hanging themselves. Showing it as couple sex is even worse, it's sick. This is not something the Anita Blake we used to admire would do, she was a smart girl, had some common sense, even with all her insecurities. I am real disappointed LKH went there. I have actually started skipping over the sex scenes, they aren't sexy anymore, just boring and/or disturbing.

Now for the positive, I was happy to find that the actual zombie story held my attention. I liked having Edward coming to her aid, his presence always cranks up the crazy fun. Too bad the story only gets a few lines and all that I don't like takes up so much space.

And finally, QUIT PREACHING to me, i'm an adult and don't need your views stuffed down my throat. If you to want to broaden your readers horizon, make it an interesting concept in the story, try being subtle, we aren't stupid. And find all these guys their own women, let Anita and Jean Claude be the hot couple, give the girl a rest!

coming out of the whine

This book was much better as the whining and moaning about who she(Anita) is as a necromancer and succubus was less strident than in the other books. Anita accepting her gifts and the loves in her life- and how she has to use them- made this book a much better listen. I figured out how she was going to have to make this work( like a firebreak) about halfway through. It was only logical. Overall, I would recommend this to any who have been fans and were dropping off due to frustration about the litany of insecurity on sex and moral judgement. It was getting so old. This feels like a fresh start.

Normally, I like the narrator, but this time either she or the sound engineers dropped the ball, particularly with Edward. He sounded WAY to high school instead of the sociopath we all know and love. The pitch, intonation and emotional expression is off. The male 'voices' in Skin Trade were better and more consistent. This recording sounds like it was done in several different studios as it is 'pitchy' throughout the book- sometimes sounding a little hollow. A reader can't do an 18 hour book all in one go, so it is important to have competent sound engineers to smooth out the edges and make it homogenous. Kimberly Alexis is a talented narrator, so not sure who decided this was 'good enough'- but that is the impression I'm left with. Like they gave it one shot and it only got half the target.

Anything with Jean Claude and The Wicked Truth is always good and if this gets back to LKH- please give us more of those three! I'd beg but I hate sounding whiney, too. :)

I'm surprised by the shock of other reviewers regarding Micah's sexual negotiating techniques with the other Were Masters. It made perfect sense to me and I've been waiting for this to come out in the open( on paper as Anita already knew and was OK with it). It is result driven, not desire. Pragmatic. Just like Anita and Micah, if you think about it.

Overall, I'm back in the fold as an LKH fan- and can hardly wait for the next book. I'm also looking forward to her next Merry Gentry book that is supposed to be coming out in the next year. The last one was out somewhere around 2008 so we are seriously overdue to hear about the triplets.

Have a Good Listening Day :)

Ms. Hamilton appears to have burnt out

I've been a fiercely loyal fan of the Anita Blake (and Merry Gentry) series from the start, but as many readers have noted, the last several books have been pretty disappointing. It's as though Ms. Hamilton has a massive chip on her shoulder about her own personal love life and has written it into Anita. Instead of solid plot, well-researched weapons and fight-sequences, and a few steamy scenes with her men, Anita now defensively argues with anyone and everyone (her men included) about the status of her polyamorous love life, complete with long repetitive speeches defending their choices and love. Not only that, but she uses the same 5 or 6 phrases over and over again, from one book to the next, so that not only is the defensive arguing itself repetitive, but so is the language. Yes, I'm sure that some people can be narrow minded about group relationships. But since when would every police officer, fellow Marshal, hospital/medical personnel, etc. openly confront someone about their personal love lives while on the job? Really? But because everyone around Anita acts so outrageously unprofessionally (so much so that he or she would be fired in the real world), Anita gets to defensively pontificate about polyamorous relationships every few minutes throughout the book. As a result, it's really starting to seem as though the issue is Ms. Hamilton's own, and not Anita's.
My other big problem is the language used, or maybe just the writing itself; Ms. Hamilton was once a fantastic author, but sections of this book were so poorly written that I wondered what had happened and how it had gotten past Ms. Hamilton's editor. I don't want to reveal any spoilers, so I won't quote directly, but one example dialogue went something like this: Really? He said. Yes, I said. Why, he said. Because, I said. I don't understand, Dev said. It's like this... Nicky said. (And on and on it went.)
There are other problems with the book as well, but it really comes down to this: lately Ms. Hamilton writes about 60% defensive anger and polyamorous angst, 15% fight scenes, 15% love scenes, and 10% plot. If you're a die-hard fan, and that little plot/love/fight stuff is enough to keep you going, then enjoy! For the rest of us, it seems time to give up hoping that this awful pattern will ever change.

