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Fantasy. Fiction. Romance. Thriller. In the thralls of supernatural passion, Anita Blake faces a most human dilemma.Tags
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Jean Claude has invited a famous vampire ballet troupe to town and in order to make the event as grand as possible a number of Master Vampires are visiting as well. There will be a smaller reunion with some of Jean Claude's closer friends and then after the ballet, a grand event with everyone in attendance.
Of course, Anita, Jean Claude, and Richard will need to put on a show of united power so that the visiting vamps don't try to make a play for their territory or their people. And naturally, things won't go so smoothly as they plan. Anita is still struggling to adjust to her new succubus powers and triumvirate, which means that Richard and Jean Claude are trying to manage their own new increase in power.
Add to that the unexpected show more complication of a pregnancy scare and matters will just end up being really stressful for Anita as she tries to manage the feelings and expectations of her various boyfriends.
There's lots of sex in this one, and it's really beginning to lose any of its appeal. All the sex scenes are just so awkward. They all occur in crowded rooms with strangers looking on. Typically, Anita is forced to fuck someone new or someone she doesn't even like which is frankly not sexy at all. At one point, she grabs someone who is actively addicted to the ardeur and has a lot of trauma associated with it. This was extremely disturbing to me.
This book doesn't have a plot so much as it has a number of excruciatingly long conversations in large rooms full of dozens of people. The most common phrase in Ms. Blake's dialogue is, "What does that mean?" something that is uttered almost constantly by all characters even when the meaning is blatantly clear. It's really annoying once you notice it and acts as an artificial conversation extender.
Richard's really annoying in this one too but so is Anita. I'm really sick of LKH having these intense, never-ending conversations that she uses as character development not only because they are boring to read but because they never stick. There have been at least three previous books where Richard has an extremely childish conversation at the end of which he promises that he's going to try harder to not be a controlling asshole and then immediately goes back on it.
Anita does the same thing in this book except this 180 takes place mere moments after she's finished one such conversation and swears to work harder to solidify their power so that everyone can be safe. After which, she tries to kill herself? It's all so annoying. I don't think these long, drawn out conversations are ideal for character development, but if that's how you've decided to do it, the least you should do is respect the conclusion of these convos. I'm so sick of Anita being like, "But I don't want to have sex with strangers anymore!!! But if I don't, I and everyone I love will die. So I guess I have to." And then seconds later being like, "BUT I DON'T WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH STRANGERS."
I get it. I also would not want to have sex with strangers. However, as a reader, I really need to see character development in different ways than the characters just blurting out their wants, desires, and motivations. This is not how people communicate. And it's boring.
Also, the book concludes in the most anticlimactic way possible. Anita is trying to squeeze in one last feed before joining Jean Claude at the party where all the other Master Vamps are hanging out. This is the party that the whole book has been leading up to. Literally, she fucks Asher and then passes out and wakes up a couple days later. I guess Jean Claude didn't need her to be there that badly? We don't even find out what happens at the party. What a bummer.
I know the books just get worse from here. I know that. And yet, I expect I'm still going to keep going. show less
Of course, Anita, Jean Claude, and Richard will need to put on a show of united power so that the visiting vamps don't try to make a play for their territory or their people. And naturally, things won't go so smoothly as they plan. Anita is still struggling to adjust to her new succubus powers and triumvirate, which means that Richard and Jean Claude are trying to manage their own new increase in power.
Add to that the unexpected show more complication of a pregnancy scare and matters will just end up being really stressful for Anita as she tries to manage the feelings and expectations of her various boyfriends.
There's lots of sex in this one, and it's really beginning to lose any of its appeal. All the sex scenes are just so awkward. They all occur in crowded rooms with strangers looking on. Typically, Anita is forced to fuck someone new or someone she doesn't even like which is frankly not sexy at all. At one point, she grabs someone who is actively addicted to the ardeur and has a lot of trauma associated with it. This was extremely disturbing to me.
