Rating: 
Summary: A Bloody Letdown
Review: Whenever a new vampire chronicles book comes out; I run out, get it, and read it right away. The classics like Vampire Lestat, Queen of the Damned....and even the individual focus books on Pandora and Marius were mystical and exotic. Those books took the reader on a journey through time with the tortured central character. Lestat was always the brat prince in all of us; and in his adventures we found our thrills.This new novel by Anne Rice is the finale of the series. As a finale, it is very much a let down. I couldn't believe that the story had no driving plotline....and seemed so meandering. Lestat seemed like a shadow of himself. I found myself bored with the text. Usually Anne Rice is so descriptive of the world that these Vampires live in, but in this book descriptive text is thrown around like an afterthought. I have read every book in this series; and this was a very disappointing finale. Instead of going out with as Lestat would say, "A bang, baby!". The story ends with a whimper, leaving the reader not caring about what happens to Lestat or all the other characters....and what a shame that is. I think that the author needs to get away from these characters for awhile and come back once she is fully recharged and has a story worth telling. My final point is that the novel seems almost rushed to conclusion. The new one came out about a year after the last one (Blackwood Farm), and seems like it was put out just to fulfill a contractual obligation to the publisher. Go to the library and read it if you must, but otherwise just skip it and reread the prior novels. They are more satisfying to reread than this novel.
Rating:
Summary: Oh dear Lord...
Review: This was the last thing I ever thought I be doing. Giving an Anne Rice book, least of all a Vampire Chronicles book, one star. There really isn't a God... Anne, dear Anne. I've followed your writing for so long. The VC books have captivated and fascinated me for years. When I found out that The Blood Canticle was the last book, I was upset. Devestated. Horrified. Frightened. Then hopeful. Hopeful that perhaps this one would feature all of the old Coven. You all remember them, right? Anne had kind of ignored them for a long time. I hoped for Louis, Armand, Marius, Daniel, Padndora, Gabrielle, and any other old Vampire that ever surfaced in this series. But, low and behold, I didn't see any of the Vampires that I loved. In fact, I didn't even see Lestat. No. No Lestat. No Brat Prince that I had adored for so long. Instead, there was 'Saint Lestat', a pseudo-Lestat hellbent on being good. He wrote fragments, used all capital letters for several words, verbally attacked his devoted readers, said "Yo" and "shove off", and somehow lost all of the poetic sayings like "Savage Garden" that he had once so freely written. No paragraph exceeded six lines. I seem to remember several paragraphs going on for a whole page. Where were all the elaborate sentances? The description? The heart-felt dialoge. In all the other books, no one ever spoke. So when one of the Vampires actually decided to talk, you knew it was important. In the Blood Canticle, the pages are rife with frivolous coments about how Mona's calfs look great in high-heels. I think I read that Anne stopped using an editor after Queen of the Damned. I think she needed thirty to save this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Geez people, it was a decent book
Review: While I don't think it's Anne Rice's best the story in the book was entertaining to me. I had been waiting to find out what happened after the end of Blackwood Farm. I think people also have to take into account what was going on in Anne's personal life when she was writing this book and cut some slack. A lot of people hated Memnoch too, but it was a really great book.
Rating:
Summary: Since when???
Review: I have not read this book yet (I live in a rural town that isn't selling it- about 8 copies of Blackwood are in the bargan box at the book store, when Anne was insanely popular here when I was in school). I was about to buy it, but Anne's obvously gone mad. Am I the only one who remembers that vampires can't see ghosts? Maharet clearly articulates this in QoTD. Yet ever since Memnoch and Roger's haunting (which outraged me) ghost have been in almost (if not every) future chronicle. Why?? no explanation is given for Maharet saying this nor for vampires like Armand who, if his story is to be taken serious, knows of ghosts. Anne runs out of ideas and breaks her own rules.
Rating: 
Summary: The Land of Missed Opportunities.
Review: In reading some of the earlier reviews of this book, as well as those of its predecessor, "Blackwood Farm," I agree that "Blood Canticle" has the look and feel of a first draft. If Anne Rice had put it away for a bit and then come back to it, I believe she could've corrected many of its flaws. One subtle thing that bothered me right off the bat was the style of language used by Lestat's character. It is markedly different than his speech in the other books and his new style of speaking, saying things like "babe" and "cool," really doesn't work. He sounded more like Austin Powers than he did Lestat. Something that could've been developed a lot more were the references to "Memnoch." For example, there's a reference made in either this book, or "Blackwood Farm," to Lestat's mind or consciousness being "stolen" by Memnoch or other angels. To what end, the reader isn't told. This seemed like an obvious point to follow up on and I was disappointed that it wasn't. I was also disappointed to see the pages that were wasted by the appearance of Patsy's ghost. In my mind, that whole tangent added nothing to the book. And finally, I had read a rumor that Anne Rice was going to use the Blackwood saga to delve into the origins of the Talamasca. I was quite disappointed to see that she didn't do so in either of the books. The organization's beginnings are discussed somewhat in the "Witching Hour" trilogy (it is hinted, by the Lasher character, that it was started to breed Taltos), but, I think, never fully fleshed out and explored. In conclusion, I believe that this book is rife with missed literary opportunities.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I am an avid Anne Rice fan. I have read and reread the Vampire Chronicles and the Witching Hour series. They are excellent. This final book, however, is very disappointing. First, Anne should be very careful when she is complaining through Lestat in the first chapter. It isn't Lestat, it's Anne, and it's obvious. I wished for so much more. I am rereading the Witching Hour just to get this book out of my mind.
Rating:
Summary: Not Anne Rice's Best
Review: I'm usually as excited as a kid at Christmas when Anne publishes a new Vampire chronicle. But this volume was just not up to par. The story is forced and contrived. The reader feels that Anne's heart just wasn't in it. Lestat is overly chatty. His monologues serve as fillers. His ramblings are pointless and annoying. Our beloved eternal bad boy has been reduced to a caricature. One wonders why this book was written? Did Anne really want to tell a story or did her publishers just demand a new book? On the plus side, it's a very easy book to read. On the minus side, it's easy to read because it contains none of the intelligence, beauty of language, richness of history, or witticisms of her previous works. Perhaps Anne needs some time to regroup and mourn the loss of her beloved husband and muse, Stan Rice, before attempting to continue the Vampire Chronicles. If you are a true Anne Rice fan you will read this book anyway, but you'd be better off reading an Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novel by Laurell K. Hamilton. Ms. Hamilton's style is not like Anne Rice's, but the point is, you don't expect it to be.
Rating: 
Summary: A sad ending to the Chronicles...
Review: I've always been a fan of Anne Rice way back when I discovered "Interview" when I was a freshmen in High School. I've read every single one of her Vampire books, as well as a few others like Servant of the Bones. I bought this book the day it came out, hoping for a wonderful classic ending to the Vampire Chronicles. After reading Canticle, I cant say I wasnt disappointed. I personally wasnt offended by Letstat's rant about Memnoch/being a Saint, I found it a way to lighten up the book. But to me this is not the Anne Rice of old - where are our beautiful descrptions, where is the elegant language? Plot wise, this book is horrible. To be the end of the Chronicles it seems to me that this was more about the Taltos! All of the "loose threats" remaind untied. Overall, I give it 3 stars because its by Anne Rice and its a Vampire Chronicle - I cant really make myself dislike it, I did enjoy reading it. But it definately wasnt as good as I expected, and it was a horrible way to end the great Vampire Chronicles that I've enjoyed so long.
Rating:
Summary: Difficult to appreciate
Review: Although I love Anne Rice and her works, it's sometimes a love-hate relationship and occasionally one seems to dominate over the other. In the case of this book, I'd like to be more optimistic, but find myself strained to be so. I would recommend this book, it's not a waste of your time, but it's definitely not the older books. I personally *HATE* the witch books, and I hate it even more when they cross with the vampire books. Why? Because witches have no relevance to the world of the vampires. Lestat could set them ablaze with a thought, and frankly, I find them boring. The notions of family are well developed, but simply have no place in the realm of the vampire, where family notions tend to fall apart because of the very nature of the vampire as developed by Anne Rice herself. Sigh, I really wanted a better end, one more in tune with the classic writing style of yore. I think she was better off writing other stories than demeaning the vampire chronicles with stories involving witches or narrative experimentations. I actually thought she caught on in Blackwood Farm where Merrick was mercifully set ablaze. Apparently, I was wrong. I don't know, I definitely recommend her other books, but this should never have been written. If she wanted to send Lestat off in the blaze of glory, she should've turned him into an Archangel opposed to God and Memnoch alike and let it go from there. I hate saying this, believe me, but I was disappointed. If you're a fan, you'll probably feel the same way, if not, I recommend you start with another of her books.
Rating:
Summary: Don't be fooled by the author's name.
Review: Apparently Anne Rice has decided to sacrifice quality for being on the best-seller list. Having read all of her books, I was hopeful after reading Blackwood Farm, but not anymore. If you want to read great Anne Rice, try the Vampire Chronicles before Memnoch and the Mayfair witches before Canticle. She's turned into the McCaffrey of horror, writing more for money than quality. This book is a disgrace to the fans and to their beloved Brat Prince.
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