Obsidian Butterfly

 

Level: Explicit

Genre: Fantasy> Urban Fantasy > Vampire

Obtained: Purchased at Border's

Reviewed by: Nic Echo

 

Cover:

 Okay, I really like this cover. It is honestly one of my favourite covers. Just everything about it works so well: the cropping, the soft blues and silvers, and the shadows. It is a very sensual cover though I wouldn't say this is one of the sensual Anita Blake novels. Still, it really draws you in. The use of the butterfly is also very well done as that was something that could have easily looked too fake. Mostly, it is the mixture of shadows and that soft blue light though. The silver title bar and silver edge also help make it more, making the blue more silver in a way, making me think of moonlight. The biggest downfall, as I said, is that Obsidian Butterfly is not a sensual book so the cover does that no justice.

 

About the Book:

Edward is a sociopathic assassin that hunts the paranormal, and he is ready to call Anita in for a favour. Anita then finds herself in Albuquerque. New  Mexico, looking at a series of mutilations. Is it the cause of the Master of the City, Itzpapalotl, or something else entirely? Either way, Anita knows she is deeper than she has ever been.

 

Rating: 9/10

Where Laurell K. Hamilton's last three books took a downturn, Obsidian Butterfly shoots up. Obsidian Butterfly is action packed and full of the creepy and grotesque. Hamilton is able to meld her storylines together quite well (though not perfectly. See: Officer Marks), and although Anita is states away, Hamilton is able to keep Jean-Claude and Richard fresh in the reader's mind, without it being obnoxious and out of place.

 

One of the great things about Obsidian Butterfly is the tone of the books. If you found yourself loving the early Anita Blake, you are bound to love Obsidian Butterfly as well. It has the darkness and edge to it, complete with sarcasm (and a lot more explosions and gunfights). LKH also does a decent job of bringing in a New Mexico atmosphere to the book. What's more is that there is less repetition in Obsidian Butterfly than in the past books. Laurell's writing skill has certainly evolved. Of course, one of the things that also made the book great was learning more about the mysterious Edward. Not only do we get to see Edward the Assassin, but we get to see his alternate persona, Ted, and we also get to see him as family man while getting more hints of his past and how he became who he was. Hamilton also introduces a new character who has quite the potential to be an awesomely creepy person. This would be Olaf, the misogynistic serial killer. It's just a shame Ms. Hamilton did so little with him character wise. Still, he was fun in this book.

 

Like many of Hamilton's other novels, Obsidian Butterfly still manages to fall short. It seems everyone has some sort of fascination with Anita, and Edward certainly shows favouritism. Still, it is easy enough to see why he may be invested (I personally see him viewing as some sort of science project). As for the others, well, it's not so bad that you can't look past it yet bad enough to not completely forget.

 

Overall, Obsidian Butterfly was a very enjoyable read. Hamilton managed to fix many of her problems (well, made progress) so that it was a smoother read. The action and Edward also managed to keep me turning the page. The sexual moments slowed the book down some, but not enough to make it lose a star, in my opinion. I would definitely say check it out, especially if you were a fan of the early early Anita Blake. If you found yourself not liking The Killing Dance, Burnt Offerings, and/or Blue Moon, don't worry. Obsidian Butterfly knocks them away. It's just a shame the rest of the series failed (look forward to Anita Blake snark come New Year).

 

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