Rating: 
Summary: Convoluted Soap Opera
Review: Take a dollop of petty teenage problems [contained in a variety of teensoaps], add a dash of tragic events from [well-known dramas],combine it with a pinch of the social stereotype of homosexuality and the result is the overdone sob-story The Density of Souls by Christopher Rice, 22-year old son of acclaimed Gothic horror novelist Anne Rice. The narrative focuses on the lives of four close friends - Stephen, Meredith, Greg, and Brandon - from their childhood stint to their adult years. What starts out as a close friendship ends in bitter separation as the four enter high school. Stephen, essentially the main character of the story ... is deemed an outcast and ostracized by Greg and Brandon (who have become the "cool" high school jocks) due to his homosexuality. Meredith, meanwhile, becomes part of the bulimic crowd, joins the cheerleading squad, and dates Greg, thereby playing the quintessential role of being a part of the "cool crowd." Okay, so the story sounds like it is about a conventional high school where the students are segregated depending on their degree of "coolness." However, the lives of the quartet gradually intertwine with the dark secrets of New Orleans society, especially among the elite members related to them. These sinister secrets eventually overwhelm them as they enter their adult lives and embroil them in a world of social intrigue and bigotry. Now this book sounds like it might have some powerful suspense, which can lead to a potentially outstanding drama about various social problems in contemporary society. However, this potential winner of a novel eventually transforms into a convoluted mess of a plot that seems to have been compiled from a collection of every single life-changing event that can ever happen to anyone. Many of these events are simply outrageous: straight men turning gay for no apparent reason, bombings, a hurricane, the sane turning insane, accidental deaths, suicides, scandals, surprise endings, and countless characters playing roles to account for these events. What more could you ask for in such an insane and bizarre soap opera with this many plot elements and characters? Christopher Rice tries very hard to create an exciting novel with a lot of action. However, he tends to go overboard in terms of the number of character roles and side plots. He deviates from the main plot with these roles and side plots so many times that it is hard to keep track of them and connect them to the main plot without referring back to the original introductions of these characters and their importance to the narrative. As a result, if you like books with more twists and turns than a maze and perhaps more characters than a typical soap opera, this is the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: Density of Souls: An Identity Crisis
Review: This novel cannot touch me... It can only taunt me, It cannot take me nor tell me where the author wanted to go... Christopher Rice's debut novel, A Density of Souls, is a flawed attempt to depict a world of troubled youth and lost innocence. Rice's story, set in a decedent upper-class New Orleans neighborhood, appears to focus on four youths whose friendship, childhood, and lives are drastically warped by tempest and tragedy. I use the word "appears," because the multitude of plot devices and conflicts in the story make it difficult for readers to ascertain exactly where the heart of novel lies or to identify with any character in particular. Density suffers from a lack of character realism. Stephen, one of the youths--whose homosexuality is the source of much of the conflict in the novel, is probably intended to be the central figure. Unfortunately, like all characters in the novel, he is depicted more as an archetype than an actual person. Each character seems to suffer from some psychosis and acts accordingly, yet no discernible rationale is given for their behaviors (Brandon is a prime example, even before the murder). The linear plot of the novel seems flawed and broken in many places, and there are apparent gaps in the storyline. A critical opening prologue scene is left dangling without being truly anchored in the plot of the story, and the progression of the four's relationship is never truly explained. How did things end up as they did between the friends? In the end, A Density of Souls' most damning flaw is its identity crisis. Rice cannot decide whether he wants his novel to be soft-core homosexual genre literature, a New Orleans gothic thriller, a dark coming of age novel, an action story, a murder mystery, or a fantastic soap opera. Readers have a hard time deciding as well. I read Density for a college lit course and came away from it rather indifferent. I respect the book as a more than decent effort by a young first time author, however I feel it allowed itself to be weighed down by its own unnecessary baggage and could have been much better.
Rating: 
Summary: Chaos, Betrayal, and Deceit
Review: The debut novel, A Density of Souls, by Christopher Rice, is a tantalizing page-turner that keeps you guessing until the end. This tale of four friends tackles the perverse trials and turbulent issues of evolving camaraderie and coming of age. As the story unfolds, we encounter and become familiar with the characters and the obstacles they must overcome: Stephen faces ridicule regarding his sexual orientation in an exclusive and unaccepting prep school; Meredith confronts alcoholism and abuse; Brandon toils with an inner hatred; and Greg addresses uncertainties and hidden secrets. These issues, along with themes of chaos, betrayal, death, and deceit, push the boundaries of the modern suspense novel. As a young new author, Rice not only succeeds in employing the traditional tools necessary for the creation of a mystery (the contrived plot, manipulating and secretive characters, and of course the foreshadowing and unexpected ending) but also continues to add his own creative outlooks and fresh insights. In doing so, he forces the readers to take a deeper look into their own lives and the reality of their surrounding world. This novel cannot help but create controversy with its racy and sexually charged motives. It is a book that will surely challenge any prior expectations or judgments that the reader might have. If you are willing and able enough to let go of your inhibitions, then the challenge that lies in this book is one well worth taking!
Rating:
Summary: A Density of Contrivance
Review: Christopher Rice has an active imagination. It's not that he's particularly inventive when injecting events into his novel, as many of his climactic scenes are clichés. Nor is it in his writing style, which seems a bit like another Rice I've read. No, the main elements of imagination play into his novel, A Density of Souls, when portraying the behavior of people. Whereas his mother is able to make even the undead act like a real person would, C. Rice is utterly incapable of pulling this off. For instance, all women in the novel, depending on the situation, fall not into a continuum but only into romanticized polar behaviors: either Tina Turner or Joan of Arc. With meek or heroic as their only scripts of acting, how are these characters to attain any depth? The novel is not without merit; the prose is generally well written (albeit laden with typographical errors) and the book is often entertaining. Occasionally positive messages about being kind to others pop up. The setting of New Orleans is complex and lavish, and Rice makes good use of the city's many unique elements for driving his plot. But the plot, ultimately, doesn't go anywhere that you'd want it to. It basically revolves around, well, Christopher Rice, in an exercise of self-aggrandizement and therapy. Whether an ego-trip or wishful thinking-I've no idea-the book seems extremely far-fetched in the way that characters act towards Stephen, who is presumably a fictionalized version of the author. Throw in the fact that there are no fewer than three commonly used plot devices, and what you get is a curdling witch's brew that even the author's mother would not portray. Read this one with brain off.
Rating:
Summary: A Lack of Realism
Review: Christopher Rice rushed the publishing of his novel before it was ready to be sold on bookstands. I read on the Internet that an editor had suggested that Rice work on revising his novel further before publishing it. Had he listened to this editor and worked on revisions, his first book may have had a better response. A Density of Souls is very suspenseful, agreeably a page-turner and it has its moments. The first part of the novel is descriptive and elaborates each of the characters, Brandon, Greg, Meredith and Stephen well. The drama that these characters experience in high school and the slow deterioration of their childhood bond really captures the reader and makes the novel interesting and realistic. However, the novel takes a turn after high school and too many new characters are added and only their surface is skimmed as far as description goes, leaving them as phony people one cannot relate to. Jordan, one of the central characters to the novel is not even introduced until nearly the end of the book. The major problem with this novel is that although Christopher Rice may have captured the difficulties of a gay man or any type of minority, he takes it so far that all of the realism is taken away. Any heterosexual male in this novel is either dead or an extreme hater of the gay population, wanting for the most part to hurt or even kill Stephen. There does not exist any strong fatherly figures. Certain types of people are completely stereotyped: the jocks, the popular bulimic cheerleaders and then the homosexuals. However, close to every character experiments with different lifestyles in one-way or another. For these reasons and many more, the novel loses much of its validity and frankly grosses me out with many of its descriptive scenes. Christopher Rice is fortunate to have a famous mother or this novel at this editing level would have never been published. The epilogue, I thought, was completely useless and that twist at the end disgusted me further. Had the novel ended earlier and had Christopher Rice worked out some of the scenes to not be so vulgar and removed some of the unnecessary characters, this novel may have been received much better. This book is different and will probably stir some controversy. I do not recommend reading this novel unless you are just curious on how twisted a story may end and how disgusted it may leave you. Or, I recommend that you read only the beginning of the book,... Hopefully Christopher Rice will listen to the editor next time.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Read (reviewed by Jennie Wu)
Review: Christopher Rice in his first book, A Density of Souls, managed to capture my attention and imagination from the very first page. His story of four friendds and their relationship is written in such an interesting way that it makes you never want to put down the book. It is overall a very good read, but it has its faults as well. The numerous typographical mistakes throughout the novel(due to a poor editor) disrupt the overall flow of the story. Also, Rice introduces so many new characters over the course of his novel in addition to his main characters that it may become confusing to follow. I found myself going back to parts of the book I had already read every time a new character is introduced in order to figure out how that person was related to the rest of the characters. None of the characters are developed fully, which makes relating to them very difficult. A Density of Souls reads like a soap opera, too many things are happening with every turn of the page which makes the novel very hard to believe. Despite all these faults, I will believe that Rice's novel is definitely worth reading. It is a book read for its entertainment value and nothing more. Though hard to believe, it manages to keep the reader trying to guess what will happne in the next page and the ending is a guaranteed shocker. Rice is an excellent suspense writer if anything, and you can count on him to keep you at the edge of your seat as you read of all the experiences that the main character, Stephen, goes through. A Density of Souls is an enthralling and one-of-a-kind read.
Rating:
Summary: A Density of Souls or Days of Our Lives
Review: If you are looking for a quick-read packed with non-stop action, A Density of Souls is for you. However, if you are a reader who prefers a slow-paced novel that could plausibly occur in real-life and that includes a story in which the reader develops feelings for the characters, Rice's debut novel is clearly not for you. The story follows four childhood friends: Brandon, Greg, Stephen, and Meredith, from the innocence of their pre Cannon High School days until they reach their early twenties. In between, there is murder, suicide, betrayal, hate, a deadly hurricane, and a disturbing surprise ending that no reader could guess. Yet, Rice's characters do tend to fit nicely into classic stereotypical roles like cruel football players, anorexic cheerleaders, and confused berated homosexuals. The average person does not simply fit into such cookie-cutter personality types, but then again, no one will enjoy this novel if they are concerned with finding realistic aspects within the text. What makes this book such a page-turner, namely the fact that each chapter is overflowing with over-the-top improbable events, is also what gives it the believability of a run-of-the-mill daytime soap-opera. Rice, in his early twenties, is still in the infancy of his career, and I do believe he has a bright future. The difficult question is: Does Rice have a future as an author, or does his future lie as a writer for daytime network television? Who knows? So, the next time your electricity goes out and you are unable to watch your favorite soap, pick up A Density of Souls, and zip right through it while being careful not to give the story too much thought as you read.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice try, but better luck next time
Review: It seems that the only reason this book was published because of the author's connections in the publishing profession. Were he not the son of Anne Rice, his novel would still be in manuscript form, being thoroughly revised and edited. On another website, I read that Anne Rice's agent told him that without a solid year of revisions, it would not be published. Luckily, or unluckily, Anne Rice pulled some strings and found a publisher for her son. Frankly the book would be better after a skillful revision. Rice simply tries to include too much in this hectic mess. The expansion of unnecessary plot confuses and assaults the readers with superfluous information and characters. Is it essential to know how Monica (the protagonist's mother) was named? Regardless of the confusing nature of this novel, this is not to say there are not parts of the book I enjoyed. Much of his description is beautiful and interesting, which culminates in a wonderful account of a hurricane. Unfortunately, the book is not worth the descriptions that riddled its pages. While I would not recommend this book, I do feel Rice has potential and I might borrow his next book from the library.
Rating:
Summary: Dense Plot, Shallow Characters
Review: Christopher Rice's first novel, A Density of Souls, is a complex web of deeply disturbed characters. I can't recall one individual who does not have some dark secret, psychological problem, or confusion over sexual orientation. Unfortunately, and contrary to the title, none of these characters are developed thoroughly enough so that the reader feels the denseness in their soul. Much of the character development left me with a ghostly outline of each character's true nature. I came closest to understanding Stephen, but even then his personality becomes unrealistic because of his relationships. I think that the author takes certain liberties in assuming the secret desires or sexual wants of men in general. I would be surprised if the sentiments expressed in the book are truly normal. It seems as though the author is expressing a desire for other men to be more like himself by developing many of the male characters this way. Perhaps men do have these deep feelings of sexual repression, but being a woman, I cannot be certain. Despite this flaw, the book is engaging; I completed it in one night. I needed to know what was going on and how the book was going to end. The rapid transitions between settings are frustrating, but they contribute to the suspense of the novel. Beyond the action and twisted story line, however, the book has little underlying meaning. I would recommend this book for amusement only, not for intellectual stimulation.
Rating:
Summary: A Density of Soap Operas
Review: Although Christopher Rice's A Density of Souls is filled with such entertaining subjects as murder, madness and sex, the book fails to create a believable atmosphere. Unrealistic scenarios, such as a naked teenager hugging his mom, plague this rather interesting plot. Through the tragic lives of Meredith Ducote, Brandon Charbonnet, Greg Darby, and Stephen Conlin the reader sees friendships destroyed because of sexual conflicts. Although this touches on a very serious and engaging subject the book gives off a "soap opera" type of feeling. It deals a lot with rumors and secrets that torment and destroy many characters' lives, particularly Stephen who becomes an outcast. Like in many soap operas, character development is a major weakness, which further adds to the idea that this book deals with only one level. At times, Rice appears to be too focused on showing how evil some groups can be, rather than trying to develop the characters. One of the most unfortunate things about this show of rage is that it attacks stereotypes, which weakens Rice's message. In the end the reader does receive a strong sense of satisfaction because of the shocking conclusion, but looking back on the book it is clear that it conveys ideas at a low level. So if you would like to enjoy a simple, soap opera book that scarcely stimulates the mind, Rice's first book is for you. But don't ask for much more...
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