Quite possibly, this could be considered ground zero for the term “info dump.”

The said info dump was masquerading as a lesson in family history, which droned on for approximately half of the (very long) book.

Moreover, the rough sex enjoyed by the two main characters was disturbingly portrayed as a kind of rape fantasy on both their parts. Just think about that for a moment. Michael Curry, who was presented as a typical Good Guy character, in his most secret and dark thoughts, fantasized about raping a woman. And Rowan Mayfair, the smart and strong heroine, repeatedly asked her sexual partners to “make it a rape.”

I would argue that some allowances might be made for the fact that the book was published over 25 years ago. HOWEVER, I’m not certain that I can convince myself (or anyone else) that that sort of thing was ever socially acceptable. It raises questions about the author’s intentions and the impact such portrayals can have on readers.

Perhaps in the context of the time, it was seen as a bold or edgy choice, but in today’s more enlightened society, it seems rather inappropriate and even offensive.

It makes one wonder how this book would be received if it were published today.

It is extremely rare that I bestow a one-star review upon a book. For a book to receive such a rating, it must be something that I was obligated to read for some reason, yet desperately wanted to abandon early on. In this instance, Anne Rice's The Witching Hour was part of a book club, and despite my intense loathing, I persevered through it all.

There are numerous issues I have with this novel. Firstly, it clocks in at around 1,000 pages when it could have been told in approximately 350. Rice is shockingly verbose and overly descriptive, inundating the reader with a plethora of useless information. Amidst all this intricate detail, for some inexplicable reason, Rice concludes the novel with a handful of unanswered questions and a general lack of clarity regarding who is truly good and who is evil. I understand that this is the first part of a series, but the cliffhangers were not potent enough to compel me to ever pick up another of The Mayfair Witches books (unless it was to hurl it out a window).

Rice is not a bad writer, as is evident from the opening chapter of The Witching Hour. It was captivating, interesting, with a beautiful setting unfolding and a great deal of mystery and intrigue being built up. Regrettably, Rice was unable to maintain that alluring aspect of the book as she veered further away from the mystery of the New Orleans witches and closer towards the mundane love affairs of wealthy individuals in San Francisco. I'm convinced that the reason Rice dedicated almost 600 pages to gushing over (historically inaccurate) witch history is because she knew from the outset that it was stronger than the actual plot and characters she employed to advance her narrative. In short: Rowan and Michael are two of the most unlikable characters I have ever encountered, solely based on the fact that they are annoying, entitled, and out of touch with how the majority of Americans live. They sit on their high horses of morality and virtue, judging those around them, while remaining blatantly hypocritical in their own self-serving actions.

And the moral high ground seems to be something Anne Rice was determined to force down the reader's throat throughout this tale. Having a character state in one sentence that he believes a woman has the right to choose to have an abortion, only to spend the remainder of the story railing against how evil abortion is and how it ruined his life that a woman chose to have one, was a highly questionable character arc. While Rice is entirely entitled to her opinion on the matter, this persistent sense of hypocrisy pervaded the novel and culminated in the grotesque thesis statement at the end of the book. After 900 pages, Anne Rice seems to be suggesting that not only is stem cell research an offense worthy of death, but also that it can only ever result in the incubation of an evil abomination.

And while I wish I could attribute this attitude to Rice simply being an extremely moral person who believes in everyone's right to life, the rest of her writing in this novel easily disproves that. While she sits preaching that a controversial science is evil, she then repeatedly appropriates voodoo culture, consistently referring to white men and women of Scottish and French descent as voodoo kings and queens. I'm not sure if Anne Rice is aware of the origins of voodoo, but it most certainly is not from Scotland or France. At first, this could be chalked up to a lack of research into the history of witchcraft (though highly unlikely), but Rice's consistent portrayal of black characters in this novel as poorly educated servants (and, if the time period is appropriate, slaves) indicates that it is something far more profound and unsavory.

And finally, once we move beyond the racism, lack of historical research, glorification of high society wealth, and all the other privileges that Rice attempted to glamorize, we arrive at my biggest gripe with this novel: pedophilia. Oh yes! Rice takes a pivotal character, portrays him as both sympathetic and heroic, and then shocks the reader with the revelation that he is a pedophile. But wait! There's more! Not only is he a pedophile, he is also deeply into incest and is still lauded as a great figure by everyone who knows about his heinous deeds. Want more? After the reader discovers all about this character, we learn that his descendants are also beloved rapists, pedophiles, and willing participants in incest, and everyone is just fine with it all! It was at this point in the book that I seriously considered hurling it out a window. There is nothing more revolting in my mind than a child rapist, and any author who creates characters to be likable and praised even after revealing their true intentions is despicable. This fact alone makes me never want to touch anything Anne Rice has written ever again. It is sickening.

I could easily continue expounding on how much I detest this novel for several more paragraphs, but I shall leave my anger here. This novel is infuriating, and the fact that it is so highly rated and spent 5 months on the bestseller list confounds me to no end. The only recommendation I would ever offer regarding this book is that if you come across it, simply discard it. The fewer people who read this racist, anti-feminist, anti-child trash, the better.

This was my 3rd time reading this book.

Interestingly, this time around, Rowan really got on my nerves.

Previously, I had a different perception of this character, but now, something about Rowan just seemed to rub me the wrong way.

Maybe it was the way he acted in certain situations or the decisions he made.

It was as if I was seeing him through a new lens, and the flaws that I had overlooked before were now glaringly obvious.

Despite this, I still found the book overall to be engaging and thought-provoking.

The story itself had many layers and kept me hooked from start to finish.

Even with my newfound annoyance towards Rowan, I couldn't help but continue reading to see how the plot would unfold.

Perhaps on my next reading, my opinion of Rowan will change again, but for now, he has definitely left a lasting impression on me.

DNF at 14%.

It's a bit of a letdown really. I was quite excited to start this game initially, but as I got to 14% completion, it just started to feel really dull.

Maybe I'll give it another chance at some point in the future. There might be something more interesting that awaits further along in the game.

But for now, it's just so boring, boring, boring. It lacks the excitement and engagement that I was hoping for.

I find myself constantly looking at the progress bar, waiting for something to happen that will capture my attention.

Until then, I think I'll put this game aside and look for something else to play.

Who knows, maybe when I come back to it, I'll have a different perspective and finally be able to enjoy it.

But for now, it's just a big disappointment.

I attempted to take on this book around the beginning of high school. Anne Rice has always been a tough sell for me. I belong to that small group of people who have never had the slightest interest in vampires. Nevertheless, she penned a few other books that I read, so I thought that since this one was about witches, I might enjoy it. Witches and magic were far more appealing to me, even in a book of such a large size.

So, I began this book and immersed myself in the history of the Mayfair family/women. And my goodness. I couldn't get through the family history. It was so overly detailed and I found it extremely boring. I kept waiting for the plot to develop, but instead, all I got were family trees. I returned the book to the library and never gave it another thought.

Only now, as I looked up this book to write the review, do I realize that it is a trilogy... which gives me even more reason to leave well enough alone.

Recommendation advice: Don't pick up this book simply because you like magic or witches. However, if you have a penchant for family histories, generational sagas, and a New Orleans setting... then I would recommend this book to you.

3