Rating: 
Summary: Southern Gothic At Its Best
Review: Evocative, lush, sexy, mysterious, violent, scandalous. These adjectives describe not only New Orleans but the characters and their stories which Christopher Rice has brought to life. The story opens with Stephen, Greg, Brandon, and Meredith. The overripe Lafayette Cemetery is the setting. They are innocent children, but not for long. Rice shows us that the truth, in fact, is that the friendship bonds we make in our childhood shape us through our entire lives. An event takes place between these friends that forever change the paths their lives take as they enter their adolescence. Homosexuality, crimes against humanity, alcoholism, domestic violence, and suicide are just as much main characters as the four friends. How they entwine together is one of the most mesmerizing, page-turning stories that I have ever read. During Part III of the book, a hurricane hits New Orleans . . . what a perfect climax . . .as a malestrom of emotions and secrets play out amongst the characters, shocking secrets are revealed. Not only are the homes and waterways tossed about; so are the lives of Rice's main characters. The reader is drawn into the story throughout but in the end, it's incredible. The outcome is simply shocking. I'd love to see this book brought to the big screen. I also hope to see a new release by Christopher Rice very soon.
Rating: 
Summary: I tried to like it... I really did.
Review: Anne Rice who? Kidding! You can't avoid the family connection, but the connection stops at compelling storytelling. This book was akin to a child's account of someone else's story. He allows his characters to drift aimlessly through the story. There's four main characters, no... six, but there's eight or maybe ten. Let's kill of a couple... then we'll build a story around it. Do we care? No. The book is chockablock full of bizarre twists that can only come from a child's mind. Example: there's a Quasimodo cheerleader! I've read all the other review and I wonder if we read the same book. I can understand supporting gay authors, but this is no way to encourage bad writing.
Rating: 
Summary: A thrilling read
Review: Christopher Rice's first novel should enable him to stand on his own feet in the literary world. Having two such famous parents can, I am sure, be both a blessing and a hinderance, but his talent shines through the long shadows cast by his parents. Hopefully reviewers and readers will soon stop referring to him as "the son of Anne Rice." The novel is a bit slow at first, and the gothic elements seem a bit heavy-handed. The first third of the novel would have benefitted from some tighter editing. However, once Rice hits his stride, the narrative takes off, and the reader willing follows. Rice paints an accurate picture of New Orleans and its Garden District families with their alcohol and secrets. His portrayal of the outsider in high school is all to real. One feels that Rice himself suffered the taunts and cruelties endured by Stephen. Many readers will think that they have "figured out" all the curves that Rice throws their way, but nothing is certain and the last piece does not fall into place until the last page. I highly recommend this novel. I started it last night at 10:45 and did not stop until I had finished it at 2:30 a.m. I look forward to his sophomore effort.
Rating:
Summary: A Density of Souls
Review: High class gay fiction if I've ever seen any. The twists' and turns kept me reading all night until I was finished. Give us more Christopher, you have the gift.
Rating:
Summary: Density weighs heavy in my heart
Review: I've never been so wrapped up in a book before like this. It was as if Christopher was tugging the very strands of my soul. Mr. Rice, a by-product of two excellent writers, has surpassed the writing skills of his mother! After reading this book, I wanted find out how to send him a letter or email to tell him how well he has impressed me. His characters were so real!
Rating:
Summary: A new talent
Review: Christopher Rice is not the son/clone of Anne and Stan Rice, he is an accomplished story teller in his own right and in his own voice. This is a first novel and not without its flaws. From the very outset, however, he introduces four appealing characters who make up the basis for for his tale. And populates the rest of the story with unique and intriguing characters in a fast paced narrative. He has a clear and visual sensibilty, writes of the New Orleans he knows and situations that make sense which makes it understandable why the Miramax-owned Talk books chose to publish his first novel. Undoubtedly, Miramax created this division to make preemptive bids in the literary pipeline of New York, that feeds Holywood. One can see the images floating through the book and translating into a screenplay. His education at Brown and Tisch School of the Arts is put to good use. Mr. Rice's talent is new and still emerging but look for him on future best seller lists, he is here to stay.
Rating:
Summary: WHAT A TWISTED PLOT!
Review: Much like the hurricain at the end of his book, Christopher Rice's plot twists and changes on almost every page. At first I thought I would have a difficult time keeping up with various characters and their individual development, but as with other works, I needed to find the book's own tempo and follow along. AND WHAT TEMPO! Fast paced and complicated, but nicely so. I was appreciative and frustrated at the same time with how the characters communicated with each other - at times we were not allowed to know the full history involved between characters, which allowed us the pleasure of speculation. That happens in real life, which to me, helped the believability of the characters. It was also striking to see that most all the characters hated each other, and how this apparent hatred/hurt also helped the plot unfold. Christopher - this was WONDERFUL! Please do this again. (And like your article said in The Advocate, the openly gay guy get's the football player. Loved that!) Thanks for such a wonderful read. I'm looking forward to reading the next one.
Rating:
Summary: Disjointed and pointless
Review: I have the feeling that if Christopher Rice were not Christopher Rice, this horrible mess would never have been published. The book starts out very promising, then goes off in the wrong direction. It seemed that in almost every scene someone is drinking one form of alcoholic beverage or another. There were about seventeen too many plot twists, not to mention a bad story to begin with. What's with the whole Jordan thing at the end? He just happens to turn gay on a whim, and with no explanation? He just feels attracted to Stephen! PLEASE! The end of this book was totally unsatifying and it seemed to be thrown in. DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! Take it from a gay man.
Rating:
Summary: What an impact
Review: I think every author's goal is to make people think-- think about their own feelings and how they can relate to the characters they write about. I must say, Christopher did a remarkable job of doing this. After reading a news article in Mid-Augusts "The Advocate" I was so impatient to get my hands on "A Destiny of Souls" that I went to the library and got it so I could instantly read it and not have to wait on shipping. From the first word to the last sentance, Christopher did a remarkable job of explaining detail and making the reader feel like they were there. I couldn't put the book down! I started to read it one evening, and could not get off the couch until I read the last word. Never before has a book meant so much to me. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope to read more about Stephen very soon!
Rating: 
Summary: Sounds exactly like Anne Rice to me.
Review: I'm trying to get through this book right now. I want to finish it just so I can say that I read it. I'm an avid reader but I'm having a hard time getting into this book. The prose is way too flowery, and the plot dashes too fast from one point in time to the next. The only reason I gave this book two stars instead of one was because when Christopher Rice isn't trying so hard, his characters actually do have life in them. But I fear his attempts at fiction are nothing more than pseudo-intellectualism wrapped up in a literary family lineage.
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