Rating: 
Summary: What is your problem?
Review: Why do you people insist on ragging on this book? I agree that it wasn't her most amazing accomplishment, but it wasn't a flop. Not every novel can be The Vampire Lestat or Queen of the Damned.
I have been an avid Anne Rice fan for about five years when my aunt first turned me on to her books. And I haven't been able to stop reading them since. I have found such strength and passion in all of her works. There have been times where I have been angry or disappointed at the fate of a character, but that has never made me slander her books in the way that these reviews have.
One of her best qualities is that she allows the characters to speak for themselves. Lestat is not supposed to be the same in every novel. His greatest quality is the fact that he is so flippant and whimsical. He makes resolutions to change and yet he is always the same. That is his fate.
Mona was meant to be Claudia, the counterpart to Lestat's brat prince. But she could never overpower him because of who Lestat is.
I think that readers should focus more on what a book says and visual what is happening and not just wait for the author to spoon feed you the details. Grow up readers and then return to apologize to Anne Rice.
Rating: 
Summary: Quantity over Quality
Review: This book is the worst effort by Anne Rice. It feels like she phoned it in. I always hoped that she would merge the Vampire Chronicles with the Mayfair Saga. This is a sore disappointment. Lestat's quest for sainthood and his sudden passion for Rowan Mayfair are so far fetched it is almost funny. I will sincerely think twice before picking up another of Ms. Rice's books. Perhaps her genius departed with the unfortunate passing of Stan Rice. Maybe her stories could be more foreceful if she concentrated on one book per year like most other writers instead of cranking out two per year as has been the case lately. If you are contemplating reading this book, don't bother, save your time. This is the flop to end all flops.
Rating:
Summary: Rock bottom
Review: With this book Rice completes her sad transformation from compelling gothic author to melodramatic hack. There have been many times over the years when I've wanted to throw an Anne Rice book across the room, but the sheer fascination of her mythos kept me coming back even through the most deadly books (of which Servant of the Bones is a prime contender). With her last book, Blackwood Farm, the writing was as purple and crammed with descriptions of furniture, clothing and architecture as ever, but after the first 100 pages of breathless description she took off with a story that was hilarious in its kitchen-sink, anything-goes byzantine plot. It may not have been good, but it was a juicy read. However, with it's follow-up, Blood Canticle, Rice has turned in what is probably the worst book of her career, and a pathetic close to the Vampire and Mayfair Witch sagas. The fact that she hasn't allowed an editor to change one word of her writing is a strong clue that she takes her dross for gold, but this tripe seems like the thinnest gruel of fan fiction. If there were such a thing as a Anne Rice drinking game where you did a shot for every time you read someone refer to another character as "darling", "dearest", "beloved" or "my love", her readers would all be in alcoholic comas. The woman can't write dialogue, and really never could...the difference is that she used to know it and restrict herself to narrative. Now, we get diatribes about the infallibility of the pope(!) and Lestat's babble about how he wants to be a saint. Demented claptrap! I'd have to agree with those who found the first 3 Vampire chronicles, along with Witching Hour and Lasher, to be Rice's finest inventions. Rice has stated recently that she no longer wants to write about her Vampires and Witches, and for those of us who care about the once fascinating brood this can only be long overdue news; the author has turned on her children and defiled them and their story in what seems clearly a delusional belief in her writing skill and voice. Better she should retire now, for she ran out of things to say a LONG time ago. RIP!
Rating: 
Summary: A sad but interesting end......
Review: While I have no words of harshness in this review I will agree to an extent with part of the review that someone wrote...'Lestat, well, he's Anne Rice, not himself. He fully ceases to be his own character and instead becomes his author's mouthpiece.' The opening chapter in particular echoed of things I have seen said in more recent interviews that were taken by Anne herself.
