The Witching Hour

Rating:
Summary: Incredible growth since "Interview with a vampire"
Review: I can tell Ann Rice went far this time with "The Witching Hour", her descriptions are so fully detailed that you can even smell the flowers or touch the textures, she gets you inside the enviroment and then she freaks you out, but you just can't stop reading. i am not sure if this book is as good or better than "Lestat: the vampire", another book I like very much, but I can tell this one is better written in an elegant and fluid language.
The plot is well developed, keeping suspense, and narrating from several points of view the same plot, but from different characters. Full of dramatic and crude scenes.
I can tell this is an extraordinary book, if you like tales of ghosts, witches, ancient history, art, and dark sides of personality, this is a "must read".

Rating:
Summary: great read!
Review: This book may be thick but the story is amazing! Anne ties so much information together to end with one big BANG! I reccomend this book to anyone who's a true anne rice fan.

Rating:
Summary: Can you say Boring?!
Review: I have read the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice and loved them, so I thought I would give the Witching Hour a try. I took it on vacation with me and could only get through the first 300 pages. Too long, way too much detail, not enough action and way too many people, places and things that you have to remember. I decided to give it another try about 6 months later and this time only made it through the first 500 pages. I just couldn't get into it. Lately, most of Anne Rice's books I can't get into. I think she has just become too discriptive in her writting and I no longer enjoy reading her work. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Good Start
Review: Either parts of the story seem to drag on or the story gets to be so page turning that I become impatient to reach the end. She writes a chilling story and brings you into each character. I can't wait to continue on in the tales.

Rating:
Summary: Mayfair witch meets the first Taltos.
Review: In San Francisco, a young man could not stop himself from drawing nearer the rocky shore; the ocean called to him, to his soul. Then he was swept into the sea. Rescue seems impossible, yet he is saved; saved by a Mayfair witch for reasons even she knows nothing about. Just as seaweed wraps around the legs and arms of unwary divers trapping them until only the blade of a knife will set them free, love entangles these two people. They travel to New Orleans, where a ancient mansion is alive with the secrets of the past. Shadows and Spanish Lace that hangs from the old trees were a barrier to passersby who would peek through the gates--that and ghosts.

In a powerful opening sequence, Anne Rice develops an intriguing story with rich characters that drew me into the story of the Mayfair Witches. The tale moves along well through the historical journals of past witches, who they were and how they came to power; a history that crosses the centuries and reveals a sense of their destiny and the corruption that binds this lineage.

Then the problem begins. Anne Rice retells the journal story from a new witch as she learns about her ancestors. Had this section been her reaction rather than a rehashing of the same material, then it might have added more than pages to the book, but it did not. This is a significant detriment to the book, but it was woven into events that were occurring in the same timeline, which made it difficult to skip.

Lasher, a Taltos, is ancient yet newborn. He is seductive and demanding as the Mayfair ghost. He is also brutal, cunning, and demonic, but this side of his character is not revealed until he gains the ultimate prize.

It has been several years since I read The Withching Hour, yet it stays with me as great storytelling always does. But I still cannot figure out why such a talented writer fell into trap of duplicating information; all it did was add a hundred or so pages. For that reason I give it 4 stars.

Victoria Tarrani

Rating:
Summary: Rice's motto: Any story worth telling is worth over-telling
Review: Since I already spent countless hours slogging through this book, I will try to be succinct in my reasons for not recommending Witching Hour:

1. It is overtold. Remember those essays in high school that had to be at least 10 pages long? Witching Hour reads like the publisher gave Anne Rice a 1000 page assignment, and she kept padding and padding the story until she met it. Anne Rice's motto clearly seems to be: Any story worth telling is worth over-telling.
2. The characters cave. Without giving the ending away, the "heroes" suddenly give up, for no apparent reason. The anticipated confrontation and climax just never happen.
3. There is no ending. While I figured that there would be sequels, or at least related books in the Mayfair series, I was stunned when the book ended with really no resolution of the major conflicts at all. All the author does is set us up for the next installment. After 1000+ pages! (Actually, this is obviously why the heroes give up, so there can BE a sequel.)

Yes, Anne Rice has a fine writing style, but I don't have the energy, stamina, or interest to invest in another of her novels. Not if the payoff is like the one in Witching Hour.

Rating:
Summary: Not a good introduction to Rice
Review: My first Rice book. The writing style, character development, and idea were so impressive that it had the pontential to join the list of books I consider masterful. I was majorly let down by two shortcomings. The first was the length of the documentary-style writing. The history was great but it became tedious when presented in documentary form for extended time. The other thing, and it's hard to explain without spoiling anything, was the ending. The ending isn't satisfactory because it leads into the next book, but the next book seems to be an entirely different type of tale - a type I find too 'way out' for my liking. Shame.

Rating:
Summary: things
Review: Well, to be honest I havn't finished this book yet. My aunt loaned it to me, because she hadn't read it yet and knows I read "that kind of book." I definately agree with saying Interview With the Vampire was a bore, and the others were far better. However Stephen King's first book of the Dark Tower series, The Gunslinger, wasn't that great either. But, the others were fantastic! Okay, getting back on subject. The Witching Hour, so far, is a great book, the best one I've read by Anne Rice so far.
I don't think this book is overly detailed, I think that the detail makes you more aware of the character, it makes you feel like you know each of them personally. I wasn't to crazy about the incestive bondage scene with Charlotte and Petyr though...eurgh. Definately don't buy this book if you don't love you read, an in detail with involved plots. It's not a qick, easy, light, read. Otherwise, it's great.
It got four stars because, despite the fact it's a good book, it lacks the magical mental KAPOW that other books do (e.g. Stephen King - It). It's not perfect, but still very good.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Over-descriptive and slow
Review: Anne Rice's "The Witching Hour" is a novel of a legacy of witches who are haunted by a being over several centuries. There are some good characters in the story that add interest, such as Michael, Rowan, and Aaron. However, the book will probably be difficult for many to take a long-term interest (which is necessary in order to read the 1,000+ pages) in.
This book should be a solid buy for those who: 1) are interested in witchcraft and 2) can dedicate time to reading.
The book contains three main parts: a 280-page introduction, a 4000-page file, and a 350-page end story. Unfortunately, the story is just too slow and too descriptive. Many who begin will probably not finish due to boredom with the story. It would have been so much more entertaining had the author eliminated two-thirds of the text in this book and simply "told the story".

Rating:
Summary: Anne Rice has bewitched me with this tale
Review: Oh my god as soon as I saw the queen of the damned movie I heard that Anne Rice had a series on witches. I have always been interested by them so I decided to buy the book. From the minute I picked it up, I found myself unable to put it down, staying up till all hours of the morning reading on, captured by the mysterious lasher, Michaels visions and Rowans struggl. All of the characters are so realistic, however I must say there were a lot of characters and descendants "inter related" which made it difficult to keep along in the second part of the book, but I was able to find a gene list on line. This book is captivating and i highly recommend it to anyone and everyone capable of reading!!!!!