Rating: 
Summary: an answer to his critics
Review: your high school may have been different, but this should not mean that other expreriences are impossible or make-believe.Christopher Rice may be younger than most novelists, but his efforts are far from wee. The subjects of his novel may be youthful and strange to most mainstream-thinking adults, but they are no less real. My teen years may have been very different from those of greg, and meredith, and especially stephen; however so much of them (their personalities, the problems/issues they faced) rings true for my experiences of school and university and home life. This experience suggests, to me, that readers of this book need not be gay teens and their friends - they need not be people like the book's characters. This is not a How To book, or one that glorifies one group and bashes the other. It is a tale; it is a story of people and their lives and loves. The person reading it should hesitate to put it aside simply because something seems unrealistic or improbable. If novels were all about realism, all about life as most people lived it, reading would lose its appeal which is often this: something new that rings true. the fact that you have not experienced something - for instance bulimia or violence in a sexual relationship - does not mean that it does not exist. Personally, I stayed up all one night reading this. I couldn't put it down - even though i wanted to, because it was often painful to read. When i finally finished I realised I'd been crying - not so much because the story was a sad one, but because of something else. What's that something else? I don't know really. I think only reading it would make you understand what I mean. As a female, I related most to Meredith - whose high school experiences were reminiscent of my own school - and to Stephen's and Brandon's mothers (cheers to young Christopher for creating such incredible women). But the boys were not lost to me. Far from it.
Rating: 
Summary: I'll Keep this short but sweet
Review: To be honest I read this book because I was an Anne Rice fan and wondered after reading Alice Borchard (Anne's sister) if Christopher Rice had it in him. I can honestly say I was amazed. It twists and turns like an Armistead Maupin novel (and uses a similar short chapter format) while remaining grounded. It has bleakness as a trademark but the warmth of the characters balances this. The focus group for the novel is a disfunctional New Orleans middle class society, which gradually dissolves to show its more honest face. The characters are well rounded which is unusal in a first novel. The amount of interconnected story lines can be a little hectic at times but everything is there for a reason. The clever way that the truths are disclosed throughout the story never ceases to impress. If you want a book that will send you to bed early to read it but make you late for work the following day because you only turned out the light at 4am this is the one. It has a "just one more chapter" quality which makes you not want it to end. My order is in for his second novel, can i take out a subscription ha ha.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: Possibly one of the most amazing works I have ever read. I don't care for reviewers comments on how they believed certain semantics of standardly accepted writing practices were circumvented. The book was completely amazing and had a life changing impact on me.
Rating:
Summary: Density of Souls
Review: I bought the book 5 days after it came out. Read it in 4 days.
Lent it to friends they loved it and it has taken what a year plus to get back to me. Every one that has read the book have went out and bougt there own copy. I can hardly wait to read his new one that just came out. I would how long it will take for my friends to give it back????
Rating:
Summary: Masterful Debut (4.5 stars)
Review: "Fear cannot touch me...it can only taunt me, it cannot take me, just tell me where to go..." The preceding verse is part of a poem that is a constant theme and dictum for Stephen Conlin, the protagonist of "A Density of Souls", Christopher Rice's debut novel. Stephen is an introverted and somewhat confused individual, the tale of his tortured adolescence beginning with an introduction to his once tightly-knit circle of friends: Greg Darby, Brandon Charbonnet and Meredith Ducote. All four of them have begun to bridge the gap of puberty and are now starting to look at each other a bit differently. Their relationships change drastically when they begin attending the esteemed Cannon High School, drifting farther apart not only for the reason of youth's known propensity for identity crisis but because all four are acutely aware of one substantial truth: Stephen is gay. As time goes on, the group suffers inexplicable tragedies, namely the death of Greg's younger brother during a Cannon football game. Unable to deal with his grief, Greg commits suicide only days later, a single shotgun blast administered to his head. When Brandon hears of Greg's suicide, he suddenly disappears and no one knows his whereabouts for years. Stephen struggles to find acceptance among the gay community while pondering his friends' puzzling fates and the enigma of his own father's suicide many years. Meredith, losing her grip on the complexities of her life, reflects on her former and somewhat desperate relationship with Greg while submitting herself to alcoholic binges. She writes of her masked hatred for him and her feelings regarding Stephen and Brandon in a secretive diary. One night, during a drunken binge, she writes solemnly, "One time, a time that seems so long ago but really isn't, I was one child among four. Now I'm owned by two." The story seems to settle into a plaintive grind until Stephen begins a relationship with Jordan Charbonnet, Brandon's older brother. Remnants of the past begin to surface within the twisted lives of the community and soon old memories, not to mention faces of the past, come back to haunt them. Anyone who reads this novel will certainly have a strong idea of where Christopher gets his talents from; born to best-selling author Anne Rice (Interview with the Vampire, The Witching Hour, etc.) and painter/poet Stan Rice, Christopher was destined to pursue a career in the fine arts. He had toughed it out in Los Angeles for a year before beginning work on "A Density of Souls", working as a screenwriter. He received an unexpected call one day in December of 1998, summoned back home by his father in light of a medical emergency regarding his mother. He came back to New Orleans to see her in a hospital bed on life support, suffering from a diabetic coma. As she recuperated from this major health scare (no one knew Anne was a diabetic until then), Chris wiled away his time dabbling with a short story that centered around his life as a closet homosexual in high school. He told Anne quietly one day while at her bedside that he was writing a story and she was pleasantly surprised, thinking that her son would never be a fiction writer (he purposely avoided following in her footsteps for a greater part of his life). His story eventually grew into his novel, becoming a suspenseful and beguiling tale of mystery and betrayal. Because of Anne's prominence in the literary world, Christopher risked falling in her shadow. He shares her talent for fictional prose, but the aspects that aren't synonymous with his renowned predecessor are her long-windedness and her propensity to drown in character descriptions; Chris keeps it short and sweet without skimping on the all-too-important psychoses and perception of each member of his story. The staple for his first novel was drawn upon a considerable aspect of himself - Rice is gay. In writing his novel, he recalled the sense of isolation he felt, saying that he "examined it close-up, almost for therapeutic purposes, and put it in perspective". As with all great suspense tales, Rice gives "A Density of Souls" a climactic and pivotal ending - New Orleans is the victim of a severe hurricane/flood combo, the disaster becoming a figurative "judgment day" for all involved. Everyone's sins come home to roost as telephone lines and cypress trees are uprooted and houses are ripped from their foundations by the squall. Judging by the response he has received from critics and readers alike for "A Density of Souls", his second novel (The Snow Garden) should fair even better. In time, his name will become his own and he will never be acknowledged again in the literary world as just "Anne Rice's son".
Rating: 
Summary: Dense but not deep ...
Review: Christopher Rice's "A Density of Souls" is a magnet for criticism not only because it is the high-profile debut of a promising new talent, but also because the author is Anne Rice's son. She is a pop-culture literary icon whose name is mentioned in the same breath as Stephen King's, and it is apparent that her status may have helped to see her son's novel to quick publication, because there are books more accomplished than "A Density of Souls" being written by aspiring talent everyday. This, however, is in no way an indictment of Rice's creation, because, as it turns out, his creation works more often than not, and buried beneath its sophomoric pomp and circumstance is an emerging voice ... the voice of what Christopher Rice may one day evolve into. In all fairness, Rice is only twenty-one years old; therefore, it's entirely forgivable that his sometimes ham-handed story is set against a backdrop of melodramatic teen angst and supported by so many layers of lies and deceipt that it puts "Days of our Lives" and "The Young and the Restless" to utter shame. Anyone coming into this novel looking for a deep probing of the complexities of human nature, abandon such notions. This is not a life-altering experience that will produce epiphanies or spark one to new levels of thought and self-awareness. "A Density of Souls" is a soap opera--no more, no less. And as such it works exceedingly well. The problem is that it believes itself to be of greater importance than it truly is. Rice's subtlety-free commentaries about life, love, regret, and pain are dressed in often eloquent words but fail to transcend the banality of the sentiments themselves. Fortunately for Rice, what he lacks in originality, he paritally recoups in pure earnestness. Make no mistake, this heavily-populated book is really about one character, the tortured Stephen Conlin, whom one will instantly recognize as a very personal--if not autobiographical--extension of the author. When Rice breathes life into Stephen, his writing truly comes alive, and it is within these passages that Rice's voice is most self-assured and vivid. In bringing the troubled, gay Stephen Conlin to the page, Christopher Rice is quite obviously sharing with the reader a portion of his own soul. The story revolves around two generations of well-heeled Garden District residents who find themselves embroiled in Rice's consitently enthralling--if unintentionally campy--tale of secrets, lies, murder, suicide, and revenge. To Rice's credit, the story is well-paced, briskly and effortlessy developing momentum from one scene to the next and generally dropping large chunks of exposition without disrupting the busy narrative. Rice has a burgeoning flair for words that I suspect will always veer toward the florid, but nonetheless injects his writing with a mannered charisma--I can only see his word choices improving and his style ripening and maturng in the years to come. His characters are another area entirely. There are some good ones here: the aforementioned Stephen, as a product of pain and self-discovery, drives this novel and shows Rice at his best in terms of characterization. Stephen's heartbreak and resignation are painted by Rice with tremendous empathy and insight, his realizations and ruminations throughout the novel lovingly textured and shaded. Other multifaceted characters include Meredith, Monica, and Jordan, but, unfortunately, beyond that are uniformly cardboard presences that serve no other function than to advance the plot. What a different story this would have been had Greg, Brandon, or even Jordan been more fully fleshed out. The story, while tightly plotted and rapidly paced, suffers under the weight of its own complexity and derails when Rice strays from probability; he pushes the limits of believability more than once, and those lapses in judgment shout from the page. Too many things happen in "A Density of Souls" that don't advance the proceedings, enrich the characters, or illuminate the prevailing themes. These seemingly tacked-on elements--including a completely unnecessary and overly melodramatic revelation at the book's conclusion--diminish the power of the real story. At times Rice does not seem fully in control of his material and avoids profound exploration, resulting in glaring instances where he ignores some rich dramatic possiblilities in favor of a more simplistic approach--giving the story a stilted feel. But one can easily see that time, perspective, and humility will do wonders for Rice's writing. Ultimately, "A Density of Souls" gains its bearings and provides a satisfying reading experience that is perhaps not as cathartic or affecting as Mr. Rice had intended, but still is a notable beginning of a promising career. This book has strengths that refuse to be overlooked, not the least of which are Christopher Rice's ability to quickly grab the reader ... and to tell one hell of a good story. Mother should be proud.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: This book is, I think, the best debut novel for this generation. The dark tone, and the way the characters evolve through the book is amazing. The ending did blow me a way, the way the book deals with the characters is true to life, and you do feel for the characters as they lose their innocence to the world. You must read this book, and I cant wait for Chris's next novel to reach Europe.
Rating:
Summary: yet another commendation
Review: What I liked most about this book is the characters. I easily became emotionally involved in the story--empathising with Stephen, despising Brandon. Is the story a fantastic composition? Yes. The story wouldn't have the same intensity if it were wholly realistic. If you're looking for a book filled with emotional ups and downs you should give it a try.
Rating:
Summary: A spectacular debut...
Review: Christopher Rice's first novel is a spectacular debut. This is the story of four young people...Brandon, Greg, Stephen, and Meredith. They're the closest of friends until they start high school at Cannon, New Orleans' premiere private school, but what follows is the descent of some into the darkest realms of the human heart, while others shine brighter than ever before. Rice's writing is impressively vivid, showing the horror of homophobia, murder, and intolerance alongside the beauty of inner strength, true friendship, and the power of open-mindedness and loyalty. The entire second half of the book left me blue in the face, due to the fact that it held me in check, teetering on the edge of my seat, and completely breathless. I don't think I've ever read a book with so many unexpected twists and turns, better than any roller coaster I could imagine. My words hardly do justice to this multifaceted and utterly astonishing piece of literature. It will leave you with tears in your eyes, begging for more, and the words, "Fear cannot touch me, It can only taunt me..." ringing in your head indefinitely
Rating:
Summary: Wow, just wow.
Review: As an avid book reader it is rare when I don't figure out every plot twist and know the ending by page 6. This novel threw me for a loop. Its fresh story lines, excelent characters, wonderful use of the written word and engrossing plot made it impossible to grab a bookmark and close the book. This is by far my most favorite book because of writing style and plot.
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