Book Review
Title: Strange Candy (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Book 0.5) by Laurell K. Hamilton
Genre: Anthology, Paranormal, Romance
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Since this is a collection of short stories in the Anita Blake universe I will be discussing the stories individually as I have with other anthologies and then wrapping up my thoughts on the collection as a whole before getting into the second book in the series, The Laughing Corpse. It seems from the introduction that not all of the stories are set in the Anita Blake universe with some fantasy and sci-fi stories being in here as well so I am excited to see Hamilton’s writing outside of the Vampire Hunter universe.
Those Who Seek Forgiveness
Those Who Seek Forgiveness was an interesting story and explained Anita’s distrust of anyone but herself. She is hired to raise a zombie, the zombie in question is Arthur at the request of his widow, Carla. Carla tells Anita that her husband died of a heart attack shortly after finding out she was having an affair and she wants his forgiveness before she lays him to rest permanently so Anita agrees to the reanimation. It becomes clear when Arthur rises from his grave that he was murdered and Carla confesses to shooting him in the face, Anita wants her to run because murdered people who become zombie always go after the murderer and can’t be controlled until the murderer is dead. Carla seems to want to die if it means getting Arthur’s forgiveness but changes her mind, Anita tries her best to save the woman but ultimately fails before binding Arthur back to his grave. This was a nice insight into Anita’s personality and quirks and made her feel more rounded as a character especially after reading Guilty Pleasures.
A Lust of Cupids
I must say that the little introductions from Hamilton at the beginning of each story really avoided confusion with what universe we are in. I must say that despite being what I would say is a happy story, there is still a dark uncurrent to A Lust of Cupids. We are following Rachel who is being hunted by a group of cupids wanting to make her fall in love using white arrows which signify true love. Rachel doesn’t want this and his helped by Tom who provides her with shelter explaining that after you turn 30 the cupids become more insistent. She has an instant connection with him and after talking for hours, they assume it is safe for her to leave but the cupids are still there. They shoot both Rachel and Tom with white arrows and when they wake they have no choice but to fall in love. They learn that both their mothers bribed the cupids to make them fall in love and the fact it is with each other suits them even better. However, both Tom and Rachel are vengeful and knowing Rachel’s mother is a widow and Tom’s mother is divorced they plan revenge. I wouldn’t mind seeing a longer novella or novel centred around the cupids as I think it would be interesting to see.
The Edge of the Sea
The Edge of the Sea was a dark and haunting tale with a tinge of lust to it, as we follow Adria who wakes up one night to find her friend and housemate, Rachel missing. She wanders out on the beach looking for her and finds a man looming over her with Rachel clearly dead. The man escapes into the sea transforming as he does, Rachel relays this to the police but no one seems to believe her about the merman but women continue to die and the man is dubbed the beach rapist. A month after Rachel’s death, Adria can hear the music and dreams of the man several times and she finally resolves to meet the creature face to face and kill it. For weeks she resists the lure of the music but one night it is too strong, he lures her out onto the beach and begins undressing her when she shoots him. The creature doesn’t go down easy as Adria empties her gun into it, with the final bullet going through its skull before she flees into the night. While she can’t be sure the creature is dead for good, the killings seem to stop although she theories that it might just be disposing of the bodies into the ocean.
A Scarcity of Lake Monsters
A Scarcity of Lake Monsters was a touching story, We follow a married couple, Mike and Susan along with a junior assistant, Jordan as they run the Lake Monster breeding programme. A few lake monsters have been found dead due to pollution with unborn babies inside them, however, all the known lake monsters are male and there seems to be no females creating the question of how they reproduce. Their lake monster, Irving, is a gentle soul and often escape his enclosure in order to play with the tourist until one day some boys decide to run over Irving several times with a boat causing massive injuries. By the time Mike and Susan arrive Irving is near death and giving birth, the small Irving bites Mike and dives into the enclosure showing their shy behaviour and they realise that the lake monsters clone themselves and give birth close to death unless the pregnancy is compromised like with pollution. While Susan moves onto her next project, Mike misses Irving and the personality and creature he had come to care for.
Selling Houses
Selling Houses is another story set in the Anita Blake universe although it isn’t following any of the characters we meet in the series. We are following Abbie, an estate agent who has been tasked with selling a house that a whole family was murdered in because the father was possessed by a demon. The family included two small children, one of which is now a ghost haunting the house and Abbie realises she has a lot of work to do on the house before she can sell it. She eventually sells the house to a vampire family who appreciate the windowless basement and Abbie feels she has finally found her calling in selling home specifically to the undead. I think if Abbie ever did appear in the series she would be an interesting side character but I doubt we will ever see her again.
A Token for Celandine
A Token for Celandine is set in the world of Hamilton’s first novel, Nightseer which I haven’t read but it sounds interesting. This is a story you could say is similar to Tolkien but it is a lot darker, we are following Celandine and her hired guard, Bevhinn. Celandine has used black magic which has tainted her as a white healer and the only way she can cleanse herself is by going to the Black healers of Lolth and finding a token there through a demon. In Lolth they see the cruelty of the black healers and end up saving a young girl who is the token before making a deal with the demon, Krakus to get them out of Lolth. However, while Celandine is cleansed, Bevhinn is left tainted from making a bargain with the demon and Celandine doesn’t even care. By the end of the story I hated Celandine for being selfish and entitled so she would be a unlikeable protagonist for me.
