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Summary: David & Louis Revisited
Review: I have read all 20+ books written by Anne Rice and have enjoyed them all to varying degrees. One expects an author to have ups and downs in both quality and quantity. Unless prose is produced by a machine this is both understandable and expected.In Merrick Anne Rice has begun to develop a new character that is different from the others in that she is a witch. However, the story seems to me to be more about David Talbot than about Merrick Mayfair. What happened to all those years between childhood and womanhood? What did she do? Where did she do it? What influenced her development as a woman and a witch? Hopefully this character will be better developed in a future work since disappointingly it was not done here.
Rating: 
Summary: UNBELIEVEABLE!
Review: I could not put this book down! (seriously, two people tried to take it from me and a slapped them!) I loved this book and believe it to be one of the best, if not the best, installment of The Vampire Chronicles. I was worried that after Memnoch's disppointment and Armand that Merrick wouldn't be good, I WAS VERY WROUNG!! And being a Louis fan, this book did nothing more than enslave me. THIS IS A MUST FOR ALL RICE FANS!!
Rating: 
Summary: It was okay, but just doesn't measure up
Review: Dear me, another Anne Rice book that I waited and waited for that was sort of disappointing. In all honesty, I really didn't like Merrick as a character and I really really didn't like what she did to Louis, who was one of my favorite characters. His sudden transformation after over 200 years of being the same melencholie vampire that I loved didn't seem plausible at all. But I guess that real redeeming quality of this book is this: Lestat is back to himself and it seems as if he will return to his antics that we all look forward to. So let's all cross our fingers that Anne Rice will take her time with the next book and give Lestat justice.
Rating:
Summary: another triumph
Review: Okay, how could u not love this book? If you read, at all, then u have to. The words she uses , and the way she writes is just amazing and i encourage everyone to buy this book
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Summary: aother great Anne Rice book
Review: This book is great.It makes you want to back and read about the Mayfair witchs,then it makes you want to read the Vampire book again. It has twist and turns that only Anne Rice can take you there.I really enjoyed the book and glad to hear that Mrs. Rice is back on her feet again.
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Summary: Whats up with you people!
Review: I read Ann Rices new novel, I think it was great!! The high expectations everyone wants makes it very hard for them to enjoy!. I think Merrick used her great look along with her great intelligent to get what she wants! She wanted education and got it! I think combining these 2 different worlds is going to make one heck of another series!And yes Lestat was different in a wonderful, yet similar way, And I am sorry but i was getting sick of louie's wining! Ann I love this book, it brings out your rejuvenation in your work, Go get it!! Also I cant wait for how the Talamaska and the Lestat family is going to handle this all. now that is a showdown that will keep me captivated! YOU GO GIRL!!
Rating: 
Summary: Falling out of her spell...
Review: The basic tenet to studying English literature is learning that your protagonist should undergo a transformation or significant change before the denouement occurs, thereby providing the reader with a journey that is worthwhile and satisfying. The problem with "Merrick" is that there is no true protagonist anymore. Rice gave him up to a coma and has been struggling to tell stories in the veil of other personas that do not change, grow, or struggle except when they catch on fire or travel to new locales. Even then, the internal conflict is no longer tantalizing in any respect. We have no connection with these two-dimensional Lestatian servants; they are merely ghosts who haunt the room of their former master, waiting for a substantial plot twist or a true display of passion. Regrettably, the true Rice fans have fallen out of her spell--they are no longer supporting the idea of a CHRONICLING series of books; instead, they do all they can to resist the old habit of buying the next installment. Perhaps it is lingering loyalty that causes them to keep faith in a future masterpiece, not unlike the feeling a person may experience when a leg itches after it has been amputated.
Rating:
Summary: her best in years
Review: This is the best book Rice has written in about five years. MERRICK doesn't really intertwine the Vampire Chronicles with Lives of the Mayfair Witches. Merrick is a distant relation of the Mayfairs, descended from their slaves. So they don't have anything to do with the story. The book is free of that excessive detail that bogs down the pacing of most of Rice's recent novels. This one doesn't drag. You get caught up in the plot to raise Claudia's ghost, and in hearing about Merrick's history in the Talamasca. Merrick, herself, is pretty cunning and looks to be as adventurous as Lestat himself. This is clearly the prelude to a larger tale, the real adventure, but it is well worth the read just to be prepared for the next one. The Talamasca is coming off the bench it would seem and I for one have got to see that. like Tale of the Body Thief, this is one neat little adventure.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, and a great lead into her next book.
Review: I enjoyed this book very much. The only reason I gave it four stars is because, well, it's just not as good as her best - The Vampire Lestat. It really enjoyed reading this story narrated by David Talbot that involved Louis, Lestat, Claudia, the Talamaska and this new, enchanting character - Merrick. Merrick Mayfair (yes, of the Mayfair family!) is a very strong and likable charachter. I have no doubt we will learn to love her just as we love Lestat, Louis, Armand, and David. She is a powerful witch who knows David from long ago, and is a current member of the Talamaska. In this book we learn of their long history together, their love for one another, and Merricks rich, voodoo & magic filled past. I look forward to reading about their future adventures together (we learn that there definitely will be!)
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Summary: The prequel to a MUCH more interesting story?
Review: The book was OK. It definitely would've benefitted by a rigorous editing pass, and I won't get into how disagreeable I found Merrick's habit of manipulating the men in her life with her beauty and magic, and the men standing by in dumb and mute appreciation (after all, not every character has to be likeable), and the apparent lack of motivation for some of Louis's actions and decisions in context with his backstory. But Rice dropped tantalizing bits concerning the story I really WANT to read - the upcoming (I hope?) face-off between the mysterious Elders of the Talamasca and the new coven. In the Talamasca, Rice has created an entity of such rich fictional depth and promise, it is just aching for further exploration. "The Witching Hour" enthralled me, and is, I feel, her best and most fully realized work - I was so disappointed when I got to the end of the 900-some-page book, only to realize there was no more to read! :-) I've long been a Rice fan, but I feel her work (and that of other 'famous' authors) can't help but be impacted in some way by the demands of popularity and celebrity. Imagine trying to pump out a book a year to satisfy rabid fans. These expectations are high enough. Then add to that touring to promote your previous book, the demands of "real life," etc. Who has time to think, plot and write ? I guess what I'm saying is, I wish the publishing machine would give (or that Rice would demand/take) as much time as is needed - a couple of years? - to write the exquisitely insightful story that I so want to read, and that time has demonstrated is completely within Rice's abilities to produce. We'll wait for you, Anne!
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