I gave this book 2 stars because of three reasons:1. the book's enthralling opening 2. it's extensive vocabulary3. Anne Rice's lovely prose ( although gradually into the middle of the book it becomes overly long to me)I came across this book in an old bookstore. Having known that Anne specialized in paranormal writing, I was glad to know even further that this book was about witches and planned to purchase the other ones of this series.The book started well. Anne's prose was literary and lovely. Her use of words was wonderful: you could learn lots of new and strange words in here. And most importantly of all, the fact that this book was about a clan of witches totally held me spellbound.However, after the first half of the book, something went terribly wrong. I started to realize what it was: despite the fact that this book was about witches, I saw no detectable signs of witchcraft except for some telepathetic connection. This really disappointed me. Another preposterous thing about this book was that Anne wrote two chapters (I don't know whether there was a third because I gave up reading halfway through the second one), each of which was terribly long and kind of boring even to me, just to account for a character's history. After reading halfway through the second chapter that recount the history, I jumped straight to the last chapter in order to finish the book. Fortunately, the one last redeeming feature of this book was its last chapter: it was a relief to finish a disappointing bookk with a not-so-bad ending chapter.P/S: I honestly think that Anne should take into consideration that a book about witches is supposed to conntain some sort of witchcraft!!!!
Anne Rice once again proves that just because you have written a bunch of novels and made a bunch of money off them doesn't mean that you know how to write. Some of my irritations with this third and final installment of Lives of the Mayfair Witches:- Refers to the main character of Chapter 1 as "he" for pages and pages, leaving us mystified as to whether we've met this person before and annoyed at what is even happening?- Inserts two chapters of 80+ pages of info-dump in the first person, even though the book is written in third person omniscient.- Suddenly "discovers" another Mayfair offspring around Mona's age, conveniently at the time she needs a friend to assist in her crazy. Has Michael, of course, lust after the poor girl because she is, of course, completely deliciously gorgeous and wears a cowboy hat. Does not bring the Michael-lust plot point up ever again.- Inelegantly explains the Taltos--oh, guys, they weren't what you thought for the thousands of pages of the last books--making me more confused and annoyed at what the heck the purpose of the last two books was.And those are just the big ones.All I can say is, thank you, Anne Rice, for teaching me never to buy all the books in a series at once. If I hadn't done that, my eyeballs would never fallen upon these pages. At least it wasn't as bad as the first one.
What do You think about Taltos (1994)?
If you've already been sucked into the Mayfair trilogy, you're going to have to read this book. I'm sorry. It's not good. Really though, this series is worth finishing, even if you LOL your way through the last book because it's so freaking ridiculous. There is a good explanation for what Lasher is, and how he came to be involved with the Mayfairs, and what the Talamasca knows about it; you're going to want to know this stuff. Unfortunately, the characters (particularly the family members) have all lost their minds. Some poor relations come out of the swamp which is pretty cool, but they're just as crazy as the rest of them, except more functional. Keep a punching bag handy.
—Jamie
This book was my favorite one of the series. I read the whole book in a day and loved it. I loved the characters. Because of this book I decided I would love to have a little girl named Rowan. About a year after reading it I decided to try for a little girl. Nine months later my little Rowan arrived. In the books one of the signs that a Mayfair is a witch is her being born with an exter finger. My baby girl was born with an exter finger as well. It was kind of a creepy coincidence. The Mayfair witch books are well worth reading. You have a old powerful faimly of witches, a spirit who helps and hurts the faimly, an ancient group that watches and records the supernatural. Some how part of this group has become corrupt and has turned on some of its members. You discover the Taltos an ancient raise that gives birth to full grown walking talking children. You meet unforgettable characters that are easily to fall in love with. The books are a bit odd but that just adds to the dynamic of the books.
—Cassie
Every time I read an Anne Rice novel I come away from it feeling as though for a while I were peeking into another world, a world I would very much so like to exist in. Knowing my luck even if I did exist in this world she's created I'd never happen upon one of these amazing creatures, and so I'd still never be the wiser or I'd become a part of a short tragic scene. Taltos is another example of Anne's amazing skill as a writer, and master story teller. Her words are the paintbrush while your mind is the canvas! I just simply love Anne's work so much, and highly recommend it to everyone.
—✟Sabrina Rutter✟
