Rating: Summary: Wonderful...but... Review: Anne Rice has a way with words... and this talent was not put to waste in The Witching Hour. Though it was slow to start, after you get through the first 100 pages or so, the novel really picks up. You travel through hundreds of years of history with the Mayfair witches, and learn of their past- till the future catches up. Everything works well, that is, until the last hundred pages or so. The end is a big let down, and the reader is left wondering what happened. In "Interview With The Vampire" there left an open and understandable curiosity as to what happened, where as this novel just leaves a huge gaping hole. You just sit there wondering, "What on earth happened?" Hopefully, the Sequels clarify this.
Rating: Summary: A thought-provoking epic Review: This immense first book in Anne Rice's epic of the Mayfair Witches is tantalizing, seductive, heart breaking, and thought provoking. Its richest gift is perhaps not the story itself but the way it forces readers to step outside the minds of the characters and think for themselves. At its surface it seems to lead the reader in a circle from the helpless dreaming invalid Deidre in her rocking chair on the screened porch of the First Street house to the hopelessly self-deluded Michael in the same spot. In between these points are the shattered hopes and broken dreams of so many good people...Petyr, Aaron, and Rowan among others. Despite their intelligence, strength, and desire to do right, all of them ultimately fail. And most pathetic of all it seems is Michael Curry whose life is plotted from the beginning as a vehicle for the incarnation of evil and the destruction of hope and love. We are told again and again by those supposedly stronger and wiser than Michael that he is naive and easily deceived. But is this really true? The pieces to the puzzle fit, and what the Mayfair Witches tell him at the end seems aimed at puncturing the reader's belief in his faith in goodness. But in the end Michael may simply be more farsighted than all of them, even Lasher who boasts continually of how far he can see. Just because an explanation seems to cover all the bases doesn't mean that explanation is true. In the end it may be the world that dreams and Michael who sees the truth. Kudos to Ms. Rice.
Rating: Summary: LOVED IT Review: I have read all three in this series. In fact, I just got done with the third in the series and let me tell you, this is the best series I have ever read. My big question is, "When is the next one coming out? Please don't leave us hanging, Anne." I have so many hopes that it kills me to wait. One thing, I tried to read this about 2 years ago and (just a suggestion) this is not something you start in a few minutes. You need to get through at least the first two chapters to get hooked before you put it down. I didn't quite take to it the first time and just recently got through the whole thing. I was so afraid I had misplaced my copy of Lasher when I was because I couldn't wait a minute to get into that one. LOVED IT, LOVED IT, LOVED IT. I have already loned the first and second ones out to separate people. Everyone I know absolutely loves it. Thank you Anne Rice you are a queen of authors in my book.
Rating: Summary: Magic in New Orleans Review: I have to say that when this book was suggested to me I was not at all excited to begin it. The begining was tedious and drawn out. Yet after the first hundred pages I was simply drawn into the web of the Mayfair Witches. From Deborah to Stella I've simply fallen in love with this novel. The history of the Mayfair family is nothing less than amazing. All of the characters in the novel have a way of getting under your skin. I have been seduced by Anne Rice's novel, which is by far her greatest work . I look forward to the next novel to continue on where Taltos left off.
Rating: Summary: Good beginning for the Lives of the Mayfair Witches Review: This was a good book. The first 100 pages set the gothic and mysterious atmosphere of New Orleans, although spending thirty pages going through Michael's life story was a bore. Once Anne Roce let loose the File on the Mayfair Witches, I was hooked. The stories of Petyr, Suzanne, Charlotte, Stella, and Mary Beth were impossible to put down, and I found myself wanting to know the secrets of Carlotta, Julien, Cortland, and the Talamasca. But most of all I was intrigued by Lasher, the demon who has plagued the Mayfair Witches throughout the centuries. Anne Rice has woven a captivating web of mystery and dark secrets that you will love to unravel. My one qualm is the last two hundred pages. They are a complete bore, and the ending is totally against the character of Rowan, a strong woman who gives in to Lasher far too easily. I will read the sequel, hoping that it will make up for the magic Anne Rice lost towards the end of this frightening novel of witchcraft throughout the centuries. I read this book in exactly one week, and found it difficult to part with. The Mayfair Witches have put me under their spell.
Rating: Summary: intriguing Review: i don't know why i liked this book but i did. the history of the mayfair withces was long and drawn out it turned out to be more interesting than the actual story. all the incest really turned me off until about halfway through you get used to it. but in the end it intrigued me to read the second in the trilogy. it's a good read. i'm just not sure why. intriguing i guess is the key word.
Rating: Summary: Great characters, great fun Review: Ok,I just finished Taltos and now I can say for sure that The Witching Hour is the best of all three. Although I got a bit disapointed at the end, the greatness of the family saga and all the amazing characters makes it really worth reading.
Rating: Summary: I hated it Review: I'm sorry, but I hated it. After all the fascination of The Vampire Chronicles I found The Witching Hour to be a horrible disappointment. It's not that the book was wholly bad. The descriptions of New Orleans were darkly beautiful and fascinating. The descent into the Mayfair Witch family was chilling. The problem was the ending. At the end of the novel I could be no less than disgusted. I was left dissatisfied and quite frankly almost angry with the characters in the book. While the prose in the novel is as seductive as The Vampire Chronicles there is just something in Witching Hour that left this reader dissatisfied and slightly nauseated by the book. Then I made the mistake of thinking the book Lasher could make up for the horrible ending of Witching Hour -- it didn't. If anything, the sequel to Witching Hour made the characters even more unpalatable. For myself, Rice veered off course near the end of this novel and that mistake was enough to ruin an otherwise interesting book.
Rating: Summary: Loved it until it let me down Review: I have to say that even though the build up was slow, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The details were a bit overdone but worth trudging through. I found that I couldn't put this book down and finished it in 2 weeks. I am completely captivated by the Mayfair family and a trip to New Orleans is in my future for sure. The reason I gave this book only 4 stars is because of the ending. To put it bluntly, it was an insult to my intelligence.
Rating: Summary: Captivated! Review: This book is wonderful. Anne Rice is most definitely a prominent female writer. She has such a vivid imagination and fills her books with excitement. I have yet to read the sequel or trilogy, but look forward to more of her spell-binding work.
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