Blackwood Farm

Quinn Blackwood has seen ghosts and spirits as long as he can remember. His family home, Blackwood Farm, teems with them, and with their stories. When Quinn becomes a vampire, his lifelong goblin companion turns violent, threatening the lives of those Quinn cares about most. David Pittu infuses the story with a whining, almost pathetic, tone perfectly suited to the poor little rich boy protagonist and his quest for peace. Within this overall mood, Pittu gives every character, large and small, a delightfully clear personality and vocal signature. His Lestat carries an odd accent, not quite French and not quite British, but his own for all that. Even Pittu's children speak authentically, with no trace of squeakiness or condescension. Bring on the next installment! R.P.L. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

September 2, 2002
Just in time for Halloween, Rice's latest gothic epic blends her beloved Vampire Chronicles with her Mayfair Witches series. Near the dank Sugar Devil Swamp, sinister bayou country where critters far more fearsome than gators lurk, overheated Quinn Blackwood suffers a protracted case of adolescent angst driven by his violent love-hate relationship with Goblin, his spirit-world doppelgänger. As heir to Blackwood Farm and an enormous fortune, Quinn enjoys every luxury the decadent Deep South of Rice's imagination can provide, from culinary delicacies to Jasmine, his equally satisfying mulatto housekeeper. Seemingly hell-bent on seducing everyone within range, regardless of gender, age or consanguinity, he falls into a passionate but fatal relationship with 15-year-old nymphomaniac Mona Mayfair, offshoot of the Mayfair clan of witches. But he cannot control Goblin's ferocious jealousy or his nefarious double's taste for blood, particularly once Quinn is made into a Blood Hunter by Petronia, a malignant bisexual spirit who stalks the haunted family cemetery at the edge of the swamp. Rice fleshes out her slim plot line with gory set pieces of vampire history in ancient Athens, Pompeii and 19th-century Naples. She excels at vivid descriptions of macabre landscapes, gloomy estate houses and the lust that motivates her Blood Hunters and propels her ghoulish narratives. Her dialogue and characterizations, however—even of the durable Vampire Lestat, called upon by Quinn for deliverance from Goblin and Sugar Devil Swamp's unholy spirits—are flat and predictable here. But it's intrigue, eroticism and obsession that fans want, and they'll find plenty of all three. (Oct. 31)Forecast: With a first printing of 500,000, a major ad/marketing campaign (TV, radio and print) and a four-city author tour, this title—a dual main selection of BOMC and an alternate selection of Literary Guild, Doubleday Book Club, Mystery Guild, Science Fiction and QPB—is poised to continue Rice's legacy of stellar sales.

BLACKWOOD FARM is a well-acted, florid blood opera just this side of a romance novel. Stephen Spinella seamlessly transitions between his portrayals of the doppelganger-harassed narrator; the young and passionate Quinn Blackwood, Southern heir to frail Aunt Queen; the stately vampire Lestat; and many supporting characters. Fraught with swamps, witches, cemeteries, forbidden love, and blood lust, all knotted up with family honor, this steamy potboiler is perfect for the "vampirophile." Macabre Southern charm oozes from Spinella at every turn. If author Rice had provided a little back story, it would make this a real gem. D.J.B. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine