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'Merrick' by Anne Rice

Audio Books: “Merrick”

Sunday, February 18, 2001

By Tara Bradley-Steck

	Merrick By Anne Rice Random House $25.00

Listening to veteran British actor Derek Jacobi read Rice is like sitting around a campfire listening to your best friend tell ghost stories. While the voice may be friendly and familiar, it is just sinister enough to rob you of any notion that you’re safe and secure.

If not for Jacobi, I probably wouldn’t have stuck with Anne Rice’s latest novel, “Merrick.” I did so, though, because I enjoyed his performance. And because I thought maybe the novel would get better. It did, but only just.

Rice has created vampires that could be our next-door neighbors, if not for the odd hours they keep. But for readers who are new to Rice’s novels, “Merrick” is not the place to start, in part because the novel is filled with characters from past works.

Tara Bradley-Steck is a free-lance writer based in the North Hills.