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the_novel_approach's review against another edition
5.0
Among the many notes and gasps and exclamations I made while I was reading the latest installment in the SPECTR series, one of the thoughts that kept tripping through my head was, how does Jordan L. Hawk keep coming up with the ideas for her stories? I mean, a demon that dances its victims to death? If you don’t understand how macabre and gruesome a concept that truly is, you need to read Dancer of Death. It’ll make a believer out of you from Chapter One.
Because I’ve already opined in myriad ways about how much I love John and Grayleb since book one of the first SPECTR series, I want to start by talking up two of the newer characters, agents Zahira Noorzai and Karl Rand. First of all, the diversity they both bring to the series is nothing short of awesome, but their acceptance of Caleb and Gray as a valued member of the team rather than the monster so many of their fellow agents believe they are just makes me love them that much more. I adore Zahira as a partner to John and Grayleb but have a mad amount of respect for her as an individual too, and I love that both she and Karl are breaking down stereotypes just by being true to themselves. In fact, I hope we get to know Karl a lot better as the series continues.
One of the points Dancer of Death also reinforces is the literal gray area of Gray’s own gender. We think of Gray as “he” because John and Caleb use the male pronoun, so it’s easy to forget that Gray’s sexuality is ambiguous or, really, just plain neutral. What I love about this little reminder is that, while Gray is fond of Caleb, Gray is entirely John-sexual. For that reason alone, parts of this story were made more powerful when Gray was feeling threatened and, therefore, protective of John, and it was such a beautiful reminder of how in touch with his “humanity” (don’t tell him I said that) Gray is becoming. It really served to remind me of what a romantic sort of love it is that Gray feels for John, pure and uninhibited by labels or bias or preconceived notions. And lest you need a reminder of how magnificent Gray is, that comes in the form of a scene from Fort Sumter that draws a gorgeous mental picture of our drakul’s other-worldliness (my pithy ::snort:: observation in my notes/highlights on that one was “So Badass”). Looking back on that scene as I was reading it, I have to say that I don’t think I really got the full scope of Gray’s magnitude, not to mention his magnificence, because I was so caught up in the drama and suspense. Believe me, after reading Dancer of Death, I get it now.
John, Grayleb and Zahira are the outliers of SPECTR, facing hate and discrimination from the very team that’s supposed to have their backs, and they do it while getting the job done. The fact that some of the worst villains in this second series are of the human variety and are, for all intents and purposes, the good guys, is a great juxtaposition. But it’s still the supernatural baddies that steal the show, and the level of imagination that went into Dancer of Death? The how of the immense creativity will always be a mystery to me—it’s nothing short of awesome. The action and suspense and tension is meted out in the perfect dose, along with the romance and the question of what else is waiting out there for these agents…
Whatever awaits, I’m sure it’ll be ghoulish and grizzly and impressive, not to mention memorable. The Underlord of the Dance in Dancer of Death isn’t a demon I’ll forget any time soon.
Reviewed by Lisa for The Novel Approach
http://www.thenovelapproachreviews.com/release-day-review-dancer-of-death-by-jordan-l-hawk/
Because I’ve already opined in myriad ways about how much I love John and Grayleb since book one of the first SPECTR series, I want to start by talking up two of the newer characters, agents Zahira Noorzai and Karl Rand. First of all, the diversity they both bring to the series is nothing short of awesome, but their acceptance of Caleb and Gray as a valued member of the team rather than the monster so many of their fellow agents believe they are just makes me love them that much more. I adore Zahira as a partner to John and Grayleb but have a mad amount of respect for her as an individual too, and I love that both she and Karl are breaking down stereotypes just by being true to themselves. In fact, I hope we get to know Karl a lot better as the series continues.
One of the points Dancer of Death also reinforces is the literal gray area of Gray’s own gender. We think of Gray as “he” because John and Caleb use the male pronoun, so it’s easy to forget that Gray’s sexuality is ambiguous or, really, just plain neutral. What I love about this little reminder is that, while Gray is fond of Caleb, Gray is entirely John-sexual. For that reason alone, parts of this story were made more powerful when Gray was feeling threatened and, therefore, protective of John, and it was such a beautiful reminder of how in touch with his “humanity” (don’t tell him I said that) Gray is becoming. It really served to remind me of what a romantic sort of love it is that Gray feels for John, pure and uninhibited by labels or bias or preconceived notions. And lest you need a reminder of how magnificent Gray is, that comes in the form of a scene from Fort Sumter that draws a gorgeous mental picture of our drakul’s other-worldliness (my pithy ::snort:: observation in my notes/highlights on that one was “So Badass”). Looking back on that scene as I was reading it, I have to say that I don’t think I really got the full scope of Gray’s magnitude, not to mention his magnificence, because I was so caught up in the drama and suspense. Believe me, after reading Dancer of Death, I get it now.
John, Grayleb and Zahira are the outliers of SPECTR, facing hate and discrimination from the very team that’s supposed to have their backs, and they do it while getting the job done. The fact that some of the worst villains in this second series are of the human variety and are, for all intents and purposes, the good guys, is a great juxtaposition. But it’s still the supernatural baddies that steal the show, and the level of imagination that went into Dancer of Death? The how of the immense creativity will always be a mystery to me—it’s nothing short of awesome. The action and suspense and tension is meted out in the perfect dose, along with the romance and the question of what else is waiting out there for these agents…
Whatever awaits, I’m sure it’ll be ghoulish and grizzly and impressive, not to mention memorable. The Underlord of the Dance in Dancer of Death isn’t a demon I’ll forget any time soon.
Reviewed by Lisa for The Novel Approach
http://www.thenovelapproachreviews.com/release-day-review-dancer-of-death-by-jordan-l-hawk/
booksladycma's review against another edition
4.0
This is a great series! I really like how Zahira fits with Gray, Caleb, and John, and how she keeps being stronger, braver, and smarter than they tend to expect. The new Captain makes my teeth grind (Grrr).
claudia_is_reading's review against another edition
5.0
OMG! The vila was a scary monster, but the woman who summon it... *shudders*
This is yet another fantastic book in this series. John and Caleb are on desk duty, Grey is annoyed and Zahira is exactly what they need at this moment: a friend. And I wish we'll get to see more of Karl.
I enjoy how the major arc keeps advancing without giving us too much, and how the characters keep growing and changing in a realistic way.
The narration by Brad Langer keeps being awesome :)
God! I love this series! *runs to keep listening*
This is yet another fantastic book in this series. John and Caleb are on desk duty, Grey is annoyed and Zahira is exactly what they need at this moment: a friend. And I wish we'll get to see more of Karl.
I enjoy how the major arc keeps advancing without giving us too much, and how the characters keep growing and changing in a realistic way.
The narration by Brad Langer keeps being awesome :)
God! I love this series! *runs to keep listening*
astudyinfic's review against another edition
5.0
Zahira continues to delight. Barillo needs to die a painful death and things are getting tense of our trio of heroes. A demon is hunting ballerinas and they have to solve the case and maybe then their lives will return to normal, whatever that is.
2020 review: Caleb and Gray are still struggling with finding their place at SPECTR. And with a demon literally dancing people to death and their boss breathing down their neck, neither are very happy. But they make a new friend, so yay?
2020 review: Caleb and Gray are still struggling with finding their place at SPECTR. And with a demon literally dancing people to death and their boss breathing down their neck, neither are very happy. But they make a new friend, so yay?
krystolla's review against another edition
4.0
Dance until Dawn (or be prepared to read that long)
Excellent story. I love the retelling of the dance-to-death myth. I haven't seen Gisselle but I remember some fairy tales that use the same idea -- Fae (or demons) can dance forever, mortals not so much.
I'm also loving the evolution of Grey and Caleb as they adapt to each other. Grey retains the hunters mindset that makes him both alien and powerful. Caleb is losing track of some of the 'mortal nonsense' that restricts members of a society. What happens when a tiger decides to care for a human?
My only complaint is the lead in to the next book built into this story. Not quite a cliffhanger but the next in the series is still too far away.
Excellent story. I love the retelling of the dance-to-death myth. I haven't seen Gisselle but I remember some fairy tales that use the same idea -- Fae (or demons) can dance forever, mortals not so much.
I'm also loving the evolution of Grey and Caleb as they adapt to each other. Grey retains the hunters mindset that makes him both alien and powerful. Caleb is losing track of some of the 'mortal nonsense' that restricts members of a society. What happens when a tiger decides to care for a human?
My only complaint is the lead in to the next book built into this story. Not quite a cliffhanger but the next in the series is still too far away.
kjcharles's review against another edition
My 'Oh God where is the next book' shelf on Goodreads basically belongs to Jordan L Hawk.
A terrific standalone with a spectacularly gory premise that I can only high five for its visceral yuck, great developments in the Caleb/John/Gray partnership as well as strengthening the supporting characters (in, let it be noted, a realistically diverse world), and a tight sinister WTF series arc building steadily. If you haven't read this series I can only recommend bulk buying the lot, unplugging your phone, and making sure you have drinks and snacks to hand so you don't have to get up.
Which is to say, I liked it. :)
A terrific standalone with a spectacularly gory premise that I can only high five for its visceral yuck, great developments in the Caleb/John/Gray partnership as well as strengthening the supporting characters (in, let it be noted, a realistically diverse world), and a tight sinister WTF series arc building steadily. If you haven't read this series I can only recommend bulk buying the lot, unplugging your phone, and making sure you have drinks and snacks to hand so you don't have to get up.
Which is to say, I liked it. :)
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