New Book / Blood Canticle

On Sat, 01 Nov 2003 08:44:09 GMT, Dustin <someone.DeleteThis@mail.com> wrote:

 >Well I have just finished reading Blood Canticle, and I thought I would
 >put a few of my comments out there if I may.
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >The first thing that I noticed about this book was its size, 300p. I
 >know that a book does not need to be long to be good, but I was
 >disappointed when I first pick it up. That being said, I don't know if
 >I could have finished the thing if it had been much longer.
 >
 >Right from the start Lestat chastises us for not getting it, and
 >launches into a diatribe about wanting to be "Saint Lestat". Needless
 >to say, I didn't get it, and after reading the whole thing I still
 >don't. Perhaps if we actually knew what was going on with him during
 >his long absence, but he never elaborates.

I didn't get the entire first chapter either. It seems to me that this
is further evidence of Rice's desire to become a religious writer, and
in that case, she is doing with the VC exactly what needs to be
done...end it.

 >I was also stunned and disheartened to hear Lestat use the words such
 >as, Cool, Dude, Crash, Yo, and my favorite, PA-LEASE or something to
 >that effect.

Yes, it was PA-LEASE. Hell, I was waiting for "Talk to the hand
because the ears aren't listening" to come up. Of all the things wrong
with this book the language used was the worst., it just destroyed
this book.
Apparently, Rice can't tell the difference between the language
pattern of a early 20th century "gangster" (I'm assuming Sam Spade as
that is who Lestat has often referenced) and a modern high school kid.
Part of what made the VC such a delight to read was the language the
characters used...but this is just awful.


 >OK, I do sort do understand Uncle Julien being in the book, or shall I
 >say I have an idea. He is not there so much to protect Mona or even
 >Rowan, but the Mayfair family, and to do that he has to protect Rowan,
 >ok now just hang in there. Rowan is the glue, before she came into the
 >picture the Mayfair family was in a state of disrepair, much like the
 >Garden District house. But when she entered into the picture the family
 >was renovated, like the house. Rowan is the core, or the anchor of the
 >family, with out her it would fall apart, and be cast adrift once more,
 >especially now that Mona is out of the picture. At least that is what I
 >like to think is reason for Julien's appearance in the book.

I think I have seen the light! I think you are right about that! Okay,
I stand corrected, but Patsy's presence still seems pointless.

 >One last thing for now, has anyone else noticed how "The Rules" change?
 > As in Ashe's example. Lestat has repeatedly talked about how careful
 >vampires have to be when they are around humans, yet here he is with
 >Quinn's family all the time and they don't notice a thing.

That's because they are the most gullible, stupid people on the face
of the planet, and apparently police officers in Louisiana aren't too
bright either.
Without a suspension of disbelief things like this make the story
silly and nothing more. At one time Rice had suspension of disbelief
down to an art form, sad that she's lost that talent, or maybe, she
just thinks readers are stupid and don't remember the "rules".
This is what separates someone like George Lucas from Anne Rice. Lucas
has stated that he created a universe with certain rules....for
instance...there is sound in space in his universe, and he has said
that since that is a part of the universe he created, he can't change
it now because it would effect the rest of the mythos in a negative
way. Lucas should sit down with Rice and discuss the concept of
continuity and it's importance in storytelling.

 >In my opinion Lestat has not been near as fun every since Queen of the
 >Damned. He is just too powerful, all of his trials and tribulations are
 >emotional now, his biggest battles are waged with himself, and while
 >this ok in small amounts, I frankly and quite bored with the whole, I
 >want to be good, but I'm evil conflict.

Dustin, that is a very good point and in Lestat's evolution that was
bound to happen, but it just doesn't make for a good read, at least,
not in this story, it's over done. For a little bit I thought it was
Louis telling the story.
That's another thing I thought was sad...the last story and no sign of
Louis, the initiator of the VCs, beyond a small mention. No David,
Armand, Marius etc. A small appearance by them all, especially, by
Louis would have been nice.
Take care,
Ashe
 >
 >
 >
 >Ashe wrote:
  >> Michael
  >> Well,I'm not going to flame, I'm merely going to point out the
  >> problems I have so far with this book. I'm about 30 pages from
  >> finishing it so here goes with a few, vague spoilers:
  >>
  >> 1. Patsy's appearance in this story is pointless. You could remove her
  >> and not miss a beat in the main plot. So pointless that she can't even
  >> be considered a subplot to the story.
  >>
  >> 2. Julien's appearance in this story is also pointless or, at least at
  >> page 277, I haven't found the point yet. Lestat already knows he's an
  >> SOB so it is redundent for this to pointed out by Julien again, and
  >> again, and again.
  >>
  >> 3. The suspension of disbelief is being stretched thin throughout the
  >> book. The Blackwood extended clan has got to be most gulliable bunch
  >> of people walking the earth. Especially, when Lestat has spoken ad
  >> nauseum about how careful vampires have to be when they are around
  >> humans for any length of time, especially, humans they love. I mean,
  >> Jasmine sits in Lestat's lap and is still clueless?! Doesn't the guy
  >> feel like marble?
  >>
  >> 4. So much for the wisened, even-handed, mellow Lestat that was
  >> developing in Blackwood Farm. He's gone from a well-spoken,
  >> articulate, 18th century nobleman to sounding like a high school kid
  >> with a vocabulary of 200 words. He's completely lost his grasp of the
  >> English language. Lestat says things like "I've to got crash", " Hit
  >> me with it.", "Aw, shoot..", "Yo, Quinn...", "Cool digs..." or just a
  >> one word sentance of "Cool" or "Dude". No more are there "miscreants"
  >> and "misbegotten ingrates" we now have "jerks". No more "ma cherie" or
  >> "ma cher" or "mon amour" or any other French phrase we've heard him
  >> say dozens of times in the past (and come to love), now we have "honey
  >> bunch" and "baby", much to my horror he even said "baby cakes" once.
  >> The vampire who was so good at hacking into police files to track
  >> serial killers, and monitor his financial accounts, doesn't know how
  >> to send an email. And to top is all off, Lestat has completely lost
  >> his ethereal, otherworldly, (dare I say it) preternatural aura, now
  >> he's like the guy you'd invite over for beer and a football game or
  >> see washing his car on a Saturday morning..(okay a Saturday night). Oh
  >> so scary! Sad, very sad. The most interesting character in this story
  >> is Mona Mayfair...she's a hoot.
  >>
  >> 5. Michael Curry is now, officially, a putz, the biggest dupe to ever
  >> be put down in ink.
  >>
  >> 6. At page 277, I'm still waiting for this story to get started.
  >>
  >> Personally, I'm grateful that this is the last VC. If this is what
  >> Lestat has become, any future book would be too painful to read. I'll
  >> stick with my memory of the vampire who liked to quote Shakesphere and
  >> was head of the Coven of the Articulate. It is just as the review I
  >> posted stated, very first draftish.
  >>
  >> (Btw, Michael, Quinn has come up with a solution to his delemma about
  >> Blackwood Farm, but I'll let you discover what it is. And yes, I can't
  >> figure out where she's going with Lestat either. Heck, after reading
  >> this travesty he might just crawl back into the earth.
  >> Take care,
  >> Ashe
  >>
  >>
  >> You must forget the old Lestat de
  >>
   >>>Lioncourt...and just read. I think this book is definitely Ms. Rice's
   >>>narrative work...not quite Lestat's. (by the way...look at the obligatory date
   >>>in the back of the book...)
   >>>I can see where she's going (methinks). Without Lasher the Mayfairs are
   >>>worthless...and she's stopped the legacy (so far as High Witches go).
   >>>Blackwood Farm is dying w/ Taw-quin the Vampire. Lestat...well I don't know
   >>>where she's going with him. But if the V.C. were reproducing DNA, this book
   >>>would be the Stop Codon. (can yous tell i've been studying for Hnrs. Biology?)
   >>>("It's over folks..." is the subtitle here. Or at least that's the vibe I'm
   >>>getting after 30 hrs. sans sleep.
   >>>Anyone know if she's still going to write an autobiography of J.H. Christ?
   >>>By the way, I doubt any of you are into Scottish Lit. But if any of you have
   >>>ever read "The Trick Is to Keep Breathing," by Ms. Janice Galloway, tell me,
   >>>does this book not remind you of it, style-wise?
   >>>Michel<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->

I won't bother reading it. Not till paperback. In fact, tonight I
bought "The Da Vinci Code" instead. How is everything Ashe?





Re: New Book / Blood Canticle **SPOILERS**

Group: alt.books.anne-rice Date: Sat, Nov 1, 2003, 4:38pm (EST+5) From:
ashe.winterwolf.RemoveThis@verizon.net (Ashe)
On Sat, 01 Nov 2003 08:44:09 GMT, Dustin <someone.RemoveThis@mail.com> wrote:
Well I have just finished reading Blood Canticle, and I thought I would
put a few of my comments out there if I may.
The first thing that I noticed about this book was its size, 300p. I
know that a book does not need to be long to be good, but I was
disappointed when I first pick it up. That being said, I don't know if I
could have finished the thing if it had been much longer.
Right from the start Lestat chastises us for not getting it, and
launches into a diatribe about wanting to be "Saint Lestat". Needless to
say, I didn't get it, and after reading the whole thing I still don't.
Perhaps if we actually knew what was going on with him during his long
absence, but he never elaborates.
I didn't get the entire first chapter either. It seems to me that this
is further evidence of Rice's desire to become a religious writer, and
in that case, she is doing with the VC exactly what needs to be
done...end it.
I was also stunned and disheartened to hear Lestat use the words such
as, Cool, Dude, Crash, Yo, and my favorite, PA-LEASE or something to
that effect.
Yes, it was PA-LEASE. Hell, I was waiting for "Talk to the hand because
the ears aren't listening" to come up. Of all the things wrong with this
book the language used was the worst., it just destroyed this book.
Apparently, Rice can't tell the difference between the language pattern
of a early 20th century "gangster" (I'm assuming Sam Spade as that is
who Lestat has often referenced) and a modern high school kid. Part of
what made the VC such a delight to read was the language the characters
used...but this is just awful.
OK, I do sort do understand Uncle Julien being in the book, or shall I
say I have an idea. He is not there so much to protect Mona or even
Rowan, but the Mayfair family, and to do that he has to protect Rowan,
ok now just hang in there. Rowan is the glue, before she came into the
picture the Mayfair family was in a state of disrepair, much like the
Garden District house. But when she entered into the picture the family
was renovated, like the house. Rowan is the core, or the anchor of the
family, with out her it would fall apart, and be cast adrift once more,
especially now that Mona is out of the picture. At least that is what I
like to think is reason for Julien's appearance in the book.
I think I have seen the light! I think you are right about that! Okay, I
stand corrected, but Patsy's presence still seems pointless.
One last thing for now, has anyone else noticed how "The Rules" change?
As in Ashe's example. Lestat has repeatedly talked about how careful
vampires have to be when they are around humans, yet here he is with
Quinn's family all the time and they don't notice a thing.
That's because they are the most gullible, stupid people on the face of
the planet, and apparently police officers in Louisiana aren't too
bright either.
Without a suspension of disbelief things like this make the story silly
and nothing more. At one time Rice had suspension of disbelief down to
an art form, sad that she's lost that talent, or maybe, she just thinks
readers are stupid and don't remember the "rules". This is what
separates someone like George Lucas from Anne Rice. Lucas has stated
that he created a universe with certain rules....for instance...there is
sound in space in his universe, and he has said that since that is a
part of the universe he created, he can't change it now because it would
effect the rest of the mythos in a negative way. Lucas should sit down
with Rice and discuss the concept of continuity and it's importance in
storytelling.
In my opinion Lestat has not been near as fun every since Queen of the
Damned. He is just too powerful, all of his trials and tribulations are
emotional now, his biggest battles are waged with himself, and while
this ok in small amounts, I frankly and quite bored with the whole, I
want to be good, but I'm evil conflict.
Dustin, that is a very good point and in Lestat's evolution that was
bound to happen, but it just doesn't make for a good read, at least, not
in this story, it's over done. For a little bit I thought it was Louis
telling the story.
That's another thing I thought was sad...the last story and no sign of
Louis, the initiator of the VCs, beyond a small mention. No David,
Armand, Marius etc. A small appearance by them all, especially, by Louis
would have been nice.
Take care,
Ashe
Ashe wrote:
Michael
Well,I'm not going to flame, I'm merely going to point out the problems
I have so far with this book. I'm about 30 pages from finishing it so
here goes with a few, vague spoilers:
1. Patsy's appearance in this story is pointless. You could remove her
and not miss a beat in the main plot. So pointless that she can't even
be considered a subplot to the story.
2. Julien's appearance in this story is also pointless or, at least at
page 277, I haven't found the point yet. Lestat already knows he's an
SOB so it is redundent for this to pointed out by Julien again, and
again, and again.
3. The suspension of disbelief is being stretched thin throughout the
book. =A0 The Blackwood extended clan has got to be most gulliable bunch
of people walking the earth. Especially, when Lestat has spoken ad
nauseum about how careful vampires have to be when they are around
humans for any length of time, especially, humans they love. I mean,
Jasmine sits in Lestat's lap and is still clueless?! Doesn't the guy
feel like marble?
4. So much for the wisened, even-handed, mellow Lestat that was
developing in Blackwood Farm. He's gone from a well-spoken, articulate,
18th century nobleman to sounding like a high school kid with a
vocabulary of 200 words. He's completely lost his grasp of the English
language. Lestat says things like "I've to got crash", " Hit me with
it.", "Aw, shoot..", "Yo, Quinn...", "Cool digs..." or just a one word
sentance of "Cool" or "Dude". No more are there "miscreants" and
"misbegotten ingrates" we now have "jerks". No more "ma cherie" or "ma
cher" or "mon amour" or any other French phrase we've heard him say
dozens of times in the past (and come to love), now we have "honey
bunch" and "baby", much to my horror he even said "baby cakes" once. The
vampire who was so good at hacking into police files to track serial
killers, and monitor his financial accounts, doesn't know how to send an
email. And to top is all off, Lestat has completely lost his ethereal,
otherworldly, (dare I say it) preternatural aura, now he's like the guy
you'd invite over for beer and a football game or see washing his car on
a Saturday morning..(okay a Saturday night). Oh so scary! Sad, very sad.
The most interesting character in this story is Mona Mayfair...she's a
hoot.
5. Michael Curry is now, officially, a putz, the biggest dupe to ever be
put down in ink.
6. At page 277, I'm still waiting for this story to get started.
Personally, I'm grateful that this is the last VC. If this is what
Lestat has become, any future book would be too painful to read. I'll
stick with my memory of the vampire who liked to quote Shakesphere and
was head of the Coven of the Articulate. It is just as the review I
posted stated, very first draftish.
(Btw, Michael, Quinn has come up with a solution to his delemma about
Blackwood Farm, but I'll let you discover what it is. And yes, I can't
figure out where she's going with Lestat either. Heck, after reading
this travesty he might just crawl back into the earth. Take care,
Ashe
You must forget the old Lestat de
Lioncourt...and just read. I think this book is definitely Ms. Rice's
narrative work...not quite Lestat's. (by the way...look at the
obligatory date in the back of the book...)
I can see where she's going (methinks). Without Lasher the Mayfairs are
worthless...and she's stopped the legacy (so far as High Witches go).
Blackwood Farm is dying w/ Taw-quin the Vampire. Lestat...well I don't
know where she's going with him. But if the V.C. were reproducing DNA,
this book would be the Stop Codon. (can yous tell i've been studying for
Hnrs. Biology?) ("It's over folks..." is the subtitle here. Or at least
that's the vibe I'm getting after 30 hrs. sans sleep.
Anyone know if she's still going to write an autobiography of J.H.
Christ? By the way, I doubt any of you are into Scottish Lit. But if any
of you have ever read "The Trick Is to Keep Breathing," by Ms. Janice
Galloway, tell me, does this book not remind you of it, style-wise?
Michel

lynze