Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely wonderful!
Review: First let me say that I have never read one of Anne Rice's books. I read primarily fiction by first time authors and that is what drew me to A Density of Souls. Anytime the first chapter or even the first paragraphs draw me into a story, I know I'm reading the right book. I'm a sucker for the sentimental value and meaning of childhood experiences. I was immediately back home on Robinson Street with my friends Joey and Kevin. Riding our bicycles to the park and never understanding the complexity of our friendship. This story is basically all about seeking acceptance and understanding and the torture one feels when acceptance and understanding are not readily available. This book is a total page turner. I bought the book mid afternoon today and I'm just about finished. As one other reviewer wrote, I couldn't decide whether to read the rest of it or slow down to savor it. I am saving the last 50 pages or so for tomorrow... The story is complex and the characters are so well developed. The plot may sound like a soap opera, but as a gay man, this book touched like very few books have touched me. Though this story stands on it's own merits as a book, the vivid characters and locales made me pre-visualize a movie based on this book. Stephen should definitely be played by Ryan Phillippe as someone has also already stated. Ryan played a wonderful gay charater on the daytime soap One Life To Live. I won't go into specific details as to why I love this novel. I can only do it justice by stating that I loved this book because Christopher Rice captured aspects of my own gay experience. When someone seems to be a part of my life in that way, I'm awe struck.
Rating:
Summary: Great first novel!
Review: I really enjoyed this first book from Christopher Rice. It captured my attention right away and was really hard to put down. Can't wait for his next one. His mother must be very proud...
Rating:
Summary: Excellent...
Review: One of the best and most original stories I've read. I couldn't put it down and it just kept getting better. The ending gave me goose bumps..Amazing...
Rating:
Summary: The Genes Show
Review: Chistopher Rice, the son of a best selling fiction author and a published poet, demonstrated that genius need not jump a generation or two. A Density of Souls is a sterling first novel. While it is not perfect, It is miles ahead of other first works that I have read, most especially since the author is very young. In fact, Rice's youth gives a certain innocence which adds truth to the age of the charaters in the book. I have found as I grow older that most people forget their youth which is a shame since our most valuable and lasting lessons are learned during that period of life. It was a disappointment to read a professional reviewer who panned the book. Obviously the critic has forgotten his own youth. A Density of Souls is a good read from cover to cover. Try it, you'll love it.
Rating: 
Summary: An impressive, if slightly uneven, debut
Review: I admit it. I was extremely skeptical of Christopher Rice's much-hyped debut novel, but ironically it was precisely because of the hype that I felt compelled to read Density of Souls. As with other novels I initially approached with much trepidation, I have found my initial skepticism happily disproved. Density of Souls is a uniformly marvelous and compelling read. Like his mother, Rice has effortlessly captured the moody atmosphere of New Orleans and its environs. Having grown up in the city that thrives despite a quiet sense of desperation and impending disaster (elements that permeate the novel), I know too well the people, places, and circumstances that encompass Rice's narrative. Having said, this is Rice's first novel, and there are many parts of the novel that are simply not believable. Without providing a spoiler or two, suffice to say that the penultimate portion of the novel (Hurricane Brandy), while certainly plausible, is highly highly unlikely. Of course this is fiction, so I had to keep reminding myself to suspend disbelief, even when Rice's own storm of the century effectively lays waste to New Orleans (even 1965's Hurricane Betsy, which did hit New Orleans head-on, didn't wreak as much damage as Rice's theoretical catastrophe). On a more personal note of implausibility, Rice never truly unveils why the main antagonist (Brandon) is so utterly evil. To paraphrase Meredith Ducote, the novel's main female protagonist, "[Brandon] is doing all this because you couldn't handle it when he threw a chair?" This seemingly innocuous act of defiance and rage, while certainly symptomatic of a deeper anger, nevertheless underscores a depth of explanatory truth behind Brandon's sheer viciousness. All in all, however, Christopher Rice has done a commendable job. His writing style is extremely well crafted, and the plot urges the reader forward with a fevered urgency that is the hallmark of great suspense novels. Is Density of Souls a great book? No. But it certainly is very very good, and it portends a bright literary future for Christopher Rice.
