The Witching Hour Review

Have I mentioned how much I love Anne Rice? I think I have, especially because she was so nice to respond to that e-mail I sent her a few months ago. I just finished reading The Witching Hour (and it took me for-frickin-ever and a day), and I wrote a review on the GoodReads site, which I wanted to share with you. I gave the book four out of five stars. Here's the review:


"The only reason I didn't give this five stars is because it was a little too long. The history part is especially long. But after trudging through it, a lot of it did add depth to the later chapters and plus, I enjoy a big build-up to an insane climax as opposed to a quick, easy story that might start off with a bang but then loses momentum. My only other protest is that it leaves you on a cliffhanger with a lot of unanswered questions. But if you can get past that, it's good. 

Anne Rice's lush prose sucks me in every time. I love, love, love her vampire books (Lestat fan all the way), but they were more sensual and dark, as opposed to scary horror. The Witching Hour, on the other hand, did scare me. It was downright creepy in certain parts. 

I also like Anne's works because they aren't too predictable. You never know how they're going to end, and that was the same with this one. Lasher is a fascinating character, and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, which is about him, I'm assuming, because of the title. 

Basically, read this book if you want something dark and different and if you have a lot of time on your hands. Don't read it if you want something quick that has a happy resolution all wrapped up in a bow afterward. For me, it was great. I can see why certain fans of the vampire series don't like it, but it's still definitely Anne Rice all the way. So if you're a real fan of her work, don't let all the Witching Hour haters persuade you to ignore this one. It's quite unforgettable!"




My question I'll leave you with is this: do you prefer shorter books that you can read in a day or two, stories that have a good resolution that leave you feeling complete and having accomplished something nice? Or do you like books that grab you by the gut, make you go back and forth between delight and then boredom and then delight and then shock and then fear and then...until the climax, which makes you utter things out loud like "Eww!" and "HOLY ---" and "Ohmygosh!" as you read, and then finally put the finished book down, and your hair's all mussed, and your clothes are all crooked, and you're feeling like you're Odysseus having just come home from a crazy adventure?