2017 Review
You know a book is going to blow you away when you're laughing and crying happy tears within the first chunk of it. I think Affliction is going down as my favorite Anita Blake novel.
Also, even though I totally called how it was going to end, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride there.
2026 Reread Review
I honestly thought I'd done more of a review on Affliction, in fact, I thought I'd done two. I was obviously wrong on that count, but whatever. Here we are. I really love Affliction and, so far in this series reread, it is my favorite. Go figure.
I really like the character work done here. We get Nicky and Dev more fleshed out and more of Micah's surrounding back-story. I adore Micah's family, aside from the obvious outliers of Aunt Bertie and Uncle Jamie. Those two would definitely be hardcore MAGA if this were our universe, I have little doubt. As they are... well, I can honestly say I was not at all sorry to see them exit to story.
I wasn't super pleased to have another, though expected, round of "Anita has to explain/justify her lifestyle and work choices to a bunch of cops in order to be taken seriously"... but it was handled okay. I'm glad Hatfield got her shit together on that count. Like, yes, perhaps take what the more experienced Monster Hunters have to say about the monster hunting to heart, even if you don't agree with who they're sleeping with. I find those kinds of things very tedious. I get it's not super realistic to just gloss over, but it's been 22 books at this point and we have to rehash it every damn time... ugh.
I enjoyed the "zombie apocalypse" aspect, surprisingly for me. I'm not usually a fan of that kind of overt horror (it grosses me out, for one). I think reading it helps because my brain can just be like "Ah yes, we understand the concept the words are conveying but you don't have to see it, so it's fine." As always, having Edward on board is fun. I like his dynamic with Anita and Nicky. So very, very glad Olaf didn't make an appearance this time.
So... yeah. Affliction is definitely my favorite. I think it's nice not to have to deal with the frustrations that often complicate Anita's life... for a little while anyway.
Favorite Lines
"Wound. We can always kill her later, but once you kill someone, wounding seems a little pointless." - Anita Blake
"I could never eat someone who thought planning a wedding was fun." - Anita Blake
"If you're doing it right, love makes you more of who you are, not less," - Anita Blake
"Picture don't tell the truth, Anita. Anyone can lie long enough to have a picture taken." - Nicky Murdoch
"We can't really control what flips our switch; don't judge it, Anita, just accept it." - Edward
