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Paperback cover of NA release Obsidian Butterfly

Publisher's Blurb


"There are a lot of monsters in Anita Blake's life. And some of them are human. One such individual is the man she calls Edward, a bounty hunter who specializes in the preternatural. He calls her to help him hunt down the greatest evil she has ever encountered. Something that kills and maims and vanishes into the night. Something Anita will have to face alone..."


"MY NAME IS ANITA BLAKE. I'D LIKE YOU TO MEET EDWARD... ''Edward was a hit man. He specialized in monsters. Vampires, shape-shifters, anything and everything. There were people like me who did it legal, but Edward didn't sweat the legalities or, hell, the ethics. He was an equal opportunity killer. I may be one of the few friends that Edward has, but it's like being friends with a tame leopard. It may curl on the foot of your bed and let you pet its head, but it can still eat your throat out...'' "

Publication Date

Hardcover - January 2000
Paperback - September 2002(Jove)
Audiobook -

ISBN

0-441-00684-1(HC),
0-515-13450-3(Jove PB)
(AB)

Covers and Cover Art

The above cover was from the 2002 paperback publication of the book. The graphic design is by: Judith Murello & Erika Fusari. The artist is: Craig White.

Additional cover designs for North America and the UK

Synopsis

Edward calls in his marker on Anita. He needs her for backup on a job. Anita travels to New Mexico to help Edward track down a bizarre killer.



For a more detailed plot summary

Primary Characters

Anita Blake
Edward

Recurring Characters

Bradley Bradford, FBI agent ??

New Characters

Olaf - a homocidal killer
Bernardo Spotted-Horse - a mercenary
Donna Parnell - Ted's fiancee
Peter Parnell - Donna's son
Rebecca Parnell - Donna's daughter
Itzpapalotl - Master of the City of Albuquerque

Cesar - wereleopard
Seth - werejaguar -
Lieutenant Marks -
Detective Hernando Ramirez -
Doctor Evans -
Lenora Evans - a witch
Nurse Ben -
Professor Dallas -
Officer Jarman -
Deuce: henchman
Blade: henchman
Russel -
Newt -
Harrold -
Simon -
Amanda -
Tlaloci -
Red Woman's Husband -

Character Deaths

Officer Jarman - by
Deuce: henchman - by
Blade: henchman - by
Russel - by
Newt - by
Harrold - by
Simon - by
Amanda - by
Tlaloci - by
Red Woman's Husband - by


Important Revelations

  • Anita struggles with the concept of love and other characters' opinions of it. Ramirez has a very romantic sense of it, he explained that his grandma had been in love with two men and then saw his grandfather and instantly fell in love with only him. Anita calls Ramirez naive and yet is saddened when he flinched as she removed the Red Woman's Husband's heart. Lenora Evans and Anita have another talk about love and how it confines an individual's freedom. Anita seems scared of that, not exactly of sharing a living space but sharing parts of herself.

  • Edward urges Anita in the beginning of the book to have a nice uncomplicated one-night stand with someone, even Bernardo. Anita thinks about that from time to time, even thinking of Ramirez in that light but decides against it when being his girlfriend could compromise her status on the murder cases. Ramirez might be slightly sensitive as well, and Anita notes that maybe she's more attracted to people who aren't entirely human like herself. Anita has thought before that as much as Richard and Jean-Claude embrace and desire her for her somewhat humanity, she embraces their inhumanity.
  • Unlike the case in Blue Moon, Anita is secure in her Christian faith, especially when faced with characters that consider themselves gods, such as Itzpapalotl and the Red Woman's Husband. Her faith helps her resist and ultimately defeat the Red Woman's Husband, who needed his victims to believe themselves worthy sacrifices to him.


About the Title

As with previous novels, "Obsidian Butterfly" refers to a location within the novel itself. In this case, the "Obsidian Butterfly" is the name of a nightclub operated by Itzpapalotl, a vampire who claims to be the Aztec goddess of the same name. "Obsidian Butterfly" is one of the English translations of Itzpapalotl, rendering the nightclub and the book eponymous.

Information on this Page has been Gathered from the Following Sources

  1. LKH at Penguin Putnum Publishing
  2. Obsidian Butterfly on Wikipedia
  3. Obsidian Butterfly, the novel.



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akwoodard Pulling my hair out with OB (page: 1 2) 20 Aug 26 2010, 3:20 PM EDT by wildkat75477
Thread started: May 28 2009, 10:54 AM EDT  Watch
I am reading this series and I have absoluetly loved all of the books until now. I am on Obsidian Butterfly and I bored to DEATH with this book. I know we are all supposed to be absolute fanatics about the AB series but did anyone else have a hard time getting through this book? I have put it down several times and read 4 other books. I cannot get through it. Please tell me that the series improves after this book. I am thinking about just moving onto Narcissus in Chains. Does anyone have any advice? Should I continue reading the series or are all the rest of the books like OB?
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Anonymous you'll be sad 0 Jun 1 2009, 8:15 PM EDT by Anonymous
 
Thread started: Jun 1 2009, 8:15 PM EDT  Watch
you'll be sad to knothat it only becomes worse as you go. it becomes repetitive and eventually she gets like every power ever thought of. it goes like.....yada yada yada i get a new power yada yada yada sex with a weregooses yada yada yada she gets a gay lover thats straight for her, and then the series dies forever, you eventually find yourself making fun of novels, instead of discussing them.
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amandany obsidian butterfly. 5 Nov 24 2008, 8:16 AM EST by amandany
Thread started: Nov 21 2008, 8:37 AM EST  Watch
ok so i am reading this book now and i gotta say im not liking it to much.... where is everyone??? i hope it gets better than this cause i really dont like it.
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