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Blood
Canticle: The Vampire Chronicles (Vampire
Chronicles Series)
Anne Rice
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Hardcover,
October 2003
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Our Price: |
$255.90 |
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Rangana
Store Member Price: $244.50 |
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People who bought
this book also bought:
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Blackwood Farm (The Vampire
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The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the
Calla Stephen King, Bernie
Wrightson (Illustrator)
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Blow Fly Patricia Cornwell
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Product Details:
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ISBN:
037541200X
Format: Hardcover,
320pp
Pub. Date: October 2003 |
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Publisher:
Knopf Publishing Group
Rangana Bookstore Sales Rank: 1,014
Series: Vampire
Chronicles Series |
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ABOUT
THE BOOK |
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From
the Publisher |
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Anne Rice continues her astonishing
vampire chronicles with the story of Lestat's
passionate quest for redemption, goodness and the love
of Rowan Mayfair.
Here are all the brilliantly conceived principal
characters that make up Anne Rice's world of vampires
and witches: Mona Mayfair, who's come to Blackwood
Farm to die and is, instead, brought into the realm of
the undead...Rowan Mayfair, brilliant neurosurgeon and
witch, who finds herself dangerously drawn to Lestat...her
husband, Michael Curry, hero of the Mayfair
Chronicles, who seeks Lestat's help with the temporary
madness of his wife...Patsy, country-western singer,
who returns to avenge her death at the hands of her
son, Quinn Blackwood.
And here is the spirit of Julien Mayfair, guardian
of the family, determined to torment Lestat eternally
for what he has done to Mona...the riddle of the
five-thousand-year-old Taltos, involving Mona's
child...and, at the book's center, the Vampire Lestat,
once the epitome of evil and now - following the
transformation set in motion with Memnoch the Devil -
struggling with his vampirism and yearning for
goodness, purity and love as he contends with ghosts,
legends, secrets and the mystery of the Taltos, and as
he wrestles with the fate of his beloved Rowan
Mayfair.
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From
The Critics |
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Publisher's Weekly
For her 25th fan-pleasing outing, Rice reunites some
of her most popular creations and, for the first time
since Memnoch the Devil (1995), lets the Vampire
Lestat "write" the book. Taking up where
last year's Blackwood Farm ended, the
now-doppelganger-free Quinn Blackwood and Lestat save
Quinn's true love, the witch Mona Mayfair, from
certain death by making her an immortal. In his effort
to attain sainthood, Lestat must deal with a lot of
metaphysical angst. The opulent Blackwood estate and
its spooky swamps, as well as New Orleans and a
Caribbean isle, provide the settings for many elegant
costume changes as the exquisite vampiric triumvirate
gleefully suck several deserving victims dry and lay
waste to dozens of a drug lord's minions. The
vampirisation of young Mona, a true child of our
times, gives Rice a dynamic new vampire personality
with whom to play. Writing as if her blood-inked quill
were afire, Rice seems truly possessed by her Brat
Prince of darkness as she races through the story. She
sometimes slights members of the vast supporting cast,
both dead and alive, but neatly ties up all their
loose ends. The complete unification of the Mayfair
witch saga with that of the Vampire Chronicles
provides either a befitting end or a new beginning for
the Queen of the Vampires. (Oct. 31) Forecast: As with
many well-established bestselling authors, Rice's
first printing numbers aren't what they used to be
(400,000 vs. one million for Memnoch), but an author
tour and the debut next year of a TV miniseries based
on her Witching Hour trilogy should keep her numbers
steady. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
This latest installment of Rice's "Vampire