A Clean Sweep
I was surprised when Hamilton’s introduction called A Clean Sweep a superhero story as it seems well outside her realm of writing but I did want to see how she handled superheroes. We are following Captain Housework, a superhero that specialises in cleaning and after the retirement of Doctor Grime is being treated as a glorified maid by the people. One day after being called to a woman’s home to clean it before and after a party, he snaps killing everyone but they comment that the house had never been so clean despite the 11 deaths that took place there.
The Curse-Maker
The Curse-Maker actually reminded me of two novels, Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson because of the talking blade and Kings of the Wyld because of the band of misfits the story is centred around. We are following Sidra, her blood blade, Leech as well as her wizard, Gannon and the bard, Milon. The bards are protected by law so when Sidra learns Milon has a death-curse on him she is determined to track down the person responsible before Milon dies. She learns that the bastard son of the Duke, Bardolf Lordson is responsible for the curse and confronts his father who attempts to make Bardolf swear his innocence but he can’t do it because he is guilty. Bardolf was hired by someone to kill Milon and under the threat of the blood blade he confesses it was a Lord who was offended by one of Milon’s songs. Bardolf agrees to remove the curse after being essentially disowned by his father and Sidra when she learns Milon is ok is hell-bent on revenge for the Lord responsible. I would honestly love to read a full-length novel following this group of misfits as it gave me vibes similar to The Blade Itself.
Geese
Geese was an interesting story about a young girl, Alatir who after her family is murder and she is placed in a geas by Lord Madawc transforms into a goose and lives as one finding a mate, Gyldan as she named him. Until one day, a local family is attacked and some of the children taken to Madawc, in this moment Alatir remembers who she is and changed back to a human form to kill Madawc once and for all. She has to be cunning because of the geas but she succeeds and frees the oppressed people on her lands from Madawc’s influence for good. However, she can’t leave Gyldan behind, when she returns to him in animal form he transforms into a man despite never having been one so he can stay with her in her true form. It was short, sweet and I would have loved more of this story and writing style.
House of Wizards
House of Wizards was one of the most heart-warming stories in the collections so far, we are introduced to Rudelle and her husband, Trevelyn. They come from very different worlds, Rudelle has grown up in a place where magic is very rare and those that have magic are often persecuted while Trevelyn comes from a place where magic is common and most of the people there including himself can’t survive the way Rudelle does because they rely on magic for everything. He is taking her to meet his family and while his parents aren’t impressed she quickly craves a place for herself within the family and it was just delightful to read.
Here Be Dragons
Here Be Dragons actually doesn’t feature any dragons at all which should have been disappointed bit what we got instead was a dark, gritty horror story. We are following Doctor Jasmine Cooper who is a dream therapist and empath with the gift to manipulate and influence people’s dreams. She is working with a sociopathic serial killer, Bernard C. when she receives a call from her old school about a young dreamer there that needs help. We learn that dreamers are rare and powerful ones rarer still, however, if they can’t be tamed then they are killed. Jasmine decides to visit the school which currently has two dreamers, Lisbeth and Malcolm, Malcolm is the one being terrorised so only Lisbeth can be behind it. Jasmine learns that Lisbeth is also a sociopath and she instils fear into the girl to ground her and Lisbeth realises that Jasmine is just like her and Jasmine is going to teach Lisbeth how to hide from others and use her gift to satisfy the dark urges she has without getting caught. This story was dark, horrific and gory in places and was something I wasn’t expecting from Hamilton but really enjoyed.
Winterkill
Winterkill was another great fantasy story set in one of Hamilton’s existing universes following Jessamine Swordwitch and her friend, Gregoor who are assassins of Wizards. Jessamine became an assassin after a wizard died in her home village and the people were accused of poisoning him despite his advanced age. The wizard’s son destroys the village as revenge and is responsible for the death of Jessa’s family so she kills him in return. There newest assignment is to kill Cytherea the Mad, the mother of the wizard who Jessa killed in the past. The ensuing battle between Cytherea and Jessa was great to read and I would definitely read a full length novel in this universe as the magic system and powers are so unique and interesting.
Stealing Souls
Stealing Soul is a story where we see the reappearance of Sidra and Leech from The Curse-Maker. We learn that Sidra’s name before she became the assassin she is today was Sebastiane and she is fulfilling a vow she made when she was a child. The vow is to steal back the souls of her twin sisters who were abducted by a wizard for a forbidden spell and their souls have been trapped ever since. Once she learns the location of Magnus of the Red Hand everything seems to be set in stone with Milon at her side as always and Leech in her hand. This story rounded out Sidra as a character despite not knowing the universe completely but it gave backstory to her motivations and the way she held onto people tightly like Milon because she has already lost a lot.
The Girl Who Was Infatuated With Death
The final story in the collection is also set in the Anita Blake universe and it was my favourite by far. It takes place a little later in the series so some events mentioned were lost on me because I am not that far into the series yet but it was nice to see Anita again. The story is about her trying to stop a 17 year old girl becoming a vampire although it isn’t the right thing to do because the girl has cancer and is going to lose both of her legs to it, however, it is the law. She isn’t on great terms with Jean-Claude because of events earlier in the series but seeks his help. They are too late for the girl but the vampire is brought to her for punishment. However, the best thing about the story was the insights into Anita and Jean-Claude’s relationship and how Anita is struggling with her lust for the vampire and I can’t wait to see more of this pair in the series as I loved Jean-Claude.
Overall, Strange Candy was an interesting collection while it is listed in the Anita Blake series, it doesn’t just focus on that universe and it makes a great introduction to the various writing styles and universes that Hamilton has created over the course of her career. My favourite stories were the ones in the Anita Blake universe not just because I am more familiar with that universe but because they were the most rounded and had the best characters overall but I did really enjoy A Lust of Cupids and House of Wizards too.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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