Blood and Gold

Rating:
Summary: Blood and Gold
Review: While Marius retells alot of information that faithful readers already know, he also fills in many question marks in the Vampire Chronicles. I found this book to be just as interesting as the Lestat books and I enjoyed it very much. I'd love a book about the Twins...

Rating:
Summary: Anne has found the torch that went out with Merrick...
Review: I feel it necessary to give 'Blood and Gold' 5 stars not only because I found it to be an incredible book, but because it's not possible to give it ten, or even a hundred. I'm not here to hound and rave at those who have given this book 1 star because I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and this is mine.

With 'Merrick' I felt Anne had gone on too long with the biographical novels. I was longing for what the previous novels were: tales of adventure with a different plot each book, but as the Chronicles went on they seemed to attain the same strategical presence. I thought 'Merrick' was a wonderful book, and I say that as a devout Anne Rice fan. So those of you who aren't I understand why you felt the way you did about it.

Although 'Blood and Gold' is not completely different in the sense that it is still a bio of one of the characters, in this case Marius, a true Child of the Millenia, it has something that was lacking in 'Merrick.' It has the spark that her more recent books do not have. I read the book in 10 hours nonstop.

I honestly think it is one of the best Vampire Chronicles. Marius' tale is heartbreaking and rendered him in a more humane light in my eyes. To read of all the ache and turmoil he went through was sad and weary.

And as always, it left you wanting more. I especially am intruiged by Bianca and hope she will make a later appearance or even have a Chronicle all to herself.

To those of you who have not bought or read the book already, do so now. Don't wait for paperback. Go to the library if you must, but don't wait any longer to read it. It is a beautiful book. It makes you laugh, sigh and a lot of the times, cry. It is a dark book interlaced with history and accurate re-percussions. If you have read no other Vampire Chronicles and hoped to start with 'Blood and Gold,' don't. It will leave you lost and confused and you can't appreciate it as wholly.

I say all this as a 14 year old. I say all this as a fan, as a reader, as someone who'd rather be a vampire.

Rating:
Summary: Good summary book of the Vampire Chronicles
Review: I have to admit that I'm a bit torn in my review of this book. Overall the book is a good summary of many of the stories and concepts that were touched on in previous books. But new ground is not broken, in my opinion. It is a mile-marker book, a potential segue. And although I found this to be an enjoyable read, I felt as if I'd just read the "flashback episode" of The Chronicles.

Anne Rice does a terrific job of describing the ancient world. It's obvious that she's worked a long time to develop her knowledge of Western culture and history (particularly Roman). In fact, while others may not like Rice's Pandora and Vittoro books, I found their biographical and historical qualities to be quite intriguing. To each their own, right?

The oft-spoken-of character of Marius is the central character of this book. He is the keeper of the "Divine Parents" (prior to to Queen of the Damned), maker of Pandora, maker of Armand, and student of Art, History, Literature, and Culture. He makes his appearance throughout history and learns to live among mortals, even befriending the artist Botticelli. He becomes a socialite, while preserving the secret of his blood-drinker Nature and the secret of the Divine Parents ... for the most part. He is hounded by the continual appearance of the Satanic cult of vampires, which his beloved Armand eventually joins. And, inevitably, his heart is broken time and again by the ones he loves.

That's the gist of it. The story behind it all? I'm still not sure. Readers who are not familiar with Rice's previous additions to the Chronicles will be a bit lost, as this book cannot stand alone. Readers of the Chronicles may find this to be an acceptable supplement to those other vampire stories.

Rice is a master wordsmith, and this book will draw you into it by virtue of the language alone, even if it doesn't draw you to a conclusion. Perhaps the book is just a tool to segue into a new realm for the blood-drinkers. If so, this book has served its purpose. If not, then perhaps it's time to place a solid "The End" on the Chronicles before another "flashback" story comes out.

Rating:
Summary: Go slow to go fast?
Review: The first half of this book was agonizingly slow. The first few pages were good but then it slowed to a snail's pace until Marius encounters Eudoxia. Even after that he seems to belabor the same points over and over...barely varying his verbage.
Of course I'll still read the next book, but every time I buy one of Rice's books these days, I question why I'm so loyal.

Rating:
Summary: Blood and Gold: Finally Marius gets to tell his tale
Review: Having read all of the previous vampire tales, I was psyched to finally get to read the tale of Marius. He was long a favorite character of mine, and the book sheds some light as to what he was up to in the previous millenium. While the character of Marius is not as lovingly constructed as that of Lestat, Armand, or even Louis, it was still a richly detailed work which I found myself easily caught up in. It didn't quite attain the highs of "The Vampire Lestat", but it still managed to have me up half of the night turning pages. All in all, I found it to be a good investment of my reading time. Now if Ms. Rice would just bring back Lestat......

