Rating: 
Summary: For Rice die-hards only
Review: I treasure most of the novels of Anne Rice, some of them I read over and over because they are so rewarding. I've just read "Servant of the Bones" for the second time, not because i treasured it, but because I was curiously unmoved by it on my first reading. To be honest, I'm still not crazy about it. I would put this novel with 'Violin" and "Memnoch the Devil" as one of her "problem" novels, that are rather abstact and unfocused. But whereas 'Memnoch" is a vehicle for staggering ideas and "Violin" is a full blown Romantic tempest powered by pain, "Servant" is just kind of a weak Anne Rice novel, sort of like the "The Mummy" without the fun or the clarity.Part of the book's problem, is that it lacks the vividness that charactorizes of Rice's best novels. Azrael and the other characters lack immediacy. And I can honestly say that I care a whit about Narrator. He seemed only one to write the story with only a vague stock Talamasca-type character personality. Having said all that, I will say that the first part of the novel, set in Babylon is very interesting. And the imagery in the Procession sequence was haunting as well as the sequence in which Azreal was made into the Servant. Also interesting is novel's metaphysical explorations which are becoming more and more of a point of interest in Rice's work. Also the novel's contemporary feel and allusions to late Twentieth Century history are fairly unique to Rice's body of work. I think Rice is moving toward a new kind of novel and new interests. And I hink that "Servant" and the other novels she's been writing through-out much of the 90's are transitional novels. Anyway, I wouldn't recommend this novel to anyone except someone who has a serious interest in Rice's work and the patience to work through it. If you're new to Rice, skip it, you'll get bored.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh, lord what a piece of art
Review: What can I say, this is a damn good book. It is one of the best books she has ever written. Good writing, beautiful creatures, breath taking scenes... bloody marvellous. Read it now.
Rating: 
Summary: Anne Rice meeting her publishers quota?????
Review: I love the works of Anne Rice. However Servant of the Bones paled in comparision to her other works. The first part is redundant, the second part lacks Rice's famous detail, and the third part...Well, I had to keep swatting myself to stay awake. To any Anne Rice fan who has read the Mayfair witches chronicles, as well as the vampire chronicals...you will be dissapointed. Servant of the Bones lacks the passion, sexuality, and fervor that can be found through out her writing. Overall, I bad choice for me. I was very dissapointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Gets better with each page you can't stop turning!
Review: I respectfully disagree with the esteemed reader from MD: I found the book's beginning somewhat slow and plodding but it got better and better as the story played out. I've read every book ever written by Anne Rice and this is up there amongst my favorites. Azriel is a fascinating, intense, intelligent and sympathetic character. Unlike some other main characters Ms. Rice has created, I would love to meet Azriel. The background, history and settings are detailed and evocative as they are in all of her books, even if I thought the introduction and setup of the storyline was too long and drawn out.
Rating:
Summary: A promising start - then the preaching, alas
Review: Anne Rice is at her best when bringing ancient civilizations and peoples to life. This is where this book is most interesting, and the writing most captivating. Strangely, the events seems to take place in some sort of alternate universe. For example, in ancient Babylon, the Torah is copied not according to the actual, strict tradition of the scribes (although scribes are mentioned), but in a hit-or-miss atmosphere where young scholars (who worship other gods) are casually consulted as to which text to use (Rice takes great pains to assert that there were many, many, many different variant Torah texts in this alternate world). The OT is casually painted as myth. The Hebrews are portrayed as hypocritical - Azriel and his father share the same women, and have no compunctions about idolatry, yet they are described as devoted to God. Yahweh exists, but his servants are mostly repulsive, crazy, or powerless, and invariably full of hatred - a theme that pops up throughout. The great virtue espoused is tolerance. And in 1994, the President of the US is "extremely brilliant" and "beautiful." If you can swallow all this, the first half of the book is alive with the sights and sounds of Babylon, and it is marvelous to read. The story of how Azriel becomes a genie is fascinating. However, as the story shifts to modern times, it be becomes somewhat weak and uninteresting. Perhaps half the text seems like filler, because the outcome is certain. The villains are all deserving of death because of their "hatred"; the heroes, although they freely wish death upon others (Azriel, the protagonist genie, is asked to kill a merchant, apparently justified because he is a thief of sorts) are somewhat smug and self-righteous, because of their "tolerance". This becomes nauseating after a while. To be fair, Rice throws a little humanity to the villain of the second half of the book, but he still remains somewhat one-dimensional. On the whole, the book gets a bit preachy and, as mentioned before, self-righteous. But if you can stomach that, as you have to do with her other books, enjoy her writing in the area in which she excels - bringing dead bones of dead cities to life. But not as good a book as "The Vampire Lestat," which, although having similar rhetoric, is more of a page-turner in the better sense - to find out what happens, rather than - as in the case of "Servant" - to simply get through the book.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderous advernture through time
Review: I got this book because I liked her(Rise) works, and I thought that it would be of the same caliber as the others. I was not disappointed. From the moment I read the first paragraph until the end, I could not put this book down. I'm interested in history and religion, and this book filled both of those needs. If you like Anne Rice, then I think that you will love this book.
Rating:
Summary: As usual, a fabulous novel by New Orlean's premiere author
Review: Anne Rice has a gift for describing past times, exotic worlds and deeply spirtual realms. Each of her books surpasses the last in its depth of human emotion and historical ambiance...a real winner.
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Summary: good book...terrible poetry
Review: This was my first Rice book; and I liked it. However, her husband's poetry, which she uses to preface chapters, is pointless and ill-conceived.
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Summary: I was absolutely pulled in by the rich language and imagery
Review: This book is my first of Rice's. I had no idea what to expect, and I was blown away by the sensory images she tossed at me. This book is sensual in an unusual way. I will recommend it to more imaginative folks for a spellbinding read.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful
Review: don't listen to the blokes who give this book a negative review. it does indeed start out rather slow, but midway through i found myself unable to put the bloody thing down!
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