Demonstrating once again her gift for spellbinding storytelling, Anne Rice makes real for us a great dynasty of four centuries of witches - a family given to poetry and incest, murder and philosophy, a family that over the ages is itself haunted by a powerful, dangerous, and seductive being called Lasher who haunts the Mayfair women.

Moving in time from today's New Orleans and San Francisco to long-ago Amsterdam and the France of Louis XIV, from the coffee plantations of Port-au-Prince to Civil War New Orleans and back to today, Anne Rice has spun a mesmerizing tale that challenges everything we believe in.

Listening Length

50 hours and 1 minute
Author

Anne Rice
Narrator

Kate Reading
Audible release date

October 13, 2015
Language

English
Publisher

Random House Audio
ASIN

B015WQ2NO2
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	50 hours and 1 minute
Author	Anne Rice
Narrator	Kate Reading
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	October 13, 2015
Publisher	Random House Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B015WQ2NO2
Best Sellers Rank	#774 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #10 in Fiction Sagas #12 in Psychological Fiction (Audible Books & Originals) #24 in Horror Fiction

Customer reviews

5 star		74%
4 star		14%
3 star		7%
2 star		3%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Jack

Loved it then ...not so much now.

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2020

Verified Purchase

I read THE WITCHING HOUR when it first time came out in 1990 and was enthralled by it. I remberer it as being, mystical, intriguing and almost magical by the time I finished it. I have remembered it fondly as one of the 10 best books I've ever read. I figured 30 years was a long enough period of time and it was time to retread it and once again savor the sumptuous epic storytelling. This time around by page 200 I was starting to wonder what exactly had I been so enchanted with all those years ago! By page 400 I was skimming through (feeling guilty as I never skim a book if I can help it) and realized by the end of the book it could have easily been written in less than half its 1000 page length. I'll never reread a favorite book again because I don't want to feel So disappointed. Guess it's true: you can never go home again! I give this review three stars because Anne Rice is a terrific writer and I can understand those readers who felt the same way I did when I first read it...so surprised and disappointed that it didn't have the same allure it had for me 30 years ago.

57 people found this helpful

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Deanna M. Williams

I want to be a Mayfair, and live in NOLA because of this book.

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2018

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The book is absolutely amazing. I thought the Vampire Chronicles were good, and don't get me wrong, I do love them. But the Mayfair Family and their long, chaotic history is simply amazing. I was so enthralled with the history of how the family came in to being; starting in Scotland and ending up on First Street in NOLA. This is also a story about strong women, matriarchy, magic, and sex! There is a historical feel to it, as well as horror and sci-fi. From the moment I began reading the vivid descriptions of the architecture of the Garden District homes, I had to get on Google Maps to see for myself. And the women of each generation are each amazing in their own right. This is one of my favorite books, and I strongly recommend it.

69 people found this helpful

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P. Morgan

I wish I paid attention to the negative reviews.

Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2019

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This book has so many painfully slow chapters and so much meaningless filler. I feel like I’ve wasted so much time trying to get to the meat of the story and when I did it was truly disappointing. I don’t recall a book I’ve liked less than this one.

47 people found this helpful

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Romeyn

Best Book Ever!

Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2020

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I graduated in 1996. There was the Stephen King crowd and the Anne Rice crowd. I was in the latter and I have read every book she has ever written and this is my favorite. I own a physical copy, a digital copy and on my Kindle. The Mayfair ancestry tied in with this spiritual element pervades all of Rice's future books. My second favorite book is Blackwood Farm and I love how the Mayfair women always get entangled with the vampire ancestry. It's a complex web that is so thoroughly vibrant and fluid, and synchronized, and perpetual. I love her writing style like no other and I think this book is the best example of Rice at her best.

5 people found this helpful

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Vikki B.

Really good book! Worth the hours put in!

Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2017

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This took me a long while to read. I am so glad I powered through it! I however was not so fond of the ending. I understand that this is a series, but I feel like Anne Rice didn't intend for it to be whenever she started this book. However, It kept me interested, unfortunately the Mayfair history tends to drag on. But the background and history is key to understanding the book, I realized this later on. If you are looking for a book to keep you occupied for awhile this would be my suggestion. If you are looking for a quick read, skip this one and come back when you're looking for a story (series) to get invested in.

19 people found this helpful

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Pbert7

A unique take on the lore of witches

Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2022

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I think a lot of the reviews here miss the point of this book. American mythology of witches has typically focused on witches as women who have supernatural powers and how they use that power. There is a consistent nod to the idea that their power is gained through alliance with the devil.

What Anne Rice does in this book is very refreshing for this genre: instead of crafting a horror story about a witch terrorizing people and using her powers in evil but entertaining ways, she focuses on how they get those powers in the first place. The complex relationship with the devil over generations of women, and how it ebbs and flows depending on each witch’s personality is deftly portrayed in this book. For Rice it’s not as simple as signing over your soul one day and having powers the next. It requires seduction and deception, and the powers are never as straightforward as waiving a wand or making a potion. Yes this book is long, but this kind of relationship, especially across generations, is complex.

