This is the first book in Rice's Mayfair Witch series. It weaves a complicated story ranging in location from New Orleans to San Francisco to France, and in time from the 16th century to the present day. It begins with the drowning of Michael Curry, who miraculously is rescued and resuscitated by Dr. Rowan Mayfair, a brilliant neurosurgeon. This experience results in Michael inexplicably gaining psychic power in his hands - when he touches people or things he gets "flashes" of information about them. As he struggles to cope with this experience, his and Rowan's life begin to intertwine. Meanwhile, a mysterious Englishman, Arthur, arrives from a paranormal research organization called the Talamasca. Eager to learn both about Michael's power and (for reasons that are explained later) to meet Rowan, Arthur sets in motion a series of events that results in Michael and Rowan falling in love and embarking on a journey to learn about the vast, complex history of Rowan's family, the Mayfairs, and to determine the purpose of Michael's powers.
That's probably a really cruddy summary but I find it hard to describe an immensely dense, complicated story that really could have been two books instead of one: one dealing with Michael and Rowan's story (what I considered "the action") and one covering the Mayfair family history. The family history, covering over three hundred years in extraordinary detail, takes up a whole third of the book. While I enjoyed it quite a bit, it made for slow reading when all I really wanted was to get back to the "real" story in the present day. It's quite the worthwhile read, but I recommend having a LOT of time to do so.
All of Rice's works are REALLY slow for me. I think I've only completed two: Interview wit the Vampire and Exit to Eden (ha!). I tried Servant of the Bones because it sounded steeped in history. Boy, was it ever! So much so that it ended up a slog. Blah! Maybe one day I'll grow the patience for Rice.
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