Merrick

By: Anne Rice

Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm

Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

At the center is the beautiful, unconquerable witch, Merrick. She is a descendant of the gens de colors libres, a cast derived from the black mistresses of white men, a society of New Orleans octoroons and quadroons, steeped in the lore and ceremony of voodoo, who reign in the shadowy world where the African and the French - the white and the dark - intermingle. Her ancestors are the Great Mayfair Witches, of whom she knows nothing - and from whom she inherits the power and magical knowledge of a Circe.

Into this exotic New Orleans realm comes David Talbot, hero, storyteller, adventurer, almost mortal vampire, visitor from another dark realm. It is he who recounts Merrick's haunting tale - a tale that takes us from the New Orleans of the past and present to the jungles of Guatemala, from the Mayan ruins of a century ago to ancient civilizations not yet explored.

Anne Rice's richly told novel weaves an irresistible story of two worlds: the witches' world and the vampires' world, where magical powers and otherworldly fascinations are locked together in a dance of seduction, death, and rebirth.

©2000 by Anne O'Brien Rice; Copyright ©2000 by Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Rice offers a haunting look at the separate but equally intriguing worlds of witches and vampires�" (Publishers Weekly)

Difficult to listen to....

Male narrators cannot do female characters no matter how hard they try, it diminishes the entire performance. I had to push myself to finish.

Good

It was a good book to read. Not at all like Anne's other vampire books but just as good. I loved Merrick she is a cool character and very powerful.

The Mayfair Vampire Crossover

Before you get into Merrick, read The Vampire Chronicles until the completion of The Vampire Armand.. Then read The Witcin Hour, Possibly Taltos as well. The book itself is great, I've always admired Anne Rice's ability to make each book in a series hold its own without the other books in each series. As far as Merrick goes, it really only acts as a gradual connection of The Mayfair Witches, and The Vampire Chronicles. It doesn't really continue either series so much as it acts as a binder of the two families through the Telamascah, another sort of Galilee that plays a huge role in both story lines. Narration and weirdly are sub-par. I didn't have issues understanding, I had trouble following through the narrator's change of characters. Overall a must read if you want to fully enjoy the entirety of both Series.

Very low volume.....

Could barely hear sometimes, even though volume was at max... Story and reader were great though.

Audio overall is very poor

I've read this book and love this story. The audio ruined it for me, completely. like listening to setting under water.

Very good. Makes up for Armand.

Good story, characters, and reader. Sets the stage for exciting new stories. A good read.

What happened to the Talto’s?!

I was all excited to listen to this 4th book of the Wayfair witches and what happened to Ash & Morgan of the Talto’s, only to find that this 4th book,Merrill, was a totally different & short book about Vampires. I feel cheated!

Enjoyed

I liked this more than Armand. David is a great narrative character for story lines.

In comparison to her Witch & first 3 vampire books

Not my favorite I still enjoyed it. I'm reading all of hers. next one please.

disappointing for Anne Rice.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No, because it seems as though she was picking previous characters and re-telling parts of their stories. Too tame for Anne Rice.

Would you ever listen to anything by Anne Rice again?

I don't know.

What about Graeme Malcolm’s performance did you like?

I like his voice; very pleasant.

Do you think Merrick needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Definitely not. She does not play a substantial role. She is mostly listening.