WHEN I reviewed Anne Rice's last book in The Vampire Chronicles, I said the only way to read these was over an entire weekend with the phone off the hook and no other plans.

So that's what I did this time, just me and the book and some supplies in the bean bags - it was a wise decision.

Blackwood Farm is the story of Tarquin Blackwood, a child of the deep south of America, rich enough for him to have grown up without having to worry about money, rich enough to have his own way, rich enough to develop that kind of smugness that makes you want to slap him.

By half way through Saturday, I wanted bad things to happen to Quinn, as he is known. His family isn't much better, or many of the people he knows, who have money, and with money power.

With Quinn comes his dark secret, Goblin, his double in the spirit world, a childhood imaginary friend that wasn't just in his imagination, and by halfway through Saturday the recipient of all my sympathy. Yet they both are enthralling, love or hate them, in a way that makes you desperate to know their destiny.

There is also the ubiquitous Lestat, who Quinn turns to for help to rid him of Goblin, the Talamasca, and while some of the twists and turns are easy to guess, there are quite a few complete surprises. That's Anne Rice for you!

Because the surprises are fundamental to the plots, I won't spoil them for you...

Updated: 10:04 Wednesday, November 13, 2002