Merrick

As a devout fan of The Vampire Chronicles and the Mayfair Witches, Merrick, as a combination of the two, was a dream come true!I was most intrigued by Anne Rice's insight into the world of mulattos and ocotoroons and creepy Voodoo practices. Her descriptions are so vivid and on target you have to wonder if her experiences are first hand!As usual though, you have to dig out your previous "Chronicles" to keep up with the action-- a minor pitfall if you haven't read "Tales of the Body Thief" or "Memnoch the Devil".I was spellbound by Merrick and couldn't put it down until I had finished it in two days!! And although the ending was not what I was looking for, I immediately went online to locate all the Chronicles and Mayfair witches I didn't have.I will most likely re-read this one again and again while I anxiously await the next installment!Happy reading!

I've read all of Anne's Mayfair Witches books and all of the Vampire books as well. I found "Merrick" to be an almost unsatisfactory blending of both, amounting to not much of anything. Unlike the other Mayfair Witches books, the character Merrick is barely connected into the Mayfair genealogy by only passing references to "Oncle Julian" and the vague connection of Great Nanane to the Mayfairs. Her treatment of Lestat, who remains in a comatose-like state for almost the duration of the book seems to be some kind of sop to those who want to see another book focussed on him. He mysteriously comes "alive" at the end for a "they all lived happily ever after kind of ending."The book seems more focussed on David Talbot than Merrick, who almost seems like a prop to the action, which largely focussed on him. There really wasn't much character development for Merrick. I never liked Claudia as a character and disliked her even more in this book--was it Claudia or something else? There was certainly a lack of clarity, explanation or development as to this character and yet Claudia was supposed to be the reason David Talbot contacted Merrick on Louis's behalf. Although the treatment of Louis is consistent with his character, I didn't find his end and return to be very satisfying either. The book left too many loose ends, gave me not enough satisfaction and almost looks like a serial that ends by saying "stay tuned for our next adventure." Unlike Anne's earlier books, the more recent ones are looking more and more like commercial "sequels".The earlier books gripped me and I found myself saying "this woman knows something about the occult." Now I'm thinking "this woman looks at her bank account." Worth a quick read because it does add a few details to the Mayfair saga but otherwise, I'd skip it.

Book really held up well. Of course Merrick is one of my favorites and probably one of the most mindblowing side characters besides lestat.

The first time I read Merrick, I was 19 years old—entranced by Anne Rice’s lush prose, her seductive vampires, her gothic mystery, and the intoxicating mix of beauty and danger that seemed to drip from every page. Back then, I read it for the story, for the glamour of Lestat and the ghostly allure of Merrick herself. I devoured the book quickly, swept up in the world of the Talamasca, spirits, and spells, barely pausing to absorb the deeper emotional and spiritual layers.But now, 26 years later, revisiting Merrick feels like unlocking a hidden chamber within a book I thought I already knew. This time, I’m not just reading the words—I’m feeling them. The grief. The regret. The longing. The consequences of power and immortality. The aching human questions hidden beneath the vampire mythology.What I missed at 19 was the tragedy woven into every choice Merrick makes. The loneliness of being extraordinary. The burden of history, ancestry, and loss. The psychological complexity of David Talbot, the quiet desperation in Louis, and the terrifying allure of control disguised as love. These are not just supernatural characters—they are haunted people navigating unhealed wounds.Reading it now, with a mind weathered by time, experience, and my own reckonings with power, purpose, and identity, I can finally appreciate what Rice was really doing: writing about the cost of knowing too much, wanting too deeply, and never being able to turn back.Merrick is more than a story—it’s a mirror. At 19, I saw the surface. Now, I see the reflection.

Why would you put a sticker across the front cover? Happy with my purchase but my book cover is sticky now