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Blood and Gold Review

Blood and Gold

Published: 16, October 2001

Author: Anne Rice

The Vampire Chronicles, Book 8

Genres: Family, Fantasy, Fiction, Ghost, Gothic, History, Horror, Inspirational, LGBTQ+, Literary, Men's, Occult, Paranormal, Psychological, Renaissance, Saga, Spirituality, Thrillers, Urban, Vampire, Witches, Wizards


Check the summary of this book here:

Blood and Gold Summary


The Review:

In Anne Rice's Blood and Gold, vampire Marius tells of his origins in ancient Rome, how he came into possession of and bore the burden of caring for Those Who Must Be Kept, Akasha and Enkil, the vampire mother and father, and how he braved to live among humankind and give birth to his protégé Armand until catastrophe intervened and he was nearly killed. This is a fascinating tale that spans ages and is still relevant today.

Marius is a historian, a student of mankind, and he reveals his pain as he struggles to make sense of eternal ties.

A fantastical narrative told through the perspective of Marius, probably the smartest immortal, from the period of the Roman Empire through the Renaissance and well beyond. Vampires, history, and wonderful literature! There's something for everyone here.

Several notable new characters are introduced. Thorne, who is as much a warrior as Marius is a wizard, is the most prominent of them. He appears to be deceptively straightforward and direct, yet he is actually more sophisticated and strong than one might imagine.

Since Lestat's rock musical era, the chapter about Marius' encounter with the lovely and dangerous Eudoxia is the finest chapter in the chronicles. If you enjoy The Vampire Chronicles but have recently been disenchanted with them, this one will rekindle your interest.

For lovers of the Vampire Chronicles, this is an essential must-read. This provides all of the backstories of Marius's torturous "life," as well as a comprehensive picture of his connection with Pandora. In some ways, this feels like a thorough summary of the events of all the preceding volumes, but in greater depth.

The basic premise of Blood and Gold, like with any connected series of novels, is that we learn more about things we've already seen. Marius has come several times in previous books, each time providing us with just a bit more knowledge. Through his eyes and words, we see him and the world around him this time. More personalities are introduced along the way, others are defined, and interests are piqued.

Anne Rice's ability to fuse the same stories from different perspectives is not only intriguing but also refreshing, characters I believe I am familiar with but I am not. I don't comprehend actions that I believe I understand.

Her artistry is made possible by her workmanship, which is never clichéd and never draws attention to itself at the expense of her work. "There's that favorite term or phrase," I never find myself uttering. Her urge to brag about how smart she is never takes me out of the moment because she never shows off; instead she is the blank canvas on which the artist has painted. Despite the fact that I am oblivious of her existence, I am always grateful for it. Anne Rice's work has never disappointed me.


Final Thoughts:

Blood and Gold by Anne Rice is an excellent novel, particularly for history students and people interested in historical knowledge. It gives you all you need to know about Marius of Rome, from his turning through his exploits throughout Western civilization's history. When I read it, I could clearly envision myself in Rome at her heyday, as well as experiencing the tragic chapter of the city's invasion and sacking by barbaric invaders.

Some readers who simply read to keep track of how many books they've read as a fashion statement, similar to owning a certain phone or brand, may believe it's the same as other novels in the series or that it's boring because they can't see beyond the words they're reading for the sake of reading and counting the books and pages.

Anne Rice does an excellent job of taking the reader through key historical events via the eyes and mind of a vampire. Really highly recommended as always with any Anne Rice novel.

Anne Rice did a fantastic job of immersing you in the narrative. She was always meticulous in her research and produced a very graphic and experiential book about everyone and everything they encountered. She completely immersed you in the narrative, and I learned a lot as well. This is both educational and entertaining for any historian.


Synopsis:

““Anne Rice writes with her usual erotic and historically evocative flair. (People)

Once a proud Senator in Imperial Rome, Marius is kidnapped and forced into that dark realm of blood, where he is made a protector of the Queen and King of the vampires - in whom the core of the supernatural race resides. Through his eyes, we see the fall of pagan Rome to the Emperor Constantine, the horrific sack of the Eternal City at the hands of the Visigoths, and the vile aftermath of the Black Death. Ultimately restored by the beauty of the Renaissance, Marius becomes a painter, living dangerously yet happily among mortals, and giving his heart to the great master Botticelli, to the bewitching courtesan Bianca, and to the mysterious young apprentice Armand. But it is in the present day, deep in the jungle, when Marius will meet his fate seeking justice from the oldest vampires in the world....”


Useful Search Related Words & Keywords:

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Rating: 95/100
Recommended: 100/100 Yes.

Buy The Kindle Version Here:

Free With Free Audible Trial:

Interview With the Vampire (1994) (R):

Queen of the Damned (2002) (R):

Compare Kindle E-readers on one page:

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Merrick Review

Merrick Review

Merrick

Published: October 17, 2000

Author: Anne Rice

The Vampire Chronicles, Book 7

Genres: Family, Fantasy, Fiction, Ghost, Gothic, History, Horror, Inspirational, LGBTQ+, Literary, Men's, Occult, Paranormal, Psychological, Renaissance, Saga, Spirituality, Thrillers, Vampire, Witches, Wizards


Check the summary of this book here:

Merrick Summary


The Review:

Merrick demonstrates Anne Rice's customary gift for atmosphere, particularly historical or strange atmosphere, fast-paced adventure that can be a true page-turner, intriguing knowledge of ancient civilizations and magical procedures, and a decent narrative line and variation. The combination of witches and vampires is a welcome variation in this series.

This book is fascinating because of the blending procedure: two novel lines merged, at least two faiths merged, two or three witchcrafts merged, plot lines merged, divergent developments merged. In the realm of fantasy fiction, this is a must-read.

Anne Rice is a fantastic author. Many writers have pet clichés that, by the second book, have become not only obvious but practically irritating; Anne Rice, on the other hand, is artistic and inventive. There are no catchphrases to jolt the reader out of the story's flow with an unintentional recollection. The momentum is not disrupted by the frequent phrase repetition, and the reader's concentration is maintained.

In many respects, this novel is a pleasant surprise. Anne Rice begins to blend her witch and vampire lines with the Mayfairs, as well as with Lestat and Louis and other characters.

However, in the instance of the Mayfair line, this merging is small since it includes a "colored" witch, or a witch from the Mayfair family's "colored" line, i.e., descendants of the white Mayfairs among the black slaves and servants. However, this series of "hued" witches introduces us to new witchcraft, including Vodun, sometimes known as voodoo.

The technique demonstrates how the Christianization of this African religion is systematic and comprehensive.

However, this Vodun religion is founded on some age-old, ancient practices, such as animal sacrifices, the use of blood, charms, and, of course, the belief that spirits exist and that, when we die, we either go into the light, which is paradise, or we err and roam in some dark in-between space, where we can haunt the world of the living. This religion has no idea of hell or Satan.

The novel, however, goes a step further by transporting us to Guatemala, where Merrick searches for and discovers more than ancient spirits and magical items, specifically a mask that would allow her to complete the goal set out by Anne Rice in this book.

This is another fantastic book that will not let you down! I enjoyed the narrative recounted by David, one of the newest vampires but one of the most experienced in his human years.

I can usually foresee, or at least assume, where she's heading with some of her plot lines, but this one caught me off guard. I enjoy how the narrative is conveyed from David's adult perspective and with his distinct tranquility.

I adore how you learn about and appreciate the world via Anne Rice's characters. You can see she puts a lot of love, thought, and imagination into her writings, particularly her characters.

Warning: Following this point, I will discuss several issues that might be considered spoilers. Merrick agrees to bring back the spirit of Claudia, a child vampire from the early volumes of the Vampire Chronicles because Louis is curious about how she is doing after death.

She was turned into a vampire as a kid, tried to kill Lestat, escaped to Europe and Paris with Louis, and was killed by other vampires in Paris by exposing herself to the sun since she had killed her creator, which is an unforgivable act for vampires.

Merrick does the spell, and then we get to see how the other vampires in this group react; there are four in all. Vampires and the Talamasca, a hidden society that studies paranormal events and entities, will wage war as a result of this.


Final Thoughts:

This book is a fantastic continuation of the Vampire Chronicles. The finale was fantastic, and it sets up a new adventure for the vampires. I would strongly advise everyone who has read Anne Rice's Chronicles to read this book also but don't forget to read it in sequence.

With "Merrick," we learn more about the previously mentioned characters and learn about witchcraft's role in the realm of the unusual. Here the reader embraces the idea that vampires had gifts but witches have gifts distinct from vampires' gifts, gifts for which vampires may be envious...this is intriguing.

Once again, thank you for your creativity and skill, Anne Rice. Thank you for building a universe that is not only similar to our own, but also accessible allegorically in a way that provides options for those of us who don't fit in.


Synopsis:

“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, a 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.”


