Anita Blake: Circus of the Damned Book 2: The Ingenue (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Circus of the Damned #2)  by Laurell K. Hamilton

BEST-SELLING AUTHOR LAURELL K. HAMILTON’S HEROINE IS BACK. Morgues, as a rule, are pretty quiet places. But in a world of vamps and the rising dead, they can be positively hopping. Join animator Anita Blake as her search for a serial killer takes her to the most dangerous after-hours joint in St. Louis.

Collecting ANITA BLAKE: CIRCUS OF THE DAMNED – THE INGENUE #1-5. Hardcover, 120 pages  Published September 21st 2011 by Marvel (first published 2011)  ISBN  0785146903 (ISBN13: 9780785146902)

At 24 years old Anita Blake is no stranger to danger. She is a kick ass animator who shoots first and asks questions later. Something has gone awfully wrong in an investigation. Anita did not put the pieces together fast enough and now there is another newborn vampire on the loose. She feels responsible and her and the police team she works with often take off to the morgue to make sure the vampire does the least amount of damage to the unsuspecting bystanders.

From one fight to another, Anita barely makes it back in time to help train the new animator that Animator’s Inc has hired to help with all the incoming work.( Anita has finally stood up to her boss, telling him that she was too overworked with jobs coming from both the Animator’s Inc and her retainer work for the police supernatural force.)

Her new trainee is just out of school. He’s decided to take on his third animation for the night when Anita shows up just in time to help and explain everything that could have gone wrong. He was trying to do too many animations in a row, which drains an animators power and can cause the zombies to rampage if not controlled.

As if Anita does not have enough on her hands already, the new vampire group in town has finally caught up with her and she barely gets away from their attack with her life.

Even though her new partner has only seen the beginning of what the job may entail, he doesn’t change his mind. Anita thinks he’s just too young, but he’s not giving up after just one bad night. He gains her respect and she thinks that they just may be able to work together after all.

Anita keeps getting pulled deeper into vampire politics. Some are fighting for more rights, and others for less. This drives her into the arms of Jean Claude, the master of the city, yet again. Jean Claude is set on making Anita his human slave. Although Anita does have a growing attraction to Jean, she is unsure if it is because of his powers or not. Plus the fact that she absolutely despises the thought of a vampire believing he owns her. She is a very independent and stubborn woman.

Full colored glossy pages and equal amounts of dialogue and visuals, these graphic novels are intense and fun. Lots of action, blood, supernatural creatures, and a main heroine that has a shoot first ask questions later attitude that will get you addicted fast.

Lost Girl was kindly given to me by the SwanCon committee for being a guest. It took me a while to start watching it and I found the first one or two episodes a bit clunky. I really kept watching because Kristen Holden-Ried was convincing in his role.

By halfway through the first disc though, I found I was enjoying it, and there is no doubt there are some similarities between Bo and my fictional character Parrish Plessis – namely her sexual appetite.

Ksenia Solo as Kensi has some great dialogue and her gothicy street kid character is lively, though at times a little over acted. Still some classics lines like “In my defence, the truth is for pussies..”

I’m not sure if I’ll pursue season 2 as the focus shifts towards Bo’s relationship with the human doctor, Lauren, and for some reason this character doesn’t work for me. Not sure if I would find it so entertaining without the Bo and Dyson tension.

Overall, its fun and the fae/dark fae stories are amusing but Holden-Reid definitely makes the series for me so far (oh, and Bo’s crazy mother, Saskia.)

As you know I love my TV series, and have started giving regular recommendations. So here is the latest.

I’ve stumbled on another Canadian TV show called Intelligence, which was pretty exyy but thanks to a lovely JBHIFI gift voucher (winks at Paula), I didn’t feel too guilty buying it. It’s set in Vancouver and follows two main characters; a mobster and an intelligence officer as they navigate the hazards and politics of their respective worlds, on occasions working together.

I’d have to say, without a doubt, it’s the mostly tightly plotted show I’ve ever watched and the characters were thoroughly convincing. I’m close to giving it a 9/10 (which puts it up there on my scale with Saving Grace, and it is, in some ways, better). WIKI suggests it might have been cancelled after season 2 because:

There were various rumors surrounding the cancellation of the series. Kevin Baker from The National Post alleged: “There’s a theory afloat that CBC Television cancelled the unusually good drama Intelligence in fear of upsetting Canada’s New Government, which is thought to be slavering for an excuse to junk the nation’s public broadcaster and sell off the parts.”^[3]

Interesting, because similar rumours existed around the cancelling of The Border, another Canadian TV show that was not favourable in its slant on US intelligence agencies.

Anyhoo, it is quite brilliant, and I’m so glad I found it. I think its an absolute gem, and I’ll be stalking the writers to see what else they do. Matt Frewer is creepy and disgusting, and Ian Tracey, Klea Scott and John Cassini are brilliant with a strong supporting cast.

I’m just ordering season 2 from Amazon and will give you an update on that.