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Bullet
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Bullet
Unavailable
Bullet
Audiobook12 hours

Bullet

Written by Laurell K. Hamilton

Narrated by Kimberly Alexis

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

The Mother of All Darkness-the first vampire-wants to enter into a new human body...and the one she has in mind belongs to Anita Blake.


From the Paperback edition.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJun 1, 2010
ISBN9781101223093
Unavailable
Bullet
Author

Laurell K. Hamilton

Laurell K. Hamilton is the author of the New York Times bestselling Anita Blake series and Merry Gentry series. She lives with her family in St. Louis, Missouri.

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Reviews for Bullet

Rating: 3.437153378927911 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

541 ratings50 reviews

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I have read most, but not all of this series up to this point. It doesn't seem to matter much if you miss a couple of books, as they can easily be explained in one or two sentences by the characters in the next book. I thought this one was ok. There was more plot development than I was expecting, based on other reviewers. But for me, the cast of characters is getting too huge. I much preferred the first couple books in the series to what it has become.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    This one was a hot mess.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I liked this book, it had some good plots and twists, almost too many going on. The new characters could bring a lot into the future books. I like the political wars and the quest for power...But, dang it does she have to "do" everything that breathes and describe it it painful detail each time ? Once is erotic, more than that it gets to be ridiculous (IMHO) LKH is such a great imaginative writer, she does not need to detail us to death.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Readable as always but ultimately dissatisfying. Nothing much really happens -- it is all set-up for the next book or two in the series. Oh, of course, it seems that the range of acceptable sexual partners is greatly extended for all major characters. And I liked Cookie Monster -- having him turn out to be a bad guy saddened me.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I keep waiting for the next book in the series that will actually advance the plot. This one didn't do that, or at least, not very far.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Pretty much all characters, sex, and emotions. Even less plot than some of the recent ones, felt more like a setup than much in the way of development. If you still read these, it's sort of middle of the road for later Anita. Felt like it was 2/3 sex...

    I liked the Richard developments - he redeems himself somewhat to my mind.

    Asher plays a more significant part.

    Unfortunately there's a lot of "name checking" on previous characters.

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved this book. I think it might be my new favorite in the Anita Blake series. LKH finally brings Anita back to St. Louis and all of her men. There are also several new characters. The only thing that could have made this book better in my eyes would be to have Edward in it. He is one of my favorite characters, so I did miss the fact that he was absent in this book (hopefully in the next book **smile**).

    It is hard to say much without giving any spoilers, so I will just say a few things that LKH has already said, but I completely agree with. I want the name of Richard's therapist. I am not a fan of Richard, I am sick of his whining, but he kept everything together through some stuff that never would have thought some of the other men could do, even less so from Richard.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This has to go back in the to-read box until I download a better file... ugh, that was annoying!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I LOVED this book!!!!

    I must admit that the sharp left the series took into the realm of erotica was disappointing when it put the character development second to the erotica. This book balances the two, and ties together themes from the last several books beautifully!

    The issue of Marmee Noir's easy death by explosion is addressed. Really guys, can the mother of all vampires be killed off by bombs as an after thought in one of the books. Turns out not so much, heh.

    What I love most about Hamilton's work is that she explores contemporary cultural issues of racism, sexuality, LGBT and feminism through her metaphysical symbols. Haven, in particular represents old school patriarchy in his need to be Anita's one and only, and caring more for possessing her rather than for her love, or heaven forbid, her happiness. There is a beautiful scene where Anita tells him that she is her own prince, and not a princess in distress for him to rescue, that she needs a partner, not a hero and he needs to be ok with that. It is a piece of beauty that gave me chills to read it. THIS is what feminism has been fighting for through the last 40 years. The right to be a damsel, or a prince, to be ourselves. The series actively opens up myriads of identity options for men, and negotiates power dynamics through metaphor. Haven's fate results from the inability to change, or to see a human being for what she is: an individual with her own needs and desires, not a box of gender performativity to be possessed.

    Richard cleans up his act, really he is the other side of Haven's coin. He wanted the life fed to him by contemporary gender construction (read: white picket fence), and has spent most of the series trying to foist that expectation onto Anita and being pissy and pouty when it doesn't work. Haven is what happens when the patriarchy cuts off its nose to spite its face, and serves as a warning about contemporary social dynamics.

    I adore the gender queering of the series, and this book in particular is the icing on my motif cake. I am surprised by all the negative reviews on it, it seems that people have their favorite characters and are disappointed about not getting enough of them here, or in their various fates. But really, what did they think was going to happen if Haven couldn't learn to bend?

    Anita's reaction to Haven's fate is realistic, and demonstrates that however much she fears she is becoming a monster, that the rules have changed. Monsters aren't the things that go bump in the night, monsters are the things that don't protect the weak, that abuse their power over others. The changing definition of monstrosity is what makes Urban Fantasy such a fascinating genre. Richard deals with some of the same, I am glad to see him growing as a person and dealing with the terms of the world he lives in rather than the one he wishes he lived in (read: Leave it to Beaver). Illusions and a refusal to cope with reality is incredibly damaging, and as much as I have enjoyed seeing that mind set played out to its very damaging conclusion, I am also glad to see that eyes can be opened, ways can be mended, and at the end of the day we all fight for the hope of a better world.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Over the last several months, I have read nothing else, but Anita Blake. I love the series and it was bitter sweet to start Bullet. Subconsiously, I think I planned on taking my time reading it, to make it last, because I was really surprised with myself when I finished it in 2 days! I could not put this book down, I was so satisfied with loose ends that were tied up and more new characters being introduced!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I LOVED this book!!!!

    I must admit that the sharp left the series took into the realm of erotica was disappointing when it put the character development second to the erotica. This book balances the two, and ties together themes from the last several books beautifully!

    The issue of Marmee Noir's easy death by explosion is addressed. Really guys, can the mother of all vampires be killed off by bombs as an after thought in one of the books. Turns out not so much, heh.

    What I love most about Hamilton's work is that she explores contemporary cultural issues of racism, sexuality, LGBT and feminism through her metaphysical symbols. Haven, in particular represents old school patriarchy in his need to be Anita's one and only, and caring more for possessing her rather than for her love, or heaven forbid, her happiness. There is a beautiful scene where Anita tells him that she is her own prince, and not a princess in distress for him to rescue, that she needs a partner, not a hero and he needs to be ok with that. It is a piece of beauty that gave me chills to read it. THIS is what feminism has been fighting for through the last 40 years. The right to be a damsel, or a prince, to be ourselves. The series actively opens up myriads of identity options for men, and negotiates power dynamics through metaphor. Haven's fate results from the inability to change, or to see a human being for what she is: an individual with her own needs and desires, not a box of gender performativity to be possessed.

    Richard cleans up his act, really he is the other side of Haven's coin. He wanted the life fed to him by contemporary gender construction (read: white picket fence), and has spent most of the series trying to foist that expectation onto Anita and being pissy and pouty when it doesn't work. Haven is what happens when the patriarchy cuts off its nose to spite its face, and serves as a warning about contemporary social dynamics.

    I adore the gender queering of the series, and this book in particular is the icing on my motif cake. I am surprised by all the negative reviews on it, it seems that people have their favorite characters and are disappointed about not getting enough of them here, or in their various fates. But really, what did they think was going to happen if Haven couldn't learn to bend?

    Anita's reaction to Haven's fate is realistic, and demonstrates that however much she fears she is becoming a monster, that the rules have changed. Monsters aren't the things that go bump in the night, monsters are the things that don't protect the weak, that abuse their power over others. The changing definition of monstrosity is what makes Urban Fantasy such a fascinating genre. Richard deals with some of the same, I am glad to see him growing as a person and dealing with the terms of the world he lives in rather than the one he wishes he lived in (read: Leave it to Beaver). Illusions and a refusal to cope with reality is incredibly damaging, and as much as I have enjoyed seeing that mind set played out to its very damaging conclusion, I am also glad to see that eyes can be opened, ways can be mended, and at the end of the day we all fight for the hope of a better world.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Bullet is not a plot-driven book; it's a character-driven book. In some ways, Bullet has more in common with literary fiction than genre fiction. Laurell K. Hamilton's books have become less about what the characters are doing than who they are becoming. In Bullet, readers will not find the larger-than-life conflicts and flashy climaxes of early Anita Blake novels. If you like fast-paced action, you're going to be dissatisfied when the majority of a book focuses on the internal workings of the characters' minds.

    Inside Anita's mind is exactly where the majority of Bullet's story takes place. This is a fine thing, but readers who long for the days when Anita rushed from one life-or-death emergency to the next will be frustrated. If you like heavy doses of carnal lust (or at least don't mind them), then you'll be rewarded with some interesting character development happening in the midst of, because of, or in spite of the sex. Take your pick.

    That being said, sex, while abundant and one of the driving forces of Bullet, is not the focus. Bullet is almost exclusively focused on Anita's private struggles. The conflict is about Anita working her internal issues and the external forces feel like little more than scaffolding raised to hold together the architecture of a novel.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Stay away from it. Stay away. If you had any love for this series at any point, do not read this book. If you do, make sure you're a fan of erotica including m/m, m/m/f, f/f, and BDSM.

    It’s shocking the abrupt u-turn the series takes with Bullet, deciding that sex (and lots of it) is better than guns, blood and action. The death of a character (not an important one so don’t worry) was anti-climactic, it was a good scene but I expected the death to be of someone a lot closer to Anita, and therefore more painful but she agonises over it anyway, despite knowing all along that they may have to die.

    Right off the bat we go into repetitive descriptive overload. Sex politics, self-pity and whining is in abundance. LKH even uses a three-year old boy in the first chapter to give us hope that Anita will rein in her loose ways, and then uses him again (at his expense, which offended me - children should be protected) at the end to stick two fingers up at those that dislike the porn. And I’m sad to say this did read like emotionless porn -the group sex with multiple voyeurs made me think "porn movie set" with everyone taking turns. And they were doing it to save lives or for political reasons rather than because they wanted it or because they loved each other. And since when was Anita OK with her men having sex with other women, or even Anita herself having sex with women? What?! Will the real Anita please stand up?

    Which leads me on to the main characters themselves who've have changed in ways I don't feel are realistic and the number of side characters has grown to a point where I don't remember who they are. Although LKH attempts to soothe my newfound dislike of Anita at the end of Flirt by making her remorseful. I can’t say it worked. She has become all-powerful and arrogant, a combination which is off-putting to put it mildly. Plus the reference to her and others possibly doing evil things in order to do good has put me on edge.

    All the bits that interested me, like the plot, shocking that there even was one but it was thin throughout. It was alluded to but there was little depth. Many references were made to previous books, characters reappear with Anita's relationships with them being reassessed however, big events happen elsewhere whilst we were stuck watching Anita have sex with everything that moved. I’m not exaggerating. I’m not even sure I have enough fingers to count out how many times she had sex, or even with the number of people. At least she wasn't the only one getting it this time. Although the m/m scene between Asher and Jean Claude was incredibly disappointing. They'd been pining for each other, desperate to re-consummate their love for so long, you'd think LKH could've taken the time to describe the emotional side of it better.

    More happened in the concluding chapter than in the entire book, which focused heavily on the tigers. I couldn't care less about them really, the info dump was boring. Given the chance I’d have wanted to witness the events (especially in Atlanta) in that chapter rather than the sex or sex politics. Instead they were glossed over. So sad.

    I dragged myself through this book, and employed everything possible to get to that last page. I skimmed, I skipped paragraphs/pages – there’s only so much repetitive description I could take. I can’t read another sex scene for a bit because I’ve had enough. Enough. Yep, that’s how I feel about this series now. Enough. I’m done.

    If I sound angry, bitter and wistful it’s because I’m all of those things. I’m angry that old-Anita is nowhere to be found despite her reappearance in the past couple of books. I’m bitter because I wasn’t expecting the abrupt change back to everything revolving around sex. I had hope and LKH had encouraged it, that old-Anita was resurfacing. She crushed it so forcefully that I don’t want anything more to do with her.

    This series to me is now a sick and mangy wolf that needs to be put down, it's begging for an end to it's suffering. It needs a Bullet to the brain.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    The 'action' never left the basement, yet the series' plot did advance, amazingly well considering all the downsides. Anita's power & control continues to grow in interesting ways, as do her enemies & allies. There is a good possibility that the next book will have a lot of action. I can only hope. There was some good action sprinkled in among all the sex & self-recriminations/examination/talk/etc...

    There was way too much kinky sex full of discussions. If my wife talked that much during sex, we'd never have had kids. I'd have gotten bored & gone to sleep. In Anita's defense, she has to since she doesn't do much else. From tough action hero to poor, struggling power slut. (Hamilton, if you read this, please give us the heroine back - on her feet, not her back!) Still, I've gotten good at skimming through the sex scenes, although that shortened this book to about half its original length.

    The biggest grip I has was a major character doing a sudden, implausible behavioral 180. It was a plot cheat, pure & simple. (Need the character back, let's fix. Presto! All done.) And then this character was ignored for the rest of the book. A character of convenience. Blech!

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book has a lot of bad reviews and ratings on here, but I honestly think it is an improvement over some of it's preceding novels.
    Bullet thankfully lacks one of my most hated aspects of the Anita Blake series, and one that heavily featured throughout Skin Trade, that of Anita angsting and bitching out people for judging her sexual endeavors (Skin Trade was full of judgemental, gossipy cops who seemed pretty hung up over Anita's love life despite a horrific serial killer on the loose).


    Bullet may have a lot of sex in it but it has less angsting and complaining and being hung up over sex in it, and for that I am eternally grateful.

    For all you guys giving it a 1-star rating, I have some serious advice if you continue the series. QUIT READING THE REPETITIVE DESCRIPTIONS!!! Seriously guys, we all know it. Jean-Claude wears the same boots and pants he did in the earliest books, his looks haven't changed, he hasn't epically switched up his bedroom. Nor has Nathaniel's eyes changed their color, Anita is still a petite dark haired woman with big breasts, and we get it, Richard is hot and butch. Micah has kitty eyes. I guess these descriptions are good in case someone is starting the series on a late book, but now that I've began skipping the old character's physical descriptions I've found the books much more enjoyable (and quicker!)

    Some of the sex scenes get old as well, but the f/f one wasn't bad. I hope LKH writes more girl/girl cause it's a refreshing change from the million or so cocks we've had to see throughout the later books.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    this was horrible and unreadale
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Didn't remember that I'd already read this one when I picked it up, but glad I revisited. Skimmed a lot of the "group dynamics" sections, but enjoyed the positive family inter actions.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Yeppers. That's a lot of sex. To be expected, but it's certainly gotten more...um...more. However, there was plot! Not a lot of plot, but some of the bigger picture threads are just beginning to come together in this one.

    However, this one seriously suffers from either lazy writer or lazy editor. There were a ridiculous number of repetitions, almost verbatim, of sentences and even paragraphs.

