Customer Reviews

The Killing Dance (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter)

5 star:		(124)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I'm quickly making my way through the Anita Blake series. Any of these novels is a winner on its own, but you'll miss so much if you don't start at the beginning (GUILTY PLEASURES).

DANCE, in my humble opinion, is the best book thus far in the series. The main characters (Anita, Jean-Claude, Richard, Edward) are much more developed, the relationships between them all are so well written that you start to feel like you know them. In DANCE, Anita faces the realization that a mysterious "money man" has put out a huge contract for her death. With the help of her friends (and I use that term for lack of a better word for these complex characters), she battles her way through shapeshifters, shooters, makers of shapeshifter-porno movies, vamps, psychopaths and cops. And then things get strange.... Forever undaunted, Anita arms herself to the teeth to protect her life as well as the "lives" of the men/undead/werewolf that she loves.

DANCE also brings Anita to some decisions regarding her feelings for Jean-Claude, the seductive Master Vampire of the City, and Richard, the potential alpha male of the local werewolf pack. Who will she choose? Will she tell them both to take a hike? How will she reconcile her own ambiguous feelings about what it means to be a monster and what it means to be in love?

All in all, this entire series is a great ride. Anita narrates each story. She's petite, she's pretty, she's tough. She doesn't need to be rescued because she's typically the one doing the rescuing! She's a necromancer with incredible powers, and these powers are more developed in DANCE through her relationship with Jean-Claude and Richard. Laurell Hamilton introduces new characters and brings in some old ones from prior novels. It's rather difficult to pin this series into one genre. It's part romance, part mystery, part detective, part horror, part gore, part vampire and all of the above. There's something here to please almost everyone. These books are fun, they're scary, and I guarantee you'll keep reading them to find out what happens next!

Book 6 of Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake series gives a refreshing new twist to her tough as nails necromancer. The story starts with the complicated love triangle between Anita, the vampire Jean Claude and Richard the werewolf who happens to be a teacher. It continues with dangerous politics as Richard finds himself in a struggle to take control of his pack without the violence everyone wants him to use and Anita and Jean Claude must join to help him to do this. Considering the breathtaking pace at which Ms Hamilton paces the story with it's high tension sexual moments and it's nail biting combat, it becomes impossible to lay the book down and you'll find yourself propelled to read it in one sitting. Longtime readers of the series will likely be in for a surprise as Ms Hamiltons departs from her previous formula for writing the Anita Blake books and truly adds even more detail and depth to her much loved character. As always with the Anita Blake series, the supernatural, the backstabbing politics and one woman's struggle to scrape a living raising the dead will sure to delight the reader and make us all wait with anticipation for the next novel

I have read all of the novels in Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series and the "The Killing Dance" is one of the very best and my own personal favorite. Readers would be well-advised to start the series with the first novel "Guilty Pleasures" and enjoy the development of each of the characters instead of starting with this novel.

The book explores the growth and development of each of four main characters; our heroine Anita Blake, junior-high school teacher and alpha werewolf Richard Zeeman, mysterious bounty hunter Edward, and master vampire of St.Louis Jean-Claude. A huge bounty has been placed on Anita's life by an unknown money-man and Anita must somehow protect herself until the time limit expires. Anita puts a lot of effort into survival, a skill at which she has had a lot of practice and at which she excels.

Several plots run simultaneously throughout the book with the action being non-stop and rivetting. Everything ties together nicely at the conclusion, with just enough dangling ends to make us want to start the next installment "Burnt Offerings" right away.

Anita's hard-boiled attitude and biting sarcasm provide several instances where the reader can't help but laugh such as her commentary on a dinner party; "There were three kinds of people at Catherine's dinner party; the living, the dead, and the occassionally furry." Her dry sense of humor serves to break the tension at just the right moment; "What do you say to boyfriend A when he finds you naked in the bed of boyfriend B? Especially if boyfriend A turned into a monster the night before and ate someone. I bet Miss Manners didn't cover this at all."

Readers will devour this novel like an ice cream sundae; satisfying yet leaving you wanting some more. Top ratings are well-deserved.

It's more of a werewolf/lycanthrope novel than a vampire one, but of course Master of the City Jean-Claude is a prominent member. Without giving away too much, the love triangle between Anita, Jean-Claude, and her werewolf boyfriend Richard comes to a head in this novel in more ways than one. Needless to say, don't expect the triangle to die out easily. This one seemed to enjoy the gore a little TOO much, and shows a lot of character flaws in Anita, in my opinion. The woman is starting to annoy me as a lead character, but I'm reading onwards because I like the rest of the cast thus far.

"The Killing Dance" opens with Anita being asked to lend her talents as a necromancer in an effort to save an ancient master vampire from a corrupting and degenerative disease. Anita agrees to help Sabin and his human servant, Dominic Dumare. Upon leaving this meeting Anita attends a party with her werewolf boyfriend, Richard, and receives a surprise phone call from Edward the bounty hunter. Someone has offered Edward a half-million dollars to remove Anita from this planet. Anita returns to her home with Richard only to walk into an ambush. Anita winds up with an apartment decorated in late assassin and an overly protective (?) hairy boyfriend.

Richard has his own problems. He must share Anita with the sexiest vampire in St. Louis, Jean-Claude - Master of the City. More important, his struggle for dominance with Marcus and Raina, the current pack leaders, has split the werewolves. If Richard cannot overcome his reluctance to kill Marcus he will lose his chance, and the lives of many of his supporters will be forfeit. Even Anita knows that he must come to terms with his beast, yet she fears that she will not be able to handle it. And Jean-Claude? In the beginning, his worst problem is that Anita doesn't really want him. As the story progresses we discover that everyone else's problems are also Jean-Claude's.

With this novel, Laurell Hamilton establishes herself as a master of the sexy vampire romance tale. A position previously monopolized by Anne Rice. A steady sexual pressure drives the world of vampire and werewolf politics, and Anita finds herself and integral part of the formula. Sensuality is not only a deep pulse underlying her relationships with Richard and Jean-Claude, it is also the key to pack dominance, and the power behind magical forces. Sex, in monster terms, is "The Killing Dance."

Let the reader be warned that, as Anita works out her relationships with her competing lovers we will be treated to several steamy scenes that go far beyond the sly innuendo of Hamilton's previous novels. Some may be offended by the rising importance of Anita's romantic entanglements as a plot element. The author handle's this material with the same class and skill that she does the horror and suspense elements. I do feel that the Sabin subplot would have benefited from more development, and a more balanced book resulted. But there is only so much an author can do in a reasonable novel size. "The Killing Dance" appeals to a wider audience than Hamilton's earlier novels, bringing her a well deserved success.

Yep, this is the book. The book in the Anita Blake series where Anita finally bows to emotion and runs into the arms and bed of on of her two boyfriends. But which one? Is it studly Richard whom she hopes to marry, but who turns furry every month? Or does she run to Jean-Claude's cold but sinfully caring arms?

Edward calls, and when Death calls it's never just for a friendly chat. He was offered a hit on Anita. Someone witha lot of money and hate to throw around wants Anita dead by an assasin's hand quickly. With that looming over her, the entire nation seeing her outed on tv as Jean-Claude's girlfriend, a murder investigation, a rotting vamp to fix, and Richard's full moon confrontation for the pack approaching the girl has her hands full. However the boys are playing nice together for once, and they want Anita to help them form a power triumvirate. Heady from the power and lust Anita raises an entire cemetery...and 3 of Jean-Claude's vampires.

If this doesn't sound like enough action to cram into just a few days of Anita's life try this: Gabriel and Raina want her to star in one of their porno snuff films. It's an offer they won't let her walk away from. She also meets Damian, the pillaging vamp for the first time. And by the time the smoke clears, if Anita's still alive, she'll owe Death, a.k.a. Edward, a favor. Just another day in St. Louis!

The rest of the series in order:
Guilty Pleasures
The Laughing Corpse
The Circus of the Damned
Lunatic Cafe
Bloody Bones
The Killing Dance
Burnt Offerings
Blue Moon
Obsidian Butterfly
Narcissus in Chains
Cravings Anthology
Cerulean Sins
Bite anthology
Incubus Dreams
Micah
Danse Macabre

Hi! I just finished reading the best series of books I've ever read. No, I'm not talking about the Chronicles of Nanya. I'm talking about the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series written by Lauell K. Hamilton. Some of you might not like all this vampire and lycanthrope mumbojumbo, but I do. For all you who like to read about romance, humor, gore, and fantasy plus, check out these books! There are 7 books in this series which must be read in this order: Guilty Pleasure, The Laughing Corpse,Circus of the Damned, The Lunatic Cafe, Bloody Bones, The Killing Dance, and her newest one, Burnt Offerings. I remember as if it were yesterday...My friend, Keri, found the book Guilty Pleasures on her desk in music one day. She told me about it and let me read some of it in class. I loved it so much I bought the book. It took me 3 months to get to the store, but once I started, I couldn't stop! These books are like an addiction. I really want you guys to read these books because they're thrilling, suspenseful, fast-paced, and Anita, one of the main characters, always has more than one problem on her hands. Hamilton gives a very vivid description of the characters. For example, when Anita met Jean-Claude for the first time, the way uses Hamilton uses words carefully, it makes you feel as if you're sitting in the room with them. If I had to rate this book using the same scale as movie director's, I would give it an "R" because of its graphic violence, adult language and content, and nudity! Do yourself a favor - read these books!

