buy Blackwood Farm (The Vampire Chronicles) by Anne Rice at Amazon
Author: Anne Rice
Release date: 29 October, 2002
Media: Hardcover
ISBN: 0375411992
First, he's part of a byzantine Southern family, the Blackwoods, who have as many family secrets and skeletons in the closet as the Mayfairs do. Rice creates a wonderful group of characters in this family, all of whom you will feel like you know personally.
Quinn is also haunted by a spirit doppelganger, Goblin, who is sometimes his friend, sometimes his enemy, and never far from him for long. His relationship with the spirit is questioned by the adults around him--even the best-intentioned of his relatives think he is making up an imaginary playmate or hallucinating. It's sort of reminiscent of Charles de Lint's _Someplace to be Flying_ in that respect--which BTW is another really good book.
Quinn tells his life story to the notorious Vampire Lestat, after a series of events cause Quinn to become a vampire himself. Since the transformation, Goblin has shown a dangerous new bloodlust... How Quinn got to this desperate pass, of course, is the subject of our book. The tale unfolds, and in spite of being longer than most of Anne's recent books, never seems *too* long.
Along the way we see familiar characters. Lestat himself, of course, bratty again. Rowan, too, has regained her dangerous charisma. And of course, I am forever in love with Julien and Mona Mayfair! Julien makes a brief appearance, delightful as ever, revealing more secrets about "the beds he left unmade and warm". And Mona, Quinn's soul mate, who has suffered most horribly since the birth of her strange child.
As the tale ends, Rice shocks us with the death of a familiar character, leaving us to wish that character had been developed more in previous writings. "We hardly knew ye..." And then there is the last line--a line as momentous as "You are coming with me. Now." from _Feast of All Saints_ so many years ago--a line with just enough ambiguity that you'll read the last page 10 times to make sure she's saying what you think she's saying.
The last time Anne left me this desperate for a sequel was with _Witching Hour_--and the two sequels were already out by the time I read it. This time I guess I'll have to wait...Please, Anne, we want Blackwood Farm 2 NOOOOWWW!! - an Amazon customer review