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Summary: Blackwood Farm
Review: I have read every one of Anne Rices books. I love when she writes about the Mayfair witches, therefore i loved this book. My housework went by the way side, because i could not put this book down.I lived in New Orleans a while. I got to see where she lives. it was great.One day i would love to meet her.
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Summary: Together at Last
Review: How long could Lestat live in New Orleans without meeting the Mayfairs? Finally they come together in this book. Anne Rice has no doubt pleased her many readers. New characters, new locations and yet the same superb descriptive narrative, in this case by Quinn, taking us into the mysteries of Blackwood, where bodies are dumped in the swamp by strange beings, and the humans have their share of problems.
Now, if only Kay Scarpetta could be brought down to investigate.......
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Summary: The real Anne is finally back!
Review: Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles have been less than stellar as of late. It seems that her novels lacked the most crucial thing of all: plot. Merrick aside, most of her books have been long-winded and very repetitive. So it's great to finally see her back on top again. With Blackwood Farm, not only does Anne introduces a new character, but she also brings forth one of her most entertaining and fast-paced efforts ever. Blackwood Farm is much more than a vampire novel. As a matter of fact, the vampire component seems to be secondary. Instead, what we do have is a great ghost story and a great haunted house story. Tarquin is a young man in his late teens who has seen ghosts all of his life. His best friend is a ghost he calls Goblin. Goblin looks exactly like Tarquin and also acts like him. But many around Tarquin thinks he is crazy for seeing all these ghosts. Tarquin is made into a vampire, something that does not sit well with Goblin. Goblin also wants the same eternal power, and so he begins attacking Tarquin every time he makes a kill so that he, too, can have some of the eternal blood and become stronger. Tarquin wants to rid himself of Goblin. He goes to none other than Lestat for help. And it is to Lestat that Tarquin will tell his amazing story. This time around, Anne Rice found a way to instate a new life in her series. This story isn't repetitive at all. The biggest problem with books like Blood and Gold were that we already knew so much about these vampires that their stories no longer felt fresh. But here, we have something that is completely new and different. I have to admit that I loved the book's central character. Tarquin is a one-of-a-kind that stays embedded in your mind for quite some time. And I have to admit that I preferred the ghost story parts over the vampire parts (maybe Anne could write a full-fledge ghost story next time around). The book's strongest point is the way in which Anne brings the whole Blackwood clan to life. They live in an old New Orleans mansion that holds too many secrets, and too many residents. The way in which all of these characters are fleshed out was just perfect. The place where Rice falters is in the romance department. Her idea of romance is a little too flowery and blissful for my taste, and Tarquin falls way too easily in and out of love (like most of Anne Rice's characters). Blackwood Farm is Rice's best work since Memnoch The Devil. It is a fast-paced, exhilarating read that very rare falters. Anne Rice fans will be glad to see that the queen of vamps is finally back on top!
Rating:
Summary: Blackwood Farm
Review: Anne Rice just keeps getting better! I sincerely hope that she's already at work on her next book -- I can't wait to hear more of Mona and Quinn.
Rating: 
Summary: Anne Rice at her worst
Review: I'm an Anne Rice fan, but this book is a silly mess. A 529 page soap opera peopled with cartoon characters (like the hero's octagenarian aunt, Aunt Queen, who teeters around on hooker's spiked heels, like the hero's negligent mother, Patsy, who dresses in cowgirl outfits and wears bouffant hair as if for the stage of the Grand Old Opry, and like the hero himself). He's histrionic (perhaps manic-depressive?), and his entire emotional range consists of instantly falling in love with countless beings (people, spirits, vampires, etc.) or, alternately, falling into countless rages. Everyone around him thinks he's a genius (they say so constantly) - but we're given no evidence that supports that. Although...he does seems to have an eye for clothes and comments on them repeatedly. I can't tell you how many times he mentions Jasmine's "signature" white blouse. The book's structure is another big problem. The action of the story runs from pages 1-80 and then resumes at page 484 to end at page 529. The middle section (the "meat" of the book) is 404 pages of Tarquin "Quinn" Blackwood (the hero) recounting his life story in tiresome detail to Lestat, in the course of a few hours during a single night. Impossible. Ms. Rice unconciously seems to realize it defies logic. At one point (on page 401) Quinn says "As for me I was so overwhelmed and so often in our travels that it would make tiresome reading here to recount it." Thank goodness he spares us - but it indicates that even she realizes this opus could not have been told in the course of the single evening indicated. She seems to have run out of ideas. Why else a hermaphrodite vampire villain, Patsy's melodramatic case of AIDS, or the homestretch dead twin (shows up within the last 25 pages and conveniently ties up the loose ends)? She seems to be reaching for inspiration which is simply not there and has turned to prime-time soap opera for guidance.
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Summary: Sheeee's baaaaaack!
Review: Blackwood Farm, is splendid. It's one of the best books that Anne has written in along while. For all of you readers out there that have come to hate the new chronicles, you'll love this. Tarquin Blackwood is an enchanting character, not since Louis has there been one so delicious as he. In fact the only faults that I can say about this book was that it didn't include my beloved, tortured Louis, and that its' ending was rather...not rushed, for it wasn't, but it ended too soon, leaving me blinking at the last sentence, disbelievingly.
But what else can I say? It's good to have the Brat Prince back.^^
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Summary: ... will it ever end!!!
Review: ... Taking in to account the fact that I haven't enjoyed one of her full-length novels since the mid 1990's I suppose I may be speaking with a somewhat jaded voice, even still, I must say "Blackwood Farm" is the most beautifully crafted pile of ... I have ever seen. It would seem to me that Anne Rice has granted her characters many gifts... unfortunately realism is not one of them. Perhaps Mrs. Rice should discover the difference between eloquence and pretense. ... I am still waiting to see Jesse, Gabrielle & Maharet do something... anything, for crying out loud, they are the only characters that actually have unique voices anymore. Please Mrs. Rice, your fans are begging for something different ...
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Summary: She's Ba-a-a-ck
Review: For the first time in several years, I have enjoyed a book by Anne Rice. She had lost me completely with Violin (which I didn't even finish) and several others. I picked up Blackwood Farm on whim and a hope, and didn't put it down until the final word. I am usually bored with extensive description, but not this time! Rice defines the characters and sets the scenes so richly and vividly, that I felt as though I were an unseen hitchhiker in Quinn's psyche, experiencing his life from inside his skin. If you have given up on Anne Rice, read Blackwood Farm. I don't think you will be disappointed.
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Summary: The First REALLY Good Anne Rice Book In Awhile
Review: Loved it, loved it, loved it!!! This book was fun, interesting, and true Anne Rice. Read (or reread) the Witch books and Merrick. I was so thrilled to read about everyones fave vamp, Lestat! Don't think this is a weak book -- it is a great read! I did not put it down until I was done! Anne, you have out done yourself again -- I can't wait until the next book!
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Summary: Bring on the Sequel!
Review: This is quite possibly Anne's best book since _The Witching Hour_. Moody, scary, and ultimately hopeful, this book tells the story of a young man, Quinn, who lives a most unusual life. First, he's part of a byzantine Southern family, the Blackwoods, who have as many family secrets and skeletons in the closet as the Mayfairs do. Rice creates a wonderful group of characters in this family, all of whom you will feel like you know personally. Quinn is also haunted by a spirit doppelganger, Goblin, who is sometimes his friend, sometimes his enemy, and never far from him for long. His relationship with the spirit is questioned by the adults around him--even the best-intentioned of his relatives think he is making up an imaginary playmate or hallucinating. It's sort of reminiscent of Charles de Lint's _Someplace to be Flying_ in that respect--which BTW is another really good book. Quinn tells his life story to the notorious Vampire Lestat, after a series of events cause Quinn to become a vampire himself. Since the transformation, Goblin has shown a dangerous new bloodlust... How Quinn got to this desperate pass, of course, is the subject of our book. The tale unfolds, and in spite of being longer than most of Anne's recent books, never seems *too* long. Along the way we see familiar characters. Lestat himself, of course, bratty again. Rowan, too, has regained her dangerous charisma. And of course, I am forever in love with Julien and Mona Mayfair! Julien makes a brief appearance, delightful as ever, revealing more secrets about "the beds he left unmade and warm". And Mona, Quinn's soul mate, who has suffered most horribly since the birth of her strange child. As the tale ends, Rice shocks us with the death of a familiar character, leaving us to wish that character had been developed more in previous writings. "We hardly knew ye..." And then there is the last line--a line as momentous as "You are coming with me. Now." from _Feast of All Saints_ so many years ago--a line with just enough ambiguity that you'll read the last page 10 times to make sure she's saying what you think she's saying. The last time Anne left me this desperate for a sequel was with _Witching Hour_--and the two sequels were already out by the time I read it. This time I guess I'll have to wait...Please, Anne, we want Blackwood Farm 2 NOOOOWWW!!
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