Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I am a huge Rice fan and I was really disappointed by this book. There were plenty of interesting elements in this story, but she didn't seem to bring them together. Possibly the frequent references to other books and storylines?The character of Merrick is an interesting addition to her lineup but I don't feel she capitalized on it. It is still worth reading if you are a Rice fan, but not by much.
Rating: 
Summary: A Beginning... (spoilers included)
Review: to getting back to what reading an Anne Rice novel used to be. I used to consider myself a strong Rice fan, but admittedly, I have skipped "Pandora", "The Vampire Armand", "Violin" and "The Vampire Vittorio". Heck, these novels are so off my radar that I am not even sure if I have recounted the titles properly. In addition to skipping her latest installments, for several novels now, I have skipped whole passages (or just skimmed them) due to her inclination to verbosity and overly detailed descriptions. I may be in the minority, but I actually liked Menoch & Servant of the Bones. Oh well. Back to Merrick. It was the fastest read I've had in a while. I tend to skip over Rice's references to pedophilia and pseudo-homosexuality (inevitably, her gay characters actually turn out to be bisexual). I'd rather she assign sexuality to a character and stick to it. Actually,I have missed the smoldering sexuality so rampant in most Rice books. Merrick came close a couple of times, but I had a problem with the characters as introduced. It really bothered me that the age difference between David and Merrick was so vast - he's 50-something when he first meets her at the tender age of 14! What the? Could there have been some other way for that story to play itself out? Then, there's Louis. I have never been a Louis fan, but even I found the "instant" love he and Merrick feel for each other to be completely unbelievable. David in the younger body was a much better fit. Actually, Lestat is a much, much better fit for her, considering their mutual manipulation tendancies. I felt that Rice got it wrong. Oh well. But I can't complain. I couldn't get through 10 pages or either "Violin" or "Pandora". I finished this one in two sittings and will probably purchase the sequel as soon as it's published.
Rating: 
Summary: no meat to the bite
Review: Like the rest of her most recent books, 'Merrick' fails to really tell a story that is worthy of the status of a novel. Missing are the complexities of plot and history that made her earlier works like 'Interview with the Vampire' and 'The Witching Hour' so compelling. Although she is the master of description and able to create vivid mood, she fails to illuminate. 'Merrick' doesn't stand on its own...it's merely an appendix. This is not a novel, but a chapter of one. It leaves the reader frustrated.
Rating:
Summary: A teaser from start to finish
Review: Anne Rice knows that we love to read about Lestat and Louis, Armand and Claudia. No witches, no mummys, give us the original vampires! And so she does this - for a few measley pages. But hey, a new character is introduced, and for the bulk of the book we are taken back in time (as only Anne can do) to a story that is NOT a story about our beloved vampires, but about witches, voodoo and a 12-step program on how to traipse through the jungle and collect family heirlooms. Finally, finally at the end of the novel she brings our beloved Louis, David (and even Lestat in the final reel!) into play - but it is too little, too late. I must say that A.R. has the incredibly annoying habit of writing dialogue that is unbelievable for one simple reason: she has the speaker say the name of the person being spoken to again, and again and again. People do not talk like this!! "David? What did you think of that, David? Did you like it David, or David, did you think it was utterly banal? David?" What is more annoying in this book is that we get treated to this with names such as Great Nananne, Cold Sandra and the most annoying of them all: Honey in the Sunshine ...... good grief!
Rating: 
Summary: A new beginning???
Review: This novel was truly one of Rice's best. I could hardly bear to put it down. It finally gives you a more in-depth look at David Talbot, who has appeared in smaller roles in several of Rice's other books. Rice also introduces a mesmerizing new addition to the world of the Vampire Chronicles, the beautiful, sly, and seductive Merrick Mayfair. Will we see more of this intriguing character in the future? I can only hope so. Fascinating new characters, old favorites, and Rice's unmistakeable style and attention to sensual detail make this one of the best books I've read this year. Pick up a copy; you won't be sorry!
Rating:
Summary: Way to go Anne Rice!
Review: This was a great read, the history, the tie in with the other chronicles. Ms. Rice uses words like artists use paint. Reading it late into the night I was with David, Merrick, Luis, and hoping Lestat would wake up and smell the coffee. It was like visting long-time friends and catching up on their goings on. I find I must now read Memmnoch the Devil because in a couple of places, when referring to Lestat and his adventure with the Devil, I felt I dropped into the middle of a conversation I had vague knowledge of.
Rating:
Summary: Not on the same league
Review: IWTV, TVL, QoD, ToBT & MTD deserve a definite 5* each. Merrick doesn't. It's an obvious pale comparison. For her previous vampire chronicles, Anne Rice used to write with such depth, passion and edge... It's not the case with Merrick. Is it dues to the choice of the 'narrator'? Whereas Lestat and Louis's memoirs were so penetratingly, beautifully penned, David's telling of events seem so passionless, hollow and so detached... even when he treid to convey his love for Louis and Merrick. It's totally out of league with the previous chronicles. Remember those Louis-Lestat's love-hate confrontation and embrace? Even Khaymen and Marius's brief expression of adoration for Louis in QoD seemed so much more powerfully deeper. Anne was the Queen when it comes to beautiful, sensuos and passinate writing and it was because of that that I fell in love with her writings, her characters... Very disappointed with Merrick but I'm waiting for her next chronicle. Enough of Merrick.. we want more of our old beloveds- Lestat, his loyal, tender Louis, Marius, Khaymen, even maybe Gabriel and the real Claudia! Maybe Armand - Lestat's old adversary and Louis's once-companion? Maybe even Memnoch?
Rating:
Summary: Welcome Back Anne!!
Review: Anne Rice is truly a master of beautiful prose. She paints a picture with her words that is truly amazing. While this book is not as enjoyable as some of her initial Vampire Chronicles it does return us to the rich world of Louis, David, and the brat prince, Lestat and introduces us to a new and intriguing character, the distant relative of the Mayfair witches, Merrick. Merrick is a strong willed voodoo priestess that also happens to be a member of the order of Psychic detectives, the Talamasca. Unlike most of the reviewers I found the David and Merrick background as a nice tie in to color in some of David's past when he was Superior General of the Talamasca. As with all of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, the main theme continues to be a quest of finding answers to what lies beyond death and what happens to us when we die. Do the circumstances of our death determine our fate in the hereafter? The book is a bit rushed toward the end, as with all writers today the publisher's deadline seems to influence the quality of the ending, but overall the book provides a beautiful chapter in the lives of the Vampires that ties up some of the loose ends from her previous works. Several allusions are made to her next work that leave me licking my chops for more. Unlike her past couple of efforts I find myself eagerly anticipating her next work and what lies ahead for Lestat and the gang.
Rating: 
Summary: The Best One Yet
Review: Times change and so do characters. Usually when a band must "mature" its music or when a character on a television show must "mature" with the happenings of the series some of the magic can be lost if not done correctly. Anne Rice has done just that and moved her characters along beautifully, leave the reader begging for more by the end of the book. And let me just warn other readers out there that might be looking for a book with a nice little closing, this book closes nothing and opens Rice's world up tenfold, preparing the reader for what might yet come in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Merrick
Review: Despite the long awaited arrival of a new Vampire Chronicle from Anne Rice celebrating the return of the indispensable Lestat, 'Merrick' does not leave the Vampire Chronicle reader satisfied. Narrated by the former Talamascan well known from the previous novel, 'The Tale of the Body Thief', David returns to tell the story of Merrick, an octaroon Mayfair descendant with designs on the New Orleans vampire coven. Merrick's involvement with all three of Rice's clans - the Talamasca (the investigators of the supernatural), the witches, and of course the Coven of the Articulate. All this seems to be promising - coupled with Rice's evocative and florid prose, and a breakthrough storyline combining her two strongest series. However, 'Merrick' seems contrived and irregular in written quality. It lacks the depth and understanding found in 'Interview with the Vampire' and the vivacity of Lestat's Chronicles. David Talbot seems to find himself irrevocably lost in useless descriptions of Merrick's appearance and drinking habits, strangely devoting precious key passages to drunken but eloquent?! speech. Although you would expect to sympathise with Merrick, David's narration does not seem to match the character who we are supposed to follow with at least marginal interest - she neither says anything of much consequence, and her personality is nothing new compared to the earlier voices of the charmingly original Mona Mayfair. What is refreshing about the book is that it brings back the characters Rice is famous for - Louis de Pointe du Lac, and Lestat de Lioncourt. But expect to find them much changed from the personalities you love in the course of meeting Miss Merrick. One can't help but feel that Rice has devoted a Chronicle to an imposter.
| 
