Blackwood Farm: The Vampire Chronicles (Rice, Anne, Vampire Chronicles.)

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites.
Review: I am often at odds with other Anne Rice fans with reguards to which stories I like.

I loved Pandora, but I still thought Blood And Gold was great, I don't feel it merely re-treaded old ground, covered in Pandora and The Vampire Armand. I actually added it up and more than half of Blood And Gold details events outside of those books. And the parts that do retell scenes from Pandora or Armand are different, because they are seen from Marius' point of view. I've always loved his character and it's nice to get to know him a little better.

But this isn't about Blood And Gold, this is about Blackwood Farm.

If you hated Blood And Gold you might not like Blackwood Farm, not for any strong similarities, but if you are one of the people who feel that Rice's writing has gone downhill, I don't sense any major difference between this and her other recent output.

I loved Blackwood Farm. I loved the intimate nature of experiencing the family's history without the tedious charts and family tree of Mayfair Witches. After a while I felt at home in Quinn's house.

I like the character Quinn, and I loved reading about his past, his teachers, and especially Mona.

I didn't like the vampire that sired him very much, but that's more personal taste than anything.

I should also note that I started reading Mayfair Witches *after* I read Blackwood Farm.

But if you are like me, and you didn't mind Memnoch The Devil, loved Pandora, had to fight through The Vampire Armand (all the boring descriptions of Vennis and it takes so long for him to become a vampire), and liked Blood And Gold, for instance, then I think there is a good chance you'll enjoy Blackwood Farm.

Rating:
Summary: So far so brilliant
Review: I bought this as soon as I could get to the store on its release day. I love the sensual, warm, elegant world of Anne Rice, and getting sucked into her prose and books is spending a nice evening in an elegant mansion with wine and velvet curtains and fine art. Her books are like a fine wine. From Vampires to Witches. I've read all of the Vampire Chronicles except Blood and Gold, which I have and will read after Blackwood Farm.
So far - I'm on page 77 - this book moves with breathless speed. Quinn is a newly-made vampire who must battle his doppelganger who he's lived with almost his whole life, since he was a toddler. And now that he's made into a vampire this "twin", who he calls "Goblin" attacks him after every blood feast and sucks the new blood out of him. The violent union of his "twin" is both pleasurable and painful for him, and here lies his conflict. He seeks the help of the indestructible Vampire Lestat, and from here it keeps going unrelenting, in true evocative Anne Rice style. It's so perfect this has come out right before Halloween. Her books go right along with the fall season. Pick this one up. So far it's brilliant, and I know I'm in for a great read!

Rating:
Summary: Want to be enveloped in to a new rich and exciting world ?
Review: I thouroughly enjoyed this book and spent two very late nights up reading it too completion. I am an avid Vampire Cronicles fan, but I must say that by far the Mayfair Witches are my favourite Anne Rice Novels, so you can imagine I was really happy when I read the blurb and my favourite charcter Mona Mayfair was part of this story.
Unfortunately she wasn't in the book as much as I would have liked, however we are introduced to a new character Tarquin Blackwood (Quinn) and he is just a spectacular! His life story is of a large and loving family, a posse of ghosts and all facets of his erotic life, I fell in love with him and the novel. My only disappointment with this moving book was that I have too wait for the next one !!! I am sure I will often think about what will happen in the next installment and I am excited and expectant :)