'The Killing Dance', in this reviewer's opinion, represents both the end of the Anita Blake series and one of the greatest tragedies in modern literature. The first five books in the series--and, indeed, the first 90% of this book--showed deep potential. The series, despite being a little amateurishly written and featuring perhaps the most blatant example of a 'Mary Sue' character ever, embraces some of the oldest themes in literature and presents them in a way that is both fresh and engaging.

Anita's attempts to reconcile her faith with the darker aspects of her powers; Richard's struggle to balance his human Dr. Jekyll with his lupine Mr. Hyde; their relationship stressed by the unwelcome attentions of the egotistical and self-obsessed master vampire who viewed Blake as nothing more than a prize to be won and a trophy to be shown off, all of these themes spoke of a series that, with time and maturation, might have taken its place amongst the greatest of all fiction.

Anita might have passed into legend alongside Dr. van Helsing, been feared throughout the vampire community as is Blade, and kicked more butt than Buffy. Richard might have become a paragon of triumph over baser instincts. Their love might have scorched the pages as none has since that of Romeo and Juliet. Jean-Claude was well on his way towards evolving into that most exquisite of literary creations: the villain we all love to hate, the Machiavellian manipulator constantly pulling strings and tweaking noses in the dark labyrinth of his own nefarious schemes.

The tragedy is that the promise of these early novels was so thoroughly unfulfilled, the incredible potential so comprehensively derailed. If we choose to believe Laurell K. Hamilton, the author of this once-fine series, the story arc--if it could be described as such--is exactly as she envisioned from the start. If we choose, however, to believe the rumors, Hamilton's marital difficulties are to blame for the dramatic and horrendous swing in the character of the series. The character of Richard, it's claimed--allegedly on the testimony of those close to the author--was based upon Hamilton's husband and his subsequent humiliation, emasculation and vilification were little more than vengeance for their divorce.

Whatever the explanation, the series has sunk to the level of cheap and tawdry pulp erotica. Blake is forced into increasingly unlikely situations simply in order to copulate with an increasingly large number of increasingly well-endowed male characters. Anita--who once told Richard that she would not sleep with him until she was sure that his love for her was genuine--ends up getting serviced on a regular basis by what seems like half the vampires and most of the various wereanimals in the state of Missouri. Some characters even travel across the USA--and beyond--in order to enjoy the privilege of bedding the former vampire hunter with the consent of her vampiric pimp, and there is no more appropriate descriptor for Jean-Claude--certainly there is no love in that relationship.

Ironically, this series is often hailed as 'romantic' by its various fans and Anita is held up as that rarest of beasts, the strong female character.

Perhaps the greatest tragedy of the series is that of poor Richard, the genuinely nice but flawed character so irrevocably in love with Anita that he accepts and, to a certain extent, comes to terms with the legions of men rutting with his beloved. In return for this Herculean indulgence he is permitted those brief scenes--few and far between--where he gets to spend a few precious pages alone with her. This seems to happen whenever the author runs out of ideas and drags poor Richard out of long-term storage for a transitory moment of happiness followed by yet more pain and grief as the lodestone of his soul romps off with yet another over-endowed stranger.

If the rumors are true and Richard's continued and brutal emotional torture is because of Hamilton's broken marriage, is her revenge not complete? Has he, in his unrequited love, not writhed in torment long enough? If this is what the author intended for the one decent character in the story when she first started writing, Hamilton seems in need of professional help. Either way, it's almost enough to make the compassionate reader wish there were a way to secure a court order granting custody of the abused to a more talented writer who is prepared to give him the dignity he deserves.

With each new installment this reviewer keeps hoping that the author will come to her senses and deliver on the promise of the first few novels. So far it hasn't happened; quite the opposite in fact. The plot remains secondary to the sex. The characters are two dimensional, described in detail only in terms of their physical assets. The endings have become formulaic, contrived and boring. Each novel ends with a predictable Deus Ex Machina moment where Anita just happens to develop the exact power she needs to extricate herself from whatever trouble she's in.

