Well, another day done, another Anne Rice book finished at midnight. In all honesty, reading this book for me was like pulling out 4 of my teeth (and yes, I've had that done, baby teeth, but still). I tried to read this book earlier this year and only got a quarter into it before I threw it down in sheer boredom. If you would prefer to read the Bible instead of a vampire book, you can't give it more than two stars. Not that I spent the whole afternoon reading the Bible, that would be weird. Not that I'm knocking the people who do. So I liked David in the Body Thief and I really hoped that him and Lestat would get together, but in typical Rice fashion, none of the homosexual energy is ever abated, so of course they didn't. But then there's fanfiction, I guess. (Ha! Ha! Rice, I know you hate fanfics, but seriously, you leave us all wanting some sexual tension to end at some point in time, and it never does!) Maybe that's why the books are so sexy, yet nothing ever happens. Yeah so I liked David in book 4, but in this one, he was just alright. Okay, here's my thoughts on the Vampire Chronicles, so far up to #7. Interview With the Vampire: Took me a while to get into. Loved it though, especially the movie. Tom Cruise was the best Lestat anyone could ask for (expect maybe if Johnny Depp had played him) and Brad Pitt was good at being stand-offish and thinking he's morally superior to everyone else, which is pretty much every role he does. I hate Claudia! I was happy when she died!!!!!The Vampire Lestat: I was confused at first, because Rice spent the last book saying how evil Lestat was and now he's good. I think too much of it was flashbacks, but whatever, Lestat was so much cooler than Louis. It felt like just a set-up book for the next one, which it was. Also, how many times can a person read the words: preternatural, Dark Trick, and Savage Garden before wanting to kill Rice and her editor? Also, a good part of the book was a flashback WITHIN a flashback (code word: way too many flashbacks)! Also, no one died or anything in this one. Except Lestat's friend, who went totally crazy and burnt himself alive, but he heard about that through a letter someone wrote him, so this book kind of lacked action (but most of the books in this series do).Queen of the Damned: By far my favorite, though what the hell was Lestat thinking during some parts of the book? Though the parts about Maharet and Mekare were just too bizarre at some points (let's eat brains and hearts, dear sister!). Also I could never remember what hell the difference between Santiago and Santino was. (Santiago- guy who ran the Theater de Vampires in book #1, Santino- the crazy vamp who kidnapped Armand in book #5, and was at the gathering of vampires in book #3). My favorite part: anything with Daniel and Armand. I wish Daniel would have been mentioned more in the series.The Tale of the Body Thief: By far the most contemporary of the books so far and the most easy going. Though rather predictable, (Lestat, it was going to end badly from the start, this deal you made), I liked it. This one had a very exciting climax, with the whole rescue scene and I liked David (in this one at least).Memnoch the Devil: Rice's religious zeal run amok, but still an interesting read. I was shocked when Armand killed him himself (thank God she changed her mind in the next book). Though why did she make Lestat go into a two-book coma for no apparent reason?The Vampire Armand: The most scandalous of Rice books in this series so far. I really liked Armand and wish that the thing with him and Daniel could have worked. In this book, I didn't like him as much. Armand seemed really crazy, especially with taking Claudia's head off and sewing on the body of that female vampire Louis made (flashback to book #1). Also, why the obsession with those two kids? They were annoying and I wished they died. So now I'm on to Merrick.First of all, how were we supposed to feel about Merrick? I tried to love her, really I did, but it was so hard! I felt nothing for her! David loving her was creepy since he was about sixty. And him liking her as kid was creepy too. It's hard to like the main character, if he's kind of a sexual predator. Rice sometimes loves her characters too much, if you know what I mean. She would have all the other characters spout off how amazing Lestat is and now they were doing that for Merrick. But Merrick is not bad-ass Lestat, so it was just plain annoying. Seeing as much of the book was a flashback about David and Merrick going to the jungles looking to take relics from tombs, the book really lost momentum. Also, I think there was an error in the book. The name of Merrick's uncle who died in the jungles was Matthew, but then he was referred to twice as Micheal, so I was confused. Also, I had trouble keeping track of all of Merrick's relatives. Why was so much time devoted to Merrick's grandmother dying? It didn't help the plot. When Merrick met David, dear old Grandma could have been already dead and that would have saved us chapter and chapters! And once Merrick moves in with Aaron and David, she is the perfect child. What 14 year old girl loves to read about Plato in original Latin? Twilight fanfics in crappy English more like! Whatever, Merrick walks on water. Was anyone annoyed with how Rice kept messing with the religions? Like David was Catholic, but he worshiped South American gods and voodoo things. Merrick was the same. How devout can you be if you worship two completely different religions that both insist to remain devout to one? I mean, I'm all for whatever floats your boat, but I felt she did justice to neither religion by meshing them. And it seemed David was only worshiping voodoo when it was convenient, which would probably upset anyone who actually believed. Also, she kept mentioning the difference in cultures of black and white people. I've never really thought that it was that profound, but, especially, at parts in the beginning, Rice obsesses over it. This was written in 1999/2000, that's not the way things are (to my knowledge anyway). Also, why does she love New