Servant of the Bones -- Anne Rice

I feel as if I should preface this...review?  Commentary?  Opinion? with the note that I adore Anne Rice.  I think she has broken literary boundaries, created new, strange and beautiful worlds for her readers to explore, and is one of the top (tippy-top!) fantasy/horror authors writing today.

That being said, I usually stick to children's literature.  For a reason.

That reason is that I don't get anything out of reading steamy scenes.  Also, I hate the drama that accompanies the after-story.  Will they be killed by a jealous spouse?  Murder each other?  Drift apart?  Who knows?  We just know it's going to be either heaven or hell for the two characters.

I'm a child at heart and I would rather read about dragons, enchantments, a kiss, or buried treasure, and leave the adults to themselves.

So I should have done my research before picking up Servant of the Bones.

And THAT being said, I honestly did enjoy the book -- all but three or four pages.  (And that is not a value judgement on my part -- some people just enjoy more mature content)

Servant of the Bones was utterly fascinating.  It blended Ancient Near East history, culture, and religion with the modern world of business and science (and cults) to bring up questions concerning the afterlife, souls, redemption, and the problem of evil.  Such heavy subject material makes the book sound dense, or even too heady to enjoy.

Not so!

The way in which Anne tells the story lends to its charm -- The Servant sits down with a writer because he wants to tell his story -- he wants a human connection, someone who will listen, something we can all identify with, right?  While philosophical problems eventually arise, there is never a "Here is what I believe and I ram it down your throat" moment.  It's a pulsing question throughout.  And listening to the tale of the Servant of the Bones brings about feelings of pity, or even a sense of connectedness.

After all, who doesn't have questions about Afterwards?