Rating: Summary: HORRID! Loved it and hated it... Review: You feel like you've been beaten up and thrown around a room while reading The Witching Hour. Anne Rice gives the reader exactly what you hope for, then you are desperately sorry to have it. The author enthralls us with magical powers and romantic history and dreams that all erupt in tragic terror. A horrid and tragic book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Now I will close my mind for awhile and pretend I never read it to recover.
Rating: Summary: Rice's King Lear Review: The mute, debilitated woman sits in her rocking chair on the porch of a once grand, now decrepit Greek Revival mansion in New Orleans. Around the woman's neck is a large necklace that nobody is allowed to touch. There are three old aunts taking care of her. In the backyard is an old tree with the cryptic word, "Lasher" inscribed into it. Nearby is a decaying swimming pool, left over from the grandeur of the twenties when it was once filled with champagne. And above all, there is a brown haired man who appears and disappears at random. These images form the most powerful opening chapter of any of Rice's novels. How can one NOT be hooked with the level of writing and eerie atmosphere that saturate these opening pages? Welcome to the witching hour. It's been said that "King Lear" is Shakespeare's GREATEST work, but not his BEST. The same can be said of The Witching Hour. This book is a 1000 page plus magnum opus of witches, sex, ghosts and scandal...in other words, "As the Witch Turns". In the end, it delivers a little less than I had hoped it would, but this is by no means dismissing this novel. It is the writing style that distinguishes this novel. T This book has any number of richly written, satisfying moments. The 17th century burning of a witch at the stake in a French town, the deadly Christmas Eve birth, the history of the ghost in the house... these are all some of the best scenes Rice has ever written. There are some complaints that the story takes too much time to develop, and the over 400 page family history is a distraction, but it is essential to the plot. There are two sequels (so far) to this novel, but neither one comes close to the hypnotic charm of this novel. It will keep you awake long into the night wondering what will happen next...probably even into the witching hour itself. Enjoy.
Rating: Summary: Good, but not THAT good. Review: Although this book, in typical Anne Rice style, is good in a creepy way, it's not as good as some of her other work. While I enjoyed it, it could have been better -- its length and the fact that it tells an entire story that should have been spread more evenly throughout the story or the series are some downpoints.
Rating: Summary: Long but good Review: Large book. Gets a little boring a parts, but definately worth it. I would recommend this book to anyone ecept those with short attension spans. You have to pay attention.
Rating: Summary: A Flawed Masterpiece With A Character Stolen From Steve King Review: If you have read any of the other online reviews of this book you already know that the ending is a disappointment. Well, that should be no surprise after the cliff-hanger ending of The Vampire Lestat. But this book's ending is much worse than Vampire Lestat. It is not just a cheap setup for the next book. It is silly and anticlimatic. It almost seems Rice turned in the manuscript unfinished and someone else tacked on the ending. But I suppose by the end she had just run out of gas. Interestingly, the character of Michael Curry and one of the book's main premises were stolen directly from Stephen King's The Dead Zone. In this book's favor, I do have to say it is the most suspensful of Rice's novels (up through Servant of the Bones -- she lost me after that one). It is much more mysterious than any of the "Vampire Chronicles". I, and almost everyone I have loaned this book to have found it to be a compulsive page-turner. I suppose if you have waded this far through the two-hundred and something reviews of this book, you already have your mind made up on whether to purchase this book. But at least I got this off my chest. Phew! I feel better now! Oh what the [heck]!! Go ahead and buy the book. How many writer's ever create even a FLAWED masterpiece?
Rating: Summary: The Witching Hour Review: I feel this is a great book for anyone who is new to Rice's work. It is a very well painted picture of a dynasty of powerful women who use and are huanted by a tempting spirit for generations. It's an entanglement of power, sex, morals, and love that is sure to make anyone want to finsish the entire series of The Lives of the Mayfair Witches.
Rating: Summary: Pretty Good, But... Review: I like this book. It's got an interesting plot, well-developed characters, and a decent pace, most of the time. It has the usual Rice descriptions - long, lovely, and lavish. However, if you've ever read any of her books before, you know all this. If it's so great, why did I give it a 4? Well, its kind of long. The beginning was really hard for me to get into. After that it, it got better, but at the beginning, the two main characters (Rowen and Michael) seem to have little-to-no relationship to one another. Another peeve is that there is almost too many characters. My favorite part was the explanation of the Mayfair family's history, but there were just so many people, you'd have to make a family tree to figure out who was who half the time. Now we come to my biggest problem with the book. It seems to be centered a lot around sex. Now, I don't have a problem with sex, but near the end its like.. okay, okay, I get the point, please get on with the story. However, all the actual scenes are done tastefully and for a reason (which I won't tell, since it gives away the rest of the plot!) Overall, this is a good book and you should give it a read, as long as you have plenty of free time to complete it. Otherwise, you might forget everything you've already read!
Rating: Summary: ... Review: How many times in one book do we need to hear the same story? This was so V.C. Andrews! Every Andrews book is the same story about a child escaping an abusive, incestuous upbringing. The Witching Hour is the same characters, over and over through the generations having the same thing happen to them that happened to Great Aunt So-AND-So, or Grandma or whomever. And Rice needs to include a timeline/family tree to keep these people straight. Oh, but then again, it doesn't really matter....the same thing that just happened to Betsy in 1695 will be happening to her great-great niece who is also named Betsy, who also happens to look and act like Betsy #1. WTH? 2 words: Bo Ring.....
Rating: Summary: I wish I was a Witch! Review: This book sent shivers up my spine! I loved reading of the glamourous lives of the Mayfair witches. Anne Rice has such a wonderful imagination. THere wasn't anything dull about this book. Even though you know you are reading a book about witches, in some way, they are portrayed as real people. After reading this book, you will forever be connected to Anne Rice and her novels.
Rating: Summary: Anne Rice at Her Best ! Review: This massive novel is a wonder to behold.Even those who don't like this genre of books, just might become a fan if they dare to read it. Basically, it tells the story of the New Orleans's Mayfair family, who are decended from several generations of witches. The effort Ms. Rice put into making this a believable and thoroughly entertaining tale is outstanding. Certainly, she must have been exhausted upon completion, for it truly left no stone unturned. Her amazing gift of weaving a fictional story with real facts and events are incomparable. I highly reccommend this novel to horror fans, as well as to all readers. Enjoy the fine writing skills of a wonderful author.
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