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Servant of the Bones (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "This is Azriel's tale as he told it to me, as he begged me to bear witness and to record his words..." (more)
Key Phrases: golden bones, tablet house, clay envelope, Gregory Belkin, Temple of the Mind, New York (more...)
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (165 customer reviews)
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Servant of the Bones + Cry to Heaven + Feast of All Saints
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Her first book since Memnoch the Devil, Anne Rice takes us now into the world of Isaiah and Jeremiah, and the destruction of Solomon's temple, to tell the story of Azriel, Servant of the Bones. He is ghost, genji, demon, angel--pure spirit made visible. He pours his heart out to us as he journeys from an ancient Babylon of royal plottings and religious upheavals to the Europe of the Black Death and to the modern world. There he finds himself, amidst the towers of Manhattan, in confrontation with his own human origins and the dark forces that have sought to condemn him to a life of evil and destruction.

From Publishers Weekly

Neither a vampire nor a witch nor a mummy, but a genie provides the focus of Rice's latest (after Memnoch the Devil). The queen of high-decadent gothic deviates from her formula of interlacing spirituality and carnality here: only in the novel's latter pages do lusty sensuousness and brisk pacing leaven a series of cerebral metaphysical struggles. This unusual approach arises from the central dilemma of the story. "Servant of the Bones" Azriel is a "genii" who, until his emergence in 1995 New York, is only a shell filled with spirit, not a corporeal presence ripe for Rice's usual dark eroticism. In the novel's first half, Azriel tells his tale: born a Hebrew in Babylon at the time of Cyrus, he is sacrificed in order to free his people, his body boiled down to golden bones. He then is cursed by a necromancer to be bound to the bones. Over the millennia, he is a spirit at the beck and call of a series of "Masters" who possess his casket. When Azriel calls himself into human form in the present day, he encounters plastic, airplanes?and the Temple of the Mind, a cult of computer-created creed that threatens to kill two-thirds of the earth's population. Azriel's emergence as a sensual being and the suspense generated by the Temple's Last Days project will help readers to forget the book's initial 300 pages, in which they must track Azriel from swirling particles to thickening flesh. Yet Rice's impeccable research into science, history and Jewish scholarship will probably leave readers impressed and entertained. 1,000,000 first printing; BOMC and QPB main selections.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 387 pages
  • Publisher: Knopf; First Edition edition (July 29, 1996)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0676970036
  • ISBN-13: 978-0679433019
  • ASIN: 0679433015
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (165 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #339,286 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #77 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( R ) > Rice, Anne

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Anne Rice
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This is Azriel's tale as he told it to me, as he begged me to bear witness and to record his words. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
golden bones, tablet house, clay envelope
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Gregory Belkin, Temple of the Mind, New York, Esther Belkin, Billy Joel, Rachel Belkin, Cyrus the Persian, Processional Way, Lord God of Hosts, Black Death, Fifth Avenue, United States, Jonathan Ben Isaac, New Year's Festival, Alexander the Great, Peter the Great, Some Lamb, Stan Rice, Witch of Endor, Good God, Mother Earth, United Nations
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Customer Reviews

165 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.3 out of 5 stars (165 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Worth taking the time to read., November 15, 1996
By A Customer
I finished reading Servant of the Bones this morning after staying up as late as I could last night in an attempt to finish the book. Reading over many of the reviews I can think of one thing that would have helped some of those that read the book: reading further. At first I was almost put off by it being another interview book like Interview was, the only other book by Rice that I have read. I was glad that I continued, however, because once she reached the interesting parts the story picked up tremendously. The interesting parts to me would be everything to do with religion and history. I know this is in part because they are things I am currently hoping to research. She made them vibrant, brought the old stories alive and for days I could not get the image of Azriel painted in poisonous gold out of my mind. To me that is what a writer is supposed to do, create a living story, vivid images that haunt the reader day and night for a time before they can continue on with the tale. That is what Anne Rice did in this book. Many said they could not get past the first 50 pages and first 100 pages and that skimming ahead provided nothing. Of course, it did not. One has to take the time to think with this book and that's another thing I love about it. People may think the Belkin ideals and ideas were very contrived, but one never knows. We are very used to our safe and careful world where fights and cults are things that are distant from us. But who is to say what is out there and that this could not happen? In the mind of a madman anything can happen.

I told my husband about this book as I read it since he rarely gets a chance to read anything this long. I would recommend it to others as well, but be prepared. The book doesn't think for you. To fully appreciate it, you have to think for yourself and take in what Azriel tells us, take it deep inside and let it simmer like the gold that coated Azriel's bones. It is worth it.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly intelligent, engrossing story, January 5, 2002
By Bobby Newman (Long Beach, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
This review is from: Servant of the Bones (Hardcover)
Anne Rice is a serious novelist. She does her homework, and incorporates important historical and philosophical elements. In Servant of the Bones, she ties together fascinating character studies with a supernatural "mystery thriller" flavor. Although she is clearly now a media figure, she does not shy away from poking fun at the fascination many people have with celebrities and pop culture. An intelligent work from an intelligent author. You won't be able to put it down during the final chapters.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Servant of the Bones, February 23, 2000
By "blackjewel" (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Servant of the Bones (Paperback)
Vampires, mummies, and witches (oh my!) are all subjects that have received the star treatment from renowned author Anne Rice. The great otherworldly writer tackles another aspect of the supernatural plane when a genie stars in her latest novel. In doing this, Ms. Rice brilliantly provides vivid insight into the biblical culture of Babylon.

Frightening is the tale of Azriel, an exiled Jew living in Babylon, who has the misfortune to become the favorite one of the great god, Marduk. Azriel comes to the attention of the temple priests, who have hatched a plan for King Cyprus of Persia to claim Babylon without bloodshed. In order for this plan to work, Azriel's father hands him over to the priests in exchange for the promise that the Hebrews living in Babylon will be allowed to return to Jerusalem. In a ceremony, Azriel is to play the role of Marduk, a role that always ends in death.

Death is not quite what fate has in store for Azriel because a witch's spell separates his spirit from his body at the time of death. This turns him into a genie or Servant of the Bones. Through two millennia, Azriel is paged by many different masters, but it is not until the 1990s that fate provides Azriel an opportunity for redemption. Terrorist tele-evangelist Gregory Belkin has a diabolical plan to put himself in control of a new world order. He summons Azriel to help him put his plan in motion. Azriel knows what will happen to the world if Gregory succeeds. The genie forces his "master" into a confrontation that will decide humanity's destiny.

Readers will give Anne Rice much credit for being a very visual and challenging story teller who uses words as a magical means to mesmerize her audience. Her perception of a genie's psyche has its roots in her vampire mythos. Although this tale is not as esoteric as some of her previous works, Servant of the Bones is a brilliant piece of fiction. The author cleverly combines elements from the horror and techno-thriller genres into a unique and thought-provoking novel. Fans of The Mummy will definitely want to read this work.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Boring and plotless
I read this book when it first came out, and I read it again recently and it doesn't get any better as I age. It is boring and has no plot. Read more
Published 9 days ago by D. J. Thom

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent read
After being disappointed by 'Violin', I gave this book a try. Thankfully, it proved to be better than the other book. Read more
Published 4 months ago by M

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it!!!
I will only say that this book grabbed a hold of me and made me feel as if though I WAS the main character and I found myself feeling his feelings, his joy, his pain. Read more
Published 10 months ago by JimmyPageLicks

1.0 out of 5 stars It's time to hang it up, Anne...
Don't get me wrong- I think Anne Rice has done some brilliant writing. Unfortuntely, I don't think this book falls into that category. Read more
Published 16 months ago by slim

1.0 out of 5 stars How did this get published?
I was hoping for another book like The Vampire Lestat and Interview with a Vampire. But sadly I was wrong. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Ashley Gillard

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Free SF Reader
This is a version of the whole genii in the bottle story. Azriel is one of that sort of supernatural entity, and grows more and more cantankerous and nasty over the years,... Read more
Published on September 2, 2007 by Blue Tyson

2.0 out of 5 stars Tedious, boring
This is probably my 2nd least favorite Anne Rice novel. I remember it being uninteresting, the characters, bland, tiresome. Read more
Published on August 20, 2007 by Val

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read!!
I own and have read almost all of Anne Rice's books, I am a huge fan. I Have read and re-read this book. This is my favorite book by her. Read more
Published on January 11, 2007 by Winter Lilly

5.0 out of 5 stars A great tale.
I enjoyed this book. It probably is my favorite Rice book. Apparently others thought it was very poorly written, but I have to disagree-- it kept my interest from start to... Read more
Published on December 31, 2006 by Saavedra Darling

4.0 out of 5 stars Azriel is the star of the show...
Azriel is a ghost, demon, and angel -- in love with good, in thrall to evil. He pours out his heart to Jonathan, a history professor-cum-writer, telling his astonishing story when... Read more
Published on July 5, 2006 by SHIV SHAKTI

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