Useful Search Related Words & Keywords:

Aaliyah, Akasha And Enkil, Akasha, Alain Delon, Ancient Egypt, Anne Rice, Antonio Banderas, Armand, Blood And Gold, Body Thief, Brad Pitt, Brat Prince, Bruce Spence, Cher, Christian Manon, Christian Slater, Claudia Black, Claudia, Closer To The Truth, Daniel Molloy, Dark Gift, Darren Wilson, David Talbot, Destrehan Plantation, Dollmaker, Domiziana Giordano, Drama, Estelle, French Quarter, George Kelly, God and the Devil, Heaven And Hell, Highly Recommend, Hollywood's Homophobia, Hugo Race, Indra Ové, The Interview with the Vampire, Jerk, Jesse, Johnathan Devoy, Jonathan Davis, Julian Sands, Khayman, Kirsten Dunst, Laure Marsac, Lena Olin, Lestat De Lioncourt, London, Lorimar Productions, Louis De Pointe Du Lac, Louis, Lovers Forever, Madeleine Marcel Iureş, Mael, Maharet And Mekare, Maharet, Marguerite Moreau, Marius, Matthew Lassall, Matthew Newton, Mayfair, Mayfair Witches, Memnoch The Devil, Merrick, Michael Rymer, Mississippi River, Mother Gabrielle, Must Be Kept, Must Read, Neil Jordan, New Characters, New Orleans Whore, New Orleans, Oak Alley Plantation, Pandora, Paris Vampire, Paris, Paul Mcgann, Pia Miranda, Point Of View, Queen Of The Damned, Rachael Tanner, Raglan James, Read Interview, Robin Casinader, Rowland S. Howard, San Francisco, Santiago, Sara Stockbridge, Serena Altschul, Stephen Rea, Stuart Townsend, Sybelle And Benji, Thandie Newton, Tale of the Body, Thandiwe Newton, The Vampire Lestat, Thought Provoking, Tom Cruise, Vacherie, Vampire Chronicles, Vincent Perez, Warner Bros, Witching hour, Years Ago, Young Jesse, Yvette


Rating: 95/100
Recommended: 100/100 Yes.

Buy The Kindle Version Here:

Free With Free Audible Trial:

Interview With the Vampire (1994) (R):

Queen of the Damned (2002) (R):

Compare Kindle E-readers on one page:

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The Vampire Armand Review

The Vampire Armand Review

The Vampire Armand

Published: 10, October 1998

Author: Anne Rice

The Vampire Chronicles, Book 6

Genres: Family, Fantasy, Fiction, Ghost, Gothic, History, Horror, Inspirational, LGBTQ+, Literary, Men's, Occult, Paranormal, Psychological, Renaissance, Saga, Spirituality, Thriller, Vampire


Check the summary of this book here:

The Vampire Armand Summary


The Review:

Anne Rice's The Vampire Armand explains to us how Armand became a vampire and why he committed the horrors he did to Louis and Lestat. If you appreciate the Vampire Chronicles and Anne Rice's works, you should not miss this opportunity to read it. To put it frankly, I'm not sure why this book received so many negative reviews. It was a fantastic novel that I thought was a worthy addition to the Vampire Chronicles. If you haven't yet read this novel, do it right now!

Armand is a genuinely interesting character, and it was excellent to discover why he was the way he was in this edition of the Vampire Chronicles.

This book covers so many of the voids left by the previous Vampire Chronicles, such as Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, The Queen of the Damned, Tale of the Body Thief, and Memnoch the Devil. The story opens in the present, with Lestat ruling the roost, and follows Armand's descent into decadence in his late teens, through his vampiric leadership in Paris, and ultimately back to the present, with a display of just how graceful and powerful he has become.

Above all, I feel that this novel best exemplifies Anne Rice's genre, topics, and writing style. With the storyline, twists and turns, and casual supernatural coincidences, Anne Rice has one of the most unique writing styles out there. I'm fascinated with her narrative abilities throughout the book.

This sixth Vampire Chronicle is all about Armand, and it starts with his desire to be near Lestat, who is now immobile on the chapel's marble floor. The scholar vampire, David Talbot, persuades Armand to narrate his narrative in exchange for his writing it down.

There is no experience quite like Armand's, which is completely engrossing and exhilarating throughout, with Armand sharing his own views with us. It takes us from the beginning, when Marius turned him into a vampire and named him "Amadeo," God's Beloved, to the previously unknown grotesque details of Claudia's last moments at his blundering hands, to the happy ending, when all his love is returned, by his Master, Marius, his companion, Louis, and his much-loved Lestat, and most importantly, by his "children," Sybelle and Benji, who love him like no one else has ever loved.

Armand is without a doubt one of my favorite characters in the entire series. This unfortunate character's life has been tormented, but he still manages to keep going. It's one of those rare novels that I can read again and again.

The narrative of Armand deserves your undivided attention! It's a narrative of a tortured soul trying to find its place in the world. It's an engrossing and profound story for people who can comprehend inner battles, love troubles, and tumultuous history.

Anne Rice devotes a significant amount of time to exploring Armand's connection with his Maker, Marius, set against the vibrant background of Renaissance Italy, particularly Venice. I wish she'd stayed longer, but that's just the greed in me that wants more from her on this topic and place. I was enthralled by all of the zeal and creativity... 

