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readmore0304 's review for:
The Witching Hour
by Anne Rice
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is absolutely not for the casual horror reader. In many ways I wouldn’t even categorize it as horror since for about 1/2 of the book it read more like a fantistical historical fiction novel; dealing more in magical realism than anything else. I agree with others who said this easily could’ve been two books, one that dealt with the history of the Mayfair witches, and one that centered on the “present day” characters, but I also understand why the author may have chosen to organize the book the way that she did. Ann did a great job creating an entirely immersive history of her characters that felt real, and knowledge of the family tree was relevant in the end, but it created a dense narrative. I think if this book were rewritten today an editor might encourage the use of flashbacks or some other device instead of completely diverting from the main characters for 19 whole chapters. I can see why many DNF this book, but once we got past all of the backstory and back to the present day characters, I could not stop listening. That being said, I had to listen at 2x speed because 50 hours is insane and listening at 1x was like sleeping potion.
On the whole, I could have done without the bit of pedophilia, it didn’t seem like a necessary plot device AT ALL. The way she wrote about sex and made her FMC and MMC essentially have a rape kink was not for me, so TW everybody. There was also a shit ton of incest as well, but that at least served a purpose in the narrative similar to Game of Thrones. So, do with that what you will.
I want to know what happens next and yet I’m hesitant to pick up the next book in the series.
On the whole, I could have done without the bit of pedophilia, it didn’t seem like a necessary plot device AT ALL. The way she wrote about sex and made her FMC and MMC essentially have a rape kink was not for me, so TW everybody. There was also a shit ton of incest as well, but that at least served a purpose in the narrative similar to Game of Thrones. So, do with that what you will.
I want to know what happens next and yet I’m hesitant to pick up the next book in the series.