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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have mixed feelings about this book. Rice writes a rich history of the Mayfair family and describes the city and culture of New Orleans in evocative language. Rice wrote the book while living in New Orleans and her love for the city is obvious. Despite the readability, this book is almost 1000 pages and (in my opinion) needs a strong edit. Extreme detail is provided when it's unnecessary to the plot and even minor characters receive lengthy backstory.
Rice is not afraid to write about taboo subject matter. The entire book is full of them. If you are squeamish (or just not interested in reading) about rape, incest, calculated inbreeding, and the sexualization of minors then you might want to pass on this one. I don't believe in censoring authors/artists but when all of these taboo subjects are repeatedly brought up it makes me question why they are relevant to the story. Rice doesn't write about the themes in condemnation. It seems like they are here to attract rather than repulse us. I know there's something to attraction/repulsion but I'm not smart enough to analyze literature that deeply. This book is categorized as horror and it achieves that in spades. The book was also published in 1990 and I think it's representative of its time.
A final note on the characters. I wish we could hear the history of the Mayfair family from the witches themselves. Their entire history is given to us through investigation documentation, gossip heard about the family, and observation by members of the Talamasca. You finish the 1000 page book realizing you don't know anything about the majority of the characters it chronicles. It would have been so interesting to get chapters from the POV of each generation's witch to see what was really happening. The Talamasca's documentation on them is obviously biased and incomplete.
Rapid-fire pros: chapters on the restoration of the First Street house. Rice obviously did her research on several time periods/themes. Suspenseful plot; I almost missed my subway stop multiple times because I was so engrossed in the book.
Rapid-fire cons: the length. All of the Mayfairs are perfectly perfect (or "not like other girls") characters. Our two main characters (Michael and Rowan) are enjoyable to read but sometimes frustrating in their ability to be outstanding and without flaws. The last 150 pages were not satisfying to read; I won't be finishing this trilogy.
Rice is not afraid to write about taboo subject matter. The entire book is full of them. If you are squeamish (or just not interested in reading) about rape, incest, calculated inbreeding, and the sexualization of minors then you might want to pass on this one. I don't believe in censoring authors/artists but when all of these taboo subjects are repeatedly brought up it makes me question why they are relevant to the story. Rice doesn't write about the themes in condemnation. It seems like they are here to attract rather than repulse us. I know there's something to attraction/repulsion but I'm not smart enough to analyze literature that deeply. This book is categorized as horror and it achieves that in spades. The book was also published in 1990 and I think it's representative of its time.
A final note on the characters. I wish we could hear the history of the Mayfair family from the witches themselves. Their entire history is given to us through investigation documentation, gossip heard about the family, and observation by members of the Talamasca. You finish the 1000 page book realizing you don't know anything about the majority of the characters it chronicles. It would have been so interesting to get chapters from the POV of each generation's witch to see what was really happening. The Talamasca's documentation on them is obviously biased and incomplete.
Rapid-fire pros: chapters on the restoration of the First Street house. Rice obviously did her research on several time periods/themes. Suspenseful plot; I almost missed my subway stop multiple times because I was so engrossed in the book.
Rapid-fire cons: the length. All of the Mayfairs are perfectly perfect (or "not like other girls") characters. Our two main characters (Michael and Rowan) are enjoyable to read but sometimes frustrating in their ability to be outstanding and without flaws. The last 150 pages were not satisfying to read; I won't be finishing this trilogy.
This was long but good. Sometimes it got a little too far into the weeds for me, but Anne Rice is such a great writer that I didn’t mind that much. I didn’t love the ending - it was too nebulous .
Not my typical read, as I'm a big scardy-cat and don't like any types of thrillers or horror stories. But a friend recommended it because of my interest in historical fiction. I am open to things that are paranormal or fantasy, to a certain degree (like Niffenegger's Her Fearful Symmetry), so I decided I'd step outside the box and give this one a try. I loved the story itself,and the writing was beautiful. The setting and the history were fascinating, as were the characters. However, there were some aspects that were a bit too scary for me, enough that I'm not sure I'd read the sequels. I may change my mind at a later date though, because the story is definitely staying with me, and I do want to know what happens next! I was disappointed that the book ended so abruptly, after being so long, obviously setting up for a sequel.
challenging
dark
mysterious
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Holy crow!!! I think I read at least 12 books while trying to read this. Took lots of breaks. This is a LOOOOONG book, but all of it is important to set the scene. Anne Rice builds beautiful worlds and characters. Her writing is melodic and so rich of imagery.
I really thought it was going to end differently than what it did, so I’ll have to continue the series.
I really thought it was going to end differently than what it did, so I’ll have to continue the series.
Been a long time since I read this and after reading A Discovery of Witches -- at the end, it reminded me of this story. Rice creates a gothic spooky world and the story is well done. I actually own this book, so may dig it out and re-read...
The paranormal isn't my usual genre, but the elements of the narrative are so well done that this was mostly enjoyable. The incest was disturbing, but I think Rice is trying to disturb readers. I must find out what happens to the Mayfair Witches, so I will continue with the series.