Blood Canticle

Publisher's Summary

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 in 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 Taltos, and as he wrestles with the face of his beloved Rowan Mayfair.

©2003 Anne O'Brien Rice (P)2003 Random House, Inc., Random House Audio, A Division of Random House, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"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." (Publishers Weekly)

Enjoyable

Another, and final (according to Anne Rice), addition to the Vampire Chronicles. Favorite characters from seperate story lines are brought together to tie up loose ends. The plot seemed to drag and rush simultaneously - too much time spent here and not enough there. The narrator, David Pittu, rendered wonderful performances for the male characters of the story; however, the female characters were diminished by his unmistakably male voice. I look forward to Anne Rice's future works centered on "those who walk in the light."

17 of 18 people found this review helpful

the story's narrator

gives wonderful life to anne rice's words

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

In the words of Oncle Julien:

This is a must read for Chronicle Fans. I do not know where the negative reviews are coming from, but I resent them because they almost convinced me to skip this book. That would have been a shame.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Had to skip a lot of boring blather

Same with the Mayfair witch books - never experienced novels with so much boring thought processes from the main characters .

& the narrator - omg- when he reads Rowan Mayfair's dialogue - what is supposed to be sexy butterscotch whiskey ends up sound like the wicked witch of the west .
And he reads Lestat in first person with an American accent , but when Lestat has dialogue he does a pathetic French accent - he would have been much better off sticking with a consistent American voice.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Blood Canticle

Another great read from Ann Rice. Will not disappoint her fans. Almost a part 2 to Blackwood Farm, this is a must read. Loose ends from earlier Mayfair Witches volumes are tied up. Lestat is again in the middle of the fray.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Best in Years

I trudged through Blackwood Farms, and was disappointed that, once again, there was no ending. This was a glorious book, and it even had an ending. The narration was excellent; it really added to sense; I disagree with one reviewer who said the narrator could not do justice to the womens' voices. LeStat is brash but perhaps not quite his old self; one ghost is exorcised, and more come down to haunt him. And, this book seemed crisp; there had been editing! I devoured this book, and can't wait for the next one.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Awsome book, Awesome reading

This book was great, and the reading by David Pittu was even better.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Good!

I enjoyed this one immensely, as it gives us an intimate look into Lestat's real personality, aside from the cold "brat prince" facade. Also, we also see the real personalities of Mona, Rowan, and Michael. I am busy all the time, but listened to this one avidly while I drove, relaxed, etc. Thumbs up!!!!

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Blood Canticle

Blood Canticle is the first book written from Lestats view point in a long time. If you liked Blackwood Farm you will love this book. Tarquin Blackwood , Mona Mayfair, and Lestat have interesting adventures.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Totally WONDERFUL

The best of Vampire Chronicles yet. A must hear for all Lastat lovers.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

read it don't listen to it

I wish I read this book instead of listening to us the narrator was bad

A mediocre story for an accomplished story.

What's interesting about this book is how defensive Anne is about her own body of work especially at the start of the novel but also throughout the story. she uses the voice of Lestat to defy unreiterated criticism of previous vampire chronicle books.

The story itself seems mundane. Despite the fact that a new species of humanoid are discovered it reads as humdrum experiences of Lestat personal life. nothing as fantastically amazing as the interview with the vampire or Lestat or queen of the damped.

Still Anne's writing is excellent in the voices she gives characters and the narrator is easy to listen to so I was able to finish the book easily enough. It simply wasn't the magic I yearned for from the previous books.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful