| Title | : | Lasher (Lives of the Mayfair Witches, #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0099471434 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780099471431 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 400 |
| Publication | : | First published October 1, 1993 |
| Awards | : | Locus Award Best Horror/Dark Fantasy Novel (1991) |
Michael remains entwined in the Mayfair family and learns how he comes by his strange powers. Michael's ghostly visiting from a long-dead Mayfair reveals the importance of destroying Lasher. In the investigation, Lasher's origins are revealed, the new Taltos Emaleth returns, and the climax of death and life engulfs the family.
--annerice.com
Lasher (Lives of the Mayfair Witches, #2) Reviews
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Boy was this a letdown after reading The Witching Hour. It was really long and drawn out. I felt like the entire book was just two very long rehashings of the first story with a couple of blanks filled in. It was almost like re-reading the first book and became quite tedious at times. I guess it was important to develop the character of Lasher, but I think it could have been done effectively by just adding another chapter or two to the already long first book. I haven't read the Queen of the Damned yet, but my feeling was that this book was the filler book until she could come up with a plot for the third book. I liked hearing Lasher's story, Julien's story could have been pared down alot. Way too much repetition from the first book. I'm also a bit disturbed by Anne Rice's apparent obsession with kinky and illegal sex (with minors) It's an obvious theme in both books so far and would make me wary of leaving my children alone with her. I don't think it is necessary to write about sexual encounters with children - I don't care if they are witches. It didn't add anything to the story. I think I would have been more impressed if Lasher treated them with kindness as children therefore encouraging loyalty. That part was a little too sordid for me. I'm going to give it a break for a while before I read the last book.
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Here she knows how to capture and retain interest. You think: "Well, okay, I'm going to finish the next volume of epic, and I'll say goodbye to this story." You're annoyed with yourself for having taken up this "Lasher" at all - it's clear that everything was moving by leaps and bounds towards becoming a soap opera.
Yes, compared to the strength of Anne Rice cocktails, they are risky, but relatively within the framework of "Fifty Shades of Grey" like beer next to whiskey. To be fair, she doesn't bet as much on sex as James, who wrote her bestseller twenty years later. Although there are enough different kinds of strawberries on the pages. and incestuous and perverse motives more than make up for the lack of a descriptive moment.
But now I would like to say not about why "a decent person will not read this," but about why it is still being read.
Печальный демон, дух изгнанья
Прискорбно, но один человек способен принести неисчислимый вред - особенно если этот человек облечен властью.
Вот умеет она захватывать и удерживать интерес. Ты думаешь: "Ну ладно, домучаю очередной том опупеи, и распрощаюсь с этой историей". Досадуешь на себя за то, что вообще принялась за этого "Лэшера" - ясно ведь, что все семимильными шагами двигалось к превращению в мыльную оперу.
Чего стоит эпизод с Марди Гра, когда безутешный Майкл, соломенный вдовец. потерявший жену, которая не то сбежала с демоном, захватившим тело их новорожденного, не то похищена им - когда Майкл выбирается на карнавал и сажает на плечи девчушку из числа племянниц Роуан. А в следующей сцене эта детка, "которой скоро исполнится 13" пробирается в особняк и буквально насилует его. Чи-во? Ага!
И ты думаешь с брезгливым удивлением, какой только херни не придумает успешная писательница для удержания рейтинга. А потом картинка переключается на Роуан, которой кажется, что она сбежала со странным существом, но на самом деле похищена им. К Роуан, которая испытывает к обретшему плоть Лэшеру смешанные чувства: материнскую нежность и стремление защитить, звериную тягу любовницы, фаустианский интерес естествоиспытательницы.
Да, в сравнении с крепостью коктейлей Энн Райс рискованные, но относительно в рамках "Пятьдесят оттенков серого" как пиво рядом виски. Справедливости ради, она не делает такой ставки на секс как Джеймс, написавшая свой бестселлер двадцатью годами позже. Хотя разного рода клубнички на страницах хватает. а инцестуальные и перверсивные мотивы с лихвой восполняют недостаток описательного момента.
