Obsidian Butterfly Review
by Jody Wurl

Five out of Five Beakers

Obsidian Butterfly
An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel
by Laurell K. Hamilton
Ace Books, New York 2000
ISBN 0-441-00684-1
hardcover, $21.95 list price

In Hamilton's ninth Anita Blake novel, Anita goes to New Mexico to help out her old "friend" Edward, and confronts Aztec vampires, flesh eating monsters, psychopathic killers, and her own tortured conscience. Her self-perceived slide into the dark side of remorseless violence makes for a fascinating read, and the company she keeps! Oh, my...

You remember Edward? The human who hunts monsters? The cold-eyed killer who frightens even Anita, despite the times he has helped her out? He actually calls her and asks for her help with something he can't handle alone. Edward has assumed his "Ted Forrester" good ol' boy persona, and his double life leads he and Anita into a number of action-filled confrontations with the bad guys. The action kicks ass, but even better are the characters. Getting to know Edward proves to be a mind bending/numbing experience for Anita. For the other characters, it's getting to know Anita that proves to be overwhelming. Powerful things can come in small packages, and she literally and figuratively blows a number of people away. Anita walks away with more scars, both physical and pscychological, but all's well that ends as well as could be expected with a high body count and a lot of blood.