The Killing Dance

Rating:
Summary: yes finially they got together
Review: I loved the series from book one. of course who could help but fall in love with Jean-Claude. L.K Hamilton has once again written a fantastic book. however i do think that Hamilton should have given more attention to the relationship between JC and Anita, since the her choice of JC over Richard was a bit too sudden. but hey i am not one to complain about a good thing, since i have been waiting nervously for them to come back together. forget richard. JC is soooo much more, well more. i hope she would go into more detail about JC and anita's relationship after all it can't just all be sex. she does have high moral standards and she does love JC. you would have to if you are will to die with that person, when you could have lived. the "death" scene was extremely sweet. ahem. the action is wonderful. i have never seen such great portrayal of violent crimes. L. K . H is a master. People you just got to read it. =)

Rating:
Summary: Poor Richard!!!
Review: I enjoyed the first five books in the series soooo much! What happened?! I guess I liked this book, but it wasn't that good. What's with the choice of Jean-Claude over Richard?! I mean, I like Jean-Claude and was hella crushed in "Circus of the Damned" when it seemed like Anita was losing interest in him, but...I guess I just don't like the commitment that Anita made. Personally, I would have choosen Richard because he has more morals. Anita is supposed to be a hard as nails vampire slayer but she couldn't even face the fact that Richard is a werewolf. I mean, some of the things that Jean-Claude has done in this more than 200 years of "life" are just as bad. And over the years, he's gotten every single woman he's ever wanted. And that's alot. What's to say that Anita isn't just another one of his "lusts" despite what he says? I was majorly disappointed in this book. After waiting for a whole year! It really destroyed my interest. I hope that the next one, Burt Offerings, won't be a repeat of this...

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, but...
Review: All-in-all, an excellent book, well-written, snappy dialogue, well-rounded characters whose motivations make sense. This is the first book in the series that I've read, so I came to it with no preconceptions. A number of other reviewers seem to feel disappointed that so much time was spent on the relationships, but a book whose people aren't people is always a bore in the end. The relationships are what made the book work. I will admit to some disappointment at Anita's choice of Jean-Claude over Richard. For one thing, Jean-Claude has gotten every woman he ever wanted for over two hundred years, and he's obviously wanted plenty. He doesn't deserve this one. Richard is not a wimp because he prefers peace, light and harmony to bloodlust and murder. He loses Anita (if he's lost her) because he did exactly what she wanted him to do. He faced his enemy, killed him and then dealt with the consequences of that decision. Anita is the one who couldn't face those consequences. In this context, her choice of Jean-Claude was an act of cowardice. She wasn't running to Jean-Claude, she was running from herself. Nevertheless, a very good book. Considering what happened here, I'm not going to read the earlier ones, since I know how it all turns out, but I will certainly tune in for the next one.

Rating:
Summary: Ms. Hamilton at her best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: Anita was in rare form this time. I loved it!!!! She has drawn out each character to a point I can't help liking them (excepting Richard--he really got on my nerves). I love it every time Edward shows up; he always makes the novel so much more.....interesting. Get back to me if you have any input on these matters.

Rating:
Summary: A worthy read, but it could have been better.
Review: I'm just as devoted as ever after reading this book, but I honestly have to say that this was not the best of the series. Althrough considerably steamier than previous offerings, The Killing Dance did not deliver in full on what makes the Anita Blake such a stand out in the usually formulaic vampire genre. For one thing, the book seems much more disjointed than before. The fast pace progression seemed more or less driven by the romance angle of the story between Anita and Jean Claude, and has a few holes in the overall construct because of it. Although I won't give away the ending, I will make note that the climatic conclusion needs more imagination and explanation than the author gives. There is also a point where Hamilton flattens her usually well-rounded and interesting characters to make them conform to a sloppy ending. I'm most dissappointed in the character of Raina who doesn't have any precise logical progression from her past to her present as Hamilton chooses to essentially forget all the character developement she had done for her in previous books. A good book needs an excellent villian, and Hamilton creates the best, but this book did not have a really convincing villian due to the fact that everything other than the sex and passion existed only as a secondary character or a stage upon which the romantic angle of the story could be played. Anita Blake is a blend of fantasy, romance, adventure, action, and horror that really hits every genre smack in the nose, but this novel dwells too much on one element and forgets to pay notice to all the action packed extras that make these books some of the best reads ever. Of the books, I most compare this one to straight forward Gothic Romance. It's still worth picking up, in my opinion, especially if you have a night free, a glass of red wine, and lot of unreleased aggression, but I'm eager for the next book if only to see Hamilton rectify all the loose ends and unsupported explanations in this one.

