Anita Blake Meets The Fang Gang (Crossover Daydreams)
POSTED BY: RocketJock
UPDATED: Sunday, April 29, 2007 07:58
VIEWED: 10530
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Last week, while zipping through commercials on a time-shifted TNT season Five episode, my wife and I were delighted to see an ad for Laurell K. Hamilton's latest Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter book, Incubus Dreams.
It led, naturally enough, to a late-night discussion: How would the cast of each universe do if transposed into the other? I'm pretty sure that there are enough Anita Blake fans reading this forum for some interesting insights...
Ground Rules: Since Vampiric & mystical powers & limitations are markedly different between the Whedonverse and the Anitaverse, our basic assumption has to be that you bring the powers you have in your native continuum with you. Those of you familiar with both worlds will know that Anitaverse vampires average a much higher power level than those of the Whedonverse, but that Whedon witches/sorcerers, contrarywise, casually boast abilities that only the most gifted in Anita's world can wield. (And let's not even get onto the subject of demons -- we've only seen one close up in Anita's world, and it was powerful and nasty enough to leave the Senior Partners shivering in their cloven-hooved booties.)
Anitaverse vampires often have personal powers that Whedonverse vampires lack -- flight, animal control, daywalking -- but they have certain unique weaknesses, such as being literally bound to the vampire that created them, or the founder of that vampire's bloodline, or some other master of power. Also, Anitaverse vampires apparently retain their souls, at least during those hours that they are animate; but unlike Whedonverse vampires, they must rest in a state of true death for at least several hours following dawn -- no choice, the sun rises, you fall down dead for a while. (With the exception of the aforementioned daywalkers, who are very few and very, very far between.)
My feeling is that the Anitaverse cast would do much better in the Whedonverse than the Fang Gang would do in Anita's melieu -- Angel and company wouldn't be around too long before they accidentally stomped on some fine point of Vampire politics or etiquette, and in either reality, a stake through the heart is endgame.
(On the other hand, if Lorne showed up in St. Louis, I'm pretty sure Jean-Claude would have him managing one of his establishments within a week. Good eye for talent, that Jean-Claude.)
I think that Anita Blake would do well in Whedon's world, especially once she understood that she no longer needs a warrant to kill vampires -- even moreso once the soul-less nature of Whedon-style vampires was made clear to her. A legal target, with no moral constraints? Hell, they'd be kibbles and bits. "Buffy? Buffy who?"
But I'm certainly willing to entertain other opinions. You got any, hit me with 'em.
"Hermanos! The Devil has built a robot! Andale!" -- Numero Cinco
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Sorry, I've never read Anita Blake. But, thanks to your cool description, my curiosity is peaked. I'll be sure to go out and find the first book and work my way up.
You propose a similar scenerio that I've thought of before, however. How bad would Buffy and Co. shit their pants if they were ever to come across an Anne Rice vampire? Oh sure, they're a little issue-y, but what about those power levels? Louis, the most human of the Rice-ian immortals, moves faster than the human eye can see. Not to mention Lestat or one of the Elders. I'm afraid the Slayer would be torn in half before she even knew she was being watched. The only people that may be able to fend them off would be the magic-users. And then, maybe only Willow (slowly zones out in fantasy of both Dark and Vampire Willow's).
Anyway, I've got way too many scenerios in my head to go into now.
(Gorramn Double Post) 
"I'll be in my bunk." 
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Aha! A reply at last. Don't worry that you haven't read the Anita Blake books yet; judging by the lack of response to this posting, there are fewer Anita afficionados in Angel fandom than I expected. Surprising, as the two series have a lot in common.
Anyhoo, I agree with you regarding Rice-style vampires; between the superspeed, immunity to religious artifacts, and general can't-kill-them-with-a-stick toughness, neither Buffy nor Anita would have a chance against Rice-type bloodsuckers.
On review though, I may have to modify my statement about Anita cutting a swath through Whedonverse vamps; I totally forgot that Anita's main weapons are silver-based bullets and guns, and, to my knowledge, Buffy/Angel vampires have no particular weakness to silver. (If I'm wrong somebody please correct me, but I can't see Gunn using a crossbow if bullets were a viable option. Are there any instances of Whedonverse vampires being allergic to silver?)
And, for anyone else out there who hasn't discovered the Anita Blake books yet, here's a vest-pocket intro:
Anita 101
The Antia Blake, Vampire Hunter series of novels takes place in an alternate historical track where vampires and other preternatural phenomena have been scientifically verified to exist for a bit more than 100 years.