Chronicles" begins with a ranting soliloquy from
the infamous vampire Lestat as he addresses readers of
the previous books. He excoriates those who read his
chronicles but did not understand what he was trying
to say. He fantasizes about being good, about becoming
a saint, about speaking to the Pope. The entire first
chapter is taken up with nonsense that has nothing to
do with the story, and then the novel's basic plot
begins where Blackwood Farm ended. In that novel,
Quinn Blackwood's unique voice narrated;
unfortunately, in this sequel it is a boorish Lestat
who tells the tale. In order to save the dying Mona
Mayfair, whom Quinn loves, Lestat bestows the dark
kiss, making her one of the undead. In this way Lestat
becomes involved in the complex world of the Mayfair
witches, even helping them to discover the secret of
the mysterious Taltos who have haunted the Mayfairs
throughout their history. This is not one of Rice's
better efforts, but her loyal fans will no doubt
request copies. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ
7/03.]-Patricia Altner, Information Seekers, Columbia,
MD Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Rice in short form after the lengthy Blackwood Farm
(2002), this time featuring characters shuffled
together from the Vampire Lestat series and the
Mayfair Witches series. Rice allows Lestat to narrate
for the first time since 1995's Memnoch the
Devil-which, according to Lestat, was the
largest-selling entry in the entire series (probably
because Tom Cruise's Interview with the Vampire had
come out the year before, reinvigorating the series
and filling new readers in on the first novel). It's
not fair to expect Rice to write as impressively as
she did 28 years ago (although there are long,
beautiful, well-researched passages in her historicals),
but the fact remains that Louis, the brooding,
reluctant vampire of Interview, is Rice's best
narrator, far superior to Lestat, who runs off at the
mouth and whose prose has none of the sweet grip of
Louis's. Canticle picks up where Blackwood left off,
with beautiful nymphet Mona near death in young Quinn
Blackwood's arms. Lestat is on hand, still reeling
from seeing Satan and God in person in Memnoch, and
now set on being a saint. Despite his unflagging
vanity, Lestat has also absorbed the main quality of
Louis: revulsion toward the Curse. Though having met
God and now seeking redemption, Lestat goes on sucking
blood-but only of bad guys! He's helping God sweep
mankind free of misbegotten hellspawn. For Quinn,
Lestat gives Mona the Dark Trick, and then the three
of them go to New Orleans to induct Mona into her
first thirst-quenching. Meanwhile, Lestat has fallen
headlong for Rowan Mayfair, the witch and neurosurgeon
who finds Lestat attractive-attractions forced on both
of them by Rice. And where is Morrigan, Mona's
monstrous full-grownWoman-Child, fathered by Rowan's
manly husband Michael? Though one wishes to give the
recently widowed author a free ride, Blood Canticle is
as gaily slipshod, gushy, and first-draftish as
Merrick. First printing of 400,000
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Customer
Reviews |
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Number of Reviews: 67 Average
Rating: 
Julie, I'm a bag lady, January 19, 2004, 
Beautiful People
In all my years of reading, Anne Rice's books have
drawen me in. I would drop anything just to read a
line or two of her books. It was a great way to end
the series. Lestat has obviously growen up and he has
gotten very beautiful in his growth. I enjoyed this
book greatly. There is no need to redo it, just too
pleae other people.
Also recommended: All Anne Rice boks
blah blah, 22 and an avid reader, January 14, 2004,
What happened?
I have to tell you. I've read all of the vampire and
witch books and most of them I have thouroughly
enjoyed. But, I have to say if this is the end of such
a well written series I'm am extremely dissapointed. I
would like to say I think she will write 'one more'
with a more fulfilling and all encompassing ending but
I don't know if I even want to bother anymore. There
are so many authors out there right now who still put
some effort into their novels. I geuss what I'm trying
to say is don't waste your money check out someone
else to read. Anne is for lack of better word finished
she should retire now. At least from the vampire/witch
merge series or whatever you want to call it.
