Laurell K. Hamilton's "Danse Macabre": A Chilling Tale of the Supernatural

Leonie Mulcahy: What a great read, and fantastic addition to the series. It continues the Mother of all Darkness theme without making it the main theme of the book. Love this

Australia on Jun 05, 2023

7495alice: This is a re-buy and reread of the series. Time has made me intolerant of the same conversation three Different ways. Apart from that I enjoyed it.
Despite her leaps in emotion development, having Anita continuing the I'm not pretty story using the same language is trying. I understand her POV, however I want to explain it in grown up terms with acceptance it isn't everyone else view., book after book.

Australia on May 22, 2020

Client d'Amazon: A

Canada on Apr 04, 2020

hélène: Livre aussi intéressant que tout les autres de la série. J'adore cette écrivaine, et j'adore sa série.
Je la suis depuis le début et continuerais jusqu'à la fin.

France on May 13, 2016

Rillaith: I rarely write Amazon reviews, because book reviews have never been my strong point, as they always seem to contain the same things.

Despite the overwhelming majority of reviewers so far having rated this book as 1 or 2 stars, I found myself riveted. The series had indeed been getting samey and the lustre had dulled over recent books, but I found this one picked it back up to previous levels. There was more character development and over-arching plot development, which had been given short shrift in the more recent books; this is *not* a standalone, and will not work as such.

Yes, the vampire executioner side of Anita, her work as an animator and federal marshall - these were all missing still, put aside so the author could explore her relationships, her tangled love life, and help Anita to start to come to terms to the emotional mess that she is living in, and to come to understand it. This book is for all those who have complained that the "fluff" - all her men, all her preternatural connections, all her many, varied and new powers - were getting in the way of a good story. It's a necessary step in the progression of an ongoing story, and the...

United Kingdom on Nov 21, 2006

K. Sozaeva: After reading so many negative reviews, I was almost afraid to read this book (of course I had to get it - no question about that, but I was almost afraid to go ahead and read it). To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement, really. I expected the book to be pretty much front to back sex, but it isn't. True, Anita is still having some trouble with the ardeur, but the book is also about her coming to terms with herself and her interactions with the men in her life, and the compromises she has to make.

I did put it at 4 stars rather than 5, however, because I, like many other readers, miss the first few books where Anita had actual mysteries to solve outside of the mysteries of her own body - which, admittedly, is keeping her plenty busy at the moment. I'm not certain if Ms. Hamilton reads these reviews - I know that many authors read the reviews of their books (at least to a point - I think if I were her, I may have given up at this point), but if you are reading this - I'm sure you have a direction you are going with this series, but please, give us back some more action with Anita other than the horizontal! I think many of us realize that...

United States on Sep 02, 2006

Bijoux Ice: I'm here to defend Laurell K. Hamilton's storytelling, so those of you who do not share my opinion may simply agree to disagree - your opinion makes no more difference to me than mine will to you. But I hope my comments will help those who have not yet formed an opinion or read this book by providing a different perspective.

The sexual elements in Danse Macabre, for the most part, serve a purpose. Granted, there were times like the scene in the limousine, for example, where the author could have simply told us that the ardeur had been fed then opened the next chapter back inside the theatre. But that's just my opinion and I am not the author here.

Real people either grow and change or they stagnate and die. One result of Anita developing relationships with the paranormal community is that she is learning to let go of the fear of intimacy she carried around after her failed college engagement. And more and more as we progress through Anita's story I see what is emerging from her powers and what kind of reactions that emergence is causing. The lycanthrope community is more cohesive than ever, Jean-Claude's power base is becoming more secure as...

United States on Jul 14, 2006

Bliss Om: In the last year I discovered the Anita Blake series and Laurell K. Hamilton. Fortunately, I read the series in its intended sequence so that I have watched Anita grow and progress as a character/person over time. What I've enjoyed the most about the series is that Anita is flawed, judgmental, opinionated, passionate, hyper-caring (to the point of having co-dependency issues, I think in many situations), funny, intelligent and young - esp. when we're 1st introduced to her; she's just in her early 20's. In sum, Laurell has created a very human character, one with whom I haven't always agreed with or liked - but I respect because she's tried to work through the events in her "life" as they've occurred, she's courageous and appears to learn along the way (even if at times begrudgingly or having to re-adjust to choices she's previously made); again all very human and real attributes. Indeed, it's these very qualities that kept me interested in reading her story because I never knew what to expect from her and I was interested in the world that Laurell was creating around her.

I should let you know, I am not a huge fan of Sci Fi or vampire tales in and of...

United States on Jul 05, 2006