Merrick (Vampire Chronicles)

Rating:
Summary: Another future classic.
Review: I love Anne Rice and this book was just another reason to admire her writing. This book follows suite in the high standards she has set with her other novels. It really is a must-read.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully Dark and Beautifully Written
Review: Anne Rice is back in this exciting continuation of the Vampire Chronicles. Everything you loved about "Interview" returns in form, faith, and force. This is an elegant example of fine writing; this book alone solidifies my sincere appreciation for her as a writer, as well as a marvelous storyteller, and entertainer. This is a beautifully written narrative which deserves a place alongside "Interview" and "The Witching Hour". I was not disappointed, only extremely rewarded by her prose. She does not let up on the darkly rich atmosphere of the novel, nor of the brilliant and crisp pacing of it. The characters that walk within the pages of Merrick are charming, original, and refreshing to experience. Once again, Anne Rice, claims her title at the head of the "macabre" writing table. Warning: the novel will leave you in suspense...a promise of things to come...and the promise for things to change. Buy, read, encourage, and enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Really, this is her best yet!!
Review: As an avid fan who owns all of Ms. Rices books, I knew this one was going to be good. I couldn't have been more wrong! It's great!! Anyone who knows her will truly enjoy this book. She combines the mystery of the Mayfair witches with the startling romance of three of her most loved Vampires. This is truly a must-read by anyone who enjoys the Mayfair and Vampire Chronicles. You will not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: David is the best
Review: Wow! this is just great, I love The Vampire chronicles and this is just one of the best.I think that David Taldot is the perfect vampire to continue on the journey to write the chronicles.Mrs. Rice keep up the good work. Thank you very much for this new adventure.

Rating:
Summary: Same Old, Same Old
Review: I was sadly diappointed with this latest effort by Rice. I wanted to like it, but with a precious few exceptions, this novel was so much like Rice's other recent ones I felt like I had spent my money on it foolishly. Maybe her son could have done it better?

Rating:
Summary: the best yet
Review: I think this may be her best book yet!!!!! I have loved Anne's writing style from the beginning and it has only improved. Merrick intricately weaves the Vampire Chronicles with the Lives of the Mayfair Witches. Merrick is a no nonsense member of the Talamasca helping David and Louis in their search for the meaning of their existance, a topic everyone ponders from time to time. From the town house on the Rue Royale to the jungles of Guatemala, you will be intoxicated by this novel!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Ann Rice Fans Will Fall In Love
Review: Ms Rice just can"t come to grips with the death of her daughter. Merrick is the latest re-inacarnation. Claudia being the first and so on until Merrick. Much better than the last few from Ms Rice, if you are an Ann Rice fan you will enjoy it very much. Perhaps this novel will put to rest her obsession with her daughters death. However, I think not. You will enjoy this novel Rice fan or not.

Rating:
Summary: Good but not good enough
Review: After eagerly awaiting this latest installment of the Vampire Chronicles, I rushed out to buy the book as soon as it went on sale. Sadly, I couldn't help but compare this novel to Rice's earlier works, and it came up a little lacking. While the story is good, and the relationship between Louis and David is both touching and amusing, I couldn't help but want more. I wanted answers about Lestat, and instead was given Merrick Mayfair, a character that I didn't care about. However, this book is a good and quick read (I finished it in a day) and I was glad that Rice chose to focus on Louis, who ever since Interview with the Vampire, has had a smaller role in the books. Sadly, the reapperance of Lestat, was too little too late and his characterization seemed weak in comparision to his role in earlier books. All in all the book was a good Vampire Chronicle, just not as wonderful as her earlier works.

Rating:
Summary: VampChron fans run fast run FAR!
Review: If you are a fan of the Vampire Chronicles do NOT buy this book. Anne Rice has completely thrown away any concept of the early stories to give her loyal fans this hideous piece of claptrap. Yes the names "Louis" "David" and "Lestat" appear in this book but the actual characters are nowhere to be seen. This might be tolerable if Merrick had any sort of coherent narrative voice, plot, structure or storyline but since the novel is actually just a thinly-disguised attempt on Anne's part to reveal her true feelings about pedophilia (AOK by her count) and homosexuality (all gay men are actually pedophiles who desire little girls) there's really nothing here for the reader to hang on to except their lunch. This book is a betrayal to all fans of the Vampire Chronicles, all of Anne's gay fans who thought that she was on their side and, frankly, all of the people in the world who have an IQ above 30. If you like the Vampire Chronicles, reread the earlier books. If you like good vampire stories try Kim Newman's Anno Dracula or T. Isilwath's Blood Origins. If you want a good time, do not read Merrick.

Rating:
Summary: Extremely indifferent
Review: This book is an indifferent let-down. It reads as if it were written by someone trying to write like Anne Rice, who didn't have a great deal of familiarity with the characters of Louis or David. There are a couple brilliantly written pages in a very few spots. The rest is rather dull. Moreover, a great deal of the time the characters act almost unrecognizably unlike the characterizations that have been established in other books in this series. As for the storyline, it's uninspired, and anyone having read even the covers of this book will be able to accurately guess the whole basic story line and ending. Moreover, as in the Mayfair witch series, far and away too much time is wasted on the story of relatives of a girl who the readers don't know and don't care about at that point in the story; a girl we are never really given all that much reason to care for, in the entirety of the book. Anne, if you're reading this, *you have to develop your characters first!* Let us know who they are. And then and only then should you feel free to delve into something as dull as history of the character's relatives. Moreover, the vast majority of the relatives discussed have very little or no bearing at all on the present story; it feels like Rice is trying to fill space to meet a certain required minimum number of pages to satisfy the publisher. All in all, I'd recommend this book if you're a die hard Rice vampire fan; if you're not, if you only want an entertaining read, you can safely give it a miss. On second thought, even if you are a diehard vampire fan, the book could be given a miss anyway, since you won't recognize the people acting under the names of "Louis de Pointe du Lac" or "David Talbot" anyway.