Taltos…

I’ve had an extended break from reading fiction. I’ve never been a big fan of reading, but I’ve been trying to force myself…

After reading the 10 books that make up the “Vampire Chronicles” I moved on to the “Lives of the Mayfair Witches”. This was a three book series, but I stalled after finishing the second book (Lasher). In a fit of boredom I recently picked up the final book (Taltos) and read it. After about 10 pages I was gutted I had waited so long to start it. Whether you love or hate Anne Rice, she has a really good knack for pacing a book just right. I think this makes about 15 or so books I’ve read and she seems to get me hooked so easily.

All of the main players were familiar because of the previous books, and the later books in the Vampire Chronicles explain some of the characters lives after this book ends. This is bit weird as you already know who what happens to people, but it doesn’t spoil th fun.

I’m now moving on to “Vittorio, The Vampire”. This is the second book in the “New Tales of the Vampires” series. I left this until last as it is apparently a stand alone story, with no ties back to the other books. It’s supposed to be a bit more like a love story, which doesn’t bode well, but I bought it when I bought all the other books, so it seems a shame not to read it.

A couple of the guys at work have been telling me to read the Discworld stuff by Terry Parachett. It sounds kinda fun, but with 37 books and counting, it’s really rather daunting. I guess time will tell if I get suckered into that one.

Cheers

Tim…

Lasher…

Last night I finished “Lasher”, the second book in “The Lives of the Mayfair Witches” series by Anne Rice. As expected, this follows on from the first book, “The Witching Hour”. Same characters and similar “goings on”. Maybe I was distracted by the events of the last few weeks, but I really didn’t get caught up in this one.

Most of Anne Rice’s books have several story lines, each told in chunks, constantly messing with the time, and finally bringing it all together. I seemed to struggle with that in this book. I guess part of that was because I was really into some of the story lines, but quite bored by others. I would reach the end of one chapter, desperate to know what happens next, only to find I had to read 80 pages of dull crap before I could continue.

If the book had been half the size and contained only those story lines I liked I would be saying it was a classic, but it’s not.

Cheers

Tim…

The Witching Hour…

“The Witching Hour” is the first of 3 books in the “Lives of the Mayfair Witches” series by Anne Rice. The later books in the “Vampire Chronicles”, especially “Blackwood Farm”, had links with this series.

Let’s start by saying, this is a seriously big book. I’m not the quickest reader, so it was quite a daunting prospect, but the events of the last few days have left me with more time on my hands.

The book traces the history of a family of witches and their ghostly companion. The story starts 300 years ago in Scotland and concludes in the present day in New Orleans. It skips between each era quite a bit, but is drawn together by the story of the current generation. A pretty cool story and a good introduction to the family…

Cheers

Tim…