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Within the first hundred pages, you know if you are willing to read the rest of this book. You know that you have entered a whole new realm, one that is much removed from the characters and love and themes and hopes of The Witching Hour. Within those hundred pages, you begin to feel the darkness seeping out of each printed word, flowing over your hands and onto your lap. Whether you embrace this change or not determines whether you finish this book or not.

I gave it a chance.

I allowed the author to have her way with the characters she had created. I watched as she destroyed them piece by piece and all they stood for. In true Anne Rice fashion, we lose sight of who is evil and who is good. The story is relayed ... the true story. Who is Lasher? Who are The Talamasca? What part does Michael really have to play in this? Is Oncle Julien really a Mayfair Witch? Yes, Anne Rice plays with all of these questions and, if you are willing to let go of the wonders that the first book held as truth, you can find joy in the pitch black of this book.

If love was the theme of The Witching Hour then darkness - maybe even hatred and revenge - rules this book. The story of the estranged Mayfairs is one such example (one that doesn't act as a huge spoiler, thus I bring it forth as an example). It appears that the Mayfairs had splintered their family when Julien shot his (given how intricate the bloodlines are here, I'm going to bypass what specific family member he was) "family member" and that man's family went off to live on Amelia Street. The grudge they held becomes a factor in one of the many subplots and creates one of the subtle conflicts that peppers this novel. Yes, the grudge and the hatred and revenge that created it is stronger than the (possible) redemption for the family. The redemption that seemed so obvious in the last book, now rejected here.

I still stand behind the first of the trilogy. It is an excellent read on its own. This book is for a specific crowd, one that doesn't mind reading how Anne Rice deals with the death of her daughter (VERY clear subtext throughout this book) and the darkness and misery she [must have?:] fought. Readers, you know if you are willing to let someone destroy the characters you came to love so much. Think of this book as the "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" movie companion to The Witching Hour's "Twin Peaks" the series and you have a good idea of what to expect. For some, we enjoy the added dimension.

But I won't say that I don't miss the innocence of the first novel.