Blood Canticle

Rating:
Summary: Why it ended as it ended.
Review: Allow me, please, to set aside for the moment all the controversy this book as engendered, and point out something I think y'all might have missed.

For years now, Rice has been flirting with the idea of her vampires meeting up with modern science. If you've read the books, you know this. Now, with "BC", she's finally run Lestat up against someone with the education and background to make that a reality: her character Rowan Mayfair, M.D., founder of Mayfair Medical, an institution, we are led to believe, to rival the Mayo Clinic. I read with avid interest to see how she'd finally deal with the question. Answer: she doesn't. How does she manage to avoid it? Because Rowan's (SPOILER!) in luuuve with Lestat! She's in luuuve, and therefore her brains, her experience, her training, her medical genius, her bloody Hipocratic oath, all fly out the window. She's in luuuve, and so this medical prodigy becomes a big, blubbering crybaby.

Well, that's insulting. It's insulting to any woman with any intelligence whatsoever, particularly those working in the (still) male-dominated medical field. And it's insulting to her readers who can spot a dodge when they see one.

But by that as it may. *I* found it funny.

Here's what I think. Rice ended the series as she did, because otherwise, how long could it be before Rowan wakes up, dries up, remembers her Hipocratic oath and all her training and decides to jam a hypodermic into her date? Runs a chromatographic scan on that vampiric blood and finds...what? Anne? Anne? Anne?

The series ended because AR, after all these years, still has NO IDEA what such a scan might reveal. Figuring out what it might reveal would mean asking for help, and, as her statements regarding editors show, Ms. Rice has a problem with that. It would mean surrendering to the world of reality, to science, to the rejection of Arguments of Authority and to the tyranny of numbers. Anne doesn't like numbers. She's said so.

Ah, well, as Barbie (TM) once whined, "Math is hard!"

So farewell, Anne Rice. Good luck with that next, non-vampiric novel. Waiting to see the sales on that one.

(Of course, there's always this possibility: That Lestat already KNOWS what such a scan would reveal, and THAT is why, despite his great love for Rowan Mayfair, M.D., he's holding back. He knows, and the news ain't good, for him or for any vampire. Just a thought.)
[...]

Rating:
Summary: Love Anne Rice but was a bit dissapointed with this one!
Review: I was looking forward to reading this book immensely. It had all my favorite characters, Lestat, Quin and the Mayfair family. However I have to say it was a bit of a disappointment. It dragged a bit at places. After building Quin up to be such an interesting character in Blackwood Farm, he turned into a bumbling frightened vampire. Also the character Mona was a big disappointment to me. I loved her character in the Mayfair books and indeed in Blackwood Farm but as a vampire she was a very weak character.
I gave the book 4 stars because its still an Anne Rice book. I think she is a brilliant author and I will read any more books that she publishes. In fact I will reread this book again.

Rating:
Summary: Yo, dude, see ya ( farewell Lestat)
Review: I understand that over time we all use slang, but the amount in this book felt very forced. Like Lestat was trying to remind us how cool he is (or at least was). And I can even understand that he wants to be good, but saintly? From previous books the only reason Lestat would want to be saintly is to be worshipped. His reasons why seem more political than religious. At least we know he watches CNN. His saintly obsession just goes overboard.

I was very disappointed that the book did not center on a more vampirical story. In Merrick, Lestat left with Louis, David and Merrick. In Blood Canticle, not a mention of why he parted their company just that he had been alone for months. It has been a long time since we have seen many of the vampires together. I was hoping that Maharet would come to see Lestat. The constant fighting and making up reminding me over a bad romance movie. Lestat was indeed bespelled by Blackwood Farm because his sauve nature sure melts away. Hasn't he used a computer before? Lestat and Rowan falling in love, I'm thinkging no. It felt like I was supposed to be feeling more depth between them, like an unspoken bond, but I just couldn't.
Peace Keeper Quinn, the pretty backdrop. And with Mona is with like Rice was trying to combined Claudia and a young Lestat, but she apologized so quickly I just started to become annoyed.

Yes, this is my 'stupid' opinion. I, who became obsessed with the VC after I saw IWTV (which was the first rated

Rating:
Summary: Never a disappointment
Review: I read this book a few days after it was released. I've reread it three times since then as I do all of Anne Rice's books. I have read every single book that she has written, right down to the Beauty series, and I have to say that she has never been a disappointment.

Lestat's evolution into a saint and then inevitable plunge into the old Lestat was to be expected but that doesn't mean it was written poorly. Lestat is Lestat and as an aspiring writer I understand how sometimes books just write themselves. Just because you want Lestat to stay the same throughout the years it doesn't mean that he wants to. These characters are entities unto themselves and just like any character or person, for that matter, they evolve and grow over time. They don't always make the choices you want them to or become the people you think they should be but as Anne so eloquently put it, if you don't like it, read something else.

Well I loved it, Anne. I look forward to what else you have to give to the world whether it is simple reviews on Amazon or a whole new genre of books. Thank you for the years you have given us thus far and the gift of your imagination.