'The Killing Dance' is worth owning if only because it is where things started to go so horribly wrong. If the rumors are true, astute readers will even be able to spot the exact passage Hamilton was working on when her marriage hit the iceberg--it's that obvious. Do yourself a favor and tear out the rest of the pages once you spot it.

Just don't mention that you did. Long-term fans on the official Laurell K. Hamilton message boards that dared to criticize the new 'sexed-up' Anita Blake: Vampire Humper have been met with scorn and derision. When fans of the original books regretfully decided to abandon the series rather than wallow in the crapulence, Hamilton arrogantly suggested on her blog that these readers should try 'books that don't make you think that hard.'

On reflection that is about as likely as people refusing to watch Jerry Springer because they want to try a show that doesn't have so much politically charged intellectualism.

Wow. One of the things I really like about this series is whenever I finish one of the books, I'm on this incredible emotional rush. Yes, they're pretty light reads, yes, they are your standard "tough-girl" fiction...but they're so much more. Anita Blake is the sort of person I'd like to be and yet would really hate being. Constantly in situations that require absolutely clear judgement, hers is oft clouded by her two boyfriends, both monsters. Richard, mild-mannered werewolf-cum-teacher, whom she loves desperately for his heat and "aliveness" or Jean-Claude, exquisitely beautiful Master Vampire, who has pursued Anita for the entire series, usually with something up his sleeve, but she finds herself lusting after him any way. Trying to keep myself from offering up too much of the story, perhaps Anita finds a way to love both of them and keep them in her life. Or not. This is a great series, and a wonderful book in it. Go out and buy this. It starts with Guilty Pleasures. Go. Buy it. Read it. You won't be sorry.

"She is the Executioner and has more vampire kills than any other human. She is a necromancer of such power that you have traveled halfway around the world to consult her. She is my human servant, without a mark to hold her to me. She dates me without vampire glamour." So speaks Jean Claude, Master Vampire of St. Louis, as he describes the love of his very long life, Anita Blake, to a perspective client - one of the undead. And Anita is back, in Book 6 of Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter novels, as feisty, savvy, sexy and talented as ever!

Anita's preternatural powers are increasing, and in "The Killing Dance" the lines begin to blur between her humanity and the supernatural. Always an uncompromising and tough lady, she's is developing a hardness, a detachment, that frightens even herself. An assassin has been hired to murder Anita. There's a $500,000 price on her head...and she's only a human! No one knows who, or what, is responsible for contracting the killer. Anita's friend, of dubious nature, bounty hunter Edward, alias Ted Forrester, has volunteered his services as detective and bodyguard. Her two love interests, Alpha werewolf and wannabe "leader of the pack," Richard Zeeman, and the aforementioned Jean Claude, are the ones most capable of protecting her. They attempt to put rivalry and jealousy on hold until the emergency is over. Meanwhile, the brutal werewolf king Marcus and his sadistic lupa Rania, producer of S&M porn movies between shapeshifters and humans, are determined to fight Richard and Anita to the death - although Raina would like to film them first. Ha! An extremely powerful, unpredictable new vampire enters the picture. Centuries-old Sabin is dying of an illness lethal to vampires and needs Anita's skill to help cure him. Dominic Dumare, Sabine's human servant and necromancer extraordinaire, accompanies his master to St. Louis. The pair have a malevolent air about them. Could their intentions be equally so?

There are major pluses in "The Killing Dance, and a few minuses also. The best of the best: Anita is inducted as a lukoi, (pack member) and Richard's mate; she also sees Richard "change, an event which alters their relationship significantly; a triumvirate of power is formed with unlikely members; a gala opening of "Dance Macabre," Jean Claude's newest enterprise, is held and the costumes are even wilder than the guests and the entertainment. On the downside, after five episodes of struggling through relationship problems with Ms. Blake, I think the resolution here is a bit facile. And there is a major and surprising denouement in "The Killing Dance" which may disappoint readers.

Ms. Blake is an excellent writer who, with much flair and pizzazz, mixes fantasy with mystery, romance and dark humor. Her take on this derivative genre is a most unusual one. Unlike the other novels in the series, the characters and their relationships take precedence here over the mystery. The humor, as always, adds much to the novel....and there are plenty of laughs to counteract the violence. Ms. Hamilton's descriptive prose is outstanding, whether depicting room decor, landscapes, unlikely beings and characters, or the results of Jean Claude's outrageous penchant for designing clothes. These novels are addictive and will rivet the reader. I suggest reading them in order for maximum reading pleasure.
JANA