Rating: 
Summary: Engaging New Orleans Witchiness
Review: Well, having read the Vampire Chronicles I just had to read this book and I wasn't disappointed.
I found that it was one of those books that starts lasciviously slowly and then builds and builds until you don't want to put it down. As is rare these days you actually care and believe about these characters and you even feel some measure of sympathy for the spirit Lasher when really we should despise him.
I run the risk of giving the whole story away and typing a review almost as long as this novel itself and long it is but you don't notice that after the first 200 pages or so. With settings flung far and wide the story is wholly believable and you just know this family really exists in the Garden District somewhere still!!!
If you've never read Anne Rice then this is the ideal starting point, it does take a while to "get going" but please persevere with it as it is well worth it!
Rating: 
Summary: Best Anne Rice Book
Review: For many years I tried to read an Anne Rice book. But for some reason, I could never finish one of her books. Until I picked up The Witching Hour. I was engrossed from the first paragraph. A great story of witches, voodoo, and New Orleans. Highly recommended!!
Rating: 
Summary: Too much detail
Review: I absolutely love to read and I was excited to read an Anne Rice novel (this was my first). Clearly people love Anne Rice but I'm writing this review for people who, like me, don't like so much detail. This book has TONS of detail. This is the first book I've ever read where I skipped an entire chapter and didn't miss it. The title of the chapter was someone's name and I was so tired of all the detail that I figured I'd come back when that person entered the picture. I never needed to go back. And, in all honesty, it started to become a quest to get to the end (this is a very long book) and about 100 pages from the end I decided I just didn't care anymore. This is not like me to do as I usually prefer closure. =) Basically, the story really is good and if you don't mind all the excess details, you will probably really enjoy it. I couldn't take the excess. If you want a faster read where you get to the point and move along with the story, you might try something else. I absolutely love Dean Koontz's work, so I'd suggest any of his books! If you've never read Dean Koontz, start with Watchers (awesome!!!!!). Happy reading....
Rating: 
Summary: You Get what it Promises
Review: The very title of this book is The Witching Hour: The lives of the Mayfair wiches, and that is exactly what you get. If you are looking for something with a continuous, intriguing plot, this is not for you. This book reads like a documentary more than anything else. What starts out as a first person story quickly becomes a reading of long historical records of an incestuous, tragedy ridden family. This book is meant, in my opinion, to prepare us with details for the next two books in it's trilogy. We are introduced to the characters, but should no expect any kind of conclusion or closure here.
Rating:
Summary: One of my all-time favorites
Review: I remember being 14 years old, curled up in the closet with a book light hoping my parents wouldn't wake up and catch me up all night (AGAIN) reading this darn book. I just couldn't put it down! Anne Rice has an incredible talent for creating extremely intricate details, such as the history of the Mayfair family. Truly spellbinding, the story takes you through this cursed witch family and all of their gorey secrets. I love the setting of this in New Orleans, it adds the perfect touch.
Rating:
Summary: Question, questions...
Review: The plot line of this book is something of a mystery for more than half, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I found the plot itself to be intriguing and that is the only reason I have decided to finish it. My complaints are mostly from Rice's wishful thinking. Most importantly being the incestuous Mayfair family. Rice described one incident of incest after another (and not that quasi-incestuous counsin stuff. Real father to daughter and brother to sister stuff), and yet almost every one of them is described as devistatingly beautiful. that would be one hell of a miracle of genetics.
Rating: 
Summary: What is this?
Review: Maybe I should't be reviewing this book at all. Technically, I did not even finish it due to the fact that it was so boring I decided to give it a rest. Rambling on and on for atleast 500 pages about a bunch of witches and some Rowan girl,and then complicating it by jumping back and forth trying to fit in every character's perspective into one book. I honestly don't know what Rice was trying to prove. I was not impressed by this book whatsoever and I definitely won't stick around to read the sequels.
Rating:
Summary: Not Yet finished but dedicated to completing
Review: Bravo.. to the Reviewer Richard. I could not have put it any better than that. I started this book in April of 2002... I started a evening class which took my attention away now 10/02. But, I have all intentions of returning to the library and borrowing it again shortly after the semester's end. I had to record the page number which was about 850+... It does drag for quite sometime but the incredible imagery details I felt like I was in the story witnessing each plot. It can be a little scary to the point goosebumps appear but.. worth it To sum up, richard said this: -Great depth and beautiful imagery
-Excellent character development
-Story tends to drag, but is filled with twists
-Requires patience and time to complete IT'S WORTH IT.. Late charges and all!
Rating:
Summary: The Witching Hour
Review: I'd be the first to say Anne Rice is capable of interesting, creative work, but this one I wish I'd left on the shelf. Among the turn-offs, frequent regression into an earlier prose style... ...Art, truly. It's no shame, her starting out as a romance novelist, but by 1990 she really was well beyond this sort of silliness. You'll also be treated to page upon tedious page of somniferous family history, most of it inconsequential. This is an unimaginative 500 pager distended to an almost unendurable 1000. The topper is a clumsy, dissatisfying non-ending calculated to sell the next book. My advice, give this one a pass.
Rating:
Summary: Massive and overwhelming, but beautifully realistic
Review: I have to start by saying, Bravo! Miss Rice for your attention to detail, your vivid depictions, and your excellent character development. This is an excellent read for those who have the patience to sit through a 1000 plus page book. Like most of Anne's books she starts of with a little foreshadowing and some excellent imagery to set the mood of the story. Yet, you had better be prepared once you set off on this journey. Unless you have a photographic memory, I would suggest grabbing a notebook in which you can briefly list the characters in this book, or else you can look forward to some confusion down the road. This may sound like it would take the fun out of reading this book, but you will thank me once you finally finish this epic adventure. Anne takes you through the history of the Mayfair Witches one by one, explaining just how each contributed to the families' wealth and standing, at the same time weaving a tale of betrayal, incest, and mystery. There are times when the story drags, but for the most part you are kept on the edge of your seat trying to predict every twist that this intense plot throws at you. Besides giving an expansive family history, Miss Rice also masterfully creates a realistic world in which the story takes place. As with the Vampire Chronicles, The Witching Hour also takes place in Anne's beloved New Orleans. As the story unfolds you become more and more familiar with this magical city as if you had lived there and each of the characters' experiences begin to feel as if the were your own. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the Vampire Chronicles or is just looking for a good book. To sum up: -Great depth and beautiful imagery
-Excellent character development
-Story tends to drag, but is filled with twists
-Requires patience and time to complete
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