Anne Rice's pen brings Renaissance Italy to life, but that shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody who has read any of her prior books.

Some readers warned me that this book would be uninteresting and contain explicit themes. I believe these individuals are merely reading the words without understanding them in context. I'm also perplexed by the term adult because this book and the series were never intended for children. So why are people claiming it's an adult novel? 

This is now my favorite book in the series, and it deserves a lot more praise than it is getting!!


Final Thoughts:

The works of Anne Rice are transformative, deep, informative, and complicated. I like Anne Rice more than any other fiction writer when it comes to the Vampire Genre, perhaps with the exception of Daniel Quinn for fiction in general.

Her characters and interactions are so skillfully crafted that I have no doubt that she was listening in on these talks as they unfolded. Vampires from six thousand years ago to the "now," from all across the world, present readers with intriguing insights into histories and cultures that must have taken a lot of time and effort for Anne Rice to explore. As lyrical as that may seem, her works are romantic and gloomy, and they discover the spark of poetry in even the most stoic of souls.

It's a book worth buying and reading. This is a must-read for anybody who enjoys delving into the darkest corners of a character's mind.


Synopsis:

“In the latest installment of The Vampire Chronicles, Anne Rice summons up dazzling worlds to bring us the story of Armand - eternally young, with the face of a Botticelli angel. Armand, who first appeared in all his dark glory more than twenty years ago in the now-classic Interview with the Vampire, the first of The Vampire Chronicles, the novel that established its author worldwide as a magnificent storyteller and creator of magical realms.

Now, we go with Armand across the centuries to the Kiev Rus of his boyhood - a ruined city under Mongol dominion - and to ancient Constantinople, where Tartar raiders sell him into slavery. And in a magnificent palazzo in the Venice of the Renaissance, we see him emotionally and intellectually in thrall to the great vampire Marius, who masquerades among humankind as a mysterious, reclusive painter and who will bestow upon Armand the gift of vampiric blood.

As the novel races to its climax, moving through scenes of luxury and elegance, of ambush, fire, and devil worship to nineteenth-century Paris and today's New Orleans, we see its eternally vulnerable and romantic hero forced to choose between his twilight immortality and the salvation of his immortal soul.”


Useful Search Related Words & Keywords:

Aaliyah, Akasha And Enkil, Akasha, Alain Delon, Ancient Egypt, Anne Rice, Antonio Banderas, Armand, Blood And Gold, Body Thief, Brad Pitt, Brat Prince, Bruce Spence, Cher, Christian Manon, Christian Slater, Claudia Black, Claudia, Closer To The Truth, Daniel Molloy, Dark Gift, Darren Wilson, David Talbot, Destrehan Plantation, Dollmaker, Domiziana Giordano, Drama, Estelle, French Quarter, George Kelly, God and the Devil, Heaven And Hell, Highly Recommend, Hollywood's Homophobia, Hugo Race, Indra Ové, The Interview with the Vampire, Jerk, Jesse, Johnathan Devoy, Jonathan Davis, Julian Sands, Khayman, Kirsten Dunst, Laure Marsac, Lena Olin, Lestat De Lioncourt, London, Lorimar Productions, Louis De Pointe Du Lac, Louis, Lovers Forever, Madeleine Marcel Iureş, Mael, Maharet And Mekare, Maharet, Marguerite Moreau, Marius, Matthew Lassall, Matthew Newton, Mayfair Witches, Memnoch The Devil, Michael Rymer, Mississippi River, Mother Gabrielle, Must Be Kept, Must Read, Neil Jordan, New Characters, New Orleans Whore, New Orleans, Oak Alley Plantation, Pandora, Paris Vampire, Paris, Paul Mcgann, Pia Miranda, Point Of View, Queen Of The Damned, Rachael Tanner, Raglan James, Read Interview, Robin Casinader, Rowland S. Howard, San Francisco, Santiago, Sara Stockbridge, Serena Altschul, Stephen Rea, Stuart Townsend, Sybelle And Benji, Thandie Newton, Tale of the Body, Thandiwe Newton, The Vampire Lestat, Thought Provoking, Tom Cruise, Vacherie, Vampire Chronicles, Vincent Perez, Warner Bros, Years Ago, Young Jesse, Yvette


Rating: 95/100
Recommended: 100/100 Yes.

Buy The Kindle Version Here:


Free With Free Audible Trial:


Interview With the Vampire (1994) (R):


Queen of the Damned (2002) (R):


Compare Kindle E-readers on one page:


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Any kind of support, even a simple 'like, thumbs up or a small comment' is enough and helps me grow, create and freely do more stuff and work on projects for the benefit of many.
Help me grow into a global force: https://www.patreon.com/namsu
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