Но теперь хотелось бы сказать не о том, почему "приличный человек такое не станет читать", а о том, почему это все-таки читается спустя треть века, со всем винтажным антуражем, вроде восторгов перед мощью 386 компьютера. У Райс есть одно свойство: увлекшись сама, она рассказывает замечательно интересно. Ты буквально видишь это: вот елозит тему Моны (той самой тринадцатилетки), ее прабабки Эвелин, члена ордена Таломаски Юрия, подыхая от скуки сама и не умея сделать интересным читателю, вот приправляет рассказ нетрадиционным сексом, но ей самой ску-у-учно.
А вот Роуан, угодившая в ловушку токсичных отношений. И это уже не ведьма-демон, в которых писательница все обернула, "чтоб интереснее", но женщина которая вливает свою жизнь в чудовище, высасывающее ее досуха. и примеров таких отношений мы все видели во множестве. Не в термальной стадии, с побоями и удержанием в рабстве, но последнее придает линии Роуан-Лэшер остросюжетность триллера. Интересно писательнице - интересно читателю.
Финал отличный, никаких клиффхэнгеров, все четко, ясно, по полочкам, все хвосты подобраны, хотя девочку, конечно, жаль. -
I truly enjoyed reading this! Anne Rice's writing is simply exquisite. The amount of detail in this book is tremendous. The characters are stunningly written. Some parts of this book are really slow moving but I didn't really mind it. I felt like it was all necessary in order to get a true sense of all the emotions that pour out of this book. Anne Rice's descriptions and world building are very intricate which is what makes this such a fun book to read. I thought this book worked well as the sequel to The Witching Hour which I absolutely loved! We get some more history on the Mayfair family in this book. It's a very sordid history and I still have lots of questions. Luckily there's still one more book to read in the series so hopefully I can get some more answers. Anne Rice is a masterful storyteller and I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys her writing!
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This is a difficult book to write a review about. I've been an avid fan of Anne Rice's books since I was in junior high, since I love her style of writing and of course her gothic themes (vampires, demons, witches).
Lasher is the second novel of the Lives of the Mayfair Witches trilogy. The first is "The Witching Hour" and the third is "Taltos". I guess I have to find Taltos a.s.a.p. in order to complete this whole er...journey.
Lasher is a Taltos, which is an almost extinct super-human race who lived on a tropical island north of the British Isles, but forced to flee to Scotland, where they established their own kingdom, which was finally overthrown by the Christians. Lasher and the Mayfair witches shared a long history, full with weird mysterious occurrences, including incest and struggle to find their true identity. Lasher was summoned by Suzanne Mayfair, the first Mayfair witch, to help her establish a strong, wealthy family. That fatal decision made her descendants to carry the family legacy/curse of having the "obligation" to conceive Lasher's children (other Taltos).
In this novel, Rowan Mayfair, the 13th designee of the Mayfair clan (also the most powerful witch, was kidnapped by Lasher, and her suffering was like....between heaven and hell. The description of her "tortures" was...so enthralling. If you've read Rice's novels, you'll see what I mean, hahaha...This book also introduced to the 14th designee, Mona Mayfair, whom I must say, a very er...courageous little girl.
Anyway, what I love about this book is that it provides clearer explanation on the history of the clan itself. I was a bit shocked when I read the part about Julien Mayfair's life story. He is the only male "witch" in the family, yet very powerful and influential. Moreover, as always, Rice uses historical events & real people to decorate her story on how Lasher came into being and the journey of Mayfair witches in dealing with this sensual demonic character.
And I thank God because Rice did not put her (in)famous Lestat de Lioncourt in this novel. I do not really like when she mixed her vampires with the Mayfair witches. It is just too much. I guess I won't be reading "Blood Canticle" then. -
Although I did not find Lasher quite as enjoyable as The Witching Hour, it was damn close and since TWH has become my second all-time favorite book, Lasher, in my humble opinion, was fantastic.
Granted, the content isn’t going to be for everyone. By the 1% mark, we are introduced to a new character, Mona Mayfair. She’s brilliant. She’s precocious, ambitious, articulate and strong and knows her own mind. Buuuut…. she’s also 13. And also shortly after her introduction Mona is such a great character; I hope she has a big part of the next book. She’s like the Wesley of the Mayfair family. Smart beyond all belief and as the reader you know everyone should be listening to Mona and I repeatedly found myself saying to my kindle, dudes…LISTEN to Mona! Geez!
If you’ve read TWH you know what this family is like. It’s got a lot of ickiness to it and some downright disturbing bits. Let’s just say Lasher has forced me to reevaluate my love for milk, cheese, and damn near everything dairy. Thank you very little for that, Auntie Anne. Yeesh. There are a lot of chapters that have a LOT to unpack.
But you know what? That’s what makes this such great literature that (hopefully) American Lit course delve into for generations and generations to come. What a world this is! Damn! So rich with detail and emotion and sensation. The fact that it challenges the reader and their boundaries should be a good thing. The series so far offers up a subtle, understated darkness. I love that about it. There’s so much mixed love/hate/dependency, the story made my head spin. But I was so engrossed. It also had some subtle suspense as to
I haven’t gotten through all the Vampire Chronicles. But dang, I gotta say, I love the Mayfair Witches trilogy so much, it’s hard to imagine the rest of Lestat, Louis, and the crew measuring up. Those vamps have got some big literary shoes to fill. And one thing I thought of as a cross over issue I will be interested to see relates to
I also enjoyed getting Lasher’s back story from his perspective. Dude’s still a monster in my humble opinion, but he’s not some unidimensional, mustache twirling baddie. I don’t think Auntie Anne could create such a character, but she offered up a compelling story that I could not have imagined for him. I love that because then I had to examine whether the really was a bad guy and I was motivated to reach my own conclusion. To me, Others might reach a different conclusion but that is what is so awesome about Lasher as a protagonist and about the story. It’s so nuanced and complicated and nothing is clear cut you get to have your own journey irrespective of what others might experience. But it also, to me, interplayed nicely on the idea that humans are at least as big of monsters as anything else when it comes to our capacity for cruelty and rationalizing damn near anything we want to see as our reality.
Anywhoo…this was, to me, an awesome book and I love it and I love love love love love, Anne Rice and I can’t wait to delve into Taltos. Soon. I won’t be waiting a year like I did between The Witching Hour and Lasher. -
The follow-up to The Witching Hour, 1993’s Lasher, continues the masterful world-building of that precious volume while fully standing on its own: it is a cold, horrifying treat filled to the brim with Anne Rice’s signature gothic, sensual overtones.
The daemon that is Lasher — He who has bestowed wealth and punishment upon the Mayfair clan for centuries — wants nothing more than to reproduce, but it has been a challenge. In Rowan, the most powerful Mayfair witch yet and current keeper of the ancestry, He has found his vessel, the would-be bearer of his spawn. And He will force her to keep trying, if attempts prove unsuccessful — no matter the cost.
Though this book did not immediately grab me, unlike its predecessor, I did soon fall into its groove and could not put it down. As is Rice’s way, I was spellbound by her luscious prose, the unfolding, understated horrors; I was once more captured by the Mayfair family history (and future). This a more than worthy follow-up to the first novel in the Mayfair Witches trilogy, and I will soon read the finale. -
This book is basically Anne saying “Oh you thought the last book was crazy? Hold my beer…”
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Can't rate this one, since I'm still weirded out I buddy-read it with my father. *ahem* Lots of sex in this one.
On to Taltos. ALONE this time! -
My hatred of this book knows no bounds.
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!!WARNING!! This review can contain spoilers if you haven't read The Witching Hour!!
In Lasher, Anne Rice immediately picks up where she left me in The Witching Hour. The first half of the story there are lots of events rapidly following each other. Of course things happen which are dark, which stretch the boundaries and speak of untold mysteries. Especially the erotic encounter between Michael and teenager Mona may go against the grain for some readers. The storytelling holds this fusion of distinctive, edgy characters in a strange situation that defies logic, which is all happening against the lush setting of New Orleans that ensnares me so. The vibe Anne Rice creates is unlike anything I have ever read! Michael, Rowan, Aaron, Lasher, Mona all come alive via this authors voice. I may not always understand their actions, I may not always agree with them but the affect me nonetheless.
As the title of this episode suggest the focus is on Lasher. Not only did I get his present but I also got his past. While he may have held me between love and hate for his persona in The Witching Hour, he has tipped that scale to hate in his own story. Even when he relays his own past he fails to redeem himself. And believe me, Anne Rice gradually laid all of him bare for me to take in. Weighing his past, his present, his feeling and his actions. But his actions are so self-served. The contempt Lasher shows for life and for the Mayfairs, the very people he claims to love and serve, is despicable. He uses them as he sees fit and it made him an SOB of the first order! I could only take in the strife and anguish he rained down on the Mayfairs in the hope he would get his comeuppance. He was truly one of those formidable adversary who makes me cheer for the other side.
Anne Rice keeps adding or deepening the backstory of the main cameo of characters. Especially all powerful Mayfair, Julien, has an important role to play. His life intrigued me so in The Mayfair Hour but it wasn't told in depth until now. Satisfying my everlasting curiosity. In the second half of the story she peels away layers of mystery and secrets in a more languid pace of storytelling. It weaves its own kind of magic with rich settings, various time periods and again the mesmerizing characters. The mythology behind this second story in The Mayfair Trilogy speaks to my imagination. I love Celtic lore and though I don't know if it is based on an actual lore, Anne Rice makes me believe it is so.
The Mayfair family have a lot to deal with but they also discover some truths about their own lineage. Michael, the tragic hero was a true Irish bleeding heart. His convictions and his love for Rowan burns fierce, even if he has his weak moment. I wanted him to succeed, to be reunited again because faults and all, he is a man who is the veritable rock in the ocean. I thought he could weather it all and through sheer tenacity could achieve his hearts desires. All the other characters tribute to Michael and Rowan's journey in one way or another. Even when Mona becomes a key characters in the future storyline, even with other Mayfair women paying a steep price, it is Michael and Rowan's love for each other that becomes a shining beacon amidst all the hurt, darkness and power play.
Lasher has quite a plan and part of the suspense is; will he succeed or not? There are three big parties involved, namely Lasher himself, the Talamsca and the Mayfairs. Each has an own agenda and wants to find out certain truths. And if they get in the way of one another, well violence is also a part of Anne Rice's storytelling. Casualties will fall but it only got me more emotionally invested and rooting for various characters. The Talamasca, for all that I knew about them, there was so much more I didn't! They definitely triggered my conspiracy button and I never trust them further then I can see them. They are just as much an integral part as the Mayfairs and Lasher but only till the end truths were revealed that shed a different light on the Talamasca. I may not like it but it gives fuel for thought and probably story # 3; Taltos.
With Lasher, Anne Rice gave me an attention grabbing story that takes me even deeper in to the world of the Mayfairs. It may not have made me eat, sleep and breathe the story like The Witching Hour did but it was a worthy successor! -
So stunningly bad is the first third of this book that only the lunatic and the true devotee are likely to get beyond it. It is actually a riot of Rice's worst sins: strained and wooden characterizations, the abandonment of plot for the sake of a tangled and murky history, and a sort of mutant prose stumbling between a modern person's idea of old-fashioned elegance and an old-fashioned person's idea of how people actually talk in the 1990s. Part of the purpose of this 200-page cancer is to make the transition from the novel's progenitor, The Witching Hour (1990), but this could have been accomplished in 10 or 15 pages. Well, let's say you made it through. What you get now is the best of Rice: a deliciously perverse image of an infant, Lasher, who grows to sexual maturity within days of his birth and immediately starts copulating with his mother even while she swoons with the pleasure of his suckling. Of course, it's always nice to read about sex, and Rice's romantic imagination doesn't let her down: Lasher is dark, handsome, sadistic, childlike, and tender. His mother cannot resist him even after she has twice miscarried in the space of three months. But Rice cannot quite bring home the promising story of Lasher's desire to repopulate the earth with his own kind, and the story limps to an unsatisfying conclusion. By the end, then, we've had a bit of everything: the good, the bad, and the truly ugly. Indeed, without her reputation, Rice would never have found a publisher for this wretched mess.
***Rate this 3 out of 5 by comparing it to The Witching Hour. Too much in depth on backgrounds of the characters, including Lasher. However, I will continue to read her books as they are so well-written and entertaining. -
Oh Anne, I wanted to love your Mayfair witches so very much but I just can't.
We pick up right where The Witching Hour left us. Running after Rowan and piecing together an extencive family history from every possible angle.
On and on we trudge, listening to Julian then Little Mona even Lasher himself. So many stories about the same events from different points of view.
I almost shelved this as DNF when reading about Mona. I didn't finnish Lolita because I don't like reading about pre teen (yes she was 13 but still) sexuality. It is just ~yick~ to me.
The story of Lasher and Rowan also had me making ~icky~ faces. He calls her 'Mother' all the time and then swaps between beating her to 'loving' her to acting like a baby.
I do love Anne's passion for the South. The sounds, the sights and the feelings that you get just walking to the flower shop on the corner. The way the warm nights call to you, enticing you to play under the stars and dance in the streets. That is what keeps me reading.
This will be my last visit to the Mayfairs. I will not enter the house again and wander the rooms. I am off to other adventures. My questions have been answered to my satisfaction and I have no desire to learn any more about the Taltos. -
Utterly mesmerising from start to finish (to the point that I actually took a day off work just to read it!), and brings yet more depth and complexity to the series than I previously thought possible.
The writing is absolutely spellbinding, and never more so than throughout the stories recounted by Julien and Lasher - both two characters whom I had previously thought of as unsympathetic, depraved and sinister, though seductive (when seen through the file on the witches compiled by the Talamasca in the first book). Through these stories my ideas of both of them changed completely - Julien suddenly became courageous, clever and all too human, whilst Lasher was an innocent monster. My ideas of the Talamasca went through a transformation too - no longer an institution of harmless old scholars but something altogether more mysterious and possibly dangerous.
Full of vivid characters (the two above, along with Emaleth and Mona in particular), a real sense of place and a boat-load of tension (I kept having to put the book down to catch my breath), I can't wait to read the final part of the trilogy.
I've definitely become a bit of an Anne Rice superfan, so thanks Jade for recommending! -
So rapey ghosts who have diddled all your ancestors isn't enough. Now, there's Mona, a 13-year old girl who is intent on banging all her male cousins to rate which ones were best in bed. Oh, and reading other reviews to try to jar some memories loose of this reminded me that our MC sleeps with her too, cheating on his girlfriend/wife, the other MC, in the process. WTF? I found this disturbing enough in my youth. Now? I'd never had read this ridiculous tripe.
Let's not even talk about the Taltos, who pop out of the oven full grown and are basically grown babies *and* sex machines to boot.
🤢🤮 -
I'm a huge fan of Anne Rice, and loved The Witching Hour along with many of her other books, but for some reason had never gotten around to reading Lasher. When I first started it, I was fully absorbed. I love Rice's detailed and luscious writing style, and her ability to create fully fleshed-out, interesting characters. These are some of this book's best elements, along with a additions to the Mayfair history in the back stories of Julian and Evelyn, and new, engaging characters like Mona and Yuri. In pieces, this is a great book, but unfortunately, the parts never really come together. The pacing becomes awkward and slow, and the story's best characters don't get enough page time. The book took me forever to finish, because I would get bored, and after putting it down would not go back to it for several days. Most of all, the title character, Lasher, as he develops to show his true flaws, fostered a deep loathing in me, despite his sympathetic characteristics, and I became overly anxious for him to meet his end. When his back story is finally revealed, it should have been a dramatic moment, because his story is the great mystery that the saga of the Mayfair witches is founded on, but I found myself not caring at all.
I wish this was a better book since it has so many great elements, and the writing, as usual for Rice, is beautiful, but because of the poor pacing it was a rather tedious read. -
Having just finished 'The Witching Hour' I found myself still liking the novel, but it didn't impact me the way it did the first time I read it. I even understood the extensive details and character development for its set-up to the series. In the case of this second book of the series, not so much. This was detail and development overload.
I can only imagine what it would be like to see a ghost, or to actually hear one speak, but what I can't seriously imagine is someone nonchalantly sitting by while a ghost spends 4 hours relaying their past life story... especially when the ghost sounds like a whiny bitch.
I've read about 20 of Rice's novels, and though I was smitten with her work in the beginning, there is one pattern with her writing that I have noticed and one which has really turned me off; most of her characters are whiny bitches. And by 'whiny bitches' I am mostly referring to the male characters in her stories.
I will complete the series with 'Taltos' but I don't think I can handle any more of Rice for awhile. As it is, I feel like Don Corleone wanting to slap the weeping Johnny Fontaine and tell him to act like a fucking man! Or like Mona Mayfair! Sheesh, she's only 13 years old, but she's the toughest character in the whole story. This book is dead without her. -
Si después del primer tercio el libro hubiese seguido con la misma tónica creo que lo hubiese dejado. Pero no, se volvió más interesante la trama, aunque claro, más interesante que dos personajes mayores contando sus vidas mientras en el presente Rowan Mayfair está desaparecida y el bicho que parió en el libro anterior anda a sus anchas por el mundo, pues no era muy complicado.
Aunque el pasado, la Historia, el árbol genealógico de los Mayfair, son la columna vertebral de esta historia, a mi a veces se me hace muy cansino. Pero, una vez superado este escollo, entramos en una parte de la narración más activa e interesante, aunque con muchos peros.
Partimos de la novela anterior, Rowan Mayfair ha desaparecido con el "hijo" al que dio a luz, no se sabe si por propia voluntad u obligada. Michael está destrozado, todo el clan Mayfair está destrozado y están removiendo cielo y tierra para dar con ella. Mientras tanto, Rowan está viviendo un calvario, su historia es desgarradora y cruel, me pareció la mejor parte del libro y la más creíble, así como el dolor y la angustia de Michael. Entra en escena un Mayfair nuevo, Mona, había sido nombrada en el libro anterior pero aquí tiene mucho protagonismo. Es una chica de trece años, preciosa, inteligente (este adjetivo se queda corto), pelirroja y muy desarrollada. Intuyo que será muy importante en el tercer libro.
Mi descontento con este libro viene dado por la poca credibilidad que tienen varios personajes o situciones. Empezaré por la propia Mona Mayfair: al principio me pareció un personaje muy interesante, es muy inteligente y tiene ideas muy interesantes, utiliza su cuerpo joven aunque muy desarrollado para embaucar sexualmente a miembros de su familia (el sexo entre los Mayfair de cualquier edad es una constante en la historia de la familia), aunque no me ha quedado claro el propósito. A medida que avanzaba en la trama había algo de este personaje que no me acababa de convencer y al principio no me daba cuenta de qué era, hasta que caí en que es una especie de psicópata, solo me parecía creíble su mente fría y racional, pero no sus momentos empáticos ni emocionales.
En este libro aparece Julien, uno de los miembros clave de la familia Mayfair, y nos cuenta su historia. Su historia, contada por narradores distintos a él, me hace pensar en un ser despreciable y vanidoso; en marcado contraste con lo que él opina de sí mismo. Siempre hay dos versiones de una misma historia supongo.
Leí varias reseñas de este libro y en muchos casos se mencionaba que había mucho sexo, y eso no gustaba al parecer. ¿Hay sexo? sí, mucho, pero quitando un par de excepciones tiene su lógica y cumple con un propósito que es
Los de Talamasca en este libro cumplen un papel lamentable.
Y, por último, Lasher, personaje muy coherente hasta las últimas cien páginas.
En definitiva, no me ha gustado, supongo que leeré el tercero pero no de inmediato, primero debo sacarme el mal sabor de boca que me ha dejado este. -
In my opinion this was the weakest book in the series. I HATED Lasher, the immortal idiot who never seems to learn, or care, about his mistakes. And I was still so mad about what Rowan did at the end of the first book that I found it hard to sympathise with what Lasher puts her through (Hard, but not impossible. Rowan has it ROUGH through most of this book). Mona is an odd character, fun to read but difficult for me to like since she skates the fine edge between precocious free-spirit and self-entitled sex addict. There's more history of the Mayfair witches scattered throughout this book; these are usually my favorite parts, but I was so bored or annoyed with the rest of the book that I can't really remember anything else.
I'm glad I read this, but for my money you could get the same effect from reading the first and the last in the trillogy, and just skimming a summary of the second. -
The second in the series of Mayfair Witches, this is another solid offering from Gothic Mistress Anne Rice. There are many characters and personalities that make up the charismatic and trouble Mayfair family - sometimes too many to keep them all straight, but each of the family members is fully fleshed out - there are no throw-aways. A chilling, terrifying and at times erotic tale of the lust for revenge, power, and above all - love.
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OK.. WEIRD, story line is unlike anything I've ever read. But I loved it! The story was so unusual, had me eager to turn the page. Not for the faint of heart, but entertainment value truly high up on the scale.
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My favorite demon next to Captain Howdy. Looking forward to book three.
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Worse than I remembered it.
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Within the first hundred pages, you know if you are willing to read the rest of this book. You know that you have entered a whole new realm, one that is much removed from the characters and love and themes and hopes of
The Witching Hour. Within those hundred pages, you begin to feel the darkness seeping out of each printed word, flowing over your hands and onto your lap. Whether you embrace this change or not determines whether you finish this book or not.
I gave it a chance.
I allowed the author to have her way with the characters she had created. I watched as she destroyed them piece by piece and all they stood for. In true Anne Rice fashion, we lose sight of who is evil and who is good. The story is relayed ... the true story. Who is Lasher? Who are The Talamasca? What part does Michael really have to play in this? Is Oncle Julien really a Mayfair Witch? Yes, Anne Rice plays with all of these questions and, if you are willing to let go of the wonders that the first book held as truth, you can find joy in the pitch black of this book.
If love was the theme of
The Witching Hour then darkness - maybe even hatred and revenge - rules this book. The story of the estranged Mayfairs is one such example (one that doesn't act as a huge spoiler, thus I bring it forth as an example). It appears that the Mayfairs had splintered their family when Julien shot his (given how intricate the bloodlines are here, I'm going to bypass what specific family member he was) "family member" and that man's family went off to live on Amelia Street. The grudge they held becomes a factor in one of the many subplots and creates one of the subtle conflicts that peppers this novel. Yes, the grudge and the hatred and revenge that created it is stronger than the (possible) redemption for the family. The redemption that seemed so obvious in the last book, now rejected here.
I still stand behind the first of the trilogy. It is an excellent read on its own. This book is for a specific crowd, one that doesn't mind reading how Anne Rice deals with the death of her daughter (VERY clear subtext throughout this book) and the darkness and misery she [must have?:] fought. Readers, you know if you are willing to let someone destroy the characters you came to love so much. Think of this book as the "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" movie companion to
The Witching Hour's "Twin Peaks" the series and you have a good idea of what to expect. For some, we enjoy the added dimension.
But I won't say that I don't miss the innocence of the first novel. -
What can't I say about Anne Rice. Another great novel. This is the second book in the Witching Hour series. We now get more indepth detail into the spirit known as Lasher.
The first book Witching Hour leaves off on christmas day when Michael and Rowan Mayfair gets married. The demon Lasher runs off with Rowan. Lasher is wanting to interbreed between the family of witches so that he can become stronger and become flesh. He breeds on Rowan and they both have a child.
The first part of this book is long and is about finding Michael Curry's wife Rowan. In the middle part of the book we finally get a detailed version of what happened on Christmas Day. Rowan is found in a coma and eventually comes out of it and all is well. There is more that happens in the book but I don't want to spoil it. Does Lasher continue on in flesh or does he get killed? I guess you'll have to read it to find that answer out. -
An incredible masterpiece as always. A stunning story you cannot put down so easily. I loved every single page of this book. It took me into it's own world and locked forever. It's hard to write this review since I just finished reading and my feelings are still fresh. It is incredible talent to create such thrilling story.
What else can I say? It made me think of many things in life: life, death, birth, love, hate... It inspired me a lot. -
Much better than book one. Still took me like a month to read. I don't know why these books take me forever! I would recommend this series if you have a lot of time on your hands.
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“everything a man does is part of the moral fabric of who he is, and what he is.”
Every time I think I know where Rice is heading with the story, and every time she surprises me. Like the previous book this one was slow and voluminous and to be honest I thought it could have been more condensed and brought about the same results.
A lot of the questions had after finishing
The Witching Hour were answered, but a few new ones came up… like how can this series continue??? And what is the real purpose of the Talamasca?
I obviously will have to read the next one… -
Pues una vez más, sigo nadando a contracorriente de la opinión mayoritaria. En este caso, soy de los pocos que les ha gustado bastante más esta secuela que su antecesora, La hora de las brujas.
¿Por qué? Son muchos los motivos. Sobre todo por una narración más ágil; mayor peso de la trama en el presente (como comenté en la reseña del anterior, todo el informe enorme que narraba la genealogía de las brujas Mayfair del pasado, se me terminó haciendo un poquito cuesta arriba); o que cuando se recurre a historias remotas, éstas sean sobre las figuras más top de la trilogía. Pero sobre todo me quedo con esta segunda parte porque toca precisamente muchos palos que me pirran: mitología fantástica escocesa, poblados celtas, santería, tudors...
Mona está llena de genialidades. Cuando iba a empezar el libro anterior y me hablaban sobre Rowan, la bruja protagonista, pensé que sería dinámica, ingeniosa... Algo así como Lestat en la saga de los vampiros. El otro gran personaje de Rice después de Lestat. Y aunque no está mal, no es alguien que haya terminado de engancharme nunca del todo. Y Mona salva todo eso. Ella es mi bruja favorita, incuestionablemente. Con todos sus muchos defectos, da un juego que, desde mi punto de vista, ningún personaje ha dado aquí, excepto el tío Julien.
Por último, hubo alguna cosilla de la traducción que me ha chirriado un poco. Por ejemplo al denominado como “impulsor” en el anterior libro, el espectro familiar de la familia Mayfair, ahora se le llama por su nombre en inglés “lasher”. Y, sin embargo, la mítica “First Street” de la primera novela, ahora es la “Calle Primera”. Ni que decir tiene traducir “ little people”, una raza fantástica del folclore escocés, irlandes... como duendes, cuando lo lógico sería “seres diminutos”.
Quitando alguna chorrada como esa, es una trilogía encomiable. Y la acabaré. Pero prefiero mil veces la serie de los vampiros.
