I have been trying to gradually eek out reading the vampire chronicles as Anne Rice is my favourite author and the Vampire Chronicles is where it all began for me so every book closer to the end I get the more mixed my emotions are...

And so it was with great consideration I began to read the second to last book, Blackwood Farm.

What a great story teller Anne Rice is! I was gripped from the moment I picked the book up and was able to envisage each scene as it developed.

An interesting story which c More...

This was the last straw in my decade long relationship with Anne Rice. We had some good times but mutually decided to end our relationship. I loved her three witch books but the vampire stuff had been going downhill since Body Thief.

I hate this book. After years of okay to disappointing novels, this one was all I could stand. I didn't care about Quin and I hated that Rice felt the need to shoehorn Mona Mayfair into the vampire mythos. I found this book so uninteresting I actually stopped halfway More...

Dopo Marius mi aspettavo un altro romanzo/mattone, nel puro stile Rice contemporanea (quella iper cristiana).
Invece no, thank God! Sebbene l'inizio sia lento e in alcuni momenti addirittura pesante, la Rice ha saputo riprendere la scrittura del passato arricchendo in modo incredibile una storia che - se ci si ragiona un pò - ha poco a che fare con le vere cronache dei vampiri.
Superato lo scoglio iniziale si entra nella lussureggiante Louisiana della Rice, fatta di ville antiche, vegetazione se More...

Another book end book by Anne Rice. So, I get it. She likes to write stories about people telling stories. At least this book didn't got down the rabbit hole with people telling stories about other people telling stories about other people telling stories. I think her last one was like that. I can't remember - the formula makes it forgetable.

This one, while a book end story, was enjoyable. It was simple and non-convaluted. It tied into the Mayfairs more than the others did. I've only read the f More...

In her new novel, perennial bestseller Anne Rice fuses her two uniquely seductive strains of narrative -- her Vampire legend and her lore of the Mayfair witches -- to give us a world of classic deep-south luxury and ancestral secrets.

Welcome to Blackwood Farm: soaring white columns, spacious drawing rooms, bright, sun-drenched gardens, and a dark strip of the dense Sugar Devil Swamp. This is the world of Quinn Blackwood, a brilliant young man haunted since birth by a mysterious doppelgänger, “Go

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While the preceding few novels of the Chronicles were not quite as good as the first four novels - Interview with the Vampire to Tale of the Body Thief - the 'middle' novels were still solid reads in their own right. Blood and Gold, this book's predecessor, is the last book I consider decent.

This book? ...Not so much. After the ending of Blood and Gold, I was hoping that perhaps Ms. Rice would write another novel where more of the vampire world would be revealed. Perhaps something on the adventu More...

I did it wrong, all wrong!

This was the first Anne Rice book I read, not long after it came out. But part of the wonder that is Anne Rice, is that you can almost jump in on this series at any point and still be in for a rip-roaring and intense ride!

There were some things I didn't quite get until I read the rest, like some of the smaller details, especially regarding Lestat.

But after reading the rest of the series, I think this is one of the best. It's fresh and current and brings forht a whole n More...

Synopsis
The main character is Tarquin "Quinn" Blackwood, a child of the Blackwood clan, which is a powerful and old family in New Orleans. Tarquin is haunted by a mysterious spirit named Goblin, who is attached to him spiritually. He realizes that he is unable to defeat this creature alone. Risking his life, Quinn embarks upon a quest to enlist the aid of the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt. Lestat, after a fashion, agrees to help Quinn.

The novel develops as Tarquin recounts tales of his growing up, More...

I liked the language but the story seemed slow to me. Pages and pages of nothing going on. I still feel like the places and people really exist somewhere, so that's a testament to the descriptive, detailed quality to Anne Rice's writing. Overall, I came away thinking that the entire book was just sort of boring. And the big reveal at the end was a bit lame. Or maybe it wasn't telegraphed as much as it seemed to be and the reason I saw through it so easily was because a very similar theme was exp More...

A 3.5, mixing The Vampire Chronicles with The Mayfair Witches, though this book definitely feels more like one from the latter series due to Quinn Blackwood's environs, large dysfunctional family, and spirit companion. Goblin, the spirit whom he has gone to Lestat for help with, feels very Lasher-like at times even though his origins and being turn out to be very different.

Anyone who's read anything of this series will know what to expect from the writing which once again conjures up an atmosphe More...

Refreshingly, a new story set almost entirely in the recent past, a new (well, slightly related) family with paranormal secrets to explore, and a new lovable vampire hero. Tarquin Blackwood seeks out Lestat to tell his story and ask for help in banishing his lifelong companion, the spirit Goblin. Tarquin's narrative meanders with Rice's usual rapt attention to the details of architecture, clothing, and decor, which stretches the book to more than six hundred pages. Truthfully, my hand hurt from More...

I have mixed feelings about this book.
The writing was well, and the characters were all likable. However, I wasn't a big fan of the story itself.

Things I liked: The romance, some of the conversations between Lestat and Quinn, and the story with Goblin was very interesting.

Things I didn't like: The going on about Blackwood farm and Quinn's family, and the extended conversation about his childhood.
It became too slow, and I found myself skipping ahead at times.

All in all, this book was an ok read More...

Rice's vampire novels are epics which take us into a world of their own. I didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised. The writing is great. Rice is able to paint vivid, colourful pictures in her readers' minds. The setting for Blackwood Farm is Louisiana, and after reading the book, I find I want to go there! Blackwood Farm tells the story of the Blackwood family, from the initial ancestor Manfred Blackwood and his first, beloved wife Virginia Lee, to Tarquin Blackwood (Quinn), the More...

Blackwood Farm starts out with great promise. I expected it to become one of my favorite books as the storylines from the Vampire Chronicles and The Mayfair Witches became intertwined. So far it is the worst Anne Rice book I've read, which doesnt' mean that it's a bad book but that it does not live up to the standard set by her other masterpieces. Anne Rice is my favorite author and penned The Witching Hour (my all time favorite book) so I'm more than willing to cut her some slack. When she miss More...

I felt that this book had a few great stories in it but all in all, I have to admit to missing Lestat! Having no idea what has happened to him since his dance with the devil, I am starting to have withdraws! Lestat is my crack! On the other hand, the story of Quinn and Goblin is rather entertaining. Having read the story of the Mayfair's, I enjoyed their incorporation into the vampire clan. Although this began with Merrick, Mona is a perfect match for the new brood. To be honest, I thought the c More...

Well, this wasn't as good as I'd hoped it would be. In fact, it was quite a disappointment.

I'm an avid lover and reader of Rice's work and, admittedly, when I picked this up, apart from the smattering of references in her other Vampire Chronicles, I hadn't dipped into the Witches as yet. I was planning to get onto them next. I have to say, fair enough though it may be for Rice to construct a world using all of her ideas to form it in a singular book, I still found myself wondering what the hell More...

I am currently reading this book, and so far I am liking it.
However I find this book, from what I've read so far, very different from any of the other Vampire Chronicles.
Quinn is a pretty likable character so far, though Lestat, in my opinion, makes this story a bit more intresting.

Anne Rice writes sex *gasp* who'd believe it. There once was a boy with a perfect family who has a spirit haunting him everywhere, but he becomes a vampire so everything's OK in the giant rich house the boy lives in, his trips to Europe, and his wonderful family. Crap Rice.

Anne Rice does it again. This was not only a captivating story of how Tarquin Black becomes a vampire, but also a mysterious tale of Tarquin's personal doppleganger ghost Goblin. And yes, lovely Lestat de Lioncourt makes his appearance in this novel as well.

I am normally a big fan of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. There, I said it. But this one was terrible. You know, staid plot, boring writing, and real awkward sexual encounters with ghosts. But if you like that sort of thing, go for it.

This book...(sigh)...I have to say broke Anne Rice's spell over me. Before this book I found all of her normal plot devices (strange bedfellows, supernatural creatures, really long flashbacks, narcissism) beguiling and entertaining. But usually she chooses one or two of these things and shapes a really awesome story around it. In Blackwood Farm she just decided to take everything she had EVER written about, mix it up together, and then multiply it by 1000. I mean, really?! Vampires, witches, AND More...

I don't even know where to begin with Tarquin Blackwood and his twin who is a spirit who grew up with him. I fell in love with his character instantly because he is gentle and loving. Although he is a vampire he lives amongst his family and sleeps in a bed with heavy curtains to block out the sun. He begins his story with a letter to Lestat. All Anne Rice readers should know and love the one and only Brat Prince. Well Tarquin needs help getting rid of his beloved Goblin because when Tarquin got More...

I ended up pretty disappointed with this book. It is much more a ghost story than it is a vampire story. That concept in and of itself doesn't bother me, but I think it could have been developed differently and made a much better standalone book instead of forcing it into the Vampire Chronicles. I think that Anne Rice really cheated herself and the reader on this account.

The story of Quinn's transformation into a vampire is so completely incidental and unrelated to the main story that it makes i More...

Tarquin Blackwood has been the boy of my dreams since I first read this book, at not-so-sweet sixteen! I just adore his old-fashioned gallantry. I had not yet read the latter two Mayfair Witch chronicles, and yet was able to follow the story completely, and Blackwood Farm has ample charms of its own even if one isn't a devoted, entirely knowledgeable Rice fan. I've seen lots of reviews dismissing this character as a male Mary-Sue, but anyone who walks away from this book with that opinion is si More...

Not bad. If you can get past the fact that only the last 15% of the novel actually qualifies as a "vampire chronicle." If you don't go into this novel with your heart set on a blood-sucking vampire thriller with your favorite pal Lestat at the reigns, you'll enjoy a pretty decent story.

Actually, I find this novel serves as a better blend of Rice's vampire and witch worlds than the book Merrick is touted to do; but for a whole different set of reasons...

I gave it 3 stars because it starts off a b More...

i think i read this one already but can't remember so reading it again...

UPDATE: i did read this book before but it was apparently so forgettable i didn't remember until the last hundred or so pages and even then i wasn't sure til the very end... easy read though and as self-indulgent as only Anne Rice can be when she really doesn't have anything of significance to say...

still, gotta love her vampires - they're such interesting characters. it's because of them that i don't give her a hard time r More...

This is a book I really like. It's fairly erotic, has a good sense of pacing, a group of interesting characters who interact fairly realistically, and a pretty awesome premise.

This book gets docked a point because of how utterly ridiculous some events are. Spoiler alert from here on: Mona has to marry her cousin so they can keep the money in the family, and it has to be her first cousin? Really? No wonder the Mayfairs are considered creepy to everyone.

The ghosts were relatively cool in their own More...