Sabin and his human servant, Dominic, approach Anita with a problem. Sabin tried to go vegetarian for the love of his life, but now he's rotting. Can Anita help?Sure, no problem! Only...Anita promptly drops that thread, and it's only a sheer coincidence (though a rather clever one, I'll admit) that it ever comes back into the story.Anita is dating both Jean-Claude and Richard--supposedly because "She was forced to date Jean-Claude", but honestly, we all know she actually wanted to, because she's been lusting after Jean-Claude's "lovely face" and abs since the beginning. Only Richard doesn't want sex until he's changed into his wolf form in front of her.Sure, no problem! Only...Anita is being killed, so we have more important things to deal with, such as being not dead. After an attempt on her life at her apartment, Anita goes to stay with Richard. Oh, and she has to leave to go on a very public date with Jean-Claude, because if she stayed in safety with Richard, she'd be worrying about him, and with Jean-Claude amidst a billion people--oh, f@#$, it makes no sense, just ride with it. Oh, and Anita wears a super short black dress that barely conceals her butt. Why does she wear sleazy clothes with Jean-Claude and not with Richard? Because she believes wearing slutty clothes with Richard will lead to sex. Riiiiiiight...And since Anita can never have a moment's rest, once she's on the date with Jean-Claude at Dance Macabre, Damien tries to seduce a woman against her will. Good thing Anita and her gun are there, because we know that NO WOMAN can ever stand up for herself without Anita around.Oh yeah, and Anita is almost killed again. So she has to kill someone, which means down to the station for an interrogation, which is interrupted by Dolph, who, yes, you guessed it, has a super disgusting crime scene for Anita to pour over. The dead body is Robert, one of Jean-Claude's vampires and Monica's (AKA Horrible Slut that Anita hates but still hangs around with) husband.From there, we have the truly interesting part: Anita, Richard, and Jean-Claude forming the Triumvirate. I don't remember WHY they decided to do that (I think it had to deal with the Richard-Marcus power struggle in the pack), but it was pretty damned cool. And that leads to zombies and vampires being raised, so several chapters are devoted to people arguing about how to deal with that.And so on, and so forth until we get to the final scene where there is a Big Fight, Anita kills a lot of people, and everything ties in a neat bow.Like with most Anita books, I have mixed feelings about this entry. There were parts I legitimately liked. The Triumvirate for one was pretty interesting. I also was interested to see how Anita would heal Sabin, and wanted to know how the werewolf power struggle would turn out.But as usual, the Anita books come with their own set of problems. Anita continues to be a jerk (such as begrudgingly going to her "friend" Catherine's party). She continues to spend more time talking about how "lovely" Jean-Claude is than giving us a reason why we should believe she is in love with him. And probably the worst is Anita's betrayal of Richard. I don't know how spoilerish I should get, but let's just say that I have no idea (other than author overwrite) how these two are going to stay together after what happens. Sure, it's not just Anita's fault, but she certainly didn't help matters.LKH continues to pile on heaps of plot until the original plot becomes buried, and then the end focuses on how to bring together the 30 plotlines that LKH has drug up. We never get a moment's peace in these books; it's always Anita running from one crisis to another. Anita doesn't do much investigating or work; the villains are just stupid and expose themselves at the end (and not necessarily THAT way). The first, and thus far, only, sex scene in this series was so boring, I kept tuning out the poor narrator.And the mountains of clothing descriptions! Ugh! Why does every male in these books wear painted on jeans? Don't they have problems with their, um, equipment? Why does Anita, who hates dressing up, get into so many stripperish costumes "against her will"?And for once, instead of addressing some weird building (I have no idea why LKH does that with the titles of the books), "The Killing Dance" actually refers to lyncanthropy.Though it seemed to last forever, this wasn't the worst of the Anita books I've read so far. I'm still no fan of the series, but there are some pretty interesting developments made in this book and I am definitely eager to see how it progresses. After a bit of a break. I think I need a bit longer of an Anita reprieve this time.
