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Summary: Disturbing Undertones
Review: This book is not only poorly written and a travesty to Louis fans, but it is also deeply disturbing. Anne spends a great deal of time trying to justify and explain the sexual exploitation and molestation of a minor. Child sexuality and sexual abuse have been recurring themes in a number of her books, but it really comes to the fore in Merrick. The theme is highly unsettling since she seems to want people to believe that sex with minors is normal and acceptable.
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Summary: What happened?
Review: I've loved all of Ms. Rice's other books on the vampires, and yet I was put off by Merrick. I thought that Merrick was an ill-attempt at the love her yet hate her character. She was poorly characterized and if anything she made me truly unhappy, her becoming a vampire and Louis's near demise were not only crass but they almost destroyed the whole story. How is it that Louis the once timid and tender one, becomes this confident and egotistical character after a blood share with Lestat. And as for Lestat I think it's good he finally arose from his comatose state but he seemed more affectionate than previously described. All in all the book was a complete disappointment. For those of you who have fallen in love with Louis and Lestat then I wouldn't suggest this book. Those of you who think that David should be thrown into prominence then go right on ahead, and even David was horribly written. His views changed and he seemed more of the old man Lestat seduced in the beginning of his adventure then the man whom acquired a young body and was seeking out the immensity of true life. Hopefully Ms. Rice's next book will be more promising.
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Summary: Both Chronicles Continue...
Review: Anne Rice has written the first crossover novel of the Vampire and Mayfair Witches Chronicles. The Vampire Chronicles return to New Orleans after time primarily spent in Italy. Of greatest interest to Vampire Chronicle fans is the return to the forefront of Louis, seriously trying to get up the nerve to do himself in and as devestated as ever by Claudia's fate. With the other vampires gone and Lestat once again in an apparently comatose state, David uses his worry over Louis as an excuse to contact his protege and sometime lover Merrick, a Mayfair Witch who he hasn't seen since his body switch and misses desperately. He asks Merrick to raise Claudia's spirit so that Louis can know the state of her soul. The question is not weather Merrick can, but weather her very contact with David and Louis will corrupt her despite their best intentions. Some of the novel is disturbing - especially when David talks about his rather sordid past - but then again, the whole point of the series (at least to me) is the struggle between good and evil impulses and the consequences when evil wins out. Although not my favorite of the series, no one who's kept up with the chronicles is likely to want to miss finding out if Louis finally gets some closure. And as always, New Orleans - itself one of the series' main characters - haunts you long after you've finished the last page.
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Summary: A Shocking Disappointment
Review: I'm still in a state of shock that my beloved Anne Rice could hack together such a dull and disappointing effort. I feel guilty writing this, since apparently Merrick was medicinal for Anne during her hour of need, but she should have just tossed it in the garbage upon her recovery and spared the rest of us the pain of having to read it. Anne, please don't let this be the beginning of the end! We want the REAL YOU back!
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Summary: Dissapointing, but hopeful
Review: Basically, Merrick is simply an advertisement for future books. There were more hints and teasers than necessary, and I only hope Anne Rice fulfills her often stated "but I don't have time to tell this tale now." As is usual the book ends with a feeling of being left in mid-sentence, but the scattered teasers throughout left me with more a sense of frustration than anticipation. I would have liked to see more effort dedicated to the story at hand which was typical Anne Rice, but in a watered down way. While I agree at times it seems as if Anne stuffed well known characters into the story to suit some vague plot ideals, it WAS refreshing to see the characters change. I for one was sick to death of Louis' melancholia; after living thousands of years a lack of maturation and development would be ridiculous. I get the sense that Anne is in a period of transformation. In and of itself this book could be viewed as a disappointment, some of the story line was simply too trite to swallow. Yet, if it is used as a vehicle for moving the staling stories of the Vampires and the Mayfair Witches into fresh territory, then the book's existence may just be redeemed. Note: I was personally thrilled to notice only one occurrence of the word bougainvillea!
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Summary: Lestat is back!
Review: I've missed Lestat in the last few books. I like the references to a future storyline. Merrick is a good new character but her powers are unclear in the ending chapters. Louis seemed a little too changed from his experience. What happened there? What happened to Lestat while he was out there? Unanswered question are driving me nuts. I WANT MORE!
