Blackwood Farm

Rating:
Summary: Poor writing. Worse character development. Fool's Gold.
Review: Okay. Come on people. Don't be blinded by the fact that this book was written by Anne Rice. Not everything she lays her hand to is golden. If anything, this book should prove that she does not have the "Midas Touch." It's obvious by this attempt that Rice believes she has a magic formula, into which she can plug any story, any character, and get positive results

This book was a paltry attempt to bring a new character into the realm of the beautiful undead. Quinn is the typical Rice vampire - handsome and beautiful, androgynous in both appearance and sexual preference, educated, loves art, classical music, literature, and culture ... wait a second. Does this sound familiar? Why, Quinn is the modern-day version of Lestat, and Marius, and Armand, ... shall I go on? In short, if you are reading this book to catch a glimpse of a new vampire, you'll be sorely disappointed. He is the same vampire as all of them, with a different name. Obviously Rice has run out of ideas.

The main character aside, the story is a great disappointment. Ninety percent of the book is wasted on covering the background of Quinn, which could have been covered in 100 pages or so. It is absolute drudgery through Rice's boring concept of elegance. The story's climax and "resolution" are finally reached in the last 30 pages of the book, but quite honestly even these were a flash in the pan, an absolute waste of energy. I had hoped that "Blood and Gold" was Rice's last failure, but apparently it wasn't.

Rating:
Summary: Reminicient of rambling, not like the chronicles of old
Review: I am a big fan of The Vampire Chronicles and it is hard for me to say that this work was average at best. I wanted it to be great but it simply was not. The story began in an interesting fashion with the young Quinn appoaching Lestat and the encouner with the Talamasca. I enthusiastically settled down to read and really get into the novel.

What I found to my dismay, however, was a tedious account of Quinn's priveliged, strange yet rather uncaptivating upbringing. The story really did not inspire the awe that we have seen in other protagonists before they were made vampires. There was a little relief when Quinn finally voyaged into the swamp for the first time to uncover its secrets and saw his future maker. But the story of Quinn, Goblin and fimily life was really too long and detailed for my taste. The trip to Europe also with the Aunt Queen was simply too long and uneventfull.

This novel lacked the mystery and the magical qualities that other Rice novels possess. Quinn's character is not convincing to be worthy of such attention by his maker and especially by Lestat.

Then after all of this, the last 50 pages or so quickly wrap things up in a "just like that" fashion. Merrick arrives, then dies, Quinn gets Lestats blood and we are left to think that the next novel will be Mona Mayfair the Vampire. Not the best work by Rice and I should have waited for paperback. I hope whatever the next novel is that it be better plotted and concieved.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I cannot wait until the next book with Tarquin, Lestat, and Mona. I fell inlove with this book. Its beautiful

Rating:
Summary: Blandwood Farm
Review: After the solid "Merrick" and spectacular "Blood and Gold" Anne Rice returns with "Blackwood Farms." Let me start off on a postive note, nobody can do adjectives like Anne Rice, she is exceptionally gifted as a writer. However, this book suffers from several major flaws: First, Lestat is simply not interesting anymore, he comes across more like an abridged version of himself, it may be time to retire him and focus on underused characters (such as Jessie, Gabrielle, Mael, or Vittorio.) Secondly, there are way too many characters (Big Ramona, Little Ramona...and they all seem to die one after the other, as if there was no reason for them to be there in the first place.)Third, the role of money is unplausable, one would think that Madonna and Bill Gates are bankrolling Blackwood Farms (for ex: at one point Pasty (Quinn's mother) get left a trust of $500,000.00 a month-wouldn't $50,000 or even $5,000 been a little more grounded in reality?)Fourth, the inclusion of the dull and lifeless MAyfair family added little to the book- Mona has to be one of the most unlikeable characters in print.) Finally, Quinn is simply not a believable character...he has major issues with masturbation..but not with having sex with ghosts or being bi-sexual??
This book could have been more structured an editor could have cleaned this up....better luck next time!

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I've read quite a few (though not all) of the Vampire Chronicles. This is an amazing book. i cannot wait until the next book comes out. This is a great book even if you have not read all of the Chronicles. Its a beautiful story.

Rating:
Summary: strong crossroad horror entry
Review: Heir to the wealthy Louisiana Blackwood Farm, Quinn Blackwood is a true son of the south, but has a secret that makes him quite different. He suffers nightmares caused by his spirit world doppelganger Goblin. Still he finds passion with teenage Mona Mayfair until Petronia converts him into a vampire.

Though he does not want to be a blood seeker, Quinn's worse phantasm is that his doppelganger is not only one too, but that Goblin plans to destroy everyone Quinn loves and cherishes especially Mona. Knowing he remains an ineffective tyro when it comes to the night life, Quinn seeks the aid of Lestat, who refuses to help until the young vampire explains his full life history.

Anne Rice cleverly intersects characters from her two favorite series ("Vampire Chronicles" and the "Mayfair Witches") that have had runs longer than a vampire's life span though a fresh set of characters especially Goblin and Quinn make this work on of the author's best. The story line is typical of Ms. Rice filled with vivid detail and erotic elements with many scenes provided by Quinn describing his past. Though at times it seems Ms. Rice prefers to be a historical biographer, her myriad of fans will celebrate BLACKWOOD FARM due to the vigor of the Quinn vs. Goblin obsession war of supremacy.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: She's Getting the voodoo back...
Review: I am extremely particular in the authors I read. I found Rice's earlier vampire books fascinating. My favorite book of her's is Servant of the Bones though. I also found her Mayfair Witch series captivating. How long can someone keep up with new exciteing tales? I would begrudge her nothing if every new book of hers was only so-so. After reading Violin I was afraid she lost her creative ability, a book that I couldn't even finish. But Merrick brought new hope to me, and Blackwood Farm restored my faith in her writing abilities. Could it have been better?...of course, everything can be better. The point is that this book was a great joy to read and I reccomend it highly.

Rating:
Summary: Arg...not again.
Review: At the end of the book I was left with the horrible realisation of how close the whole vampire "Troop of beloveds" are to holding hands and singing Kumbaya around a campfire.
I mean, it's been going down hill ever since Vampire Armand with ever so more apparent oozing of christian underlines in the storylines.

Rating:
Summary: Hard to get into, but worth the effort
Review: It took me two months to read the first half of this book, and three days to finish it! It is pretty slow at first and the characters do not "grab" you right away. However I think all the buildup and boring details are necessary for the real story, which appears about the time Mona Mayfair does, to work. The ending is rather abrupt, which is the only reason I did not give it 5 stars. I would give it 4 and a half if that were possible. I cried when it was over, not because the ending was particularly sad, but because it was over! PLEASE TELL ME ANOTHER BOOK ABOUT QUINN, MONA, AND LESTAT IS COMING!!!

Rating:
Summary: Her Best Work in a Long Time
Review: Anne Rice can be a great story-teller, and this is one the best stories she has written in a long time. She creates a new family, the Blackwoods, puts them on an estate in a Louisana swamp with ghosts and a spirit called Goblin, salts them with characters from her other works (the Mayfairs, Lestat, and the Talamasca), and just lets the story unfold. There are no metaphysical musings to get in the way here; just smoothly-flowing prose. My only gripe (and this is farily minor) was that I knew how the book was going to end well before I got there.