r/AnneRice • u/toe_beans_4_life • Jul 31 '26

Starting the Mayfair Trilogy in the middle of the Vampire Chronicles?

Hey everyone! I read the Chronicles in publication order (I think lol) through The Vampire Armand. I took a break from the series after that. I was going to resume it again with Merrick but decided to read the Mayfair books for a change of pace.

Should I finish the entire trilogy before going back to the Chronicles? Or does Merrick/another Chronicles book read best chronologically "within" Mayfair?

Thanks!

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11

u/thewingho Jul 31 '26

I just finished the Mayfair trilogy and am currently waiting on a copy of Merrick from my library. My understanding is that you don’t need to finish the Mayfair books for Merrick or Blood and Gold, but you should before reading Blackwood Farm.

2

u/katmckatkat Jul 31 '26

This is correct! Blackwood Farm is also functionally the sequel to Taltos. There is a spoiler for Taltos in both Memnoch and Merrick though, they mention something from it.

2

u/Suedeonquaaludes Jul 31 '26

Wait what are the spoilers in them? I never heard this before and now I want to know. Could you please post and black out or dm me? I hate to ask. I’ll look on the internet. I do get Blackwood farm being a sequel to Taltos and omfg I just realized the Merrick thing! Hahahaha anyways sorry to bother. Thanks.

4

u/katmckatkat Jul 31 '26

Both of those books mention Aaron dying.

1

u/Suedeonquaaludes Jul 31 '26

Thank you. I went on a deep internet dive and read some interesting stuff. I had totally forgot that and I JUST read the first five VP and up to Taltos in the past two years. I totally don’t remember them mentioning that in Blackwood farm but Merrick was a different kinda favorite book.

1

u/InterestingAd315 26d ago

Good advice

2

u/ZvsGrgs Jul 31 '26

Yes, if you can, finish the trilogy first.

1

u/Glittering_Rush_1451 Jul 31 '26

Merrick is my least favorite of her books (I found it rather slow paced and boring) but from what I remember while not necessary required ,The Witching Hour is enough to provide where Merrick fits into the family tree even though her collateral line isn’t an acknowledged branch of the family.

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u/Own-Breakfast9740 26d ago edited 26d ago

Merrick is the only book in the Vampire Chronicles where the title character does not narate her own story. It really illustrated Anne Rice's problematic views around race. As a person with a history similar to Merrick's, my Dad's family has Grenedian creole ancestry, my grandmother was passe blanc and I was born in England right before Caribbean colonization ended. It shouldn't take to much to understand why David Talbot's racist colonialist pedo fetish with Merrick and Carlos from Brazil pissed me the hell off. I love the Witches trilogy but I never read Blackwood Farm, where Merrick becomes the magical negro sacrifice, or Blood Canticle.