Orleans so much? Okay, I get it, it's a great city, but can you not tell us that every 5 minutes? I am interested in the next book, with Lestat picking a fight with the Talamasca. It has a lot of potential right there, especially with the Elders. Thank God Lestat's up. It was boring without him. I liked Louis's characterization in this one. We really haven't had a book focus on him since book #1. I was confused about the ending though. Was the spirit really Claudia? It was bitchy and crazy enough it to be her. I wonder if Louis will still be with Merrick after this, it hinted that he was, but I want to know how much of his feelings had to do with the charm she put on him. Anyway, only my interest in Lestat and Louis made me finish this book. I certainly have noticed a decline in quality since after the first three books ended. I hope the next one is better. God, I hate Claudia..... This review was written to: Safe and Sound by Capital Cities
Aviso: es el séptimo libro de la saga. Si no lo leyeron, huyan de la reseña porque cierta información podría tomarse como spoiler. Me gustó tan poco que mis ganas de hablar del libro son mínimas, pero creo que es necesario hacer un esfuerzo para explicar por qué al inicio esto parecía ir por buen camino y después... la nada. Merrick propone un narrador más fresco, un personaje nuevo e intenta iluminar algunas cuestiones que se abrieron en libros anteriores. El intento de innovación es bueno, el problema está en su ejecución y en la construcción de personajes antipáticos. Ahora es David Talbot quien se encarga de relatar él solo aquello que está viviendo y parte de sus recuerdos. Para hacerle un favor a Louis, David se pone en contacto con Merrick Mayfair, una miembro de la Talamasca a la que le tiene especial cariño y que es una bruja, para que invoque a cierto espíritu que el vampiro melancólico del grupo quiere ver. Y a David no se le ocurre nada mejor que contar cómo conoció a Merrick cuando ella apenas era una niña y cómo evolucionó su relación con el paso de los años. Merrick, la estrella de la novela, es simplemente insoportable y me recordó a varias protagonistas de sagas juveniles juntas. Esperaba otra cosa de ella, sobre todo por la manera en que la presenta David. Ni su erudición ni sus poderes me conquistaron y, para colmo, las constantes borracheras y la facilidad con la que dice “te amo” a cualquiera me sacaron de quicio. También me decepcionó David. El sabio integrante de la Talamasca pierde credibilidad como narrador con sus propias contradicciones. Por ejemplo, en un momento asegura que ve a Merrick como una hija y diez líneas después fija la atención en sus pechos. Esos pensamientos incontrolables de David hacen que todo se vuelva demasiado predecible. Y la escritura en sí misma es más ligera, pero me da la sensación de que perdió el esplendor de los anteriores libros. Es una pena.Las pocas estrellas de la calificación (una y media sería más exacto) se deben a la construcción del mundo de las brujas (aunque es evidente que sólo es introductorio), a ciertas escenas que generan intriga y a un par de hechos que no puedo mencionar porque pertenecen al final. Con respecto a este, también tengo varias quejas pero me las reservo. Los libros siguientes están en mi biblioteca y, sinceramente, a medida que avanzo los empiezo con menos ansiedad. Y eso para mí no es leer. Estoy perdiendo la confianza y no sé si querré continuar con la saga en mucho tiempo. Ojalá que la próxima vez pueda salir de la costumbre (y del tedio) de las dos estrellas que tomé desde Pandora.
What do You think about Merrick (2001)?
David Talbot never truly stuck out in my mind. Just some guy writing down stories from vampires and various other things. I didn't give a shit if he was in the book or not. But, then this one rolled around and I actually found I had feelings for his character.Of pure hatred.Yeah. I hate David Talbot thanks to this book.It's never a good idea to try making me like a character who I discover is a pedophile. That's what Anne Rice tried to do with her flowery, purple prose, describing a fourteen year old's breasts and her nipples to me.No.Just, no.Stop it.Thank fuck I have another month or so until I need to start reading the eighth book in the series so I can calm down from my disgust.
—Caidyn
I really wanted to like this book more than I did, and I really wanted to give this book 4 stars instead of 3. I just couldn't find it in my heart to give it that high of a rating.creep - factor gets an A. raising the dead from a spot of blood, severed limbs, burnt flesh, and the revival of life from being burned is all pretty creepy. there's a good amount in here. Anne Rice ' s witches: an A- here. I love Anne's witch chronicles and the further development of Merrick was great, but the magic of the witch chronicles was lost. Louis wanting to call Claudia up from the dead...meh.once again I slumbered through a majority of this due to the immense amount of description. (Anne loves to describe old Victorian decor.) I was hoping for the ending to pack a heavy punch like Anne has done in previous works. This punch was merely a small slap.
—Michelle Bacon
I always love any book I read from Anne Rice. I read this one expecting it to follow along with the Mayfair Witches. Being that Merrick IS from the Mayfair family. This is based more on the Lestat and Louis storyline it seems, with Merrick as a main feature. Sort of a convergence. The first-person POV I had to get used to. Whenever I read it long enough though, I found myself getting lost in the lyrical quality of the writing, as Anne Rice is great at. This is a great book to read maybe after you've gone through the Mayfair series and the Lestat series. Then you converge into this book at the right place. Since I haven't read the Lestat books, I was a bit lost. Seen the movie, but as anyone can tell you, that's a different story entirely. So I knew of Louis and Lestat, not so much the rest of it. Left me a bit lost, but that was fine by me. Great story, great book. Now it makes me want to read the Mayfair Witches all over again!
—Kim Iverson