This book doesn't have a plot so much as it has a number of excruciatingly long conversations in large rooms full of dozens of people. The most common phrase in Ms. Blake's dialogue is, "What does that mean?" something that is uttered almost constantly by all characters even when the meaning is blatantly clear. It's really annoying once you notice it and acts as an artificial conversation extender.
Richard's really annoying in this one too but so is Anita. I'm really sick of LKH having these intense, never-ending conversations that she uses as character development not only because they are boring to read but because they never stick. There have been at least three previous books where Richard has an extremely childish conversation at the end of which he promises that he's going to try harder to not be a controlling asshole and then immediately goes back on it.
Anita does the same thing in this book except this 180 takes place mere moments after she's finished one such conversation and swears to work harder to solidify their power so that everyone can be safe. After which, she tries to kill herself? It's all so annoying. I don't think these long, drawn out conversations are ideal for character development, but if that's how you've decided to do it, the least you should do is respect the conclusion of these convos. I'm so sick of Anita being like, "But I don't want to have sex with strangers anymore!!! But if I don't, I and everyone I love will die. So I guess I have to." And then seconds later being like, "BUT I DON'T WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH STRANGERS."
I get it. I also would not want to have sex with strangers. However, as a reader, I really need to see character development in different ways than the characters just blurting out their wants, desires, and motivations. This is not how people communicate. And it's boring.
Also, the book concludes in the most anticlimactic way possible. Anita is trying to squeeze in one last feed before joining Jean Claude at the party where all the other Master Vamps are hanging out. This is the party that the whole book has been leading up to. Literally, she fucks Asher and then passes out and wakes up a couple days later. I guess Jean Claude didn't need her to be there that badly? We don't even find out what happens at the party. What a bummer.
I know the books just get worse from here. I know that. And yet, I expect I'm still going to keep going. show less
This book could have been a lot shorter. Anita whined through most of the book about how feeding the ardeur and being a succubus was so horrible and how she doesn't do casual sex, but she has to or the vampire and wereleopard connected to her will die, and blah, blah, blah.
There was one long drawn-out sex scene in the middle of the book that was anything but sexy. I like erotica (hell, I write it myself and have edited it for others). But the sex in this series has become less and less erotic. Maybe because Anita _has_ to have sex it's become perfunctory. The sex scenes don't tell us any more about the characters. Everyone _has_ to fall in love with Anita. It seems to be part of her vampire-esque and succubus powers, so there's a lot show more lacking. And a lot of woe is me, is it really love or is it just the power?
There was a thin plot of Jean-Claude inviting all the masters of the city to town to see a vampire ballet troupe, things were building, lots of power plays, and then ... nothing. Anita and Asher go overboard with feeding both blood and ardeur and she ends up in the hospital and we never resolve what was going on with Merlin and his mind tricks so strong that he was gaining power over the lycanthropes and the vampires.
There was also a lot of time spent on the possibility of Anita being pregnant because she's having sex all the time and not taking precautions, although she says she's on the pill. how did she get pregnant, I know it's not 100%, but still ... super lycanthrope sperm? And I swear in the early books she said still have some sperm left--now all of a sudden that's a possibility too.
No crimes to solve, no raising the dead. A thin plot with no climax and lots of boring sex. Blah. This could have been a really interesting book with all the Masters of the City in one place, all the intrigue and power plays, but it fell flat.
I still have a few other books in the series, I may go onto the next one, but I'm definitely not buying any more in the series.
Spoiler Alert:
Turns out she's not pregnant. Most of the book with her not wanting to be pregnant and the men in her life really happy about it. More whining from Anita. show less
There was one long drawn-out sex scene in the middle of the book that was anything but sexy. I like erotica (hell, I write it myself and have edited it for others). But the sex in this series has become less and less erotic. Maybe because Anita _has_ to have sex it's become perfunctory. The sex scenes don't tell us any more about the characters. Everyone _has_ to fall in love with Anita. It seems to be part of her vampire-esque and succubus powers, so there's a lot show more lacking. And a lot of woe is me, is it really love or is it just the power?
There was a thin plot of Jean-Claude inviting all the masters of the city to town to see a vampire ballet troupe, things were building, lots of power plays, and then ... nothing. Anita and Asher go overboard with feeding both blood and ardeur and she ends up in the hospital and we never resolve what was going on with Merlin and his mind tricks so strong that he was gaining power over the lycanthropes and the vampires.
There was also a lot of time spent on the possibility of Anita being pregnant because she's having sex all the time and not taking precautions, although she says she's on the pill. how did she get pregnant, I know it's not 100%, but still ... super lycanthrope sperm? And I swear in the early books she said still have some sperm left--now all of a sudden that's a possibility too.
No crimes to solve, no raising the dead. A thin plot with no climax and lots of boring sex. Blah. This could have been a really interesting book with all the Masters of the City in one place, all the intrigue and power plays, but it fell flat.
I still have a few other books in the series, I may go onto the next one, but I'm definitely not buying any more in the series.
Spoiler Alert:
Turns out she's not pregnant. Most of the book with her not wanting to be pregnant and the men in her life really happy about it. More whining from Anita. show less
Anita has missed her period. That’s more than enough drama considering the possible fathers, bickering from Richard and the various birth defects that vampires and shapeshifters can have.
But that is eclipsed by another problem – Jean-Claude is holding a grand meet up of Master Vampires to watch the ballet. Masters of the City are gathering in the city, including several of Jean-Claude’s old friends. So many Masters together is bound to be a source of drama – each with their own hidden ulterior motives to navigate. And Anita’s powers – her Beasts, the Ardeur – are eternally unpredictable leading to a whole new level of problems
This book has a pattern. Woo-woo happens: Anita’s the beasts rise, the ardeur does it’s show more ardeury thing, Belle Morte drops in to cause trouble because she really really needs a hobby, the Mother of all Darkness looms into vision and is all spooky but doesn’t really do anything. They deal with the woo-woo, this usually involves sex or pseudo-sex or almost sex (of course it does) and then they talk about it. For hours and hours and hours. For once this isn’t the book where sex completely overwhelms everything else – this is the book where TALKING about sex completely overwhelms everything else. Sex, their powers, their angst, their issues it’s vast chunks of people sat around talking about woo-woo and Anita’s vagina. All made even more painfully long winded by people having not a braincell between them so having to have everything explained to them AGONISINGLY SLOWLY!
Augustine’s issues: woo-woo, sexy times then absolute chapters of post-match analysis with him completely not understanding, well, anything – we have pages battling his issues, his emotions and the problems of his woo-woo. We have chapters of it. Samuel’s family drama – woo-woo, sexy times, then more pages of post-match analysis. Then we have Richard’s issues for more endless discussion. Then Anita and Asher have a woo-woo/sexy/angsty discussion moment. Over and over again, the pattern repeats itself – all interspaced with the endlessly returning woo-woo drama: the super-ardeur means Anita’s vagina will eat all of the guests – let us talk about this for chapters on end!
We actually have a pregnancy scare in this book. And it’s a background plot point – I kid you not, it is driven into the background by the endless woo-woo/sexy/discussion scenes in this book.
Normally when I review a book I mention what happened in the book and how it relates to the story to date. With the Anita Blake series, I have actually read all the books and am now coming back to them which gives me the unique opportunity to also mention how what happened relates to the future. I wouldn’t usually do that because of spoilers and because it’s not really relevant most of the time – but in this case there’s a strong exception.
