Helmed by Sabin, this triumvirate comes to St. Not his relationship with Anita or anything like that, but his evolution from the previous book and the way that he sits at the center of all of this intricate pack drama.įirst, let’s talk about that second triumvirate. One is the introduction of the vampire Sabin and the other two members of his triumvirate (Dominic Dumare, a necromancer, and Sabin’s wolf to call Cassandra) and the role they play in the main, non-shifter plot of the novel. There are two things I outright enjoyed about The Killing Dance.

There are interesting aspects to The Killing Dance, but as usual, they’re nearly lost thanks to all the weird and upsetting shit that happens and all of the absolutely pointless relationship drama. It should be just another beyond busy Anita Blake book, but this is one of the most memorable and disturbing novels in this early run of the series in part because Gabriel and Raina, two of the series’ most infamous abusers and rapists, are in their element here. In The Killing Dance, Anita is faced with complications in her triumvirate relationship with Richard and Jean Claude), a visiting vampire master in a similar situation to the trio, and some seriously gross shapeshifter pack dynamics that are coming back to bite Anita in the ass from previous books in the series. Like the majority of the novels in this long running series, this book is primarily set in and around St. Chosen because it doesn’t represent a single theme in the novel.įirst published in 1997, The Killing Dance is the sixth book in Laurell K Hamilton’s Anita Blake series. Content Warnings: This installment of my reread series contains relatively detailed references to snuff films, sexual assault and harassment (including brief references to these things happening to children), particularly in the “Just Plain Borked” section so please skip that if these are things that may trigger you or otherwise cause discomfort.

The killing dance anita blake