legna
12-31-2001, 08:41 PM
"Blood and Gold" by Anne Rice
I walked into the book store, meaning only to buy the last book in a series I had been reading, to find myself confronted with this newest work by Anne Rice. Being an avid lover of her Vampire and witch series, I know I wasn't going to walk out of that store without this book.
Blood and Gold is the story of Marius, true Child of the Millenia, told finally through his own words, instead of the words of others.
I was severly disapointed.
The first three hundred pages of this novel are drivel. Marius, the strong, dedicated servant of Those Who Must be Kept, is nothing but a simpering, overly-analytical weakling. The book covers vast historical territory, but as has plagued the most recent Vampire Chronicles, at least in my opinion, it is all too underdeveloped. A sudden, all-consuming love of Botticelli is nothing more than a simple nocturnal visit to his workshop. The horrors of the destruction of Rome are glossed over. Marius the watcher simply witnesses his beloved Italy destroyed, and merely moves on. So out of character of his past convictions. He appears only a lovesick simpleton, moaning for Pandora, his lost love, wailing over the destruction of home after home by the ravages of fires set by a Satanic band of blood drinkers, and never appearing any stronger as a result of all this misfortune.
A few redeeming qualities of this book include stories of Marius' lost loves, Armand and Pandora. Here, we see certain events from his point of view: the reason why he left Pandora hundreds of years ago; the loss of Armand to a vampiric coven of Satan worshippers. A different angle makes these stories fresh, and should make the reader want to find the books Rice wrote a few years ago, in which Pandora and Armand are the main characters. As always, the pictures Rice paints of the eras and cities to which Marius' journey takes him are breathtaking.
The introduction of a new character, Thorne, is a strange mix of success and failure. Thorne is the listener, the shoulder for Marius to cry on, the anonymous priest to whom Marius confesses all. However, his character is barely developed at all. In the end, when he makes a sacrifice to Maharet in retribution for a crime he has committed, the story ends, but is not truly resolved. Furthermore, his relationship with Maharet is only partially revealed. Mystery and confusion mingle here, and in some chapters, it works beautifully, while in others, it stumbles.
I found this book sadly lacking in the rich historical information Rice normal mixes in with her books. It lacked life, or purpose. Still, it is one of the Vampire novels, and for that I am glad to have read it. Otherwise- I just wasted my weekend.
Rating
http://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gif
4 out of 10 stars
View the book (http://www.vstore.com/cgi-bin/pagegen/vstoremovies/filimhobbit/page.html?mode=itempage&file=/page/itempagev4/itempage.spl&prodID=1717736&catID=26307)
I walked into the book store, meaning only to buy the last book in a series I had been reading, to find myself confronted with this newest work by Anne Rice. Being an avid lover of her Vampire and witch series, I know I wasn't going to walk out of that store without this book.
Blood and Gold is the story of Marius, true Child of the Millenia, told finally through his own words, instead of the words of others.
I was severly disapointed.
The first three hundred pages of this novel are drivel. Marius, the strong, dedicated servant of Those Who Must be Kept, is nothing but a simpering, overly-analytical weakling. The book covers vast historical territory, but as has plagued the most recent Vampire Chronicles, at least in my opinion, it is all too underdeveloped. A sudden, all-consuming love of Botticelli is nothing more than a simple nocturnal visit to his workshop. The horrors of the destruction of Rome are glossed over. Marius the watcher simply witnesses his beloved Italy destroyed, and merely moves on. So out of character of his past convictions. He appears only a lovesick simpleton, moaning for Pandora, his lost love, wailing over the destruction of home after home by the ravages of fires set by a Satanic band of blood drinkers, and never appearing any stronger as a result of all this misfortune.
A few redeeming qualities of this book include stories of Marius' lost loves, Armand and Pandora. Here, we see certain events from his point of view: the reason why he left Pandora hundreds of years ago; the loss of Armand to a vampiric coven of Satan worshippers. A different angle makes these stories fresh, and should make the reader want to find the books Rice wrote a few years ago, in which Pandora and Armand are the main characters. As always, the pictures Rice paints of the eras and cities to which Marius' journey takes him are breathtaking.
The introduction of a new character, Thorne, is a strange mix of success and failure. Thorne is the listener, the shoulder for Marius to cry on, the anonymous priest to whom Marius confesses all. However, his character is barely developed at all. In the end, when he makes a sacrifice to Maharet in retribution for a crime he has committed, the story ends, but is not truly resolved. Furthermore, his relationship with Maharet is only partially revealed. Mystery and confusion mingle here, and in some chapters, it works beautifully, while in others, it stumbles.
I found this book sadly lacking in the rich historical information Rice normal mixes in with her books. It lacked life, or purpose. Still, it is one of the Vampire novels, and for that I am glad to have read it. Otherwise- I just wasted my weekend.
Rating
http://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gifhttp://www.nosound02.f2s.com/legna/tobimg/star.gif
4 out of 10 stars
View the book (http://www.vstore.com/cgi-bin/pagegen/vstoremovies/filimhobbit/page.html?mode=itempage&file=/page/itempagev4/itempage.spl&prodID=1717736&catID=26307)