Rating:
Summary: A good book but very confusing
Review: In this book anita finally makes her choice between the men in her life, fornatly it is Jean-Claude, and unfortunatly for Richard. But to start from the begining of the book I must disagree with some of the readers of this book who think that Mrs. Hamilton has lost her edge, and made Anita go soft. I think it is good that she is showing a more personal side to Anita, it makes you see her as not just this cold blooded psycho killer...but more a survier. I like the part were she stays with richard for a few days almost has sex with him but is interupted. But then is with J.C and finishes what she started with the other. I want to say one thing about the book that disturbs me...one is what is a Trumivarate or what ever what is need to make one work...how was she bound to it at first with out any marks. Also she need to go into detail more on how one get to be an alpha were-what ever. I mean just because you beat people, or animals, up and prove yourself a great fighter how does that give you more control, and greater aura. She need to explain more of what a necromancer is in six books I still don't have a clue as to what is so special about being one. She gives a little incite in this book when anita raises the Vampires..but she fell to explain what it is, or what is so special about it.But I do think that we have not seen the last of Richard, even though he doesn't want any thing to do with her. He is still bound to her..and I have a feeling she is going to have to call on him for help since she and he are the main part of the power with J.C only acting as a link in between. I also won't rule her and Richard out ether, because even though she loves J.C, she is in love with Richard. It is kinda like if you have a spouse, but somehow have an extramartial affair, with some one you might love to a degree, get caught and the spouse leaves you, and even though you care for the extra person you are truly in love with the spouse, and if the chance arouse you would take it to get back with them, i! f they will have you. So I think that Richard is going to do somehthing stupid that she is going to use against him to break down he barrier of loathing against her for sleeping with J.C that will allow her to get back with him. Mainly because I can't see her wanting to live for eternity as a human servant, but to have her shot at this world grow old and die, most likely with someone who will grow old with her. But all in all this book is very good it leaves a lot of room for subplots and lovelines to develop.

Rating:
Summary: Downsizing of Anita's moral values?
Review: Unfortunately, in The Killing Dance, the heroine Anita chooses to give in to her lust for a sexy, but deadly non-human. Probably a bad decision on her part, but a great complication for the storyline. The one thing that might help would be for her to reassess her position on the monsters. A point of interest is how a person may possess a faith in crosses (silver or not) and by implication an at least partial belief in the the God and the church (the catholic or universal body of believers Not Roman Catholic Denomination)whose symbol the cross is, and yet diobey the laws of that God as expressed by the Authority. (Tradition, Church doctrine, and Church history, et cetera.) This progression from moral judgement to corruption of that judgement is the most likely result of Anita's contact with monsters, and is well portrayed by Ms.Hamilton. Anita wonders if she is able to continue executing monsters, while sleeping with the "head bloodsucker." Highly valid, and good plot material. I look forward to the next book in a mostly great (10) series. Hopefully with more of Edward's sociopathic background.

Rating:
Summary: Anita always wins
Review: Like most of the Anita books, TKD was intricately plotted, subplotted, and just generally intricate. It is one of the main reasons I read LKH-the plotting. I *did* agree with Anita's choice, I have always felt that would be the answer to the little dilemma. I still would put LKH up against any other author in this genre as the best.

Rating:
Summary: This was not Ms. Hamilton's best.
Review: I have to admit, whenever I sit to read one of books about Anita Blake, I get really excited because I know it will be good, but this one wasn't. After five books of establishing Anita, Hamilton destroys her in the last half of this one. I hope that BURNT OFFERINGS brings back the real Anita Blake.

Rating:
Summary: The Killing Dance is the best of the Anita Blake series yet!
Review: Ever since reading "Guilty Pleasures", the first book in the Anita Blake-Vampire Hunter series, I have been an avid fan of Ms. Hamilton and her gutsy, sexy and fun heroine, Anita Blake. After reading the first book in the series, I immediately went out and bought the rest and read them all in one fell swoop! "The Killing Dance" is the best one yet. Ms. Hamilton's writing skills have kept pace with Anita's growing powers as both a Necromancer and the Scourge of the Forces of Evil. Jean-Claude is the sexiest vampire who never drew breath, and Ms. Hamilton's treatment of the love triangle between Anita, Jean-Claude, and Richard the werewolf becomes more erotic with each story. I can't wait for more adventures of Anita, Jean-Claude, Richard, Edward, Larry, and the Spook Squad. These books have it all; chills, thrills, romance, and lots of fun!