Blood and Gold

Rating:
Summary: Everything you've known before, now just in one book.
Review: When the book begins, and introduces yet another "new" vampire (Thorne) I felt slightly excited that maybe Ms. Rice would break out of the same devices and language that she has used (overused) from her past books. The sections listed as "The Listener" though, gave me pause, and it soon became clear to me that this character, would be just another device (used before) to create a way for Ms. Rice to get all of Marius' stuff out of her system.

Predictably, we start out in the present, with lots of wealth, mystique and darkness, and then after a very short 60 pages we - again - venture backwards in time, same language, same angst, same characters; but what annoyed me most of all is that this story has been told in almost all of the other books. It was like a compilation of sources. Nothing new is being told here. The lengthy "Amadeo" section was already told in the (awful) "Vampire Armand" book. Why retell and retell, just to get another view of these same events. Again, NOTHING new was revealed in this book.

It's not enough to wallow in description. To some of us, it's not enough just to write "in the style" of the classics that Ms. Rice has given us. She has covered this ground (many times over), both story and stylistically, and it's amazing to me that she is encouraged by a portion of her fans to continue to re-tread this static path. Does nothing happen in the present anymore? Is there no current development taking place with these characters, or are they all at a point where all they can do is sit around talking about what happened to them in the past - which, as it turns out, is pretty much the same.

Time was, all of Ms. Rice's vampires had individual voices and passions and needs. Now with each of the vampires "telling their story," she has done an injustice to the very characters she introduced us to. They are all the same vampire now; they speak the same, have the same passion, the same anxieties (neuroses), and unfortunately for us, "Blood and Gold" takes away the riches from a character that has been, until now, interesting and worthy of wonder.

Rating:
Summary: What can I say about Anne Rice?
Review: I simply believe that Anne Rice is an excellent author. However, her newest novel, Blood and Gold was a bit of a dissapointment. It basically described a weak, always-complaining 2,000 year old vampire; a "child of the millenia." As in most of her novels, she vividly describes environments with such detail. I think, however, that the ending of this book was rather lame. But I guess that all of Rice's fans should read her for the sake of enjoying what she has to offer. I know that she will go down as one of the best authors this and last century!

Rating:
Summary: Is Anne fading?
Review: I was absolutely delighted to see a new Anne Rice novel, knowing that meant she's back on track from her long illness, and purchased it without hesitation. When I began to read it, I did so with some trepidation. I found Rice's last work, "Merrick", to be amazingly scattered and pointless. It felt like she was retreading old ground to try and revive interest in the original Chronicle, "Interview with a Vampire".

I felt some of that in "Blood and Gold", although there was quite a bit that was new and intriguing, such as the vampires Eudoxia, Avicus, and Thorne, and more information about old characters: Mael, Santino, and Bianca, who was first introduced in "The Vampire Armand", but was never fully fleshed out until now. Thorne himself remains a mystery, and it seems like Rice is paving the way for a Chronicle of his own.

"Blood and Gold", although a retelling in many ways, reveals many more facets of Marius's story, although his detachment of the world around him seems far greater than it was in "The Vampire Lestat". His voice seems 'cold', not really brought to life through the book as before. But the method in which the story is told is to suit the format: Marius tells the story of his life to another ancient blood drinker, who awakening from a deep rest in the Artic, simply needs the comfort of Marius's presence and words, so he may adjust to the world around him: a world that has changed completely from what he once knew.

Anne Rice also revealed more of the Talamasca to us in this installment, the ancient organization of supernatural scholars who watch from afar in nearly every Rice novel. One thought, Anne - perhaps a great telling of the history of the Talamasca for your next project? We need another one of your books that spans the centuries and civilizations of the world, bringing little-known history to life, not a fourth retelling.

Rating:
Summary: Blood and Gold = FANTASTIC!
Review: This book is absolutely fantastic. It has it all - A wonderful, fast-paced plot -Plenty of vampires (many old faces given new life and vitality by their appearance in this book, as well as awesome new vampires) - Plenty of action - anguish driven feuds - A deliciously moving love story - truly tragic moments - and an amazing ending. It is without question the greatest thing Anne Rice has written since 'The Witching Hour' - and I'd even go so far as to put it on the same level as 'The Queen of the Damned' and 'Interview with the Vampire'.
Marius is a fantastic protagonist and Mael, a vampire that I never really payed much attention to in previous vampire chronicles, is absolutely awesome in this book. If it were a movie, I'd give him best-supporting actor.
I cannot praise this book enough. As soon as I was finished with it I let my sister borrow it. She just now called me and said 'This book is awesome!! This is the best thing Anne Rice has written in a long time!!!'
Even if you've never read one of the Vampire Chronicles, this is the perfect place to jump in. Absolutely spellbinding!!!! I only hope that Anne Rice's next novel can maintain the level of excellence found in 'Blood and Gold'.

Rating:
Summary: A one sitting reading experience
Review: Marius was very happy living as a patrician in Ancient Rome. However, he becomes disheartened when a Druid priest kidnaps him insisting that Marius will be the God of the Grove. He is turned into a vampire, but manages to escape. Marius journeys to Egypt to find the Divine Parents of the Vampires and bring them back to his hometown. For most of his life, he was the guardian of Those Who Must Be Kept, paying homage to them on a consistent basis.

