"The Witching Hour" by Anne Rice is a massive, addictive book that follows the story of the Mayfair family through thirteen generations, each more intriguing than the last. Set in New Orleans, the novel delves into the history of the Mayfair witches spanning centuries, from ancient Scotland to modern times. Rice's writing style, which includes first-person narration, creates an intense and creepy atmosphere that immerses readers into the world of witches, spirits, and mysteries.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include themes of incest, graphic depictions of sexual content, and supernatural horror.
Has Romance?
There is a significant romantic plot, primarily focusing on the relationship between Rowan Mayfair and Michael Curry.
From The Publisher:
"[A] huge and sprawling tale of horror." -The New York Times Book Review
Demonstrating once again her gift for spellbinding storytelling, Anne Rice makes real for us a great dynasty of four centuries of witches-a family given to poetry and incest, murder and philosophy, a family that over the ages is itself haunted by a powerful, dangerous, and seductive being called Lasher who haunts the Mayfair women.
Moving in time from today's New Orleans and San Francisco to long-ago Amsterdam and the France of Louis XIV, from the coffee plantations of Port-au-Prince to Civil War New Orleans and back to today, Anne Rice has spun a mesmerizing tale that challenges everything we believe in.
Ratings (58)
Incredible (12) | |
Loved It (26) | |
Liked It (10) | |
It Was OK (8) | |
Hated It (2) |
Reader Stats (103):
Read It (59) | |
Want To Read (30) | |
Did Not Finish (2) | |
Not Interested (12) |
3 comment(s)
I found Rowan's story (and the history of the Mayfair Witches) to be very interesting. You really feel for Rowan and Michael. I think some of the story could've been cut down a bit, but otherwise it's one of my favorites. I'm not sure why I didn't read this sooner. I think I was more interested, at the time, in reading all of her Vampire Chronicles. A long read for sure, but worth it, unless you are one of the faint of heart. This classic Anne Rice thriller has blood, gore and sex. If that's not your cuppa best pick something else to read. :)
Eh...I started out really enthusiastic about this book. It reminded me of Stephen King, whom I love. The problem was that the romance is stilted and what I'm really interested in, the witches themselves, took a backseat. I'm sorry, but I don't care about Michael and Rowan, especially when their romance was unrealistic. And that's what drove me to DNF it. I'm not going to sit through another 800 pages of romance taking the front seat when that romance is implausible at best.
God, this is a long, long book. I generally don’t mind long book if there is some good reason behind their length. But unfortunately this is not one of those cases.
I have read several of Anne Rice's books and I have very mixed feelings. I like her characters, I like her ideas, I like her general plotlines, but reading her books is a tiring and frustrating task for me. I think it's about her writing style. Her books usually seem to me completely unnecessarily dragged. Sometimes it seems to me that there is also some kind of forced mysticism in them which is supposed to give the novel a depth that does not really exist there.
I had such an impression reading [b:The Vampire Lestat|43814|The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles, #2)|Anne Rice|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347515742l/43814._SY75_.jpg|3241580] and again now. The worst was the beginning. And when I say the beginning, I really mean the first 400 or 500 pages (sic!). The first part comes down to a hyper-accurate description of all characters. It does not matter if they are relevant to the whole story or not. We know everything about them from the moment when their parents got to know each other until primary school and after. We know what they eat for breakfast and what their favorite color is. And it is quite possible that we will never read about them again. It was really tiring.
The very idea of getting to know the fate of witches from the Mayfair family by the eyes of other people is a truly great idea. But lengthy descriptions were very exhausting. After reading this part I had to take a longer break from this book.
All the more I was surprised how much I liked the part which featured the descriptions of the history of the Mayfair family in the documents of the Talamasca. What would seem the most boring part is in fact the most interesting. If not for this part, I would probably never finish this book. I also have to admit that in the further part about Rowan and Michael I have often skipped several paragraphs. Again, I was not that interested. Though luckily it was not as boring as the beginning.
Also, over time, Rowan began to irritate me more and more. That is so strange because I usually do not like heroines at first but then I get used to them. But in this case, I have the impression that at the end she got really unpleasant and big-headed.
I needed this book for one of my reading challenges, and in truth I thought I'd like it more. I doubt I will read another book from this series if I do not have to again. On the other hand, the next is probably the real story of Lasher, it may be more exciting. But at the moment I do not believe it myself.
What can you read after
The Witching Hour?
About the Author:
ANNE RICE is the author of thirty-six books, including the fifteen books in the Vampire Chronicles series. She lives in La Quinta, California.
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