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Summary and Reviews of Merrick by Anne Rice

Merrick by Anne Rice

Merrick

Vampire Chronicles

by Anne Rice
  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Readers' Rating:
  • First Published:
  • Oct 1, 2000, 320 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Oct 2001, 384 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

Weaves a 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.

In her mesmerizing new novel, the author of The Vampire Chronicles and the saga of the Mayfair Witches demonstrates once again her gift for spellbinding storytelling and the creation of myth and magic. Here, in a magnificent tale of sorcery and the occult, she makes real for us a hitherto unexplored world of witchcraft.

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

Into this exotic 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 past and present to the jungles of Guatemala, from the Maya 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.

Proem

My name is David Talbot.

Do any of you remember me as the Superior General of the Talamasca, the Order of psychic detectives whose motto was "We watch and we are always here"?

It has a charm, doesn't it, that motto?

The Talamasca has existed for over a thousand years.

I don't know how the Order began. I don't really know all the secrets of the Order. I do know however that I served it most of my mortal life.

It was in the Talamasca Motherhouse in England that the Vampire Lestat first made himself known to me. He came into my study one winter night and caught me quite unawares.

I learnt very quickly that it was one thing to read and write about the supernatural and quite another to see it with your own eyes.

But that was a long time ago.

I'm in another physical body now.

And that physical body has been transformed by Lestat's powerful vampiric blood.

I'm among the most dangerous of the vampires, and one of the most trusted. Even the wary ...

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Reviews

Media Reviews

Los Angeles Times - Michael Harris
Merrick grounds its ghostly goings-on in Rice's sensuous descriptions, her knowledge of occult lore and her research into the gens de couleur libre, the New Orleans social class to which Merrick's family belongs--descendants of the black mistresses of white men, a mingling of French and African influences....What's new here--or perhaps just emphasized more than Rice has done in the past--is a skepticism about what all this supernatural stuff really means.

The Boston Globe
Merrick's greatest strength is Rice's skill at constructing a believably eerie New Orleans overrun by the charismatic undead and those who wish to join them. . . . Its closing pages prime the stage for the continuing adventures of the beguiling Merrick and her new fanged pals. They will all be back, of course, and Merrick leaves you looking forward to their return.

Publishers Weekly
Rice creates a riveting scene that shows Merrick's awesome magic at work. A potent cameo from the vampire Lestat, with whom the fabled series began, leaves hints of more dark tales to come.

Reader Reviews

keza

all her books are excellent!
alexandrea

i thought this book was awsome it had love witchs vampires spirts it has it all. i could not put this book down when i was reading it merrick is now one of my fav vampires now. i loved how louis and merrick got together at the endit was so beutiful.   Read More
claudia

i loved the book but then agian i love all of anne rice's books. Anne Rice is a mastermind in intertwining the occult and christianity in a suductive series within a series. any one who doesnt love this book is insane
merrick

i thought that this book was excellent, aside from the fact that the main character has the same ame as my own. Merrick is sensaional new character and I can wait to hear more about her in rice's future novels.

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