Because things happen in Danse Macabre, great big important things that are then completely and utterly irrelevant, never to be spoken of again, never to matter again. Big revelations and progress in what should be the meta plot happen but they have no impact on the rest of the story
Read More show less
But that is eclipsed by another problem – Jean-Claude is holding a grand meet up of Master Vampires to watch the ballet. Masters of the City are gathering in the city, including several of Jean-Claude’s old friends. So many Masters together is bound to be a source of drama – each with their own hidden ulterior motives to navigate. And Anita’s powers – her Beasts, the Ardeur – are eternally unpredictable leading to a whole new level of problems
This book has a pattern. Woo-woo happens: Anita’s the beasts rise, the ardeur does it’s show more ardeury thing, Belle Morte drops in to cause trouble because she really really needs a hobby, the Mother of all Darkness looms into vision and is all spooky but doesn’t really do anything. They deal with the woo-woo, this usually involves sex or pseudo-sex or almost sex (of course it does) and then they talk about it. For hours and hours and hours. For once this isn’t the book where sex completely overwhelms everything else – this is the book where TALKING about sex completely overwhelms everything else. Sex, their powers, their angst, their issues it’s vast chunks of people sat around talking about woo-woo and Anita’s vagina. All made even more painfully long winded by people having not a braincell between them so having to have everything explained to them AGONISINGLY SLOWLY!
Augustine’s issues: woo-woo, sexy times then absolute chapters of post-match analysis with him completely not understanding, well, anything – we have pages battling his issues, his emotions and the problems of his woo-woo. We have chapters of it. Samuel’s family drama – woo-woo, sexy times, then more pages of post-match analysis. Then we have Richard’s issues for more endless discussion. Then Anita and Asher have a woo-woo/sexy/angsty discussion moment. Over and over again, the pattern repeats itself – all interspaced with the endlessly returning woo-woo drama: the super-ardeur means Anita’s vagina will eat all of the guests – let us talk about this for chapters on end!
We actually have a pregnancy scare in this book. And it’s a background plot point – I kid you not, it is driven into the background by the endless woo-woo/sexy/discussion scenes in this book.
Normally when I review a book I mention what happened in the book and how it relates to the story to date. With the Anita Blake series, I have actually read all the books and am now coming back to them which gives me the unique opportunity to also mention how what happened relates to the future. I wouldn’t usually do that because of spoilers and because it’s not really relevant most of the time – but in this case there’s a strong exception.
Because things happen in Danse Macabre, great big important things that are then completely and utterly irrelevant, never to be spoken of again, never to matter again. Big revelations and progress in what should be the meta plot happen but they have no impact on the rest of the story
Read More show less
When this series started I liked Anita, now I just want to slap her. The story of about 24 hours in the life of Anita Blake.
It starts with her angsting about maybe being pregnant where Ronnie (possibly annoyed that the only time Anita bothers to talk to her is when she needs a female yes-man) tells her to get off her ass, get a pregnancy test kit and find out if the angst is for real.
Ronnie apparently is now unsympathetic, but then again Anita seems to have no space for females, only men, and that's men willing to feed her ardeur. Any man who wonders about sharing isn't worthy of staying in her life, and that's only sharing with her, anyone who wants to have another relationship with men or women isn't acceptable either.
And that's show more basically what the story is about, Anita auditioning more boys for her harem. There's a small whisper of other plot lurking but it's swamped by the tedious sex. I'm not a prude, but the tab b in slot a sex thats strung together with a lot of angst and a smidgin of plot is just enough to make me very glad I borrowed this one rather than buying it. show less
It starts with her angsting about maybe being pregnant where Ronnie (possibly annoyed that the only time Anita bothers to talk to her is when she needs a female yes-man) tells her to get off her ass, get a pregnancy test kit and find out if the angst is for real.
Ronnie apparently is now unsympathetic, but then again Anita seems to have no space for females, only men, and that's men willing to feed her ardeur. Any man who wonders about sharing isn't worthy of staying in her life, and that's only sharing with her, anyone who wants to have another relationship with men or women isn't acceptable either.
And that's show more basically what the story is about, Anita auditioning more boys for her harem. There's a small whisper of other plot lurking but it's swamped by the tedious sex. I'm not a prude, but the tab b in slot a sex thats strung together with a lot of angst and a smidgin of plot is just enough to make me very glad I borrowed this one rather than buying it. show less
As much as the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series has transformed over the years, I've been there enjoying it since the very beginning. This one book won't change that, and I look forward to the next...but this is my least favorite in the installment so far.
I think it took me so long to read this one because, even from the blurb describing the plot, this one feels different. The blurb itself makes it sound as if this particular book is more family drama (well, family drama of the sort Anita Blake deals with) versus the sort of story that normally involves some sort of dangerous or suspenseful plot turn. And...that's what it is. This is a 517-page paperback, and for the first 350-400 pages, it felt a bit more like court intrigue and show more family drama than anything else. To the extent that suspense or danger was involved, we were in the metaphysical realm talking about powers vs a foe or any sort of mystery (discounting, again, the metaphysical). All of this material usually runs in the background, and occasionally takes centerstage, in the series, but I don't remember it ever being so much the focus for so many pages on end, to where it just became a bit repetitive, and not what I come to the series for.
The last hundred pages of the book were more what I expect, and I sped through them, taking them as a reminder of why I love this series so much. But, short of enjoying Hamilton's writing and the characters I've come to know and love, the book just wasn't as enjoyable as the others because the first 400 pages were so bogged down in more familial drama and politicking than anything else.
Longtime readers of the series will want to read this one for the writing, character development, and what I suspect is a sort of interlude preparing the way forward in terms of the various characters' powers changing, but it's certainly not the highlight of the series, and more of a very long bridge book if my suspicions are right. show less
I think it took me so long to read this one because, even from the blurb describing the plot, this one feels different. The blurb itself makes it sound as if this particular book is more family drama (well, family drama of the sort Anita Blake deals with) versus the sort of story that normally involves some sort of dangerous or suspenseful plot turn. And...that's what it is. This is a 517-page paperback, and for the first 350-400 pages, it felt a bit more like court intrigue and show more family drama than anything else. To the extent that suspense or danger was involved, we were in the metaphysical realm talking about powers vs a foe or any sort of mystery (discounting, again, the metaphysical). All of this material usually runs in the background, and occasionally takes centerstage, in the series, but I don't remember it ever being so much the focus for so many pages on end, to where it just became a bit repetitive, and not what I come to the series for.
The last hundred pages of the book were more what I expect, and I sped through them, taking them as a reminder of why I love this series so much. But, short of enjoying Hamilton's writing and the characters I've come to know and love, the book just wasn't as enjoyable as the others because the first 400 pages were so bogged down in more familial drama and politicking than anything else.
Longtime readers of the series will want to read this one for the writing, character development, and what I suspect is a sort of interlude preparing the way forward in terms of the various characters' powers changing, but it's certainly not the highlight of the series, and more of a very long bridge book if my suspicions are right. show less
I have been a fan since the old days. I loved the books up to Burnt Offerings (BO). Since that book the stories, characters and writing have gone down hill. This book is somewhat better than the books after BO, but not back to the old form and still has serious problems.
I loved the old books, ones where there is a plot, and Anita actually has a life and job. I also preferred the old character of Anita. She was tough, and difficult, whiny and in denial, but she was also fun, and caring, and not so self-centered and self-absorbed. The older books had almost no sex, whereas the recent ones are just badly written mechanical sex.
I was not expecting much from this book since the last one was so bad, and the reviews for DM were terrible. In show more fact I felt I had finally reached the end of my Anita addiction.
When I finally read it last weekend, I actually sort of loved it. Its not the Anita of old, and it does have problems but it is so much better than the previous 2-3 books.
I have not really liked them since Blue Moon, and feel LKH did things in that book that replaced the real main characters with POD people. Because of the Podding they stopped talking to her, and she has been doing Anita as 'Merry with a Gun' to fill in. Now it seems that some of the real characters are coming back. Of course they have to carry on with the dreck that has built up since they have been AWOL.
What I liked:
There was less pointless sex overall. The sex scenes that were there, were not so mechanical and soul-less. The whole 'tight, wet, thrusting' theme is just tiring when you read it 20 times a book.
There were fewer new characters added than has been the case in the last books.
Some of the older characters got more stage time, and more development: Asher in particular. JC wasn't filed away from the action when the sun came up. Richard had some development rather than just angry lines. I like Claudia and her development. We also spent some time with Micah (still hate him) and Nathaniel (still hate him, but he is becoming an actual person). We didn't waste a lot of time with Damian (hate him too), the Were Dr. Lillian was there again.
Some of the new/newer characters got development: Remus, Requiem, London, Auggie, Meng Die, Samuel, Sampson, Thea
There was something of a plot, and a continuous thread moving through the book, though it was very light and not something that you can say afterwards that it made a great impression. But it did follow from A to Z while you were reading it.
LKH tried to make a story to cover the developments in the book: why Micah and Nathaniel have become so close to Anita so fast. Why everyone (men) seems drawn to her. Why she gets so many new powers, and why she has so many types of Lycanthropy (with hints of more to come). I actually liked using OB's stuff at the end. None of those development were good things, but now at least there is a part of the story to cover it. And I think this may be the first book in a while that AB hasn't gained a new power.
I actually enjoy a lot of dialog, and characters talking about thoughts and feelings, so I really enjoyed that.
I loved that JC finally got a man, and Anita was there for it, and it turned her on.
I liked the Richard developments and the implication that Joseph and the Lions are the self-destructive and dysfunctional result of trying to live as humans and not Weres (what Richard wants to do). I think it will be used in the future to show Richard the fatal folly of trying to be human. He actually seems to be learning and understanding in small bits.
There was also an attempt at humor, and while it wasn't the same as the old books, it was at least an attempt.
What I didn't like:
The whole start of the book, with Ronnie being trashed and turned into a jealous, shrewish, crazy, slut. It also exposed how hard, cold, nasty and selfish Anita has become. I hate that it now happens to any character who doesn't agree/worship Anita, especially the other women characters.
I can't say how loudly it comes across that LKH hates women and obviously herself in what she writes in the books. The whole concept of Anita as Prince Charming is just sad and sick.
The pregnancy scare was very contrived. LKH used it as a way to say some things, but it was too drawn out and too melodramatic.
The anemic plot. First we had Pregnancy Scare, Shopping for a Pomme de Sangre, then it became lets Test Anita around Masters (some from Belles's line, some not, some who had been with the ardeur, some not), then it was Make a Deal with Auggie, then it was Power Plays with Auggie, then the Ballet, and their Bad Behavior.
But the ballet part didn't start until the end, and it was over very quickly and easily, and it never made any sense as to what they hoped to gain (given the vampires rules about territories and allowable behaviors and all).
The whole thread about Mers got pushed into some future book, the Ballet got almost no stage time.
I didn't like a lot of stage time for Micah, Nathaniel, Damien - just kill them all. I hate the 2nd Tri.
I didn't like so many characters, and too much time for the new/newish ones. I can't keep track of them (who they are, where they came from, what they are, and what their motivations/issues are), and while some got development, I would rather we had older characters.
The ending was a fizzle.
Still with all the problems I read the book in about a day and a half, and it is probably one of the few recent ones (since Blue Moon) that I might actually read again.
Now of course I am wavering about The Harlequin. I really didn't want to buy it in HC, and now I am not sure if I can wait for the PB. I am not happy with LKh’s whole Negative Fan rant, as well as the path the series has taken and feel that I don't want to financially support LKH, so I am trying not to buy the HC. But who knows if I can wait. show less
I loved the old books, ones where there is a plot, and Anita actually has a life and job. I also preferred the old character of Anita. She was tough, and difficult, whiny and in denial, but she was also fun, and caring, and not so self-centered and self-absorbed. The older books had almost no sex, whereas the recent ones are just badly written mechanical sex.
I was not expecting much from this book since the last one was so bad, and the reviews for DM were terrible. In show more fact I felt I had finally reached the end of my Anita addiction.
