... Now, Anne brings us a new character, Merrick Mayfair. The story of the Mayfair’s has already been written by Anne in her books: The Witching Hour, Lasher, and Taltos. The Mayfair’s are a long line of voodoo witches, both coloured and white, from New Orleans. As Anne herself ... Read review
With the splendidMerrick, Rice is firing on all cylinders, and this latest volume in the ... more
best-sellingVampire Chronicleshas all the elements that we expect from her: richly evocative use of locales; flesh-creeping horror (the squeamish should steer clea...
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With the splendid Merrick, Rice is firing on all cylinders, and this latest volume in the ... more
best-selling Vampire Chronicles has all the elements that we expect from her: richly evocative use of locales; flesh-creeping horror (the squeamish should steer c...
Postage & Packaging: refer to website Availability: Check Site.
With the splendid Merrick, Rice is firing on all cylinders, and this latest volume in the ... more
best-selling Vampire Chronicles has all the elements that we expect from her: richly evocative use of locales; flesh-creeping horror (the squeamish should steer clear); rich, operatic characterisation and (most of all) that strange, overwrought prose style which is hers alone. The Vampire Armand ended with Lestat being revived in modern-day New Orleans. But the central character in this new volume is Lestat's friend Louis de Pointe du Lac (who first appeared in the 18th-century France of Interview with the Vampire ), another one of Rice's tortured vampires. Louis is dealing with the memory of the dead child vampire Claudia, to whom he was devoted. But when the Machiavellian organiser David Talbot joins Louis in appealing to the beautiful Merrick (mixed-race daughter of a New Orleans Mayfair clan) to invoke the ghost of Claudia, Merrick's very individual brand of black magic becomes the one thing that can save Louis' sanity. This tampering results in other malign spirits being released, and soon Rice's narrative is knee-deep in bloody mayhem and voodoo.The novel has the feel of a massive, sprawling canvas, teeming with colour and invention, the locales move from her beloved New Orleans to a colourfully realised Brazilian jungle, and set against this are the larger-than-life characters Rice excels in. Merrick takes a little while to establish herself but when she assumes centre stage, the reader will find the wait well worthwhile. The big set pieces are as gripping as ever (in the usual sanguinary fashion):Suddenly she lunged at the altar, never letting go of her bottle, and, grabbing the green jade perforator in her left hand, she slashed a long cut into her right arm. I gasped. What could I do to stop her, I thought, what could I do that wouldn't enrage her? The blood streamed down her arm and she bowed her head, lifted it, drank the rum and sprayed the offering on the patient saints once again. I could see the blood flowing down her hand, over her knuckles. The wound was superficial but the amount of blood was awful. Again she lifted the knife... --Barry Forshaw
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Advantages: A must for Anne Rice fans and fans of the Vampire Chronicles Disadvantages: A bit boring in the middle
...brings us a new character, Merrick Mayfair. The story of the Mayfair’s has already been written by Anne in her books: The Witching Hour, Lasher, and Taltos. The Mayfair’s are a long line of voodoo witches, both coloured and white, from New Orleans. As Anne herself lives here, she knows much about the voodoo background.
In this book, Merrick Mayfair is placed into the hands of the Talamasca (an organisation dealing with ... ...she is at peace.
Merrick agrees, and it is done. Louis has also fallen in love with Merrick, and she with him.
The beginning and ending of the book are very exciting, but the middle piece became a little boring. The beginning tells us the story of Merrick, how she came to be in the Talamasca, her first meeting with David since he has been a vampire, and how he asks her for her help in raising Claudia’s spirit.
The ... more
This is the last book in Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles published so far. Her latest offering in the story is due to be published this year, and I can’t wait.
In the last Chronicle, we were told the story of Armand. Now, Anne brings us a new character, Merrick Mayfair. The story of the Mayfair’s has already been written by Anne in her books: The Witching Hour, Lasher, and Taltos. The Mayfair’s are a long line of voodoo witches, both coloured and white, from New Orleans. As Anne herself lives here, she knows much about the voodoo background.
In this book, Merrick Mayfair is placed into the hands of the Talamasca (an organisation dealing with psychic investigations) when she is 14 years old, on the wishes of her God Mother, Great Nannene. Here she is schooled and educated. She becomes friends with David Talbot (the 74 year old head of the organisation, before he became a vampire - Tale of the Body Thief).
Lestat still lays on his chapel floor, in a trance after his tour of Heaven and Hell with Memnoch (Memnoch the Devil). Louis has asked David to approach Merrick, to ask her if she will raise the spirit of Claudia, the child vampire locked out in the sun by the Theatre of Vampires. All these years he has been thinking about her, and he wants to find out if she is at peace. Merrick agrees, and it is done. Louis has also fallen in love with Merrick, and she with him.
