|
Loading...
LibraryThing recommendationsMember recommendationsLoading...
won't like
will probably not like
will probably like
will like
will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. This was okay. Mrs. Rice should've left well enough alone. (  ) Anagarika | Nov 3, 2009 |  After being a fan of the first three of the Vampire chronicles and having some spare time on my hands, I thought that I'd give this one, 'Merrick', a go. I was terribly disappointed by the Tale of the Body Thief (dull) and by Memnoch the Devil (too religious), but thought I'd give this one a try anyway. Unfortunately, it didn't quite manage to renew it's former magic. The majority of the book is David explaining to Louis how he came to meet Merrick, her family history, and their history. Interesting enough, I suppose, but I felt that it just went into too much detail. I personally wanted to find out what happened to Louis and I wasn't really interested in the character of Merrick - although a sad story, I just couldn't relate or sympathise with her. I wasn't endeared to Merrick at all by the end of it - I was surprised that Louis, David and Lestat were so happy to welcome her into the group without question! I know I certainly wouldn't have. The ending didn't sit well with me. I did enjoy parts of it, which is more than I can say for the last 2 I read, but I did find myself skipping through paragraphs that were just irrelevant. Worth a read if you're a fan of Louis, but not, in my opinion, worth going out of your way to read otherwise. ( ) lecari | Jul 9, 2009 | In the latest tale of the Vampires, Louis is consumed by an obsession to call the spirit of Claudia, so David seeks out a member of the Talamasca who might be capable of doing so. Even though we have not heard of her before, David shares a long history with Merrick, which he relates to us here. They even go on a trek through the South American Rainforest! This book seems more like a bridge between two tales than a story that can stand alone. One must be completely familiar with the characters and their history to really appreciate this adventure. It was worth reading, I think, if one intends to continue to read the chronicles, but not for its own merit. Ultimately, my opinion is "meh." ( ) lilyfyrestorm | Jun 27, 2009 | I didn't even finish this book. And that's a first time for me. I just can't understand it. It's too confusing. And besides, I find it weird that David finds Louis attractive and beautiful. I mean, their both guys. But I'm not saying that David is gay. It's just, well, weird. I guess the reason I didn't understand it is because I haven't read anne rice books before this. This book literally gave me a headache. (  ) margarethdane141516 | May 10, 2009 | It's been a while since I last read Anne Rice, particularly The Vampire Chronicles, and it was nice to revisit old friends. I'm not a big fan of David Talbot though and much prefer Lestat's voice, so this wasn't as great as the previous books for me. Still, it's a well-told story, and Rice once again amazes with her eye for details. It was also interesting to see vampires and witches side by side. (  ) thioviolight | Apr 7, 2008 |  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0345422406, Mass Market Paperback)Just when you thought it was safe for a bloodsucker to go out in the dark in New Orleans, along comes Merrick Mayfair, a sultry, hard-drinking octoroon beauty whose voodoo can turn the toughest vampire into a marionette dancing to her merry, scary tune. In Merrick, Anne Rice brings back three of her most wildly popular characters--the vampires Lestat and Louis and the dead vampire child Claudia--and introduces them to the world of her Mayfair Witches book series.It is Louis who brings about the collision of the fang and voodoo universes. Louis made Claudia a vampire in Rice's classic Interview with the Vampire, in which she was destroyed, and now he's obsessed with raising her ghost to make amends and seek guidance from the beyond. (Claudia physically resembles Rice's young daughter who died of a blood-related illness. Rice nearly died of a diabetic coma in 1998, and writing Merrick turned her excruciating recovery into an exhilarating burst of creativity). Vampire David Talbot lobbies Merrick to call Claudia's spirit and slake Louis's guilt, but Talbot winds up in the grip of an obsession with the witch. You see, Talbot, unlike most vampires, lived 70 years as a human, so his sexual response to humans is still as strong as his blood thirst. Merrick can cast spells to make men crave her, and Talbot is tormented. After she reads his palm, he muses, "I wanted to take her in my arms, not to feed from her, no, not harm her, only kiss her, only sink my fangs a very little, only taste her blood and her secrets, but this was dreadful and I wouldn't let it go on." The secrets of Merrick are dark and sensuous, but the book is a romp animated by Rice's feeling of coming back to life through the magic of a literary outpouring. The narrative flashes back to the past, to an Indiana Jones-ish adventure in a Guatemalan cave, and to scenes from many other Rice novels. It may be helpful to read Merrick with the Rice-approved guidebooks The Vampire Companion and The Witches' Companion at hand. After many books, Rice's grand Vampire Chronicles tale was in peril of getting long in the tooth. Merrick Mayfair's magic represents an infusion of fresh blood. --Tim Appelo (retrieved from Amazon Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:40:22 -0500) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wikipedia in English (1)