    And really, taking four pages to describe not each person, but just what each person in a room is wearing, is more than slightly boring and unnecessary.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    In this book mather of darkness is back after she is supposed to be dead by expolsing. Anita don't know if she is strong enough to fight mother of darkness so she is looking for all the colors of the weretiger clains to help her. T have to read the next book in the series to find out what happens next.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I love laurell hamiltons writing. I normally get so involved I can't put her books down My only problem with her more recent books is that it is all pretty graphic sex. Her main charactor,Anita Blake was a strong image, Now she's just a strong slut.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    As much as I enjoy the Anita series, I was really disappointed by this one. I kept waiting for the big fight scene, but it didn't come. It seems like we've fallen back to nothing but the ardeur and sex. I don't care for that aspect.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book had stretches where I couldn't put it down. The action was intense. It also had stretches where characters were involved in all kinds of sex acts. Those I could pretty much skim. On the whole, I think this is one of Hamilton's better recent books. It's getting to the point though where she frequently referenced one of her past book, mentioning where so and so fought with so and so, I couldn't remember the fight and only maybe remembered the book. The saga has gone on a long time.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Fans of the Anita Blake series who have stuck with the series up to and AFTER book 10 (like moi) will be VERY PLEASED with this book!!! If you've dropped off from this series around book 10 because you didn't like the direction the books were going in, this is not the book for you.Anita's back in St Louis finally, hoooraaay! Lottts of J-C, Richard, Asher, Nathaniel and Micah scene time. Verrryyy explicit smex! Anita kicking ass. Lots of old issues put to bed. Character growth. Next book is gonna be a biggie! This was worth the wait for me FOR SURE and I'm a happy Anita Fan.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Dammit my review didn't post for some reason and the GR app won't let a change of status to "Read" stick. So I'll try again..Let me explain my choice of 4 stars, I am aware of the flaws in LKH's writing - repetitive phrasing, some clumsy sentence structure etc, story threads that go nowhere - it's just while I am reading I really don't care. I am just caught up in the lust, violence and urgency of the story. Bullet has a suprising amount of immediacy and tension especially since most of it takes place within the confines of the circus. It tips wildly between overt lust and barely contained violence though very little action happens. Bullet is character driven with the main characters contemplating the ramifications of the power they have, want or need, and even lack. Asher is the catalyst for an exploration of the power within the numerous relationships -though this thread remains pretty unresolved. Richard is finally accepting responsibility for his own power in his pack and as a point of the Anita/Jean Claude triumvirate. Most importantly in terms of the series, Anita is finally coming to grips with both the amount of power she wields and the nature of it. There is an interesting scene ( if you can ignore the poor writing) as she sits in the kitchen after her session in the gym where her own contribution to the instability of the power finally seems to sink in. I admire and understand Anita's attempt to be true to her own principles but she has been doing so blindly without recognizing the long term results - Haven being a case in point. I sincerely hope that this change in Anita strengthens in the next installment and she doesn't revert to the angst over her sexual strength.Bullet is obviously a setup for the next book I am assuming it will be quite a showdown and I am looking forward to it.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Another sexcapade of Anita Blake and all her lovers. Pretty contained and focused which made it enjoyable.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This series is still nowhere near the top of its game, either as horror, fantasy, or erotica, but Hamilton seems to be slowly pulling it up from the lows it had sunk to a few books back.There is still way too much description of clothes and hair. There is one point at which Hamilton spends over 2 pages telling us everything the good guys in the room are wearing and how Anita feels about their outfits. There is still a fair amount of pointless dialog, that I'm guessing is meant to illustrate points that have been beaten to death sometimes over the course of several books. There is still a ridiculous amount of repetition. This book is over 350 pages and so much of it is description that doesn't move the plot forward. This series needs a more ruthless editor who will make Hamilton step up her game. There is so much wasted potential here.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    a little better than the past few have been, with a little plot. Waiting for Hamilton to ease up on describing clothes and rooms, and get Anita out of bed sometimes, to get back to having actual stories and plot lines again.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Hamilton has gone seriously downhill since Incubus Dreams (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter, Bk 12). Everything since should have been a short story paperback. Very sad, once a great and unique AU heroine turned into a sex-orgy-looking-for-a-storyline.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Mother of All Darkness is supposed to be dead. Too bad no one knew killing her body only makes her more deadly...It's all about out-monstering the monster, but is Anita strong enough to stay the course? Can the triangles of power being forged by vampire, shifter and necromancer stand against one of the oldest created evils? And is the remedy worse than the disease? Stay tuned to find out.Chapters worth of graphic sex and but a bit less angst than usual.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I've read most of the books in this series. Don't try to read this book unless you at least have read some of her other books in the series. Her "boyfriends/lovers" are too complex to get to know in this one book, though she does try to give some background on each of the characters. In this book Hamilton has Jean Claude establishing a power base to prevent the "Mother of all darkness" from taking over. The flavor of the month for this episode in the series is weretigers. Its a good read if you like her other books in the series. Hamilton seems to get back on track with this one.