This led to the establishment of a professional class of Vampire Hunters, individuals trained and licenced to protect the public from the undead; it also had an effect on the legal system, eventually resulting in legislation giving vampires civil rights. As a result, vampire hunters must have a warrant signed by a judge to do their jobs. Few could make the cut following the change in the status quo.
Anita Blake is the only licensed Vampire Hunter for St. Louis and the Tri-State area. She's very good at her job, a crack shot, and deadly with a blade. She is also a professional animator. I don't mean she draws cartoons; she raises the dead for a living. It's a rare gift, if you want to call it that. If you want your late relative to explain that confusing passage in his/her will, Anita will raise the deceased as a zombie to clarify things -- and, within certain timeframes, it's legally binding.
The two most prominent romantic interests in Anita's life, both preternaturals, are:
Jean-Claude (no other name), the Vampire Master of St. Louis from the first book on. He is suave, romantic, and of a line of vampires noted for beauty and sensual attractiveness. A noteworthy businessman, Jean-Claude holds controling interest in most of the adult entertainments in St. Louis' notorious Vampire District. His holdings include Guilty Pleasures (a high-class vampire/lycanthrope strip club), The Laughing Corpse (a vampire comedy club), and The Circus of The Damned (family-friendly fun, with fangs.)
Her other main squeeze, Richard Zeeman, is a Junior High Science teacher, an all-American boy scout, and a potential Kevin Sorbo look-alike contest winner. He also happens to be an Alpha Werewolf pack-leader. Life gets complicated sometimes.
She has numerous other romantic partners, especially in the later books, but the one true, dependable love of her life is Sigmund. She's slept with him almost every night since the books began. Okay, so he's kind of short and pudgy, but he'll never leave her. Sigmund is a stuffed plush penguin.
Not romantically linked, but of professional interest is Edward (real name uncertain), a preternatural hit man. (He stopped hunting humans when the job became too boring.) Inhumanly pragmatic on the job, he once took out a group of Vampires with a flame thrower. The Vampires call Anita "The Executioner", but they just call Edward "Death".
Vampires in the Anitaverse have superhuman strength and speed, though generally not to Anne Rice levels; most have some amount of mind control, to greater or lesser degree, and even a fledgeling can generally "roll you" if you meet their eyes.
In addition, individuals often have one-off powers such
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I think the Buffy/Angelverse and the Anitaverse are sooooo complicated that I'd go crazy trying to read anything where one group of vamps visited another.
As for the books, okay, OT here, because I'm another Hamilton reader, I love her universe, and I'd like another opinion, since you and your wife are fans (and it doesn't seem like people are responding to this thread anyway). I just wish someone would edit the damn books for her.
Get into Incubus Dreams yet? I'm halfway through it, and this time I've only found 7 or 8 mistakes! Wow! Well, a huge one on Page 2, where she misspells "aisle." Jeez. I actually wrote a blog on this here on FFF.net a little while back, too. The misspellings are absolutely juvenile: confusing "it's/its," "your/you're," and misspelling the words "liability" and "construction," for Pete's sake.
I've heard all about deadlines, etc. etc. but to have a TV ad that touts her as a NY Times bestselling author, you would at least think someone could read the damn book before printing it.
That said, I guess I continue to read because I really like the huge character base she's created. The plots of the more recent books leave a lot to be desired, however. There is no plot, I don't think. Lots of description, lots and lots of sex, and a murder or two to try and tie the chapters together. I enjoyed her earlier books much better, when Anita was coming into her own, before she had a pack, a pard, the marks, the munin, yadda yadda, when all she does in books now is feed the audeur and have sex all over the place. Which isn't bad, LOL. But gah! Plot, someone, please!
The earlier books had a lot more snark and humor to them, as well as developed plotting. She actually went to work in those books, too. Now Animators Inc. (another peeve in the current book: she spells it "Animator's" which would imply just one, sigh) is just a place to go to get out of the bedroom for a while.
And if I were Anita, I'd just sit down one day with Jean-Claude and take some damn notes on vampire politics. It would help.
Okay, I'm ranting above, but the one thing I do enjoy and want to see more of is the relationship between Asher and Jean-Claude. Honestly, Anita could take her moraled self out of that relationship, leave the book entirely, and I'd read all about the two vamp lovers from ages ago.
As for Wolfram and Hart having a St. Louis office -- no, but Giles does mention at one point on Buffy that there is a Hellmouth in St. Louis!
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"My office! Burgled! Plundered! Purloined! Ha ha ha...loins."
-- Phil Sebben, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law
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There is no comparison. Let’s face it, Angel and pals would be coffin bait by sundown. Hell, Buzz could probably roll them all with his eyes before he let them in the door. Give Anita and Edward a few hours they would come up with some kind of wood tipped bullets for her browning and she would rampage through the Wedonverse like Glory on a bad hair day.