Also recommended: blah
Oppinionated, a graphic designer, January 6, 2004,
Not Worth The Effort
As a fan of both the Vampire Chronicles and the
Mayfair Witch Chronicles I have to say Blood Canticle
was unbelievable disappointing. I agree with other
readers that the vampire chronicles has steadily
declined in their ability to satisfy. But while
Blackwood Farm and Pandora were passably good, I feel
cheated wih this one. None of the characters leapt off
the pages the way they normally do and in many
respects bordered on annoying. Quinn faded into the
pages of this one and Mona, a charming pixie in
previous books, was nothing more than a brat. In the
beginning it seemed Anne Rice attempted to explain
away previous failures through Lestat, which came off
as insincere and tawdry with more than a hint of 'lame
excuse'. The constant overuse of the word 'Love' as
though it had the same meaning as 'cheese' made the
chracters seem shallow and their emotions meaningless.
While she has used the word 'love' often in previous
books, somehow in this one it seems to mean less than
ever before. I find myself unsuccessfully trying to
redefine the word in order to make sense of how
everyone simply falls in love so easily. This
Vampire/Witch world has a surreal unfinished quality
that makes it nearly impossible to connect to. Perhaps
it's time for Anne Rice to try something new. One can
only milk an old cow for so long.
Also recommended: Blackwood Farm The
Vampire Lestat Feast of All Saints
A reviewer, A reviewer, December 24, 2003,
Where has the intrigue gone? I am so confused.
I admit I absolutely love Anne Rice's writing style,
her research is far above that of many other authors
but she has slowly been losing the spark that kept us
on the edge of our seats since her early writing days.
Living here in New Orleans and having worked for Ms.
Rice in the past her books have always reflected what
is going on in her life at the time. Remember Stan is
Lestat and Michele is Claudia and she was Louis at the
time of the writing of Interview. Now since her health
scare several years ago with diabetes and the now over
1 year ago the loss of her beloved Stan she is once
again writing of her life experiences. My only
critique is that although mortals grow old and change
vampires never change, their moods perhaps but not
their personalities. Several years ago when Anne began
the short stories of the vampires she was to do the
same with the Mayfair witches expanding on Ancient
Evelyn's history as well as many other of the witches,
that should have been her focus in my opinion. Tell us
the history of the characters we already know not
adding more and more characters to just confuse us.
The Vampire Chronicles was 3 books as was The Lives of
the Mayfair Witches and they should have remained that
way just telling us a history as Pandora did without
going into more and more twist and turns to lose us.
The Talamasca intermingling with both the vampires and
witches was brilliant but to merge the two chronicles?
Merrick was ok but it should have been the extent of
the Mayfairs and vampires meeting. All in all I will
always read her work for she is an outstanding author
rich in history, detail and knowledge of the places
she writes of so precise that we see it clearly in our
minds as 1239 First Street is so clearly written in
The Witching Hour as it is in reality. My only
confusion is simple why would she sell something so
exquisite that she took so much time and years to
nurture and love, Lestat's true character and
personality that we all know and love and St.
Elizabeth's ... a beautiful villa in New Orleans.
Also recommended: The Mummy, Cry to
Heaven, Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat,
Queen of the Damned, The Witching Hour, Lasher &
Taltos
Xavier F. Martinez, a grammar school teacher, December 22, 2003,
A Fond Farewell...
When the Vampire Chronicles first came out, they were
fresh, fun, and exciting. The Witching Hour held the
same promise, but after the confusion of Lasher, which
was still a half-way decent book, the Mayfair series
did not have the same appeal. Now, it seems that the
series have become stale, and although this book is
not that bad, it is definitely less of an effort than
all the others. If this is the last book in the
Chronicles it is a shame, because it does appear
rather rushed, and nothing is known of the characters
we love such as Louis, Gabrielle, and even the dead
but not forgotten Claudia. Not much is said about the
Talamasca, and for a while there, after Merrick, it
did seem as if more was going to come out of their war
on the undead, but this was not developed to full
potential. It is time for the Chronicles to come to an
end, I am just not sure that this is the proper
ending. Perhaps there is still ONE great book left,
that will be less of a continuation of another work
(Blackwood Farm), and more of an original and proper
conclusion to the series.
Also recommended: All previous Anne Rice
novels, and early Stephen King.
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