Rating: 
Summary: A STRONG HEROINE, ANOTHER THIN BOOK
Review: I love Anne Rice novels, I really do. I buy them the day they are released, and devour them immediately. But.....is it really worth publishing two per year, as the intent has been, to tell such undeveloped stories? Merrick is the latest edition to the Vampire Novels already lined up on my bookshelves. I love the stories. But to weave so many plotlines into this book, and not develop them, or explore them, when the book ends with July, 99 as a finish date for this story? Over a year ago, and it is scarecely 300 pages long? Where are the glorious Anne Rice novels of old, Cry to Heaven, the Witching Hour, the Vampire Lestat. And it is not even a question of quantity versus quality, the ideas are wonderful, the developement is just not there any longer. Merrick is Anne Rice's strongest heroine to date, definitely. I hope future novels will feature her again. This story is really wonderful, just not what it could be. And did anyone else notice on page 145 she refers to Matthew as Michael? Am I just a picky virgo??? Rice fans will love this, it is really good work, and worth the read. But please Anne-tell your publishers to pound sand, take a year, and write something up to what you used to give us, I miss it.
Rating: 
Summary: A valentine to her fans
Review: Anne Rice's latest novel is a valentine: to her fans, to her most-loved characters, and to the city of New Orleans. Those who know well the stories she has spun of vampires and witches in the old city will delight in the revelations and convergences of this book. Here are Lestat and Louis, whom we first met in _Interview with the Vampire_; here is a new member of the Mayfair witch family, first introduced in _The Witching Hour_; here too are the _gens de coleur libre_, a community of free people of color in nineteenth century New Orleans, about whom Rice wrote in _Feast of All Saints_. Here too is David Talbot, the novel's narrator and a central character. Talbot, originally a member of the Talamasca, the secret order that has observed Rice's characters from afar, was transformed from an oberserver to a participant in _The Tale of the Body Thief_, here continues to pursue his personal pilgrimage of discovery. Merrick, who gives her name to the book, links the tales of the Mayfair witches to the chronicles of the vampires. She brings to Rice's rich collection of supernatural practices the wisdom and lore of the New Orleans voodoo tradition. As always, Rice brings to this material a thoughtful and carefully researched perspective, one that is respectful of the syncretic religion of Voodoo. Yet one never feels as though one is lost in some documentary, even in the sections of the novel that take us into the jungles of Central America. Always, Rice the storyteller has us under her spell. I found this to be one of the most satisfying of Rice's books in a while, in part because the narrative isn't as sprawling and overwhelming as in some of her longer books. Here her focus is on a few characters, most of whom we already know and care about. The book revels in its New Orleans setting, its "drowsy beauty." Not since her early novels has the city seemed so alive and seductive. From the old streets of the French Quarter to the ancestral home of Merrick's family, from the dusty rooms of St. Elizabeth's orphanage uptown to the wild beauty of St. Louis No. 1 cemetary, the city is alive with the richness of life and the watchful presence of the spirits of the past. This is a story of love and loyalty, both of which are tested and redefined through the actions of its characters. A climactic scene in the courtyard of the vampires' Rue Royale townhouse is as moving as anything Rice has written. At the novel's end, events have changed the lives of the four central characters, changes that will be played out in future novels from the rich imagination of Anne Rice. Rice's fans will buy this book. (Indeed, as of this writing, it's #1 on Amazon.com.) They may find, as I have, more richness and fulfillment than they hoped for.
Rating: 
Summary: I did
Review: ..books like this run on reputation. Mayfair fans+ Vampire Chronicle fans makes a number one seller of course..
Rating:
Summary: Actually 4.5 but round it up
Review: I 've read all of vamp chronicles and mayfair witches. I see how this relates. Connecting 2 storylines through Talamasca was a great idea. This is just the full blown version where the witch and vampire have contact. I wanted to see Lestat Louis and the others again. That's the reason why I read the book. Shows some confusing ideas. Aaron Lightner died? damn. Was that in The Vampire Armand?
Rating:
Summary: What is it with name titles?
Review: Seriously though. Pandora. The Vampire Aramnd. Vittorio, the Vampire. Memnoch the Devil. The Vampire Lestat. Ventaully some scholarly person is going to have to come up with a enriching essay on Anne Rice's obcession with names. Merrrick reads a little like a giograhpy in the frame of a story. Starts out simply enough. Louis wishes and attempt at commuinication with Claudia, his beloved vampire child. David, our narrator and current dirty old man, knows of a Voodoo Witch and Magic Scholar to boot. Shouldn't that be Vodoun instead of Voodoo? David finds it neccessary to tell Louis Merricks' story and his grand adventure with her in Guatemala. Which makes for good reading. I think Rice chose to paint the Temples and villages in Guatemala in too many hellish colors though. I mean, David and Merrick both seems to have this love for the place. This whole adventure. But I don't believe it. Because all I'm reading is the heat, the bugs, and the factions of armies running around ready to trounce. I think a little more space should have been given to make the area seem exotic and Indiana Jones type exciting. Merrick comes off as a comples and demanding character. I wanted to hear her. I thought her the most lovely conjurer and expect to find her whenever i make a trip to New Orleans. Merricks Family is interesting enough. We hear about them second hand though. Only Great Nannanne and Honey in the Sun make strong direct apearances. And did I mention Lestat speaks? He's almost back to his Brat Prince self. At first he has the unfortuante attitude of a saint but happily that wears off. Louis need for self loathing is explored further here. Actually Louis compes off as my favorite character. I could feel some sense of remorse off him. David is David. I still feel he's a cardboard english gentlemen who likes order and scholership. His character does make some sort of leap though when his jealous nature creeps out. I think this should be played out more in future stories. Perception is a key issue in this book. Rice plays with this notion leaving some questions a little unaswered. It aides in understanding Louis's final delemia. A rather pleasent book. New readers might be confused a bit with vampire history but it's not totally unsurmountable. the Voodoo(Vodoun) rituals are detailed enough but the religion itself could be a little bit more elaborated upon. But that's just me. Readers have been complaining that Rice spends way too much time on detail. And in responds Merrick is a fast read with little scenic tours. It's just I liked those sceneic tours.
Rating: 
Summary: not again...
Review: not bad but when is the Anne Rice going to write a book that isn't exactly the same story as the rest?
Rating:
Summary: Rice's vampires may fair well after all...
Review: In Anne Rice's new book, "Merrick," the worlds of her vampires and her witches come together in an epic tale that spans the lush streets of New Orleans to the mystical hidden caves of Guatemala. Through the vampire narrator, David Talbot, Rice introduces her newest character; Merrick Mayfair is a powerful witch who works with the Talamasca, an order of psychic detectives, who specialize in the myths and realities behind such creatures as vampires and witches. Rice also reintroduces her classic vampire characters, Lestat, Louis, and even the "dead child" Claudia. It is easy to get completely lost in Rice's beautiful prose; it is like she has cast a Voodoo spell on her readers. The story begins as the tale of Merrick, but by the final pages it serves to bring the entire Vampire Chronicles full circle from her very first novel. This is a novel of rebirth and redemption for all of Rice's beloved vampires and witches, and it is an excellent beginning to her next vampire or witch saga.
Rating:
Summary: I love Anne Rice's newest novel "Merrick."
Review: I have read a chapter & a half of the novel & it is wonderful. It is amazing how both the Vampire world & the Mayfair witches intertwined in this novel. It is really amazing I can't wait to finish the novel.
Rating:
Summary: I really love Anne Rice's new novel "Merrick."
Review: I have read about 1 chapter & a half of the book & so far it is wonderful. It is most intriguing that she has both the Vampire world & the lives of the Mayfairs world intertwined into one novel.
Rating:
Summary: Another Classic Tale.
Review: Rice does it again. Another breath-taking novel in the MayFair/Vampire series. This is a must-read. (Not that any of her other novels aren't!) She nevers ceases to amaze me with her true talent for writing.
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