Blakes bedroom antics! (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Novel: Danse Macabre - Laurell K. Hamilton)

Member Name: blackviolets

Product:	Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Novel: Danse Macabre - Laurell K. Hamilton
Date:	22/08/09 (48 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good to read.

Disadvantages: getting a bit complex now, too many characters, maybe a bit too much sex and ardeur mentions

I am still very much attatched to my vampire stories at the moment, however I do fear that this will soon have to come to an end due to the lack of them about in the library I use. I'm someone who prefers to read the books before I go out and buy them! Anyhow despite being told by others that the Anita Blake series go downhill after book 6 I still went ahead with this as I was more than interested as to what she'd chosen to do since being attacked by an aztec priest.

The last time I met up with Anita Blake in book 9 of the series she was debating on whether to go back to the two men she loved, a master vampire and a werewolf, or to cut them out of her life altogether. Skipping, once again, over 4 of the books I've discovered now that she has 5 lovers and has a massive sexual appetite to contend with. Anybody would of thought I'd of picked up one of those Mills & Boons novels. Seriously, they're at it like that rabbits in this one.

All of this doesn't make things any easier for her when it appears that she could be pregnant. Not when the father could be a werewolf, two master vampires, wereleopard and then a viking vampire. Following something which happened sometime between books 10-13 her power has increased and she has now managed to have her own animal to call. Where they have to come to her when she wants them to, plus a vampire servant. Very rare, as humans are not supposed to be able to tell a vampire what to do.

However she is still a human servant to Jean Claude. The master vampire of St Louis where the novel is based. He is also contender to be the father of the possible baby, although it is unlikely, him being over 400 years old.

Unlike the other Anita Blake books I've read she doesn't really kill anything in this one. Spending most of the time in bed, more or less having sex in every chapter. Usually with others watching and in some cases with more than one person at a time. Now lets not go down the whole she's just a tart route. There is a reason behind all of this. Something to do with her having to feed off of others using her body for a start.

In her blood stream she carries the ardeur, which is basically a power which intensifies sexual passion with everything it touches. It needs to feed and if she doesn't sleep with enough people who can handle it, it voluntarily forces her to take a lover against hers or the other persons will.

So somehow she has to deal with the idea of being pregnant, trying to keep relations as friendly as possibly between Richard the werewolf and Jean Claude, the men she is really in love with more than anybody else, feeding her sexual needs and keeping other monsterous creatures from taking control of her body. All in one go!

There isn't much to this novel and it is the first instance where I can say I am a little bit disappointed. Her need to feed the ardeur is mentioned continually all the way through which does get a bit overbearing at times. It took me the best part of half of the book to work out what it actually was. Although this could be down to me missing out on some of the series.

Despite everything I'd much rather that there was some focus to it. It's all about keeping the men in her life happy, nothing really concerning how she really feels. Nothing to kill, not a mention of a stake through the heart or of backup needed.

Before I've always liked Jean Claude however in this novel he comes across as being too, for want of a better word, sane! As in, he never changes. There have to be othe aspects of somebodies personalities than a bit of outward charm and attractiveness. No matter the situation his actions are all a bit stilted. I'm not sure if that's what Hamilton wanted him to be like but the way she's written about him it's like he's not that important a character anymore.

I would suggest that you stayed well clear of this book if you have not read any of the other Anita Blake series. It confused the hell out of me and I've read 5 of them. Ok so that doesn't seem that many but if you haven't had a look at them before then you are likely to get confused with some of the characters and how they are linked to Blake.

This is an interesting read and not one that I found easy to put down, personally however I do think that it is nowhere as good as her earlier books. However as I said, this is the 14th so a lot of authors must struggle with new storylines after they've written that many.

You can get this for £8.80 from Amazon or £7.99 from Waterstones.

Worth a look, just not if you've never read a Blake book before.

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