In The Killing Dance Anita Blake discovers someone has put out a serious hit on her life, she’s still torn between Richard the werewolf and Jean Claude the vampire and she’s drawn deeply into the tangled politics of the were-pack. There’s isn’t much in the way of police work, just a lot of pack power struggles, increased sensual tension and a visit from Edward. Ahhh, Edward’s here so I can deal with the lack of Anita working. She needs a bit of a break after Bloody Bones anyway. If Bloody Bones was Jean Claude’s book then the beginning of this one is Richard’s but that isn’t necessarily a good thing for those of us who were rooting for the werewolf. We get to know him better and he shows a lot of weakness and protests his nature far too much. Anita tries to toughen him up and he gives it a go only because he loves her but his heart doesn’t seem to be in it. Poor Richard, I wish he had stopped with all the protesting and given in completely to his baser nature sooner, if only to get on with things, because even I’ll admit that it made me like him less as a character in this book. Anita really has her mean on in this book. She is very unforgiving bordering on cruel on more than one occasion. I don’t remember her being quite so hard in the earlier novels and she’s totally lost her dark sense of humor. She still sleeps with her little stuffed penguin but she’s got a mean streak and she’s not afraid to let it show. I found myself sympathizing with her less and less as the book went on and near the end I started to actively dislike her. This book is where the series dips Anita’s petite little toe into the world of sex and power and her old life of animating and being an “almost” regular girl comes to a sad end. *sniff*This one should really get a 3 1/2. It's better than a 3 but it aggravated me too much to earn a full out 4. **I just found my original gushing review. Here it is in all its cringe worthy fangirliness written in 1997. Feel free to giggle at my expense:Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Extraordinare, is back with another spellbinding adventure that is full of unexpected twists and some eye opening and jaw dropping turns! This time Anita is once again up to her ears in bloody bodies but in addition to her usual corpse raising and vampire slaying she's also being hunted down by the best Assassin money can buy. She's got to figure out who has put such a high price on her head and why. As if this isn't enough to worry about Anita's love life is a major mess. She's torn between her growing attraction and affection for Jean Claude, the sexier than sin Master Vampire who tempts her with his every word, and her loyal and gorgeous werewolf boyfriend Richard who wants marriage and a normal life. Unfortunately, neither is willing to share her on a permanent basis. I can't say enough good things about this sexy and witty series of books. They've got great dialogue, fast paced plots, fascinating characters and _incredible_ sexual tension. Instead of petering out and getting stale like some series do these books just keep heating up! I really love the way Ms. Hamilton is slowly developing these characters and revealing new surprises with each book. The adventures, magic, gore, and creatures are a big attraction for me but the reason I eagerly turn the pages is to delve into these fascinating characters lives and watch the new developments in their ongoing menage.
What do You think about The Killing Dance (2006)?
Book 6 of the series finds Anita the target of a half million dollar hitman contract. She's dating two men, Richard and Jean-Claude, due to some wrangling on Jean-Claude's part, and far prefers taking on the hitmen than figuring out her relationships. She enlists the help of Edward, who is far more versed in the realm of hitmen than anyone in her world. Richard finds himself embroiled in an ever-heated battle with Marcus for power of the local pack. And Jean-Claude is doing his best to make Anita his.
—Jordan
Anita Blake, vampire hunter and animator. A fiercely loyal friend with survival instincts that would make your blood freeze and coil. There is so much rage in this woman, she makes the Hulk look like Stawberry Shortcake!I went for the hallway and the sound of screams.As always, the murder scenes in the Anita Blake series are impressive and stunningly delicious. I find myself anticipating certain aspects of these books. Am I looking forward to the lust triangle moments or the brains dripping from the cracked skull moments. I’m not sure what that says about me ... but both ideas send me shivering with yumminess.Question: Why was I more worried about losing Richard than about the assassins? Answer: Killing didn’t bother me; losing Richard did. I fell asleep holding my penguin and wondering if Richard and I were still dating. Who would keep him alive if I wasn’t around?Blake finally makes her choice between Boyfriend A and Boyfriend B. Hello? Ya baby! Total neener :) I'm not telling *sticks out tongue* For all of my lovelies out there, you'll just have to pant over and over until you've read this book. Worth it!There was no uncertainty in his face now. his eyes were still lovely, still human, but there was knowledge in them now, a growing darkness. Sex, for want of a better word, but that look in a man’s eyes is too primitive for vocabulary. It’s the darkness we all have inside of us, peeking out. That part of us that we trap in our dreams and deny in daylight hours. He stayed crouched in the water with that feral light in his eyes, and I went to him.Edward guarding her body, Richard accepting the monster within and Jean-Claude always manipulating behind the scenes at play; this book will twist your smile into something extraordinary! Politics between the vampires and werewolves. Necromancers bashing heads in hopes of uniting energy to heal a vampire that is deteriorating into disgusting gooyness. Sexual sadists, Raina and Gabriel are slinking their way back into the bedroom with their rape, blood and snuff films.I recommend this book to all adults in need of an eye-opening experience! The world is too twisted and strange to close your eyelids tightly and pretend that whatever horror that is to come will not touch of if we just make ourselves invisible. I do NOT recommend this book to children. There is extreme violence and strong, descriptive sexual scenes. Thank goodness Although this series of books are paranormal and completely fiction, I find that there is an opportunity to teach us, especially those with perfect fingernails and perfect hair and perfect matching purses. Life isn’t perfect. Life is completely screwed. I say live it to the fullest and if it takes a book like this to toss you into the possibilities of hello theres! .. then good for you!
—Tilly Slaton
''Onu mu sevsem , bunu mu sevsem , acaba bugün kimi sevsem ? '' Oooh! Hanımefendideki keyfe bakın yahu . Senin kafan mı güzel ablacığım ha ? Benim de böyle sorunlarım olsun istiyorum yahu ! Hem ne oldu hani sen Richard da Richard diyordun . Kurdu görünce kuyruğunu kıstırıp kaçtın ha ? ''Koş Richard , tut Richard , parçala Richard ! '' diye adama bekçi köpeği muamelesi yaparsan olacağı da budur işte . Korkup kaçsrsın öyle . Haaa , işte bir de Jean-Claude'u rakip sahadaki ezici galibiyetinden dolayı tebrik etmek isterim . Aferin aslanım , gurur duyuyorum seninle :D
—Contessina
