Taltos

Rating:
Summary: Too much explanation, a gorgeous story lost
Review: This is really more about The Witching Hour than Taltos. I loved The Witching Hour and found Lasher, the spirit, an incredibly seductive creature. Didn't like him much once he got incarnated, but *had* to read Lasher, the sequel. I didn't enjoy that as much, and as for TAltos - don't like it at all. I think what I loved about The Witching Hour was its mystery - the lack of explanation, the lack of concrete rules and truths for the supernatural. The ghosts, the house, Michael's strange visions and healing hands. They were wonderfully strange, and all the more intriguing for not being fully explicable. THe whole concept of the Taltos I find rather tiresome, to be honest. They're like the vampires only not as interesting. It's as if Anne Rice decided to take her winning formula and change a few things so she had the opportunity to sell another series. One of the most compelling characters in The WItching Hour was the house, not really the same in Taltos. The Michael/Mona thing is frankly icky, but then if you look at the history of the Mayfair Witches it's pretty much par for the course. Another reviewer found the concept of a 13 year old being pregnant unbelievable - sorry, it's all too realistic! I very much dislike the Taltos as a concept. Much like Anne Rice's other series, I think this one has lost out by having too much explanation, rendering the mysterious banal, and by dragging out a concept too far (vis the Vampire chronicles. THe first two were so good! But the rest are all like third rate rehashes of the same old stuff.)

Rating:
Summary: Mayfair was always high class
Review: I didn't realise when I bought Taltos that I was joining a somewhat exclusive club (followers of the Mayfair family). Though it is the 3rd in the series, I soon discovered how easy it was to drop into the Mayfair story (thanks to a character called Ash). I was instantly drawn in and swept away and, though his book isn't really about the Mayfair family, it uses them as a backdrop to tell a fascinating tale of an ancient race - the Taltos. The pace is good, the humor is gentle but effective, and the mystery is complete. Above all one is struck by the beauty of the Taltos, who have lived, disguised, among humans since time began. The ending seemed a little contrived - rushed maybe. Other than that Taltos was a thoroughly enjoyable book, I recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: Should have stopped at Lasher
Review: I liked this book the least. I think that it should have ended with Lasher. Maybe I just wanted a happy ending. It was a good story and was written well I just didn't like what happened in the story at all. No, not my favorite.

Rating:
Summary: Are there aliens in our midst?
Review: After reading The Witching Hour and Lasher, I believe that you will find it impossible to NOT read this book. There is plenty of action in this book. It will keep you on the edge of your seat as Rowan and Michael, the main characters, go to the rescue of a dear friend and simultaneously settle a score. Along the way, they find the answers they never thought they'd get to questions they've long since asked. Once again Anne Rice gives such complete descriptions that you are in the middle of the story next to the characters-involved in all the action. You won't be able to keep from sharing their feelings. Read this book and The Witching Hour and Lasher, if you long for a witch story that is entertaining and close to believable.

Rating:
Summary: Thankfully I got this one used
Review: Rowan should have killed Lasher at the end of TWH and then Rice wouldn't have had any reason to write those two awful sequels. I didn't like Lasher, but I hoped Taltos might be better...was I ever wrong. What an idiotic story, so full of contradictions and inconsistancies. You'd think Rice would at least keep track of what she was writing. The Taltos breed at an incredible speed and live for centuries. They can breed when they're just a few hours old, for heaven's sake. So how was it that they were able to live contained in some peaceful little paradise until humans wiped them out? There'd be millions of them in just a few years. They would have overtaken the world at the rate they grow and breed. So it makes no sense that humans wiped them out--it would have been impossible given the lack of technology and weapons of mass destruction. The Taltos could easily have wiped the humans out and it doesn't make sense that they didn't.So the concern that they are going to overpopulate now and wipe out humans is really stupid--if it didn't happen before, how would it happen now? Aside from the incredibly dumb story line, the characters were really weak and unlikeable. You really wish that the Taltos would come and get rid of them.

Rating:
Summary: This Is the End?
Review: If this book is taken as a stand-alone novel (which is difficult to imagine, as interwoven with its two prequels as it is), it deserves three stars. If this book is taken as part of the Mayfair Witch series, it deserves no stars. Therefore, I'm compromising and giving it two.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the book as a stand-alone? Beautiful writing counts for it; Anne Rice is ever the talented author, and that shows through even here, in the weakest of her books I've read to date. Mesmerizing settings, interesting characters, mystery, enchantment, the touch of the *outre*, sensuality, age and history--yes, those are all here too. They're more tally marks on the 'pro' side of the ledger. However, they can't really make up for the rushed, illogical ending, the consistency errors within the book itself, the disruption of plot and story caused by the constant jumping about from one set of protagonists to the other, and surrealistic pacing. It's as though someone took most of the ingrediants for a very good supernatural novel and mixed them with a few drops of castor oil, resulting in something that may be edible (or in this case readable), but leaves one vaguely uncomfortable and uncertain that it was such a good idea.

That's nothing compared to its failings as the end of the Mayfair Witch saga, however.