While I agree that the events of a persons life have some affect on how they see the world, in the past books Lestat has always remained Lestat, brat prince, in one way or another. Anne has said that her Husband was the inspiration for the brat prince himself. And with the loss of her husband we also have the ironic loss of Lestat. As far as books go, this is not a bad book. It still a interesting read. Just do not expect the lavishness and deep chapters of her previous books. Blackwood farm for me was such an amazing treat. It offered a new era, a new dawn. It was sad to go from that to this book, to see Mona reduced and Quinn playing 'tag along'.
Even more so for me because in 'Blackwood farm' I found Quinn to be her greatest character since Lestat himself. Anne once was quoted as saying something along the lines of, (about the film Queen of the damned) ' Names are all that this production has in common with any of my books or characters. ' This seems to be the case of this book too. A book that only has the names of characters as being the only thing in common with her other work. I hope that at a stronger point of her life, Anne will go back and realise that her chronicals deserve a greater ending this - while some may argue she owes it to her fans, I would rather argue that she owes it to herself. She can do better and does not deserve to be remembered with disapointment for this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Tsk
Review: I just finished reading this book and I'm not entirely sure what to make of it. I was definitely disappointed by its quality, but I would say that my Anne Rice fandom has been falling off for quite some time. However, I don't feel that that invalidates my opinion but rather emphasizes it - I don't feel that this was so much a failure as a Vampire Chronicle as a failure as a novel. As is previously mentioned, Lestat's language was a bit jarring. But I also agree that Lestat as a character is designed to be able to adapt to the times and new surroundings, and it seemed to me that he might have picked up a bit of vernacular in the span of his lifetime. That said, Anne Rice was definitely a few steps behind the "times." I almost clawed my eyes out at the use of "yo" and "dude." I absolutely abhor it when writers attempt to integrate language of that sort into writing and fail miserably. And I must confess, I have never thought that Anne was particuarly good at that anyway - the language she writes for Jasmine and the other black characters always seems forced and unrealistic, especially in this book. Very poor. Point blank Mona annoyed me. I was willing to tolerate Lestat working the Dark Trick on her, with faith that it would work out in the end, but it most definitely did not. I've never been all that fond of Mona in the first place, but at times I found her likeable. That is, I did in her own storylines - her speech in Blackwood Farm was absolutely intolerable. I couldn't tell whether or not Anne was having trouble thinking up synonyms for "egregious" or if Mona was just one of those annoying sorts of people that uses the same word over again - and when I settled on the latter, she grated even more. But I digress, the point is essentially that Mona and her incessant outbursts, whining, crying, and Lestat-Worship were just bloody irritating. I hate submissiveness, and that's precisely what she was, submissive. To have her grovel to Lestat to forgive her, and him to be so petty as he was! Patsy's Ghost - No place at all whatsoever in this book. Oncle Julien's haunting as well was a bore. It might have been interesting if developed properly, but he seemed there only to bugger Lestat, and in doing so, he annoyed me as well. And his begging, pleading, and fright at the end of the book was unacceptable. The characters were completely and utterly undeveloped. Quinn especially, and how disappointing. He could have worked very well as an essential character, but he just sort of shadowed Lestat, and Mona even. In fact, certainly as fledglings we should have examined them and their interaction more carefully instead of transitioning to the Taltos which shouldn't have even been included in this story. And fine and good for Lestat to love Rowan but that bit in the last chapter? Rubbish. The hunting was horrible contrived, nothing so romantic as Lestat and Louis' cunning, unnoticed killings at parties and the like. A bore, I wanted to be done with it all. And let me not forget to mention Juan Diego. It might have been an interesting insight into Lestat's psyche if it had a point. But it didn't. It just was there, filling up space, sloppily glued together with the rest of the flimsy "plot." Overall I would say that it was temporarily entertaining at times, and that definitely wasn't because of the poorly executed plot. This was just a filler, I think, as I wait for better fare, being shipped to me as I write.