Throughout his long life, Marius observed many world events including the fall of the Roman Empire. He found mortals that he loved and converted them, but none ever remained with him for long after changing. Marius made many enemies with one nearly killing him, causing centuries of healing before recovering. However, the ruler of the vampires stymies his efforts for vengeance by forbidding Marius vengeance.

Anne Rice has created another brilliant installment in her vampire chronicles that seem to have been running at a top quality level for as long as Marius' life span. Readers see the events of history through the eyes of the protagonist and understand what it is like to live in each era depicted in BLOOD AND GOLD. The characters are deep and complex and the tale is enhanced by action that occurs throughout the novel. Vampire lovers, paranormal fans, and Rice readers will enjoy this saga.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: where is this going?
Review: I loved Interview with the Vampire, and re-read it many times during the 80's. I have always argued with friends that it can stand alongside any piece of literature as a great work, since I always believed the vampire theme was an immensely strong and deeply touching metaphor for deep grief and sadness. The language was spare and poetic at the same time. I loved The Vampire Lestat because I found the story deeply engrossing and thought the language truly beautiful. But after those two, I am not sure what happened. Each successive vampire novel has been enjoyable on one level or another, but increasingly they have meant no more than a few hours' entertainment for me. With Blood and Gold I was a little bored, although it certainly cleared up some points I'd been wondering about since The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned (what was Pandora doing with the Indian vampire anyway? What exactly was the deal with Mael and Santino?). I've heard other people describe these novels as "overwrought" and I am beginning to agree. I wonder what I might have thought of it if I had not read all the others first. I hesitate to say anything bad about Blood and Gold, because in and of itself it's not a bad book. It's just that this theme is wearing itself out by repeating the same ideas with different characters. The problem is not that we have seen repeated storylines across several books now - the problem is that the ideas are the same ideas. I agree with another reviewer's comment that maybe you shouldn't bother with Blood and Gold unless you are very uncritical...or just enjoy revisiting the character of Marius, because there is nothing new here.

Having said that, Anne Rice is an interesting author to me. I think she has a handful of landmark books - Interview, Exit to Eden, The Witching Hour, The Vampire Lestat - and I would really like to see her turn to a new and original theme such as these. While a lot of people did not care for Servant of the Bones or Memnoch the Devil (a vampire novel without the vampires), I liked them very much and would rather see her produce more books like that than continue to wear out the vampires.

Rating:
Summary: If only there was a zero star rating!
Review: I received this truly terrible novel as a birthday gift and dutifullytucked into it as I love a good paranormal novel.

Crikey, I haverarely encountered such precious, self-involved writing trapped in aploddingly dismal plot. (...)

Turgid, overly pleased with itself and a crashing bore,"Blood and Gold" is absolutely awful.

Rating:
Summary: How could you not love this book?
Review: If you love the vampire chronicles already you'll adore this book. If you loved the Vampire Armand, you'll cherish this book. Anne rice pulls you into a world that you wish these vampires would bring you into. She describes things so you can imagine them as the characters in the book would witness them. The ending is almost mystical in the way it occurs. I wasn't able to put the book down till I was finished or at least to the amadeo part. Overall, get this book, if you haven't read the other books, I'd say you'll be alright, just get yourself on track after you read this.

Rating:
Summary: Another Masterpiece from The Mistress of the Dark
Review: I have never had any interest in vampire stories and have never understood why they keep writing books and making movies about the same thing over and over again. I mean ok, you have a vampire, and then he lives forever and then he has some sex and kills some people to survive. And then one vampire is frustrated that he can't live a normal life while another thrives on killing and living forever. Ok..what else can you do with that?

And then along comes Ann Rice, with her boundless imagination and her whacko, black-wardrobe, mystical, full-moon New Orleans thing she's got going and boy oh boy, watch out. Ummm, well, actually, come to think of it, she doesn't really tread any new ground here. Let's see, no,.. there's a vampire..lives forever...he's frustrated...some wierd homosexual encounters...killing...sucking blood...ok...nothing new here. Well anyway, she is our mistress of the dark from New Orleans who writes splendidly and prolifically, god is she prolific, about these vampires in Italy and Spain, and oooooh...San Francisco, and they suck people's blood and have sex and live forever and we applaud you Lady Rice, for you are the Mistress of the Dark from New Oreans. Bravo.

Rating:
Summary: Over-milked teet finally wrung dry
Review: Anne Rice has sucked the vampire genre dry. The only reason she continues to publish these travesties is to fill her pockets. Although her first few novels were fresh, she hasn't had an original idea in more than a decade. She writes primarily to feed a large community of uncritical escapists who lap up whatever she happens to regurgitate that year. The prose in this novel is self-consciously baroque, and Marius has no epiphanies or insights beyond the dimensions of any of her prior characters. The only thing that makes the novel different from her past works is the setting. In retrospect, her oeuvre has become the gothic equivalent of Hope and Crosby's On the Road movies. Don't buy this novel unless you have the undiscriminating loyalty of one of her many zombies.