Stephen King Fans discussion

Discuss our non-King book here. Please mark ALL spoilers so that those who are reading along can discuss too.

This is a long one. I read it at least a decade ago. Looking forward to a reread... we may be discussing into December. Lol

I just started the audio book... almost 50 hours long. So far a pretty good reading, but I agree that we will be at this a long time. Good idea to pair it with a book of King's short Stories, though it might have been nice to have something a little lighter to break things up a bit.

How far along are you Nick? And how are you liking it? I got the kindle version so it will be slow going for me until I finish Thinner.

I completely forgot this was our non-King read. One of my favorite things about Rice's writing are the names she chooses. They all have meaning, and are beautiful.

I'm a third of the way through and am enjoying it very much. I'm listening to the audiobook and just started reading the Kindle in whisper sync too in the evenings because the audio is just too slow. I'm about a third of the way through. I like the story very much. I think the Kindle is the way to go. The narrator of the audio does a good job with the voices. I'm not crazy about her reading of the descriptions etc. But hers is a very slow read. It really doesn't have to be that slow.

As for the story, Rice's powers of description are awesome and the story is excellent. I have to admit too that sometimes, when I'm reading or listening late at night, there are parts that scare the hell out of me.

So far I highly recommend it. I love the characters and the settings, the pacing and the plot twists. I'm not at all sure where it's going right now, but that's good.

Kandice wrote: "I completely forgot this was our non-King read. One of my favorite things about Rice's writing are the names she chooses. They all have meaning, and are beautiful."

I really like her choice of names. They fit the characters perfectly.

Let me add one more thing for those who don't mind a little bit of a hint. (view spoiler)[These women really are witches - in the consorting with demons sense of the word. (hide spoiler)]

i hope everyone loves this. i sure do. i've read it 3 times? at least 3. i think it really picks up once you hit the family history part.

Nick wrote: "I think the Kindle is the way to go. The narrator of the audio does a good job with the voices. I'm not crazy about her reading of the descriptions etc. But hers is a very slow read. ..."

Can you speed up the playback? I listen to a lot of audio books and almost never do this, but when a reader is exceptionally slow, I find that it doesn't even seem as if you've sped it up if you do so by a bit. Makes for a more enjoyable read. You aren't constantly thinking "Come on, come on..."

Kandice wrote: "Nick wrote: "I think the Kindle is the way to go. The narrator of the audio does a good job with the voices. I'm not crazy about her reading of the descriptions etc. But hers is a very slow read. ...."

I'll give it a try tomorrow. I never like it when it happens accidentally, but maybe with this book it will work. In the meantime, reading the e-book in the evenings pretty much lets me catch up on on the slow audio.

I'm starting today on my kindle.

Nick wrote: "I'm a third of the way through and am enjoying it very much. I'm listening to the audiobook and just started reading the Kindle in whisper sync too in the evenings because the audio is just too slo..."

I just got back into Anne Rice last year after being away for a very long time. Read The Witching Hour over the summer and found it to be a big change of pace from her vampire books, parts of them read like high class erotica (if there is such a thing). Michael Curry is clearly Anne Rice's ideal man.

I'm nearing the end and I'm kinda iffy on it. I cant quite put my finger on it though. Maybe it will get better towards the end.

I’m enjoying this read. Rice’s writing pulls me into the setting through her descriptions, not all authors have that talent. I’m moving at a faster pace now that my sons wedding is over and my house is quiet again. Hopefully I’ll finish by the end of month. Wedding was very nice here in the AZ desert.

F.C. wrote: "Nick wrote: "I'm a third of the way through and am enjoying it very much. I'm listening to the audiobook and just started reading the Kindle in whisper sync too in the evenings because the audio is..."

I think there's such a thing as high class erotica... and Rice does it exceptionally well. I'm about halfway through the book and enjoying it. Things got a little slow during the section where Rice details the genealogy of the Mayfair family. But the same section also includes some of the most amazing and dramatic stories within the larger work. I'm getting slowed down by some other work, but I really hope to get this done this month. But then that's only a week.

Anne Rice did publish an erotica series under the pen name A.N. Roquelaure, which was very very racy. Much much more so than 50 Shades of Grey. I only got through the first of the 50 Shades books because it didn't live up to the hype for me.

Here is the first one...


The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty

Ah Nick! I see you've read the first one already. Have you read the whole series?

I've read them all. I had some erotic scenes in some of my early books and a reader suggested that I read 50 shades and sleeping beauty to see how it's done. So I listened to the audio of all of them. Not sure it improved the erotic scenes in my books, but I tried.

I've read all of Anne Rampling's books. They are way more racy than 50 Shades! More along the lines of The Story of O.

The movie Exit to Eden was based on one of her books!

Kandice wrote: "I've read all of Anne Rampling's books. They are way more racy than 50 Shades! More along the lines of The Story of O.

The movie Exit to Eden was based on one of her books!"

I'll have to take a look. as I've said the sex scenes in 50 shades are pretty badly done. You get half way through one and say to yourself, didn't I just read this. They are that unimaginative and repetitive. In the mean time, Chapter Twenty One of this book (the witching hour) is very well written erotica, IMHO.

Finally finished this marathon listen/read. I bounced back and forth between the e-book and the audio using whispersync and it worked very well. In the end I had to keep reading to find out what happened. I wasn't disappointed. Here's my five star review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Kandice wrote: "I've read all of Anne Rampling's books. They are way more racy than 50 Shades! More along the lines of The Story of O.

The movie Exit to Eden was based on one of her books!"

Just picked up Exit to Eden. We'll see how that goes.

I did a reread of The Witching Hour a couple of months ago. Its one of my favorite books!

I finally finished part 1. I'm enjoying it so far. Lots of amazing imagery. Sort of a history before the history so to speak. Can't wait to see what's next!

I loved this book. I now think I know New Orleans just from reading it. You're in for a treat, Derrick.

I agree with Nick. I think it captures the romance and mystery that is New Orleans perfectly!!

Nick wrote: "I loved this book. I now think I know New Orleans just from reading it. You're in for a treat, Derrick."

The imagery is nothing short of amazing. This is the first Anne Rice I've ever read. She truly paints a word picture.

Marlise wrote: "I agree with Nick. I think it captures the romance and mystery that is New Orleans perfectly!!"

I thought the California parts were good too.

Nick wrote: "I loved this book. I now think I know New Orleans just from reading it. You're in for a treat, Derrick."

So many of her books are set there and she really does a lovely job of painting a picture of the place. Each time we've gone, we've gone by her house, which is in the Garden District and incredibly lovely.

Wow part 2 gets dark in a hurry.

omg! so much incest....

While I like Rice's Vampire Chronicles, her Mayfair Witches were a tough slog for me. Some good writing is overwhelmed by exposition and detail, while the overt erotica is not my cup of tea.

'The Witching Hour' is my favorite of Anne Rice's novels, but I agree 'Lasher' and 'Taltos' were boring and overall not very satisfying.

I'm enjoying this so much! I had no idea this would be so good.

Scott wrote: "'The Witching Hour' is my favorite of Anne Rice's novels, but I agree 'Lasher' and 'Taltos' were boring and overall not very satisfying."

i agree. I love The Witching Hour too.

It's a very small detail, but I love how intentional Rowan's name is. Rice is pretty good at using language to name things, places, etc. and give them even deeper meaning. Perhaps not as skillful as J.K. Rowling with HP, but still, enough so that the experience is enhanced.

I've finally finished this. It was so good! 5 stars.
rtc

Derrick wrote: "I've finally finished this. It was so good! 5 stars.
rtc"

Have you read any others by Rice? She has a style that permeates all of her work. I love it when I am in the proper mood for it.

Kandice wrote: "Derrick wrote: "I've finally finished this. It was so good! 5 stars.
rtc"

Have you read any others by Rice? She has a style that permeates all of her work. I love it when I am in the proper mood ..."

This was my first experience reading Anne Rice.

Kandice would you say the other books in the series are as good as this one?

Derrick wrote: "Kandice would you say the other books in the series are as good as this one?"

They get increasingly more... out there, but as far as style and feel, yes. Again, I have to be in the right mood for her gothic purple prose, but when I am, she really hits the spot!

Kandice wrote: "Derrick wrote: "Kandice would you say the other books in the series are as good as this one?"

They get increasingly more... out there, but as far as style and feel, yes. Again, I have to be in the..."

Cloud library has the other two books so I will definitely be reading them.

Here's the link to my spoiler free review. Typically I'm not that good at writing reviews but since this was so good and so long I really tried to put some thought into it....
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...