Though I am hopelessly addicted to Anita I have grown weary of Hamilton’s writing. Where is the blood and gore any more? Each chapter in her latest books are, and I quote, “porn, porn, dialogue, death, porn, blood, porn…” Nothing like the earlier books. Sex is nice enough, well really nice… but I miss the blood-shed and viscera. There used to be more viscera. And Anita has changed so much in this last book. It is like she is a new person. Which is good and all, she needs to grow a bit, but to be so static and set in her ways and ideals and suddenly be ok with everything she used to bitch about… it leaves the reader going “Who the hell are you and where is Anita.”
And yes, she is in dire need of a good editor. Perhaps folks are too embarrassed to read about the bloody sex in every chapter half a dozen times looking for grammar when all they really want to do is think of Jean-Claude. Just a thought.
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Because I am an American. And what does an American want? Democracy? Capitalism. I want to sell out and settle down. For one day only, it's a blue light special on Aisle Three. My wormhole technology... and a free set of steak knives... for all the tea in China. And anything you can imagine to pay me... welcome to my cold war.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Vena:
And Anita has changed so much in this last book. It is like she is a new person. Which is good and all, she needs to grow a bit, but to be so static and set in her ways and ideals and suddenly be ok with everything she used to bitch about… it leaves the reader going “Who the hell are you and where is Anita.”
I think this has been happening for a while now. Before Anita used to have scruples and morals, especially her reactions to vampires as "dead guys," and it seems to me that as Hamilton added books those important things to Anita's character were thrown by the wayside in favor of more porn. It's like Anita's qualities got in the way of the numerous sex scenes, so are conveniently forgotten.
There was plenty of viscera and kink in Obsidian Butterfly, if I recall correctly. That was the one set in the strip club with the guys hanging from the ceilings in chains. *shiver* Why is it always leather, kink, and strip clubs?
This current book (so far) is much less addled with misspellings than her last one, Cerulean Sins. In that one she spelled "marshal" wrong twice in the same paragraph.
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"My office! Burgled! Plundered! Purloined! Ha ha ha...loins."
-- Phil Sebben, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law
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Editing needed, agreed, and not just on typos; there's a lot of stylistic gaffes lately too. Best example: in Narcissus in Chains everyone's voice was referred to as "breathy". I mean everyone's, an average of two or three times a page, chapter after chapter. Okay, so at the time I was reading from a pre-publication proof my wife had picked up at the newspaper where she was then employed, but still, it seemed like Laurel K. hadn't done even minimal self-editing before submission. Can someone tell me if the published version was better?
But at least in Narcissus the sex scenes had something to do with the plot; in Incubus Dreams it seems as though the plot is only there to interrupt the sex scenes. I'd refer to it as "soap opera", but, except for the bathtub scene there's not much soap involved. K-Y jelly on the other hand...
Observation: If there was a crossover, with Anita's new attitude, it's likely Angel would revert to Angelus before the second chapter/commerial break.
"Hermanos! The Devil has built a robot! Andale!" -- Numero Cinco
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Shiny. I definetly want to check out those books. I do have a couple of questions, though: What is "rolling", and what are the names of the first books?
The werewolves sound like the ones I created in my story that I've been working on and off of for the last few years.
Damn, I've gotta go, wish I could talk more about it but I'll come back another time.
(Gorramn Double Post)
"I'll be in my bunk."
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"Rolling" is the term used for vampires who use mind tricks to control their victims, when they are either biting them or just trying to get them to bend to their will.
Here's a list of her books, in order of publication:
Guilty Pleasures
The Laughing Corpse
Circus of the Damned
The Lunatic Cafe
Bloody Bones
The Killing Dance
Burnt Offerings
Blue Moon
Obsidian Butterfly
Narcissus in Chains
Cerulean Sins
and the current one, Incubus Dreams
I think I got them all.
I'll say one thing, the titles have become more creative, although they rarely have anything to do with the book.
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"My office! Burgled! Plundered! Purloined! Ha ha ha...loins."
-- Phil Sebben, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law
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Okay, one more complaint, and then I swear no more.
Arrgghhhh....the word "suave," as in being smooth and good with the ladies, or in the name of the shampoo. Hamilton spells it wrong throughout the book! I thought it may have been just one anomaly, but no, it seems that she doesn't use spell check because otherwise her use of "sauve" would have popped up over and over.
Arrrrgggggghhhh I tell you, arrgggghhhhh!
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"My office! Burgled! Plundered! Purloined! Ha ha ha...loins."
-- Phil Sebben, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law
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