Anne Rice, perhaps best known to the world as the author of
"Interview with the Vampire", was also the author of my
favorite novel, the gleefully supernatural horror/drama,
"The Witching Hour". Rice has written many novels, ranging
from horror to hardcore pornography, such as the super XXX
"The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty" and "Exit to Eden". While
those two books were rather odd and ehtreal, "Witching Hour"
was one of the most spectacular, rich detailed, exquisitely
written horror stories of recent year (it was published way
back in 1990). Knowing that Rice was an accomplished author
of the aforementioned tomes, I also knew she has a severe
propensity to write horribly inane tripe such as 1996's
banal and sluggish "Servant of the Bones". Upon finishing
"The Withing Hour", I dove full force into it's sequel novel
rightly named, "Lasher".

"Lasher" seems to be a different novel in almost every way
possible than "Witching Hour". While in the first book
every character reacted believably to the situations they
were confronted with, the exact same characters in "Lasher"
seem to act way, way different than they did in the other
book. Rowan Mayfair, strong, powerful, and fearless in the
face of evil in the first book, acts somewhat removed from
all proceedings in "Lasher". Michael Curry, Rowan's loving
husband, seems to embrace the supernatural goings on in this
entry, while in the first he rejected them every chance he
got. And Aaron Lightner, friend to both Michael and Rowan,
seems to act as he does in "Witching Hour", until the last
act where he does a 180, and then 10 pages later acts quite
reasonable once again. What is going on here? Maybe a few
details about the plot might clear, or not, things up.

"Lasher" begins almost immediately after the finale to "The
Witching Hour". Rowan is being held captive her monsterish
demon/son Lasher and he rapes her until she conceives by him
a daughter named Emaleth; Later, Rowan brutally attacks
Lasher, escaping his clutches and flees and is halfway home
when she gives birth to Emaleth and is then found by her
family and taken to a hospital, where her doctor tells the
Mayfairs Rowan is in a "persistent vegatative state" and will never recover. Michael, meanwhile, is seduced by Mona,
Rowan's genius 13 year old cousin, and it's she who tells him to discard his heart medication, and he will then be
receptive to supernatural occurences. During all this time,
Lasher has been busy raping various Mayfair cousins, who
miscarry and die as a result. And in the tense, frightful
finale, Lasher comes to Rowan's bedside, and recounts his
tale of what he was before he became a drifting spirit to
Michael and Aaron. But in the end, Michael realizes that he
cannot let his evil spawn live to create havoc and terror,
and takes a brave stand against the fearsome Lasher.

Anne Rice has, in the form of "Lasher", written a searing
tale of the occult that will enthrall almost all of her
millions of readers. She writes of the story of the Mayfair
family and it had me up many a night trying to finish this
excellent book. Her characters and locations have a life of
their own, and I can scarcely believe these are figments of
one woman's imagination. I've become such a huge fan of both "The Witching Hour" and "Lasher", and it's New Orleans
locations, that I know want to take a trip there and see
some of the Garden District and First Street, where Anne
lives.

One thing that "The Witching Hour" was famous for was it's
huge cast of dynastic families thay twine, and entertwine.
Once again, we have Rowan Mayfair, Michael Curry, Aaron
Lightner, Aunt Bea, Mona Mayfair, Ryan Mayfair, Randall
Mayfair, Gifford and Pierce Mayfair, ect...But we also have
such intriguing new characters like Talamasca defector Yuri,
Talamasca agents Clement Norgan and Erich Stolov, and the
highlights, the race of giant beings known as Taltos (yes,
Lasher is a Taltos) and the daughter of Rowan and Lasher,
Emaleth. Hers is a striking character that makes the book
take off for the moon, but she appears in two few scenes and
her fate is sealed basically by the end.

I have now become so enamored of Anne Rice's beautiful style
of writing that I have recently run out and bought the next
book in the "Lives of the Mayfair Witches" titled "Taltos".
I have just started reading it, but it's pretty good so far
so once I finish with it I will post it for review. I so
anxiously await each new title in the Rice ouvre, the newest
of which will be published in October 2001, called "Blood and Gold". News also reports that Rice has just finished
another book in the "Vampire Chronicles" series that is set
for a publishing date of 2002.

I give a high recommendation for Anne Rice's "Lasher", Book
II in the "Lives of the Mayfair Witches" series. It's full
of richly detailed characters, luscious prose and style, and
an ending that will set the heart, not to mention the pulse,
pounding skyward. If you liked, or loved, "Witching Hour",
I suggest that you run out a pick up a copy of "Lasher" if
you have not done so already. A great read, at a great price, by an excellent author. Get this one, plow through
it, and then rush out and buy "Taltos".

***
WARNING: "LASHER" CONTAINS MANY SEXUALLY EXPLICIT PASSAGES,
AS WELL AS GRAPHIC VIOLENCE, WITH GORY DETAIL, AND HORRIFIC
DESCRIPTIONS.
***
END OF WARNING

Recommended: Yes