When I finally read it last weekend, I actually sort of loved it. Its not the Anita of old, and it does have problems but it is so much better than the previous 2-3 books.
I have not really liked them since Blue Moon, and feel LKH did things in that book that replaced the real main characters with POD people. Because of the Podding they stopped talking to her, and she has been doing Anita as 'Merry with a Gun' to fill in. Now it seems that some of the real characters are coming back. Of course they have to carry on with the dreck that has built up since they have been AWOL.
What I liked:
There was less pointless sex overall. The sex scenes that were there, were not so mechanical and soul-less. The whole 'tight, wet, thrusting' theme is just tiring when you read it 20 times a book.
There were fewer new characters added than has been the case in the last books.
Some of the older characters got more stage time, and more development: Asher in particular. JC wasn't filed away from the action when the sun came up. Richard had some development rather than just angry lines. I like Claudia and her development. We also spent some time with Micah (still hate him) and Nathaniel (still hate him, but he is becoming an actual person). We didn't waste a lot of time with Damian (hate him too), the Were Dr. Lillian was there again.
Some of the new/newer characters got development: Remus, Requiem, London, Auggie, Meng Die, Samuel, Sampson, Thea
There was something of a plot, and a continuous thread moving through the book, though it was very light and not something that you can say afterwards that it made a great impression. But it did follow from A to Z while you were reading it.
LKH tried to make a story to cover the developments in the book: why Micah and Nathaniel have become so close to Anita so fast. Why everyone (men) seems drawn to her. Why she gets so many new powers, and why she has so many types of Lycanthropy (with hints of more to come). I actually liked using OB's stuff at the end. None of those development were good things, but now at least there is a part of the story to cover it. And I think this may be the first book in a while that AB hasn't gained a new power.
I actually enjoy a lot of dialog, and characters talking about thoughts and feelings, so I really enjoyed that.
I loved that JC finally got a man, and Anita was there for it, and it turned her on.
I liked the Richard developments and the implication that Joseph and the Lions are the self-destructive and dysfunctional result of trying to live as humans and not Weres (what Richard wants to do). I think it will be used in the future to show Richard the fatal folly of trying to be human. He actually seems to be learning and understanding in small bits.
There was also an attempt at humor, and while it wasn't the same as the old books, it was at least an attempt.
What I didn't like:
The whole start of the book, with Ronnie being trashed and turned into a jealous, shrewish, crazy, slut. It also exposed how hard, cold, nasty and selfish Anita has become. I hate that it now happens to any character who doesn't agree/worship Anita, especially the other women characters.
I can't say how loudly it comes across that LKH hates women and obviously herself in what she writes in the books. The whole concept of Anita as Prince Charming is just sad and sick.
The pregnancy scare was very contrived. LKH used it as a way to say some things, but it was too drawn out and too melodramatic.
The anemic plot. First we had Pregnancy Scare, Shopping for a Pomme de Sangre, then it became lets Test Anita around Masters (some from Belles's line, some not, some who had been with the ardeur, some not), then it was Make a Deal with Auggie, then it was Power Plays with Auggie, then the Ballet, and their Bad Behavior.
But the ballet part didn't start until the end, and it was over very quickly and easily, and it never made any sense as to what they hoped to gain (given the vampires rules about territories and allowable behaviors and all).
The whole thread about Mers got pushed into some future book, the Ballet got almost no stage time.
I didn't like a lot of stage time for Micah, Nathaniel, Damien - just kill them all. I hate the 2nd Tri.
I didn't like so many characters, and too much time for the new/newish ones. I can't keep track of them (who they are, where they came from, what they are, and what their motivations/issues are), and while some got development, I would rather we had older characters.
The ending was a fizzle.
Still with all the problems I read the book in about a day and a half, and it is probably one of the few recent ones (since Blue Moon) that I might actually read again.
