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Summary: Vampires, Witches, Ghosts...oh my!
Review: In the latest edition of the Vampire Chronicles, Anne Rice introduces us to a fledging vampire named Tarquinn, "Quinn". What ever happened to Lestat? Now in the beginning of the book Quinn is seeking out Lestat to help him with a little problem he has with a ghost. I enjoyed reading this book and it was hard pulling myself away... it was a real page turner. I can understand Rice wanting to expand the the Blood Drinkers Universe by creating stories about the other vampires besides Lestat. However, how much is too much? In this book she does not only introduce us to Quinn but those blood drinkers that made him and a new vampire that is created in this book.Rice does a lot of foreshadowing in this book, so much so that is gets too predictable. I can see at least three new books from this one if Rice chooses to go on to further write about these ideas presented in Blackwood Farm. But what is needed is another book soley devoted to Lestat...this book is not it. It is devoted to Quinn and his problem ghost. Now instead of writing a new book devoted to the Mayfair Witch Clan, Rice throws their story line more so in this book (I have not read Merrick). So the story if the Mayfairs and the Blood Drinkers are more closely related in this book. Of course it was only a matter of time that more of the Mayfairs became blood drinkers due to the fact that Julien Mayfair had sired half of the population in New Orleans. I don't think this character had enough time in his long life to wear any clothes due to the many childern he has fathered. I digress. Back to the book at hand. Blackwood Farm gives a deatiled account of Quinn's life before becoming a blood drinker at his ancestral home Blackwood Manor and the mysterious Sugar Devil Island. Roughly 80% of the book is devoted to Quinn's growing up and his experience with his "Goblin" (a imaginary friend that is not so imaginary). It is with Goblin that Quinn starts having problems before vampirehood then turns into a bigger problem once Quinn returns home from a three year stint in Europe and is given the Dark Gift. Goblin is the reason why Lestat is called in for helping Quinn. Which he does, how could he not help the loveable Quinn? If you enjoy reading about the other Vampires besides Lestat I recommend the book. If you are looking for more of the Vampire Lestat, this is not one of those books. This book will not give you any indepth information on what happened to Lestat as he was laying on the floor in a coma like state. Although I think I can make an educated guess that Rice will write about that in an up coming book? Over all opion is you are going to love it or hate it, but there is only one way of knowing for sure and that is too read the book.
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Summary: Ow, ow, ow, stop it, I'm laughing so hard!
Review: Now let me get this straight: starting with Memnoch, Lestat A. Drank the blood of an international drug dealer, B. Went on a psychedelic "journey", C. Spent several novels passed out on the floor, and is now D. Going to the country for a wee bit of rest. Great: he's in REHAB and Anne doesn't even know it! Ow, it hurts! O, Lestat, Lestat, Lestat. Do hope you enjoyed the countryside, so peaceful, so restful, so far from the cities, the rush of modern life and from that troublesome--and still pending, I remind you--SCIENCE problem. You know, the one you, Louis and David have all at one time or another wondered out loud about? "And what if some scientist had gotten hold of me... and I'd been incarcerated, inspected, identified and classified...to the satisfaction of the worst mortal skeptics worldwide," wasn't it? It can still happen, you know. So do, do enjoy your pastoral vacation. I'll be here waiting when you get back.
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Summary: Stan read it and now look! She should stop writing!
Review: After Armand she went downhill. I am done with her!
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Summary: Eternal life is so human
Review: Anne Rice, in this new episode of the Vampire Chronicles, blends Lestat and his vampiric world completely with the Mayfairs and their bewitching universe. It sure is not the first time, but the second, after Merrick Mayfair and her recent adventures. But this time things are slightly more intricate. The hero of this volume, the newly made vampire Tarquin Blackwood, has always been a viewer of spirits and ghosts. He has always been haunted, with his love and his total submission and acceptance, by a certain Goblin. The turning point is when Tarquin meets, by accident, Mona Mayfair, a young fifteen year old witch of the Mayfair family, the future heiress of the whole Mayfair planet and empire, and our Tarquin just decides to fall in love with her and she responds with the similar decision of falling in love with him. But then he discovers that he is a direct descendant of Julien Mayfair, an old uncle in the family, dead in 1914. He learns it from Julien's own mouth and that explains his ability to see ghosts, but this does not explain who Goblin is. He will discover little by little that this Goblin is becoming stronger and stronger and that he is also becoming meaner and meaner with him and the people he loves. The rest is of course unexplainable here. I do not want to reveal how this Goblin will disappear from the world and go back to God. But I would like to insist on the meaning of the book, the metaphorical meaning. Anne Rice never writes for the only sake of writing and for the sheer pleasure of writing. She writes about our world. She is a metaphoricist at heart. So what does she tell us about the world? She tells us that the world is not a realm of equality and justice, and that those who have power and money can help the others, even to reform their ways and become better. She tells us that the intelligence of a person has little to do with the environment in which this person is born or raised, but only with the opportunities that person is provided with in life and the world. Thus an intelligence can be spoiled by the lack of opportunities and an intelligence can be saved and even redeemed by opportunities offered to its carrier. But there is more. This book also tells us that the worst evil we can come across in this world is the vengeful and scornful and angry cry for justice from a person or people who have been, by accident or intentionally, the victims of an injustice, an alienation, a frustration. Anne Rice is telling us that such people may come to blind hate and destructiveness. But she also tells us that we may be just as blind and destructive if we do not know or understand the causes of this frustration and alienation, that we are, unawares maybe, responsible for this alienation and frustration. So we have to save the victims from what we have unwillfully and unintentionally (all the more if it was willful and intentional) caused and compensate for the consequences of our acts and free these victims of their anger, frustration and alienation, even if it may costs us dearly. Our responsibility is at least engaged because we have been blind of the situation and have done nothing to correct it. The victim is in no way responsible for the consequences of our acts. This is marvellously said, demonstrated and illustrated by Anne Rice in this novel. Rush out and buy it at once. And read it in one single go. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Perpignan
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Summary: A shaky bridge between two narratives
Review: I've always found Anne Rice's initial novels much more engaging than her sequels so I looked forward to reading the saga of her latest New Orleans characters, the Blackwood family. Unfortunately this bridge between her two main storylines is a shaky one. Blackwood Farm suffers from having far too much in some aspects and far too little in others. What's lacking are the suspense, mystery and great storytelling of "Interview with the Vampire" and "The Witching Hour". What's over-indulgent are the many characters from other Anne Rice novels awkwardly thrust in. (Even the most fascinating characters can become annoying when they water down the main story and force the author into convoluted explanations of their backgrounds.) Unless you're greatly impressed with the gimmick of piecing all the details together, Lestat and the Mayfairs detract from Blackwood Farm more than they contribute. Another problem is the narrator, Quinn, whose flowery dialog makes him seem out of place even in his own story, which is set in the modern world of email and AIDs. The character and the setting just don't match up. Neither do his actions. Halfway through the novel he makes some extremely bizarre choices that really shattered my belief in the entire story. Set back a few decades, the story of Quinn and Goblin might have been a good one, but it seems to have been abandoned midway through in favor of cameo appearances by more famous Rice characters and an ending designed to set up another book. Blackwood Farm reads like an unintended parody of Anne Rice's better novels.
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Summary: Blackwood farm 2! I can't wait !
Review: I thought the newest edtion of Anne Rice's Vampire cronicles was a great one. I have been a long time fan of Anne, and this has just barely quinched my thirst fo the lives of her Vampires. The story of young Quinn Blackwood is an interesting one. In this book she had fused together the best of three demonic worlds; the world of vampires, ghosts, and the Mayfair witches. And I am extremly excited for her nest adventure in the lives of all the persons who reside in Blackwood farm. Espcailly the twist at the very end, when mona finds Quinn and has a very important choice to make. wheather to die, or choose death in a diffirent form.
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Summary: Starts of a little slow, but then it is captivating
Review: When I first started this book, I was a little worried, we meet Tarquin Blackwood who needs Lestat's help. We begin the full, long story of Quinn's family history(to which he is telling Lestat), which by the end of it I was ready for it to begin with the present time in the book. It then picks up full force (which is what we expect from Rice) it is captivating, once I reached this point in the book I couldn't put it down. When you come to the end, you go "No, it can't end like this" which to me is great, and exciting. Now I cannot wait to see what vampire chronicle book is released next. We also get the introduction of 2 vampires, who are very old in age, which makes me believe we may be seeing some of these characters in their own spinoff books.
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Summary: Blackwood Farm was captivating!
Review: This book was a slow read to start but finished leaving me wanting more. The history of the Blackwood Farm Family, and their ghosts, was great reading in typical Anne Rice detail. As you progress through the story events begin to pull together and the book becomes a draw for all of your spare time. The introducton of the Mayfair family had me pulling out 'Lasher' and 'Merrick The Vampire' to refresh my memory of certain characters. It also had me thinking of her writings of "Beauty". What a blend of her past writings. And introducing new vampires leaves all kinds of possibilities for future chronicles like 'Blood And Gold',or 'The Vampire Armand'. Finally, the ending was so poignant I was moved. It left me with the same feeling I get watching the TV show, 24, "Don't leave me hanging like this!" This was a book I could not put down. I eagerly await the next in the series and I hope it picks up where Blackwood Farm left off.
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Summary: Oh if there is a heaven, bring it down on me!
Review: I have been an avid fan of Anne Rice since the tender age of 14 when I discovered "Interview With the Vampire". But! This book drove me slowly crazy. It was too painfully dragged out. Lestat is such a main component in the chronicles and here, it just seems like he's a watcher, and Quinn, who is this new Vampire (shouldn't this belong then in the New Vampire Chronicles) and talks like a vampire of old. I don't know. It just didn't rub me the right way. Not like the first 5 or so. Don't get me wrong. The next book I'll purchase full price for, her words are contagious and penetrating but! please don't destroy the legacy of both the vampires and the Mayfairs.
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Summary: emerging from the ashes
Review: I have to admit, I was thrilled by the first three chapters of this book- our good friend Lestat had me laughing out loud! And then, regrettably, it slooowed down, not to really regain momentum until the last 100 pages or so. However, having said that (and I do consider myself an avid fan) this book is an improvement over Armand and Blood and Gold. (I, personally, DID like Merrick...). But, one of the joys of Anne's writing is that you can read her books over and over again, and always find something interesting. As I've read B.F. over, it has consistantly grown on me, so much so that today I actually stopped halfway through and decided I really DID like Quinn! My advice to a new reader- enjoy the beginning and the end, and suffer through the middle. I look forward to see the October's offering.
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