The beginning and ending of the book are very exciting, but the middle piece became a little boring. The beginning tells us the story of Merrick, how she came to be in the Talamasca, her first meeting with David since he has been a vampire, and how he asks her for her help in raising Claudia’s spirit. The middle part has David telling Louis the story of Merrick and her voodoo family. This is the bit that became boring in places. The ending is brilliant. What happens when Claudia’s spirit is raised? Does Merrick remain mortal? What happens between her and Louis? Answering these questions for you would give away the great ending, but I will say that Lestat does arise from his trance.
Again, Anne gives us detailed descriptions of things and places, making pictures in the mind of the reader. This is the thing I like about her writing, that you can almost feel, hear and touch her descriptions.
As I said before, I can’t wait for her next Chronicle to be published. In the meantime, I will start to read some of her other books about the Mayfair Witches.
Advantages: Another excellent addition to the chronicles, Merrick is as real and flawed as all of Anne Rice' characters Disadvantages: None really
...an individual, human or immortal. Merrick comes across as a warm, charismatic, soulful young woman who has been damaged by her past and although she still struggles to come to terms with her own demons often hiding from them in a bottle of Bourbon, she has generally managed to turn these negatives into a deep concern and empathy for the suffering of others especially, in this case Louis who is still tortured by the death of Claudia. From her complicated ... ...which Lestat views her, Merrick stands very much at the centre of this story and we feel genuinely that Louis' survival is very much in the collective hands of his great friend and adversary, Lestat, wise David and the the hypnotic and compelling Merrick. The ending is almost inevitable but nonetheless satisfying. Merrick is a character that I very much hope we continue to meet in future chronicles. ...
wendy5177 31.05.2006
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Advantages: Continues the vampire chronicles, attention-grabbing Disadvantages: Slightly predictable in places
Similarly to 'Blood and Gold' and 'Vittorio the Vampire', 'Blackwood Farm' introduces yet another new character into the ever-popular Vampire Chronicles.
Overall, the storyline is original as ever, and proves Rice's ability to keep your attention to the story - I found it very hard to put down the book after I started reading!
The characters are well-rounded and described in a way that makes them seem almost real.
This book seems to link in with another series of Rice's novels that center around the 'Mayfair Witches'; it also refers to events from one of the previous vampire chronicles, 'Merrick' so I would not recommend reading 'Blackwood Farm' until after reading 'Merrick'
The only weak point in this book is that the story is predictable in some places, although the book's addictiveness proves and AnneRice has certainly not ...
Advantages: Continuation of the Chronicles - addictive read Disadvantages: Feeling that it is the last of the Chronicles
novels - AnneRice, sorry, the Vampires, always give us a brief intro to the past Chronicles in all the books. However - I really would recommend reading from the start, as there is so much ingenious intricacy and history that you would miss out on if you didn?t.
**The Chronicles**
Interview with the Vampire
The Vampire Lestat
The Queen of the Damned
The Tale of the Body Thief
Memnoch the Devil
Pandora
The Vampire Armand
Vittorio, The Vampire (Not actually part of the chronicles but a vampire tale none the less)
Merrick
Blood and Gold
Blackwood Farm
Blood Canticle
AnneRice ever so kindly starts her novels exactly where she left us. She picks us up off the floor, dusts us down while we are frantically rifling the back of the book looking for the chapters she surely missed and voila! Here they are in her new book.
And so ...
Advantages: A WONDERFUL return to true Rice Disadvantages: What disadvantages?
I made the mistake of reading this before reading Merrick, but I lost NOTHING by reading this first. It was a refreshing return to the style of AnneRice that first drew me to her. Lestat is cajoled into returning through the use of a letter written by a fledgling who knows that he is risking death by even delivering the letter. Cameos play an interesting and engaging yet subdued part in this marvelous book. Italy, Louisianna, the bayou and Pompeii, Naples (home of the most esquisite cameos and I HAVE seen them in person) all tie and weave and mesh into an engaging and rapturous, yet mysterious story that any person who truly enjoys AnneRice can put down without reluctance.
Now, for the meat, er, blood, er, heart, er, you know what I mean!
A young fledgling lives in a distant bayou of Louisiana called Sugar Devil Swamp. He ...
David Talbot, an adventurer and near-mortal vampire, narrates the saga of Merrick, a descendant of the Mayfair witches, from whom she inherits her magical gifts, and of a mixed African and French background that is steeped in traditions and lore of voodoo.
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A nice gripping and readable novel ; A terrific tale of survival ; Very atmospheric ; The characters thoughts and feelings are projected well to the reader
Suddenly stops flowing towards the middle ; King can be slightly over obsequious towards the main character (*)