Now of course I am wavering about The Harlequin. I really didn't want to buy it in HC, and now I am not sure if I can wait for the PB. I am not happy with LKh’s whole Negative Fan rant, as well as the path the series has taken and feel that I don't want to financially support LKH, so I am trying not to buy the HC. But who knows if I can wait. show less
I have given up on the idea that the Anita Blake books will get any better or any different. How many times will Hamilton continue to write the same story over-and-over? How many times will she copy and paste entire paragraphs multiple times within one book?
Her creativity on the first few books of the series has not carried over. Instead, she's become so predictable that you know within a few minutes who Anita will be killing at the end and who she will be having sex with throughout the novel. If a character is male, she will do him. It doesn't matter if he's into girls or not. For some strange reason, everyone just has to have sex with Anita. These stories are basically adult Mary Sue stories.
And the sex scenes within the books, which show more are more common than any other kind of scenes, are even predictable. It is so predictable and repetitive that it is boring beyond belief. I had to stop and start this book so many times because it was just not good. I wish that Ms. Hamilton would at least start trying to write a decent novel. Half the time I'm reading these books, I'm hoping that the big bad monsters will just kill the main characters because that would make them more interesting. show less
Her creativity on the first few books of the series has not carried over. Instead, she's become so predictable that you know within a few minutes who Anita will be killing at the end and who she will be having sex with throughout the novel. If a character is male, she will do him. It doesn't matter if he's into girls or not. For some strange reason, everyone just has to have sex with Anita. These stories are basically adult Mary Sue stories.
And the sex scenes within the books, which show more are more common than any other kind of scenes, are even predictable. It is so predictable and repetitive that it is boring beyond belief. I had to stop and start this book so many times because it was just not good. I wish that Ms. Hamilton would at least start trying to write a decent novel. Half the time I'm reading these books, I'm hoping that the big bad monsters will just kill the main characters because that would make them more interesting. show less
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Author Information
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Laurell K. Hamilton was born in Heber Springs, Arkansas on February 19, 1963. She received degrees in English and biology from Marion College, which is now Indiana Wesleyan University. She writes the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series and the Meredith Gentry series. (Bowker Author Biography)
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Awards and Honors
Awards
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Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Bastei Lübbe Taschenbuch (15466)
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Is contained in
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Danse Macabre
- Original title
- Danse Macabre
- Original publication date
- 2006-06-27
- People/Characters
- Anita Blake; Richard Zeeman; Jean-Claude; Jason Schuyler; Micah Callahan; Nathaniel Graison (show all 65); Asher; Damian; Veronica "Ronnie" Sims; Requiem; Marmée Noir "The Mother of All Darkness"; Belle Morte; Zerbrowski; Haven; Augustine "Auggie"; Meng-Die; Clay; Graham; Octavius; Samuel; Lisandro; Claudia; Pierce; Meng Die; Fredo; Bunny; Benny; Sampson; Leucothea "Thea"; Thomas; Cristos; Julianna; Elinore; Joseph; Chimera; Remus; Socrates; Brontes; Bobby Lee; Mickey; Ixion; Narcissus; Valentina; Bartolome; Ligeia; Wellsley; Wicked; Truth; London "The Dark Knight"; Willie McCoy; The Traveler; Cisco; Marianne; Nazareth; Nikolaos; Pepito; Noel; Travis; Dr. North; Adonis; Merlin; Obsidian Butterfly / Itzpapalotl; Elisabetta; Byron (vampire); Perdita "Perdy"
- Important places
- Missouri, USA; St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Dedication
- To Jonathon, who comforts me while I weep; who holds me close while I scream; who understands why I rage. Because he knows how to weep, understands that pleasure can come from a scream, and has his own rage to battle. They sa... (show all)y opposites attract, but not for me.
- First words
- It was the middle of November.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)White never really was my color.
- Original language
- English
- Disambiguation notice
- ISBN 1841494755 is actually for The Harlequin by Laurell K. Hamilton.
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- ISBNs
- 34
- ASINs
- 10