Rating: 
Summary: Silent homophobia is a crime against humanity!!!
Review: Christopher Rice is the most attractive, courageous and pungent author of his age I have read for quite many years. In this book he dares to deal with THE problem of the US at the present moment : sexual-oriented violence, and in this particular case, homophobia, the lynching of homosexuals. First the book is a real thriller and we will know two or three fundamental secrets only on the very last page. It is marvelous, it is a prodigy for someone so young. Second the style is that of his generation, the zapping generation. The time line is broken, distorted and even mashed into some kind of a-temporal contemplation and story telling. It is absolutely fascinating to jump like that from one time to another, from one place to another, from one character to another, from one point of view to another. The reader has to be active from beginning to end. The reader is not a passive spittoon. The reader is the only one who can follow the line by reconstructing it constantly. Christopher Rice is really the most exacting and demanding author because his readers cannot just follow the flow of the discourse, of the story since we are plunged into a maelstrom that has to be sorted out for us to just plainly survive as readers. Christopher, you are a genius and the intercourse we have to entertain and build with your story, with you, is the most fascinating and exciting personal relation one reader can weave with his author, and I do not say one author with his reader. The initiative of this intercourse must come from the reader. The author is nothing but the prompter of our pleasure that can only be found in our reconstruction of the tempestuous tale Christopher dares delve us into. Third, Christopher Rice shows that homophobia comes from the deepest layers of a society, the deepest layers of a personality, from the deepest and muddiest layers of a culture. Homophobia is not a belief, is not an ethical attitude. It is a disease and as such must be treated as a plague. Homophobia is the disease in this society of ours that makes killing, torturing, raping and even worse forms of inhuman behavior plain justified because it is based on a norm that does not accept any exception. Homophobia, just like racism or sexism or any other rejection of even the slightest difference (the way to dress or to speak for instance), is a crime against humanity and Christopher Rice makes it also a crime against God, Life and Intelligence. Homophobia is THE CRIME PER SE, and there is no other crime that can compare. To read such a book and to enjoy it is the only way to build a consciousness of humanity, humaneness, divinity and divineness. But, and this is essential, even the neutral ignorance of the existence of homosexuality, of sexual differences, without any expressed hostility, is the first step and the most vicious step to homophobia. We must accept differences, and we must accept to integrate these differences in our every day consciousness, language, experience, etc. The old attitude : « I don't mind really, so far as it does not cross my path », is exposed as the first step and the hypocritical step of the cultured and civilized moron and bigot that seems to be tolerant and is in fact non-hostile as long as the subject is kept out of sight, is hidden away, is negated in the environment of the effete intellectual and moralist. That common criminal remains an innocent liberal as long as he does not see any evil, he does not hear any evil, he does not taste any evil, he does not smell any evil and no one ever ever speaks any evil in his presence. And not like the famous three monkeys, but in absolute concrete material reality. In other words, this criminal will remain innocent as long as what he does not want to know about will remain out of prehension for him. But as soon as the homosexual he has been living along, unawares, all the time with, dares come out of his cabinet, closet or even wardrobe, he will pick up a pistol, a gun and a rifle and will shoot point blank at this unacceptable vicious pervert who dares ask for the right to exist in full light, under the bright sunshine. Christopher Rice, you have written a cult novel on the subject of homophobia and you deserve already a Nobel Prize. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Paris Universities II and IX.
Rating:
Summary: It kept me awake at night, reading into the morning..
Review: It may be a cliche', but this book moved me. I can remember one time while reading being taken completely aback -- Mr. Rice has written a very touching story. "Density" is also a fast-paced thriller, with every page of the work (especially toward the end) revealing a new, unbelievable twist in the story. The characters are extremely real; anyone who has graduated from high school in the last 5 years will certainly connect with this. "Density" is honest, touching, thrilling -- and wonderfully erotic. While never smutty, this book is filled with the sort of heart-fluttering homoeroticism that we all experienced while drooling over that gorgeous jock in our high school locker rooms. Overall, a wonderful novel. If you are young and gay (although you needn't be), you will definitely connect, as did I. Indulge in wonderful storytelling and READ THIS BOOK. Cheers.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: This book was absolutely amazing. I just happened to pick it up while I was book shopping. Along with about 5 other books that I knew about. I didn't really know what to expect, but the brief summary seemed interesting. I decided to read it first. I couldn't put it down. I planned on reading just one or two chapters and ended up reading the whole thing in about 5 hours. A true work of art and a beautiful story. I have recommended it to all of my friends and loaned it out a couple of times. I have reread it twice since that first time and each time, I find something new and intriguing about it.
Rating:
Summary: An emotionally charged work of art.
Review: Christopher brings soul and precision to every one of his characters; your mind quivers on the border of fiction and reality. For such a young author to expose his soul to the world, in only his first published work proves that he will be around for years to come. Expect to laugh and cry in this coming-of-age tale of four teenagers poised on the threshold of good and evil, right and wrong. Will Good always conquer over Evil or do they intertwine in the middle? Find out in this exhilarating first novel (and my second favorite book ever) by Christopher Rice.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't bother
Review: Quite possibly the worst book I have ever read. The material did not offend me, it was just disjointed and implausible. I finished it suprisingly, mostly to see if it got better. It is obvious why this got published. Give it a miss, or if you ar just too curious, check it out from the library
Rating: 
Summary: Rape, murder, sex...yes, it's Rice family values time again!
Review: Holy Bourbon Street, Batman, we're not in Gotham City (or Kansas, for that matter) anymore! Nope, "A Density of Souls" is DEFINITELY set in lush, class-conscious, decadent, rat-infested, decaying, water-logged, tragic, unnatural, thin-veneer-of-civilization New Orleans, and its author is definitely a son of Anne Rice! Murder (!), suicide (!), incest (!), great-looking people (!) (mainly boys!), repressed desires (!), deep dark secrets (!), sex (usually violent, usually forbidden!), alcoholism (!), horrible deaths (!), horrible lives (!), stereotyped characters (!), gothic (even ludicrous) plot twists (!), religious (Roman Catholic, of course) imagery galore (!), a trip to Europe (!), art (!), madness (!), and all topped off by a massive hurricane with the bodies of dead people and rats floating through the streets (!). My god, did Anne Rice dictate this novel to her son, or does this stuff just run genetically in the Rice family? (Maybe now that scientists have begun to unravel the human genome, they can take some blood samples or something and actually find out!).Anyway...despite my previous paragraph, this novel actually is not ALL bad. If nothing else, it takes on some serious, important, even ambitious themes. Most important, I would say, is the whole issue of male sexuality and identity, and specifically homosexuality/homophobia, which in our ever-tolerant, easy-going society (NOT!) must be repressed at all costs... And also how (as research has shown) the most homophobic people are usually the ones most obsessed with their own "issues" of repressed homosexuality. Besides that, I would also add that Christopher Rice is not just trading on his mother's name or his looks, but definitely has a good deal of his own talent. Some of his descriptions and psychological insights are very well done, and he certainly has a lot of energy! "A Density of Souls," despite its many flaws, is still a fairly promising first novel. One can only hope that Christopher Rice's writing will become less frenzied, less heavy-handed, less soap opera-ish, and - basically -- less like his MOTHER'S as his career progresses (alternatively, he could just continue the family tradition and start cranking out vampire, witch, and mummy books!).
Rating:
Summary: My apologies to a brilliant new author!!
Review: I adore Anne Rice. Indeed, she is probably my favorite author. So when I heard her son had written a book, there was no question that I'd buy it. I was also prepared to like it regardless, because it would seem somehow disloyal to her to not appreciate her child's work. How shallow that was of me!! By the time I reached the middle of the third page of A Density of Souls, I had forgotten that the author had a famous mother, or that the book happened to be set in the same city where vampires and witches roam in other novels. I was totally ensconced in the world of New Orleans with four children, riding their bicycles through the humid, iron laced decadence that is the Garden District. Stephen, Meredith, Brandon, Greg and the other characters of this book became my constant companions for the next few hours. I read while they grew, loved, hated and lived through what could very well be a true story. I think that the scariest stories of all are about the true feelings of people. In this book it shows, in all its ghastly truth, how one line uttered by one individual can change another person's destiny and life. I don't beleive that there isn't a time that any of us haven't tried to grasp what we think will be popularity or happiness at the expense of another individual. It's a nasty trait in all of us and this book shows how that kind of selfishness can effect, not just one, but several people. Christopher Rice has a great knack of showing off the story at different viewpoints. Whether it's a character you like, or one of the characters you don't care for, you get a glimpse of what they are all feeling and what is compelling them to do the things they do. Don't get me wrong, you have to be patient, as the flower will not bloom completely until the book is almost over. But you will get all the answers and, if not relate to the character, at least you will understand them and what their motivation is. A Density of Souls also happens to be a terrific mystery. It's not set up in the typical who-done-it formula. It's more an unveiling of emotions and actions that make for even more compelling reading. You grow with the characters, with society and within yourself as you read. I would definately recommend A Density of Souls. It's by a really terrific new author. Coincidentally, his last name happens to be Rice. Judge him all on his own....he's worth it!!!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent First Novel
Review: Great debut effort for Christopher Rice. I found the story mesmerizing and easy to digest with a number of plot twists. Some of the reviewers here really picked the book apart citing what they consider an implausible story and unbelievable characters. Yes, the story is a bit over-the-top (in a good way) but I didn't pick it up hoping for Tolstoy. The purpose of this novel is to entertain and that's exactly what it did for 275 pages.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Story, Bad writing
Review: This book has a good story, unfortunatly his writing style was hard to understand. He would be writing about a dream sequence and reality the next. You never fully understood where he was coming from. Other times he would not give enough detail to understand what was going on in the book. At one point there was a death that you whitnessed and while you knew a death happended you never fully understood what happened until the next chapter.
Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful book with a great story!!
Review: I really enjoyed Christopher Rice's first novel. I thought the story was great. I thought it started a little slow but after the first few pages the book off and it never looked backed. I am looking foward to his next book. Hope it comes out soon!!
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