Rating:
Summary: Good Intentions, Bad Timing and Worse Delivery
Review: Anne Rice's husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor when this book was being written and obviously, her work suffered because of it. The book is a threadbare cloth compared to the rich tapestry of detail characteristic of most of the Vampire Chronicles and the Mayfair Witches Series. In spite the this and curious and constant use of 'yo' and 'dude', it was a decent read up until the last chapter, but then things went really wrong. Anyone familiar with The Mayfair Witches Series (The Witching Hour, Lasher & Taltos) should skip skipping the last chapter of Blood Canticle because although you get the point, you will never believe it. However, the most disappointing aspect of the novel is the missed opportunity. Three characters, Michael Curry and Rowan and Mona Mayfair are struggling with the loss of their children. As a mother who tragically lost a child to leukemia, Anne Rice could have really written something truly significant, but did not. Much is said about the toll on the characters, but very little insight is given about their internal conflicts.
Sadly, Anne Rice has said is through with the Vampires and the Mayfair Witches. Hopefully, as time passes, she will change her mind and write an ending worthy of her two best loved series.
Rating:
Summary: someone is slipping
Review: I have been a fan of Anne Rice for some time. I was really anxious to read her latest creation. And highly disappointed. I haven't a clue what happened to her technique of writing. I mean come on, she has done better then this. I realize she has had a great lost. But this book is an even greater lost. Don't buy it go to the library and save your money!
Rating:
Summary: Don't Read This Book!
Review: I considered myself a true Anne Rice fan, I even stuck it out through all those dreadfully boring vampire books after the Queen on the Damned, but I will never again read one of her books.
This was truly a terrible book.
If you liked the first three vampire books and The Witching Hour (which was my all time favorite book), stay away from Blood Canticle. Don't even read the description. This book ruined Lestat and the Mayfairs for me.
Rating:
Summary: Dissapointing
Review: Blood Canticle lacks narrative cohesion. It feels like a jumbled dream sequence, out of focus and elastic. Rice's descriptions are lovely but even the best prose is lost amid a untidy heap of out of tune dialogue filled with equal parts slang and pompous diatribe. I must agree with whoever said that Lestat left her after Queen of the Damned. I'm afraid the witches have left the building as well. The Mayfairs do and say things SO out of character that it isn't just unbelievable, it's sad. Quinn doesn't get any good dialogue and comes off duller than a stump post. Lestat is out of his mind with wanting to be 'good' and falling in love with everyone, including the ghost of Julien Mayfair. It's all rather silly. Rice introduces two really nifty new taltos characters but we only get to spend a few pages with them before the book closes, lamely. While what story was there was interesting, it really could have been told in half the pages and without all of Lestat's sermons on sainthood. Sorry Anne, better luck next time.
Rating:
Summary: What happened to the real Anne Rice?
Review: This book is terribly written and I am ashamed that Anne Rice would even think of submitting it to be published. The Vampire Chronicles have been fascinating and interesting, and so have the Mayfair Witches. There has been so much effort spent to fully chronicle the Mayfairs and the individual adventures of the vampires that to smash it all together in this novel is not only unfair, but just plain awful. Rice has lost Lestat--his voice lacks the quality and sentiment of previous novels, and really he is pretty boring and dull. His ravings about sainthood are rather uninteresting. He was not a good character to narrate this story. Rice could have spent a whole novel dealing with Mona's, Quinn's, and Lestat's adventures together, much less shortchange the Taltos story as well as the Mayfairs'. The writing is shocking in its shoddiness. I have been an extremely devoted Rice fan for many many years now, and this book is not only the worst of her novels that I have ever read, but is just a bad one in general. I am hoping that in the future she will consider allowing her editors to make suggestions and spend more time on her subject matter! By writing Blood Canticle, she has done not only herself but her readers a terrible disservice. I would not recommend this book to anyone; true Rice fans must beware! This is not the Anne Rice that we know and love.
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