Killer murdered zombies?

[easol.livejournal.com]

Okay, I have two questions about the newly vengeful murdered zombies in the AB series. If I recall correctly, somewhere along the line LKH retconned something about zombies and announced that HEY they now do whatever it takes to kill the person who murdered them.

1. Can anyone think of a reason why LKH changed this whole scenario? I mean, it doesn't seem to get Anita anymore sex/slaves/power.

2. Does she ever address what a zombie would do if it were, say, poisoned or shot in the back of the head by person unknown to them? Do they magically know who killed them? Or am I being excessively logical here?

Comments

h'mmmmm

[cherose228.livejournal.com]

I THINK that you're being excessively logical here.

-,'-,'-,'--@

[briarwood.livejournal.com]

1. It was probably intended to demonstrate Anita's superpowers by giving her an opportunity to control one such zombie. Instead, she had sex and Laurell got distracted.

2. You're being excessively logical :-) It seems unlikely to me that most murder victims would remember clearly whodunit - getting whacked would be a bit of a shock to the system. But I suppose the zombie would just pick the most likely suspect and go on a bloody rampage. While Anita has sex.

[pd-singer.livejournal.com]

She reprinted the early short story where the zombie would attempt to kill the killer, which contradicted some things that she'd said in the books, but it was now the most recent thing in the public eye before Micah came out.

[quizzicalsphinx.livejournal.com]

In the case of two, I would say that a reasonable writer whose world already contained zombies could always make a case for the zombie magically knowing who killed him. But I just realised that I said "reasonable" in connection to Hamilton, so . . . .

[daphne-gateau.livejournal.com]

LOL this is funny. I wondered it too. I often mentally contrast Anita who is so uber powerful with the necromancer/detective from Pushing Daisies, who's only power is 1 minute of necromancy. If you are familiar with the two you can really see the way it's handled when someone has a little creativity beyond 'sex is my plot' and 'my protag must be all powerful'.

Anyhoo, to answer your question...

1. My idea is that if Anita was a police consultant and could just wake up a murder victim and ask for clues her job gets a lot less dangerous. Anita is taken out of the loop as far as investigation and action goes because the police do not need her assistance to apprehend a suspect, unless it's a vamp I suppose. Also, if she could wake up people and they don't remember anything (which is how it was originally, yes? I don't remember) that is kinda logical, yet not that intersting. Why have her be a necromancer then? (Of course, I still wonder why she was created a necromancer seeing the concept was hardly explored, but I digress.)

Unlike in Pushing Daisies, raising corpses in Anita's series is a generally accepted event and is even admissable in court. I assume LKH hadn't thought ahead when she initially made Anita, so she retcons because otherwise there is no reason for Anita to be in the middle of the majority of these investigations. She'd just be doing some Q&A unless LKH was going to create a cohesive plot, and... well. Besides, Anita isn't even the only person who can raise a dead body in St. Louis... this angle makes Anita less special. And you know we can't have that. ;)

And so ... murdered zombies are illegal to raise and they are *dangerous* and uncontrollable. Which means someday Anita will raise one, control it, save the day (if she hasn't already?) and then she will be even more super special and will be able to lord her ability over the police who just won't appreciate Anita properly at all.

2. You probably are but I'm there with you. What about murders that were convincingly designed to look like accidents too? lol I'm willing to accept the zombie just magically knowing (because I love me some vengeful spirits) but seriously, when your protag is a necromancer you should probably spend some time explaining how the dead interact in your world. Seventeen books and she never had a chance to flesh this out? lolz

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Which means someday Anita will raise one, control it, save the day (if she hasn't already?)

She has. It's in Micah. :\

Words cannot express how much I really hate this retcon.

[fadeinthewash.livejournal.com]

Anita is taken out of the loop as far as investigation and action goes because the police do not need her assistance to apprehend a suspect, unless it's a vamp I suppose.

I've been wondering for a while now why LKH didn't just make Anita a cop in the first place, considering that was the real driving force of, well, everything in the early books. It seems like it would have been smoother and more sensible for her to be a detective who moonlights as an animator to keep her powers in check (assuming she wasn't getting her fill in the course of her investigations). She'd still sparkly and Mary Sue-y by being, say, the only necromancer on the force, blah blah blah.

Instead we get bullshit scenes of Anita having to explain simple concepts to men twice her age with more than twice her experience, who are actually cops and should be in the know about relevant basic facts and laws. Or her being wedged into attack forces despite the lack of a badge, and I don't know the ins and outs of RL police consultants, but I rather doubt they'd take the liability risk of allowing a civilian to join them on raids, even if she brings her own gun. Argh. Just...*headdesk*

[viridian5.livejournal.com]

Because cops are The Man and Anita must be the embattled outsider who knows more than everyone else.

[leggomylegolas.livejournal.com]

Anita can't be a cop because LAUREL isn't a cop and you have to "write what you know". So Anita has a biology degree and a dead mom. *rolls eyes*

[bleedtoblue.livejournal.com]

That you are attempting to explain anything LKH with logic is sort of an oxymoron.

[miss-bot.livejournal.com]

I had almost forgotten that raising zombies is what she is supposed to do...

[lucky-ninja.livejournal.com]

Seconded.

[x-trickster-x.livejournal.com]

Hypothetical question.

Someone is murdered, raised as a zombie and goes after their killer and actually manages to kill THEM. If you raised the killer as a zombie too, would they then go after their victim?