Officially way-past-done with Hamilton

Hamilton's writing has deteriorated to such a point I don't really understand at all how she is being published any more. I couldn't get past all the repetitive descriptions of Anita, her job, her boyfriends, her powers...that have been re-hashed in detail for the past 20 books. Enough already!!! We know Micah is pretty. Got it. Jean Claude's touchable laugh makes her tremble. Check. Let's kill some people off and have some actual character growth, please.

Even though her first books were littered with errors and inconsistencies, at least they were unique and had a story that we could care about. I keep hoping things would get better so I eventually pick her book up (though I've stopped paying for them a long time a go because I'm not going to waste my money.) I am mad I wasted a credit on this though.

I couldn't get past the first 1/2 hour so I really can't speak to the narration.

Better Than Some Not As Good As Others.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Anyone who follows the series will find it an Okay squeal.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Kimberly Alexis?

I would only like to point out that if you give a character a specific accent the previous book and then change from that in the next book it is a little off putting. Case in Point. Micha has a distinct Irish accent in the book "Kiss the Dead" read by Kimberly in this book no accent.

Really good plot and Great way to top off 20 years

Where does Affliction rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Its one of my favorite vampire books, probably top 10. Obviously Anita has changed over the last twenty years but this is more a return to the earlier crime driven plots than before. It won't bring back people who hate the romance, but it is a really good addition to the series.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Affliction?

The plot in the woods with the chase scenes and later in the hospital. Amazing action and as always, Edward.

Which character – as performed by Kimberly Alexis – was your favorite?

In general, Kimberley Alexis does an amazing job switching between voices and an amazing vocal range. I love her Jean-Claude, but I really did come to audible to write this review because sometimes I cannot believe it is her doing all these voices and switching between them. She does accents and inflections very well.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The big plot inflection point with Anita and her beaus, not going to spoil it.

Any additional comments?

Nope -- like I said just wanted to say the narrator (Kimberley Alexis') vocal range is amazing.

Why did I do it?

I vowed that I would never purchase another Anita Blake book and I wished I had listened to myself. Poor Anita. She used to be a heroine, but now she's just a pathetic, big-boobed, un-likeable, female (can't think of a better noun) who can't decide who to have sex with next.

There is no doubt that Laurell Hamilton is a talented author, but holy poly-amorous, paranormal characters, Batman! Can we stick to the plot, please?

Seriously, how many law enforcement officers do YOU know who spend this much time talking about sex? How does she get any work done when every, single time she enters a new station, she has to do the whole I-don't-want-them-to-know-but-I'm-going-to-do-everything-I-can-to-out-myself routine? There was even one scene where they spent a good 10 minutes discussing Anita's love life, but when the love life of the other woman in the room came up, that discussion was shut down with a simple, "That's none of your business."

Sadly, the actual story underneath all of the unnecessary crap is interesting, but there are other authors out there who can do paranormal that is just as interesting without including all of the stuff that is really none of our business.

A bit disappointing

I'm a big Laurell K Hamilton fan and I love the series but I did a lot of eye rolling with this one and wasn't disappointed when it was over like I usually am.
Pro- Lot's of Edward, he really makes a story POP, I love when he's in it.
Con- The whole book is stretched out about zombies and Anita being a Necromancer,(BUT she never does anything with her necromancy!) I even kinda liked the whole going with the fad of the zombie apocalypse but it was done poorly. For the main, incredibly annoying fact that she NEVER uses her powers. The whole book it's like if Superman decided to only act like a sex crazed Clark Kent against the bad guys.. and then the last page of the book oh ya... I'm a necromancer so I guess I'll just lower my shields and poof fix everything in one paragraph that took a whole book to talk about.. jeez.. That was the worst ending ever.
The book would have been MUCH better with her using her powers throughout the book and the character interplay with that, not just the cops not liking her because she has sex with no many men *eye roll*