The Witching Hour (Mayfair Witches Series #1)

No read better than this Anne Rice novel!!

I cannot praise Anne Rice and this book enough. There is such a volume of literary wealth in Anne Rice's being that I cannot imagine even a small portion of it. With Anne Rice it seems she has lived more than one lifetime with the novels she has written and the subject matter. I have been reading a long, long time and I do not know of another writer that even comes close to Ms Rice. I know she cannot go on forever (and neither can I) but I do hope I live long enough for another series. It is an absolute pleasure to read her writing (actually no matter what it is).

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Best of the Best of Rice

Nothing touches the characters, intensity and suspense in this Rice novel in any of her others. I think this was written at her peak.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

A fantastic tale

This was my favorite of Anne Rice's books. I have read it twice and recommend it to friends. I wish she would continue the story...I'd be first in line (with many others) to buy the next in series

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Breathtaking Page-turner

The Witching Hour is absolutely amazing. I could not put it down. I could barely get myself to do anything else other than find out what happened next. Each page drew me in, increased my heart rate, and intensified my breathing. The family history is extraordinarily compelling. This is my favorite Anne Rice book.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

If you enjoy tedium, you'll LOVE this book...

As a kid, I grew up reading Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, and was always somewhat hesitant to read the Mayfair Witches books because of Rice's love of overly detailed tangents that really don't go anywhere (as was the case with most of "Tale of the Body Thief"). Now, twenty years later, I decided to take the plunge into this tome on my Nook Color.

Dear God...after all those years, I was right to be hesitant. The first book in the series enters into the realm of being almost unbearable in the second section of the book, and continues on until the third and final section, the vast majority of which actually serves as a lengthy and convoluted "reprinting" of a book within a book, as we read of the ENTIRE history of the Mayfair Witches. Kill...me...now...

For those of you who enjoy the comfort of a root canal, this book will be a cinch. Even in Nook Book format, it took me three weeks to finish, and that was after skimming over most of the massively boring second section.

The second book in the series, "Lasher," is actually quite a great deal better in terms of the pacing, though it is reminiscent of "Queen of the Damned" with its cast of thousands. It's a far more enjoyable read than the first book, and serves as less of a cure for my chronic insomnia.

3 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

A must-read series

The Mayfair Witches series books are absolute page-turners from start to finish. You literally feel like you are transported to Louisiana and are walking through all the history with the characters. I have never been so captivated by a book and so disappointed when I was through reading it. However, you can definitely read this book over and over again.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Truly disappointing

I found this book long and boring

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Love it!

I 1st read this when I was 18, I' m 31 now and its just as good! All 3 books are wonderful. Anne Rice draws a wonder pic of now and the past. You love and hate (sometimes both lol) this family ( and ghost). I have tried to read the vampire books and never really got into them but The Mayfair Witches put a spell on me ;)

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The best

I feel like I'm part of the family

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great series

I never tire of it. Reading the series for the fifth time.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Interesting, but ultimately exhausting

A long and odd story which seems to be broken, roughly, into three sections: an introductory set-up, a remarkably long and not entirely useful historical explanation, and a choppy, disappointing conclusion. Overall, a bit of a disappointment, except for the wonderfullly atmospheric descriptions of New Orleans and San Francisco.

Not sure I would recommend it. Sure wouldn't recommend buying it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good read!

A little long and slightly slow in the middle (the history) but really well written! Anne Rice at her best!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

AWESOME

I am a huge Anne Rice fan- I have every book she's written. I personally feel this is her best book. The history is very rich and the characters are so well developed it's hard not to become engrossed in it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

E-format LONG overdue

I've loved Rice's Mayfair Witches trilogy since their original release. I've been desperate for electronic versions so I can "downsize" my personal library. I'm ecstatic to see the Mayfair Witches and many of the Vampire Chronicles in ebook format now. Random House has made my Christmas wish come true.

"The Witching Hour" is an incredibly subtle book. A New Orleans native, Anne Rice spins the novel with a slow-paced, insidious glamor. Seductive and decadent, appalling and terrifying, the saga of this unique family slips off the page and into the psyche. This is a series for readers who love to experience detailed immersion into their reading experience.

Local color plays a vivid role in setting and atmosphere. I'm a New Orleans local and Rice's description and use of setting is very effective and genuine.

Is the novel long? Yes. Open-ended? Yes. The pleasure in these books is in experiencing the opulent details and decadent history, not in crossing Point A to Point B.

I consider the Mayfair Witches Series superior to Rice's more popular Vampire Chronicles in terms of quality and creative content. I've never read anything else quite like them. I recommend these books to anyone who loves good, solid escapist reading within the paranormal genre. Folks interested in New Orleans would also love it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A bewitching, time traveling marvel.

I've always loved Anne Rice novels and I was not disappointed with this one. It was just a little overwhelming at times because there is so much information in this book to have to take in. I don't know how she put together the history of the Mayfair family. It was an amazing history going back to Scotland of the 1600's, generation-by-generation, to present day. The attention to detail of the locations and the characters easily lends to feeling like you are time traveling and experiencing everything in person. After reading this family history, you have a very good understanding of the present day characters and the part they have to play in each others lives. Everything is wonderfully interconnected. A very good read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Fab

Fab

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Ahzbihwi

LOVE, Love, love!!!!!!!

Thought this book was wonderful! Enough said... :)

Great book

Loved it

Good book

Good book