Anne Rice's "Blackwood Farm"

[Celestial Dung]

In all likelyhood Rice didn't know what sort of book she wanted to right.

Blackwood farm has the vampire element, it has the Mayfair element, and to clutter things up all the more it has a coming of age story of a Man-Child. Pick a element one is bound to speak out to you while the others will grait on your.

Me personally I'm into the whole Vampire thing. I've attempted to read a few mayfair books but have never gotten past the claustrophic effects. Say what you will about Anne Rice Vampires, those motherfuckers love to travel.

And woulldn't you know it that's what I miss in this book. The Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles pass easily as tourist pamphlets for time travellers. For this book she's decided to keep things in the outskirts of New Orleans. See we barely even get New Orleans...geesh.

So with the lack of a a strong local the novel is forced to rely on plot and character and hoo boy do things get mess about that. Lead Character Quinn is ok. He's the Man Child that gets vampire bitten, sees ghosts, has a doppleganger spirit, and goes through the motions of falling in love with one Mona Mayfair.

the Quin Mona mayfair love fiasco is the key sign of everything that is wrong with this book. Quin sees Mona and wham bang falls in love and I still don't know why. What she's a red head and compares herself to Ophelia constantly? Is that all it takes to get this lad going? And what does she see in him? If your going to have a love thing going on give a good reason as to why it's there.

Now why is the Quin/Mona thing such a key symbol for the ineffectness of this book? Everything is done halfway. the ending is tacked on. A lower income family is fianally introduced in a Rice novel but reduced to trailer trash cliche'. Lestat is reintroduced but barely has a speaking role. The Tamasca is constantly referenced but refused to make a ripple in the story.

This is the key note. I feel that Anne Rice wanted to write a nice story about a lad and his spiritual doppleganger because for the most part that's what the novel is about. We follow Quin and his ghost buddy Goblin as they grow up together in a privledged high class enviroment. Their relationship is the driving force behind the book. Take out the Vampires and the Mayfairs and you have a good coming of age story. Goblin is constantly referenced as a imaginary friend. Even those that believe i him have a tendecy to refer to him as a thing of childhood. Unfortunatly this little gem of a ntion is clustered up by Vampires and witches.

Rice is still my candy. Even during the bullshit love sequences I had to read on being foreced along by her phrasing. Someone needs to edit her themeing and her plotting in the worst possibe way though.

[div]

If you can make it through the Mayfair books, then the Mona thing makes more sense...
I thought this book was pretty good, but it really helps if you've read all of the previous vampire books, as well as all of the Mayfair books. AR really doesn't spend enough time giving you background on some of the characters for this book to work as a stand-alone. I mean, if you'd never heard of Lestat and were completely unfamiliar with the other books, his role in this one would make almost no sense.

[Celestial Dung]

Actually as someone who has read the Vampire Chronicles his role doesn't make much sense to me. I swear I think she was just attemtping to keep us vampire lovers happy. See sure it's a crossover between the Vampire Chronicles and Mayfair Witches Lestat is right there and everything.

Geesh.

From my viewpoint Lestat has been near nutered, and not just because of his excapades with the spirit world. I feel like his character has been horrible brought down from the egotistical self love rock star to a paper talking cliche'd wampire. I think there's a good reason Rice has stopped using his voice. She's lost his accent of life totally.

I should try the Mayfair books, maybe then I'll see what's so hot about Mona. No in my opinion the author should always remind us who the characters are throughout each book. Not tell us mind you but show us. Never rest on your laurals or the other books you've written. I honestly felt Mona was just popped in to give poor Quinn a normal love interest.

Which is what brought me down on the book. Quinn should have a love interest so heeeee're Mona. Why they fell for each other is such a limited amount of time is beyond me but...well see they're in love and as we all know everyone in the Anne Rice universe must fall in love at least three or four times.

But the Mayfiar books I need to read on seriously. I've heard some good things about them and I'm kind of curious how Rice handles the large family issues.