Rating:
Summary: Recipe for success
Review: Mix one large attractive cast from any WB show such as "Dawson's Creek", "Popular" or "Felicity" Add one part poet Stan Rice, and one part Goth novelist Anne Rice. Stir in hefty amounts of closet skeletons and blend with ample supply of alcohol, eroticism, and moody New Orleans atmosphere. Turn up the heat and watch for sparks. Caution: Not following directions could cause great psychological pain and or death. One would think Christopher Rice's first venture into the literary world would involve some of his Mother's trademark nightdwellers, but instead he has opted to confront what some would consider much more insidious demons."Density..." is the story of four friends, Greg, Brandon, Meredith and Stephen and their painful passage out of adolescence and into adulthood. Greg and Brandon are the golden boys of the football fields.And while Meredith gets in with the popular girls, Stephen becomes the discarded oucast;a victim of gross homophobia who becomes both the catalyst and hero of the story. The book spans nearly six years with parts of the book focusing not just on the kids, but on their parents as well who have their own dirty laundry that could use airing. Skeptics who think the only reason Rice was published was for his name will be glad to know he really can write. The only reason I didn't give the book five stars is that I started to figure some of the twisting plot points out disappointingly early which took some of the fun out of it. Unfortunately I think the book has some limited appeal and fans of Anne Rice aren't necessarily going to be fans of this. The reason I feel that way is that the subject matter of violent homophobia, which is so prevalent in the book, is something many people won't want to read about. And that's unfortunate because people like Matthew Shepard are proof it is alive and well.
Rating: 
Summary: Inherit the Pen
Review: In this debut novel from the 22-year old son of Anne Rice, the story follows several high school friends who find their bonds fragile as they try to survive an elitist New Orleans prep school. The young men take different paths: two become football players, one evolves into a self-obsessed bulimic, while another becomes an outcast because of his professed homosexuality. In addition, every character has their own secret and keeps running from the truth of it. The tale is grounded in old-fashioned human sinisterness. Murder, lies, secrets, suicide--it's all here in complex plot twists that mark this impressive first novel.
Rating:
Summary: huh?
Review: okay here is the deal this book is FAIRLY well writen. and kind of a page turner... but you have to be REALLY open minded to get it. i thought that it had LOTS of room for improvement since it seems to be the direct experiences of the author- veiled, not very well by a plot. but you will want to know what happened in the end so stick it out once you start. many twists... and not necc. good
Rating:
Summary: A Great Soul Begins!!!!
Review: Christopher Rice's debut novel is a real page turner. It's the story of four young friends; Stephen, Greg, Meredith, and Brandon growing up in New Orleans, and how their lives are pulled in different directions as they grow up, enter high school, and drift apart. What an imagination this author has as there is everything in this book, including murder, suicide, and an unexpected ending. I thought the character of Stephen was well written and one that many young gay men can sympathize with because he is treated as an outcast by his friends in a school that viciously mocks him and makes his life miserable. Chris has written a book that makes you care about the characters, wonder what's going to happen to them next, and draws you right to the ending, non-stop, wishing and hoping there was more to learn and read about these people. In other words, you don't want the story to end, or to say goodbye to these people you have come to know. A wonderful debut novel. I certainly look forward to more from this new author over the coming years.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: Rice's first few chapters are like a bumpy four-wheel drive across our youth. They are rough, and sometimes incoherent. I later realized that they were written with the same staccato-like images that my own pre-high school memory holds. As I struggled to grasp for meaning and understanding of these first words, my soul was re-animating by the confusion and naiveté of those times. In the remaining chapters, a crispness strikes his language that leaves behind innocence and mercy. Rice whipped me through a range of emotions as broad as the issues he addressed. The end of every chapter slapped me against the back of my chair. It is impossible to read this book without a visit into your own past. Every character floated up old memories of the bullies I faced or the flawed individuals I loved. It was a rewarding experience and I think this book is a must read for anyone. I can't wait for his next book, but I am not sure I will every be ready for it.
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