Rating:
Summary: AWFUL!!!
Review: To say that this book has any merit would be just to flat-out try and find something nice to say. Unfortunately, there isn't anything salvagable in this dreck. I have read all of Anne Rice's book and this is the absolute bottom of the barrel. Another boring retread of things that we already have been told in other novels. And even if it is new, it doesn't matter! It's all throw away. The worst and most insulting is the wrap around Thorne storyline! It feels as though a kindergarten class could have done better. Inconsistent, boring, badly written, no plot and just out and out drivel, this Vampire Chronicle would only be entertaining to the brain dead! SKIP IT!

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as I had anticipated , but .....
Review: I was really hanging out for this book to be released in New Zealand - I think every Auckland book shop knows me by sight ! But the book first appeared in the public library (yes , I had ordered it ) and Im glad . I will still buy it , but only because I have all the others (even Merrick , which was WORSE !!!!) and I think I'll wait for the paperback version .

As a devotee of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles I never thought I'd rate one of these books less than 5 out of 5 . But 'Blood and Gold' isn't worth top marks . Mind - it's NOT as bad as some reviews make it out to be and reading it is not a complete waste of time for an established Rice fan but I have to admit to closing the book and saying out loud "Is that IT ?!" on reaching the end . Im not going to give the ending away but MAN did it need re-directing .

So basicly the book was alright . Read it , yes , but get it out of the library , don't buy it . At least not in hardback .

Rating:
Summary: AMAZING!
Review: Anne Rice has done it again! This deeply felt expansive story spans over two-thousand years, and never misses a beat. Filled with emotion and rich with imagery the story Marius unfolds with a skill that only a master like Anne Rice could achieve. Beautiful and enchanting this is truly an instant classic.

Rating:
Summary: Predictable Rice
Review: I was once a huge Anne Rice fan. Her early novels, particularly Interview With the Vampire, were interesting and fresh takes on the vampire legend. With Blood and Gold, however, it seems that Anne Rice is not merely beating a dead horse, but flogging it mercilessly into pulp. The prose is miserable and distracts from the story, and the story itself barely differs from the last few installments of the Vampire Chronicles. The dialogue is horrible enough that you can't even imagine it coming out of the mouth of a centuries old vampire.

This book is only worth buying if you're an Anne Rice completist. Even then, I'm waiting for it to turn up in remainder bins.

Rating:
Summary: Passion is universal
Review: Anne Rice is back, Anne Rice brings us one more volume of the Vampire Chronicles.

Her multilayered style is just as good as, or even better than usual. A tale in the tale in the tale. We jump from the present to the past, and then to a distant past, and then to a recent past. We jump from Marius to Thorne, to Mael, to Avicus, to Pandora, to Makare and Maharet.

She jumps into Marius as the main story teller and we recognize episodes that have already been told from here Pandora's point of view, there Armand's point of view, overthere Lestat's point of view. We recognize and yet rediscover them, since the story line is the same but the point of view is all poweful to give a completely different vision.

The vision here is dominated by Marius and his immense sense of passion. He tells us his life of fabulous passion for mortals, for blood drinkers, for Akasha, the Queen, and the systematic loss it leads to every single time. He always creates and prompts his own loss out of his absolute passion by being extremely dominating and flying into anger and possessiveness all the time.

Anne Rice reveals that loce is possible among blood drinkers, a love that finds its realization in blood sharing.

Marius opens up our eyes to the painting and arts of the Italian Renaissance, first of all to Botticelli. This is a habit in her novels now. She skips though over the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages that she does not know enough, particularly the romanesque period and the very difficult and intelligent blending of the Christian faith into the old Celtic tradition. That makes her miss a point : the Renaissance is a movement back to ancient Roman and Greek mythology, because it is the only way to go beyond what has been achieved in the Middle Ages. To go beyond because it leaves the field of representations entirely grounded in the earth, the old Celtic earth, and it reaches for the vision of life that is entirely inspired and inhabited with light. But this obsession of light is contained in the Celtic faith, though marginally ; it is contained in the gothic style that shifts from the romanesque pilgrimage from worldly darkness to celestial light, to the elevation from dark earth to heavenly light, from an horizontal progress to a vertical ascension. The Renaissance just brings light into the artistic vision, as the core of this vision.

Anne Rice finally is an enchanteress with her style. It is a real miracle to listen to that style where she uses some plain words or stuctures to create linguistic life. For more curious people I will just quote here the numerous postposed adjectives, the subtle use of to with look instead of at (giving dynamism to a very static look at), or the use of the preposition unto which is little common in our language. All this creates a prodigiously dynamic style and music.

A masterpiece that should be read by everyone under the sun, or, if you prefer, under the stars.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU