Dem Bones, Dem Bones (Servant of the Bones - Anne Rice)

Member Name: carolinesite

Product:	Servant of the Bones - Anne Rice
Date:	26/04/01 (246 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent read with a mystery

Disadvantages: None really

As I have now read all of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles to date, I decided to read some of her other work. I tried her book The Feast of all Saints, but gave up on it after a few pages. I just couldn’t get into it.
So here I am, having just finished her book Servant of the Bones instead.

The cover shows a gold skull laid on red velvet, with a thin lair of cobweb over it. This actually does give a clue, as it is significant to the story (different book to what dooyoo are displaying). I already knew that the book was about a ghost, and that Anne Rice had based the character on Antonio Banderas. Not himself, but because of the way he looked in the film Interview With The Vampire.

So what’s it all about? A gold skull? Well, sort of. A whole golden skeleton in fact, but I jump ahead of my tale (Anne Rice fans will know this line).

Jonathan was a professor and writer of academic books. He liked to work in peace and quiet, so he retreated to his small cabin in the snow, leaving his family at home.
He became very ill, and whilst delirious, a man entered his cabin. The man cared for him, gave him water, and fed him soup. He also made sure that Jonathan was kept warm.
This wasn’t a man. In fact it was a ghost. His name was Azriel and he wanted to tell Jonathan his story, so that he could write it. This is where the bells rang in my ears. It sounded very similar to Interview With The Vampire. You know, the Vampire coming to tell the Interviewer his story. Don’t be put off by this though, although it is written under similar circumstances, it is in fact more of a modern mystery and thriller, especially at the end.
Obviously Azriel tells Jonathan how he became a ghost, even though he can take the form of a human.

Centuries ago, when the Persian King, Cyrus, came to Babylon, he wanted the people to accept that he was a peaceful conqueror. He wanted to be ruler of Babylon wi
thout any bloodshed.
Azriel was 17. He could speak with the Hebrew God Malduk, for most of his life. The priests and prophets feared this, so they painted him with gold and told the people that he was the God Malduk. They made him ride in a procession with Cyrus, so that the people would accept him. Azriel was tricked by an old witch and one of the priests. When the gold was starting to harden they threw him into a cauldron of boiling gold, while chanting some ancient words. Immediately the spirit of Azriel rose from the cauldron, he could not take the pain. The priest emptied the cauldron to reveal the golden bones of Azriel. From that moment on, Azriel had no memory of who he was, and what had happened to him. The witch was dead and he killed the priest. He wrapped the bones in a cloth and took them to Cyrus. He asked Cyrus to send the bones to a magician that would know what to do with them. He did as he was asked.

That’s how Azriel became the Servant of the Bones. A casket was made for the bones, and here the spirit of Azriel would lay until a ‘Master’ called him up. His first Master learnt him his powers, showed him what he was capable of. He was told that he could kill if it was necessary but to be kind to the poor and needy.

Through centuries Azriel was passed from Master to Master. Some he killed in an instant because he knew they wanted him to do evil, and others he loved. Then he was called upon in modern times. He did not know who had called him, he did not know where his bones were. He only knew that he was about to witness three men killing a beautiful woman in a department store. Was he supposed to prevent this? He didn’t know, so he killed the three men after their attack.

He then goes on to find his bones, find out who had called him from the bones, and to unravel a mystery and to prevent a disaster that was about to be unleashed into the world.

The ending is very
thrilling, with a twist. I enjoyed it very much. Even those that are not fans of Anne Rice will enjoy this.

BCA Hardback edition (387 pages).
CN 4068

Summary: