In the past four or five years, Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake novels (“Narcissus in Chains,” “Incubus Dreams,” “Micah”) have been both cursed and blessed with excess. Cursed, because the number of lovers, number of complicated relationships, number of supporting characters and number of times someone has to put up with Anita being high-
maintenance, is threatening to tip the series over into a realm where even fans are confused about the complicated goings-on and tired of listening to the always hard-headed Anita complain or argue. Blessed, because the excess that threatens to send the series into a spiral has resulted in even more highly charged, well-written, no holds-barred erotica in the past six Anita Blake books.
And because anyone who has become hooked on them will admit that Hamilton’s deft way with a sex scene is at least half the attraction, they’ll be happy to know that her new novel, “Danse Macabre,” features more than its share of wild sexual escapades.
Those looking for mystery and mayhem on this Anita adventure are out of luck. This time, it’s all about vampire politics, sexual desire and the possibility of Anita being pregnant. And while having a baby may not seem all that perilous, the idea of raising a child while holding down a job as a federal marshal who hunts down rogue vampires and occasionally raises the dead (when properties are in dispute or deaths are a tad mysterious), the impending pregnancy doesn’t seem to bode well for domestic bliss. What’s more, Anita’s many lovers range from the decidedly toothsome (Jean-Claude, master vampire of St. Louis) to the hairy (Richard Green, a werewolf, as well as Micah and Nathaniel, two were-leopard lovers). So just what sort of baby Anita might have is in question, as well.
For longtime fans, the airy plot of “Danse Macabre” won’t break new ground: Anita is still dealing with the growing power of the “ardeur,” a magically powered sexual desire/attraction that demands more and more lovers, and with meeting and greeting vampire chieftains from across the United States who have been invited to St. Louis by Jean-Claude (a move that was heretofore prohibited – sort of like gang chiefs respecting each other’s turf).
There is the Chicago vamp master, Augustine, who radiates a bit of classic, 1930s gangster-era vibe, and the Cape Cod vampire master Samuel, who is married to a mermaid (his “animal to call” – each master has one). These two and many others are in town to parlay and enjoy the world-
famous Vampire Ballet. Some of the masters are friendly toward Jean-Claude while others see the invitation as a chance to gauge his powers and perhaps make use of Anita.
All of these powerful vamps and their “animals to call” – merpeople to were-leopards and lions – wandering about the city kicks Anita’s ardeur into overdrive. It becomes powerful enough to lure people to her, not just requiring her to go find them, in order to feed its desire (metaphysical and sexual). Furthermore, as Thea, Samuel’s mermaid wife, points out in the novel’s beginning, there’s a good chance that Anita may be turning into a succubus.
There is no need to elaborate further on the plot, as there truly isn’t much more. Although there has always been more going on underneath the surface of Hamilton’s novels – her many shape-shifting characters and the prejudices against them serve as a mirror of the intolerance (sexual, racial, religious) that saturates our world – the main attraction of the Anita Blake novels in the past five years has been their erotic novelty. Few, if any, mainstream novels delve so deeply into pure, unadulterated erotica. That Hamilton – using the fictional device of Anita’s ardeur – has done so is nothing short of jaw-dropping given the conservative climate of our times.
Anita and her animalistic lovers indulge in everything from light bondage and S&M to all varieties of the ménage a trois. It’s no wonder that Hamilton’s novels have grown in popularity: Her characters not only act out many of the wild fantasies most sexually active adults have had at one time or another, they go several steps further. As with all but forgotten erotica classics like “The Oyster,” Hamilton’s novels allow the less adventurous to live vicariously through Anita and her lovers.
While it will be interesting to see how long Hamilton can sustain a large audience while avoiding the sort of solid plots that were characteristic of her earlier novels (like “Guilty Pleasures,” “Bloody Bones,” “The Killing Dance”), it’s an almost sure bet that there will be plenty of readers ready to enjoy the “good parts” – sexual and otherwise – of each successive Anita Blake novel for years to come.
Dorman T. Shindler is a freelance writer from Missouri.
