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THEATRE DES VAMPIRES |
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Anne Rice has got to be my favourite author EVER, period. I guess I knew I'd struck gold when, midway through the third Vampire Chronicle, I no longer felt like I was reading about a bunch of vampires. Somewhere along the line, they became like family. I've read books with compelling characters before, but I can't remember ever caring SO much about what happens to them as much as the vampires.
This page is dedicated solely to the Vampire Chronicles. Not that I don't love the Mayfair Witches series and the rest of it, but the Chronicles are what I know best. |
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INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE |
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Obviously, this is the one that got me hooked. Louis is SUCH a well-written character, I totally fell for him :P Of course, having read them all, I'd have to say I have my issues with Louis, but that just goes to show how damn amazing these books are, and how real these characters become. It feels kind of like a friendship where you know the other person really well, but sometimes you go through periods of being frustrated with them, then reconciling yourself to their faults and loving them even more. So while Louis isn't my favourite of the vampires, I continue to dote on him... |
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THE VAMPIRE LESTAT |
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Here's something we can all relate to: You meet someone, and you don't like them. In fact, you hate them. They're rude, obnoxious, and arrogant. So you write them off... Then you're forced to spend more time with them. They start to open up, and as time passes, you realize you were to hasty in your judgement, and they're not as bad as you thought... in fact... you wan't to spend more and more time with them... you come to understand what makes them tick, you get a clear view of their past, present, and their hopes for the future. By the end, you've made a friend for life.
OK let's face it, Lestat is a total dick in the first book, and you feel sooo bad for Louis. But halfway into this book, you somehow make your peace with Lestat, and develop a trusting affection for him. This only grows as the series progresses, as Lestat becomes the voice of most of the future chronicles... |
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QUEEN OF THE DAMNED |
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For the first time, we see all the vampires unite in a common cause. I loved this one for a number of reasons. Even though Lestat is the narrative voice, and tends to be a big-time attention hog, the other characters are still really well-developed, and add all kinds of amazing colours to the canvas . The ending was pretty intense, but the best thing was the 'denouement', if you will :P In most books where a group comes together to face a common adversary, they usually end up forging bonds, promise to stay together, blah blah blah. Not so for our preternatural Scooby gang. They manage to get rid of Akasha alright, but they make no promises to each other, and in some cases, no pretense of even liking each other. They get the job done, and then disperse accordingly. There's bad blood (no pun intended) between a lot of them, so the fact that this one brief union didn't magically clear the slate was nice, more real in a way. |
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TALE OF THE BODY THIEF |
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Lestat gets to be human again! Of course, he soon realizes that he had a sweeter deal as a vampire :P
Seriously though, it just goes to show that the grass is always greener...
It was interesting to see Lestat re-discover the pros and cons of the human experience. Food was a pretty good experience, as was alcohol (yay booze!), and the scene where Lestat watches the sun rise for the first time nearly broke my heart.
However, he soon comes across the not-so-cool stuff. I mean, after 200-odd years of having preternatural strength, regular human ability would make anyone feel ridiculously geriatric. Then there's the bathroom issues... "Ewwww, I'd forgotten how BAD that smells!" Although... I gotta imagine peeing for the first time in 2 centuries must bring big-time relief! Even sex poses a bit of a problem. Lestat realizes that while he remembered the obvious good stuff about sex, he'd forgotten the other stuff, like it's awkward, messy, and smells kind of funky :P
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