Rating:
Summary: delighted ...
Review: I'm an extremely faithful reader of Anne Rice for years, and sometimes it is hard to be objective on someone's work when you love her as much as I do, but I'll try to be objective.
And I apologize for any mistakes of english, I'm french, so it's a litte difficult for me to write in english.
This said, I felt like a duty to post a review on this site, after writing an e-mail to her, a few months ago, to tell her my entire support. Not only because I'm one of her faithful reader, but because I felt some comments were an complete lack of respect to her, as a person, and mostly as an author.
As a beggining author myself (I insist on the word "beginning", as I'm currantly writing my first novel), I imagined how painful it has been for her to read such venimous comments about her novel. I couldn't imagine that the responses had been so cruel for her and her work until I read all the comments posted here. And most of the time, truly, for the worst reviews, there are no really arguments, there are not really ideas to defend this point of view. So, it often lacks credibility.
Writing a novel represents an HUGE ammount of work, researches and studies. I can't help but being in admiration when I realise how much she works for every single novel she writes. Before beginning to write, I had not the slightest idea of how hard it truly is to write a novel. Writing on your own changes everything in your life, and it changes the way you perceive the work of an other author. It changes everything. You have far more respect for an author, now that you understand how difficult it is. You realise how much an author is involved in his work, how much his writing represents in his life.
There had been diffamous comments here. Doubting that she had written this book ... I hope the persons who wrote that realise how painful it can be to an author to read such a thing. When you begin to write, you realise the power of words, how it affects people, how it can make them laugh, or cry, or think.
So, even if you didn't like this novel, respect is an essential thing. And I sincerely think that a lot of comments were purely disrespectful, for both her and her work, which deserves at least respect.
As to the book in itself, I was, as always, delighted with every page. I cherish every line, every single word she has ever written. She is the author who gave me the desire to write my own stories, and this is while reading her novels that I realised that the rest of my life would be dedicated to writing.
Reading her has changed my life. I used to see the world in black and white before reading her, now I see it in colors.
I've got the most sincere admiration for her and her work, and if someday I got such a beautiful career as hers, I'd be the happiest person in the world.
She has offered me, through her writing, to see the world, humans, religion, with such an fresh way ... I've grown up reading her, and her novels have been the most passionate pages I've ever read of my life.
If I could, I'd put a dozens stars for this book, five is not enough.

Rating:
Summary: Haven't read it but I will now!
Review: Yow know a book is really good when it creates this much controversy. Give Ms. Rice a break! I doubt many of you could do better. Writing is difficult and it has its cycles.

Rating:
Summary: Most Enjoyable
Review: Witches and vampires and ghosts oh my! Anne Rice has done it again. She's created another episode in the life of Lestat the world's greatest vampire (at least in his mind). Blood Canticle is the tenth novel in The Vampire Chronicles although you do not have to read them in order to enjoy them or know what is going on.

The first chapter is all Lestat. Conceded, whiny and all about his me, me, me attitude. Frankly you can skip this chapter as it really has nothing to do with the story. He did a wonderful job of annoying me the whole way through. The real story begins with chapter two. Quinn Blackwood (the focus of book nine Blackwood Farm) a newly anointed vampire by non-other than Lestat is the focus of Lestat's affection this time around. Rice really loves her triangles though and shortly the love of Quinn's life shows up on his doorstep sick and on the verge of her death. Lestat being the wonderful and loyal friend that he is gives Mona the dark gift as a favour for Quinn. She is magically transformed into this lithe of beauty with long curly red hair that is captivating to one and all. Her one flaw is she's extremely emotional and tends toward fits of crying and tantrums. These two characters remind me a lot of Louis and Claudia from Interview with a Vampire.

Now we have a dashing trio of vampires. The dilemma put before them is Mona wants to find her child taken away at birth. Her child has the unique gift of being a Taltos, a group of secret people seven feet tall with no bone structure that grow to adult size within a few hours. It was this birth that put Mona (who's also a witch) on her deathbed.

As with any good search there are obstacles along the way. The ghost of Quinn's dead mother whom he goes around telling everyone he killed by snapping her neck and throwing her in the swamp. Everyone thinks he's kidding but he's not. There's also the ghost of scary Uncle Julian and the adorable Stella. Uncle Julian is one of the finest characters in this story and is sure to make the hair on your arms stand up. Other obstacles include the Secret People themselves and whether or not they can or want to be found and a band of drug lords, a family of witches and of course the prince of darkness himself.

One of the things I love about Anne Rice's books is her attention to detail especially when it comes to scenery. When reading it's obvious she loves New Orleans. Like an artist she paints its beauty, mystery and hidden darkness of the streets, architecture, natural surroundings and residents.

Although Lestat is the narrator of this story he's not necessarily mainstream. He's sharing the stage with the other characters, his loves, although I think reluctantly. Lestat is not the gruesome killer he used to be. He's trying to be a reformed vampire. His personal goal is to become a saint and be adored by everyone but his internal demons seem to always get the better of him. If you pick up Blood Canticle you'll be able to witness another Lestat adventure. Most enjoyable.

Review Originally Posted at http://www.linearreflections.com