The other thing to remember is that she is going full gothic with this one. She has written a Victorian piece akin to Dickens, James, et al. Thus we get a story told in the style of a time when there was no television, no Internet, no movies, or recorded music. To really enjoy this book, give yourself over to it as your main source of entertainment for a few days.

Lastly, for those complaining about Rowan’s character (I too find Michael to be annoyingly one-dimensional), remember that we’re talking about the devil here. Hers is not a chance encounter with him one day, but a plan put into place by a demon over centuries. Assuming how someone would act in that situation seems a bit presumptuous.

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Hapa Girl

Engaging But Just Too Long

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2019

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*****SPOILER ALERT*****

This was a reread from my long ago adolescence when I loved everything Anne Rice wrote. It didn't quite live up to my previous 5 star rating, mainly because it was just too long. A lot of repetition in the narrative, and we went down a few worm holes. But it was well written and engaging and gave me enough of the chills I was looking for.

I love her descriptions of New Orleans, the epic history of the Mayfairs and the mysterious Talamasca. Rice also does a very admirable job fleshing out her characters for the most part. I admit to a growing confusion with the ever lengthening family tree and definitely stopped remembering all the Mayfair forbearers after a certain point.

I enjoyed most all of the storyline until we came to the horrific birthing scene. I didn’t really care for that and felt Rowan’s disappearance a bit of a cheap trick. Not sure I’ll pick up the next 2 books in the trilogy,but it’s a possibility. If I do, I hope there’s a geneology chart included.

22 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Barry Mulvany

Atmospheric read though not really a horror book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 21, 2020

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Set primarily in New Orleans, this is a very atmospheric read. Of all the places in the US that I wouldn't mind visiting it is probably that city and this book plays no small part in it. Primarily about Rowan Mayfair, a neurosurgeon in San Francisco who was adopted at birth and starts to find out about her birth family after the death of her adoptive parents, and Michael Curry, a period house restorer who after a near death experience begins an interaction with Rowan and her Mayfair family.

I don't think I would call this a horror novel, nothing particularly scary happens but it does build a rich atmosphere of danger, little and large hints that things are not quite right with the Mayfair family. Our two main characters are both fairly well drawn though there is more than a hint of Mary/Gary Stu about them. Both beautiful and rich and well educated with impeccable taste etc. The real selling point of this book is the history of the Mayfair family. I'd say a good third of this very large book is basically a written record of it, with some flashbacks thrown in as well. Some might find it boring but I thought it was the best bit. Anne Rice really invokes a sense of different times and places as the earliest bits go back to the seventeenth century. The ending felt somewhat rushed though which is surprising considering the length of the story. It also leaves on a bit of cliffhanger which I dislike.

Be warned there is quite a lot of explicit sex scenes in the book, as well as references to rape and incest so if you dislike that probably stay away. However by and large I really enjoyed this, I was totally caught up in the story and seduced by the lifestyle portrayed. It is fairly melodramatic and overly long but in the right moment, as I was, this is a great read.

PS If there is an organisation called The Talamasca, I would like to join, thanks.

6 people found this helpful

Gordon Wright

Directionless writing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 6, 2019

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This is a big Tome of a book at over 1000 pages which the writer uses to ramble on and on pointlessly about the same things over and over. Its slow as hell and resembles being cornered by your 60 year old neighbour who has decided to tell you about her life so far and assumes you have the next two or three weeks free to listen.

I loved interview with a vampire and thought it had some very clever ideas. I gave up on this 300 pages in. What I read should have been condensed into 50 pages and still wouldn't have been very interesting. Only really two characters, both unlikable and poorly developed.

This is self indulgent nonsense by Anne Rice that you won't regret never having read.

2 people found this helpful

Totes

Love a good book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 23, 2017

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Love a good book. Always looking for something new, absorbing and the bigger the book the better. I like a book to grab me within the first few chapters. It's a slog and I've only reached chapter 3. Going to keep going to see if I can get fully engrossed within the next couple of chapters. It doesn't look promising so far.

2 people found this helpful

Ruby

Great services

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 30, 2020

Verified Purchase

Great service. Book is in good condition for a second hand product. Great price. Thank you so much. Highly recommend this company. Have used it before and will continue to do so.

Franco

Very poor condition

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 4, 2021

Verified Purchase

My rating is specifically in relation to the condition that this “new” book arrived in rather than the story itself (which ive read before and is great).
All of the corners, spine and cover were scuffed. The back cover had printing errors all over it, splotches, missing colour, etc.
Looking at other reviews my experience is clearly not an isolated incident.