If you adore the change that began in _Lasher_, where the Mayfair history and the Mayfairs themselves showed signs of becoming secondary to the mystery of the Taltos, you might like this book just fine. Because that's what we get here, multiplied tenfold. There isn't really much about the Mayfair witches this time. Rowan is *present*, but almost insignificant; Mona is a key part of the plot, but... she doesn't seem much like Mona anymore. Mary Jane Mayfair is interesting and worth meeting, but she can't make up for the lackings in the other Mayfair characters.

Then there's consistency--if _Taltos_ lacks consistency within itself, it lacks even more within the Mayfair series. Do Taltos have souls, or don't they? Do they reincarnate, or don't they? Are they immortal, or aren't they? Do they leave remains? Do they not? The answers may depend on which book you're reading, as do those to the questions of 'Is Michael a pervert?' and 'Is Mona big on wanting to be more adult, or wanting to be down with the younger witches?' The character consistency is the worst of all; some of these people are almost entirely unrecognizeable. Others are absent. None seem to live up to their promise in the original _Witching Hour_, or even in _Lasher_.

Finally, the ending... there are just no words for the ending. It's a cliffhanger--and as this is said to be the last Mayfair Witch novel, that seems rather pointless, and endlessly frustrating to the readers. I have no idea what will happen to the Mayfairs after this; I'd like to know. (I also have no idea what will happen to the Taltos after this, but to be honest, it would be hard for me to care less.)

This is basically a book that I think should either have been written with an entirely different focus, and/or should at least possess a more conclusive ending. Read it if you really want to know what happens after _Lasher_--maybe you'll even like it, depending how you feel about the Taltos and the Mayfairs.

Rating:
Summary: hmmmmm......
Review: I was a little put off by some things in the book to truly enjoy it. Namely, a thirteen year old's pregnancy. Not too "tasteful" imo. That Taltos breast milk fetish is ridiculous to whine about since we are talking about a different species here and to put my own standards on that is silly. But come on, a pregnant thirteen year old? Now of course Anne Rice can sure write and her novels are characteriscally sensual and uninhibited. If you don't like the idea that of a same sex relationship(take a pick), eunuchs(a Cry to Heaven), or spanking(the Claiming of Sleeping Beauty)Anne Rice isn't for you. But seriously, a pregnant thirteen year old?!

Rating:
Summary: Will the real St. Ashlar please stand up?
Review: The more I think on it, the more I feel cheated. I opened the pages of this book hoping to read more about the Mayfair witches. More about their powers. More about the ghosts and the personalities that I fell in love with in the first two books.

Instead I got drivel. Things happen for no apparent reason but to set events in motion. (Just ask Aaron, he'll tell you... oh nevermind, he can't.) Characters behaved erraticly (One moment Mona was child genius, the next she was a whiny unbalenced child afraid her new toy will be taken away. Michael is now a stereotypical pervert.) Plot points were tossed right out the window. (Taltos have no souls, they are reincarnated, then they don't and they aren't. They leave no remains, then they do. Consistancy is important.) Even Ash's story was dry and didn't draw you in like the voice of Julien or Aaron in the previous books.

But the worst part is that this book leads you to a point where you almost don't care one way or another what happens in the end. Ash is a pity figure. Morrigan is a child with tantrums and seems even more insane than Lasher. If they breed, the Taltos could destroy humans, or they might not. Or they'll receate their island paradise. Or live in the glen. Or man might discover them start another slaughter. Or they'll help mankind. Or. What? It's just a little too vague to make you FEEL anything. No fear, no happiness for them, no amazement (for it was so predictible) just a sense of:

Oh. OK. Oh. That's the end.

OH! if only this one could be rewritten. The Mayfairs were so brilliant a concept that my heart breaks that this is part of the series. Better to have been a stand alone idea.

Rating:
Summary: I really enjoyed reading the 3rd book of the Mayfairs.
Review: Simply stated, I loved this book, I especially liked the part when Rice describes the little people, the "Leprechauns," through Ashlar's friend Samuel, how she described his gnarled disorted face. I am an avid reader of Anne Rice, I've read like 8 of her books already and I cannot seem to get enough of her. Her vivid imagery, her usage of words, seem to enthrall me into another world. Also, when I read her novels, I pay attention to little quotes that she says that are very unique. I can't wait until Merrick comes out so I can devour that book as well. After reading several of her books, I have come love Memnoch the Devil the best, she was just magnificient, as always. Ever since I read The Witching Hour I was hooked on the lives of the Mayfairs; consequently, I bought Lasher and Taltos-reading them one after another....she's just excellent.

Rating:
Summary: Rich in detail
Review: I was introduced to Anne Rice with the advent of "Interview with a Vampire", and she does not disappoint. "Taltos" is beautifully detailed, rich in prose and very thought-provoking. When a book leaves you wondering "Gosh, wouldn't it be wonderful if it were possible?", then it has made a definite impact. I have not read any of the other novels in the series as yet, but this book stood alone, with no puzzling gaps to fill. I had a problem with Mona and Michael (call me a prude, but I do believe that 13 is a bit young! ). Other than that, the novel was great.