Danse Macabre by Laurell K. Hamilton
Paperback, 576 Pages
2007, Jove
ISBN: 0515142816
Series: Book 14 of Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter
Synopsis
These days, Anita Blake is less interested in vampire politics than in an ancient, ordinary dread she shares with women down the ages: she may be pregnant. And, if she is, whether the father is a vampire, werewolf, or something else entirely, it's clear that being a Federal Marshal known for raising the dead and being a vampire executioner is no way to bring up a baby.
Review
Danse Macabre is another fantastic Anita Blake story that gets a little stuck under mountains and mountains of sex. Anita may be pregnant, multiple Masters of the City are in town and Anita's ardeur seems to be choosing men for her. All of these plot lines made for a very compelling read. Unfortunately, all of Anita's sex appears to be on-screen, so to speak, and after a while it will seem tedious and repetitive as opposed to titillating.
Anita's pregnancy scare reveals more about her internal makeup, which I always find interesting. It also serves to show the current temperaments of the men she is sleeping with. The men prove to react true to form while Anita seems to exhibit lots of fear that is slightly uncharacteristic of her and makes it all the more authentic feeling given the situation.
As I've said in previous reviews, I love when the council visits St. Louis. The additional characters and the power plays on Anita's home turf always makes for excitement. This time, no council, but a plethora of vampires and weres from other cities visiting for a celebration of ballet Jean-Claude is holding. I love the way Anita's (and those she is metaphysically tied to) powers grow and change when around these visitors.
Every time Anita starts to get a handle on the ardeur, something changes to make it all the more difficult to satisfy fully. In Danse Macabre, the ardeur seems to have taken to calling out to particular men, taking away much of Anita's ability to pick and choose who she feeds upon. While this brings up a lot of potential for showcasing new men, it also brings up Anita's inability to just accept how things are. She continues to claim she's accepted who she's become, then fights against every step forward. The internal struggle makes sense, but eventually it gets a little stale.
And speaking of stale, the sex in Danse Macabre eventually becomes just that. There is one M/M/F scene that treads into uncharted territory. This, of course, bristles Anita's clear homophobia. She has issues with it while at the same time chastising Richard (who wasn't even involved in the sex) for his homophobia. Scenes like this work well in the book, but others (such as back to back to back sex scenes used to only satisfy the arduer while not progressing the plot at all) are hard not to skim through. There is only so many times I can read about Anita licking yet another man's nipple in one book before I get bored.
Danse Macabre contains a very awesome story if the reader can make it through the many, many sex scenes in the book. I usually love the sensuality of the later Anita Blake books, but I wish more time had been spent focusing on Anita's growing abilities and less on the men's growing anatomy.
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