Summary and Reviews of Merrick by Anne Rice

Merrick by Anne Rice

Merrick

Vampire Chronicles

by Anne Rice
  • Critics' Consensus (3):
  • Readers' Rating (7):
  • First Published:
  • Oct 1, 2000, 320 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Oct 2001, 384 pages
  • Rate this book

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.

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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.

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