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Summary: Merrick - Wonder Woman Vampire Charmer
Review: Merrick is probably the weakest book Anne has dished out to date. Through calling itself a vampire chronicle and using the names of many of the old re-occuring characters, these characters never make more than a nominal appearance - and at times the name is spelled wrong at that. The main character of this tale, Merrick, is a two dimesional archetype of the feminine Wonder Woman. She's just super amazing and everyone loves her, even when she manipulates them for her own ends. While that in and off itself is not necessarily a bad thing, those characters who have been established in six books prior to this one, have been sacrificed on the alter of Plot Conveinence. Quite a bit of the action that could have salvaged Merrick as a decent book occurs off stage and leaves us with uninteresting and often irrelevant dialogue. Very often the character of David Talbot appears only as a means of conveying a story when he has no real reason to be in the thick of the action. He's sort of a Humonculus who observes for the sake of doing so. The errors in the text, such as spelling, name changes and continuity errors, lend to the feeling that Anne has given us a very rough draft and did not even bother to run a spell check. Perhaps the use of an editor in the future can help with this problem. Over all, you can definately skip this book in the chronicles and not fear you are missing a key book in understanding this universe. If anything, it will confuse it more.
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Summary: A LUSH,SENSUAL NOVEL IN THE GRAND RICE TRADITION
Review: David Talbot, vampire from previous novels, sets the stage to have Merrick, a witch, help him raise the ghost of Claudia, a vampire child destroyed in "Interview With The Vampire". Merrick will begin telling her story to Talbot, taking him from present day to days gone by in New Orleans, to the Maya Ruins of a century ago, bringing vivid life to the witches of the Talamasca, as well as the vampires. Before ammends can be made with the ghost of the dead child, these stories will have to unfold, and come together for both the vampire and the witch worlds. "Merrick" is classic Anne Rice; sensual, dark, eerie, gothic, lush detailing, and always a pleasure to read. This is Rice's best book in years, bringing the two worlds of the witches and vampires together in a story that is completely fascinating. As any reader of Anne Rice knows, her novels need to be scarce on the plot description, as to keep the reader captivated in the web she is spinning with her story. Anne Rice has created a great heroine in Merrick, and readers will welcome her return in future novels. Fans of her books will enjoy their favorite characters making return appearances, but new readers may be confused as Rice uses many, and I mean many, of her characters from "The Vampire Chronicles" and "The Mayfair Witch's" series. A MUST read! Nick Gonnella
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Summary: The Characters Are Unrecognizable
Review: I looked forward to this newest installment of the Vampire Chronicles because I heard from the advance press that it involved my favorite character, Louis de Pointe du Lac. I was very disappointed. Not only does Louis not even make an appearance for several chapters, when he does appear, he is not the same character from the earlier Vampire Chronicles. Louis is pathetic, pining away for Claudia, who has been dead for over 200 years. Why? By the end of the book, Louis has done two things which he has stated in the previous novels that he would not do and there is no reasoning given for this. David Talbot was an extremely interesting character in Tale of the Body Thief. Here, he is not. We are suddenly told that he is obssessed with Merrick, emotionally and sexually, who was a member of the Talmasca at age 14, yet we heard nothing about her when he was telling Lestat about his life and time in the Talamasca. He did explain in Tale of the Body Thief, and re-emphasized in The Vampire Armand, that He is completely disconnected to the Talamasca. Now he is searching out members of the order, and by the end of the book, actually contacts the order himself. Merrick is unformed as a character. She has a great desire to become a vampire, but we are never told why this is. Lestat does make an appearance in the very end of the book, but after his small moment of action, he decides to take another nap, so this is NOT the great return of the Vampire Lestat. Finally, there are several misspellings, timeline inconsistancies, and character feature inconsistancies in the book. This is insulting to any reader and shows a blatant disregard for faithful Vampire Chronicle fans. For the record, his name is MATTHEW, not MICHAEL, David has BROWN eyes which glow with a golden vampiric light, he has been a vampire for 8 years now and he is 6'2, LOUIS is spelled L-O-U-I-S, and it should be explained why the most powerful vampires, Maharet and Mekare STOPPED seeing spirits when they were made vampires, yet both Armand and David CAN. The book portrays 'voodoo' (Vodun) in a completely unrealistic way. This is a religion and should be treated with respect. Vodun simply does NOT work the way it is shown in this book. Finally, the book is entirely too short, only 300 pages, to charge more than 15 dollars for, and it does not end, but rather just stops. I cannot reccomend that anyone spend money on this book. I have only given it one star because this forum does not allow any lower rate.
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Summary: Sounds like more to come?
Review: Madame Rice left us the most exciting hints in this book! Surely there is more where this exciting new adventure came from! You can taste the flavor of New Orleans when you read any of her books. And yes, I too thought there was some obscure connection to Mekare. Our beloved character, Louis, is seen in a whole new light. Fascinating read!
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