Merrick

By: Anne Rice

Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm

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.©2000 by Anne O'Brien Rice; Copyright ©2000 by Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

Quotes

Difficult to listen to....

Male narrators cannot do female characters no matter how hard they try, it diminishes the entire performance. I had to push myself to finish.

Good

It was a good book to read. Not at all like Anne's other vampire books but just as good. I loved Merrick she is a cool character and very powerful.

The Mayfair Vampire Crossover

Before you get into Merrick, read The Vampire Chronicles until the completion of The Vampire Armand.. Then read The Witcin Hour, Possibly Taltos as well. The book itself is great, I've always admired Anne Rice's ability to make each book in a series hold its own without the other books in each series. As far as Merrick goes, it really only acts as a gradual connection of The Mayfair Witches, and The Vampire Chronicles. It doesn't really continue either series so much as it acts as a binder of the two families through the Telamascah, another sort of Galilee that plays a huge role in both story lines. Narration and weirdly are sub-par. I didn't have issues understanding, I had trouble following through the narrator's change of characters. Overall a must read if you want to fully enjoy the entirety of both Series.

Wondeful Story, Terrible Recording

I put this book off after feeling burnt out from the last 2 titles in the series (Memnoch & Body Thief). Those 2 were alright but not my favorites. I was worried the rest of The Vampire Chronicles might only get worse. I was very wrong! Merrick got me excited about the chronicles again and now I'm also interested in checking out The Mayfair Witches. This story was so good! David Talbot easily carried as the main character, which was another worry I had, and Merrick is a wondeful new character in the beautiful world Rice has created. Now as far as the recording goes, it's rough. It sounds like he recorded this book underwater! I had to turn my volume almost all the way up to listen. Such a shame considering the book is fantastic and his reading was great. It didn't ruin the experience, but none the less disappointing.

love d it.

I liked all of they'd book except that it wasn't long enough. I can't wait to listen to another of the vampire chronicles.