Books : Taltos: Lives of the Mayfair Witches

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Rating:

- Too much explanation, a gorgeous story lost
This is really more about The Witching Hour than Taltos. I loved The Witching Hour and found Lasher, the spirit, an incredibly seductive creature. Didn't like him much once he got incarnated, but *had* to read Lasher, the sequel. I didn't enjoy that as much, and as for TAltos - don't like it at all. I think what I loved about The Witching Hour was its mystery - the lack of explanation, the lack of concrete rules and truths for the supernatural. The ghosts, the house, Michael's strange visions and healing hands. They were wonderfully strange, and all the more intriguing for not being fully explicable. THe whole concept of the Taltos I find rather tiresome, to be honest. They're like the vampires only not as interesting. It's as if Anne Rice decided to take her winning formula and change a few things so she had the opportunity to sell another series. One of the most compelling characters in The WItching Hour was the house, not really the same in Taltos. The Michael/Mona thing is frankly icky, but then if you look at the history of the Mayfair Witches it's pretty much par for the course. Another reviewer found the concept of a 13 year old being pregnant unbelievable - sorry, it's all too realistic! I very much dislike the Taltos as a concept. Much like Anne Rice's other series, I think this one has lost out by having too much explanation, rendering the mysterious banal, and by dragging out a concept too far (vis the Vampire chronicles. THe first two were so good! But the rest are all like third rate rehashes of the same old stuff.)

Rating:

- Mayfair was always high class
I didn't realise when I bought Taltos that I was joining a somewhat exclusive club (followers of the Mayfair family). Though it is the 3rd in the series, I soon discovered how easy it was to drop into the Mayfair story (thanks to a character called Ash). I was instantly drawn in and swept away and, though his book isn't really about the Mayfair family, it uses them as a backdrop to tell a fascinating tale of an ancient race - the Taltos. The pace is good, the humor is gentle but effective, and the mystery is complete. Above all one is struck by the beauty of the Taltos, who have lived, disguised, among humans since time began. The ending seemed a little contrived - rushed maybe. Other than that Taltos was a thoroughly enjoyable book, I recommend it!

Rating:

- Should have stopped at Lasher
I liked this book the least. I think that it should have ended with Lasher. Maybe I just wanted a happy ending. It was a good story and was written well I just didn't like what happened in the story at all. No, not my favorite.

Rating:

- Are there aliens in our midst?
After reading The Witching Hour and Lasher, I believe that you will find it impossible to NOT read this book. There is plenty of action in this book. It will keep you on the edge of your seat as Rowan and Michael, the main characters, go to the rescue of a dear friend and simultaneously settle a score. Along the way, they find the answers they never thought they'd get to questions they've long since asked. Once again Anne Rice gives such complete descriptions that you are in the middle of the story next to the characters-involved in all the action. You won't be able to keep from sharing their feelings. Read this book and The Witching Hour and Lasher, if you long for a witch story that is entertaining and close to believable.

Rating:

- Thankfully I got this one used
Rowan should have killed Lasher at the end of TWH and then Rice wouldn't have had any reason to write those two awful sequels. I didn't like Lasher, but I hoped Taltos might be better...was I ever wrong. What an idiotic story, so full of contradictions and inconsistancies. You'd think Rice would at least keep track of what she was writing. The Taltos breed at an incredible speed and live for centuries. They can breed when they're just a few hours old, for heaven's sake. So how was it that they were able to live contained in some peaceful little paradise until humans wiped them out? There'd be millions of them in just a few years. They would have overtaken the world at the rate they grow and breed. So it makes no sense that humans wiped them out--it would have been impossible given the lack of technology and weapons of mass destruction. The Taltos could easily have wiped the humans out and it doesn't make sense that they didn't.So the concern that they are going to overpopulate now and wipe out humans is really stupid--if it didn't happen before, how would it happen now? Aside from the incredibly dumb story line, the characters were really weak and unlikeable. You really wish that the Taltos would come and get rid of them.

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