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Anne Rice - Vampire Chronicles


Stiggy

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I have read Anne Rice's works over and over, most of them anyway. The Vampire Chronicles, most I adore. I didn't like Memnoch the Devil, for several reasons. One, I really do not believe in god, of any sorts. In my opinion, if there's ever been anyone like Christ, he was a mere mortal. I don't believe in heaven or hell, nor in any afterlife.

However, I could pass over these things, if it was brought in such a way I would like it. I read fiction after all, so it doesn't always have to be about things I believe in, or that are true.

What I really didn't like about this book, was that it converted the proud and strong Lestat to some blabbering, weeping idiot. :roll:

 

Also, I didn't like Vittorio very much. I loved Pandora, so thought I'd buy Vittorio. Pff. Can't really remember why, just thought it was boring.

And, I still have some bookmark stuck halfway in Blood Canticle. Oh how I can't stand Mona Mayfair. Really can not stand her. :D

 

The rest, I simply adore. I have heard some people say they have trouble with Interview with the Vampire, can't see why. I read it just after I had seen the film, which I loved, I watched it on my birthdayparty for my 13th birthday. :(

I like the Vampire Lestat better though, mainly because I love Lestat. He's bold, rash, and just charismatic. He's also not as gloomy as Louis, pff seriously, you're immortal and then you sit around in gloomy, dusty corners, what a waste.

 

I loved the Mummy, has been years since I read it though, must pick that one up again soon. Servant of the Bones.. couldn't get through that one, I read it before I read Memnoch, but it has some of the elements I didn't like about that one. Again, years since I tried reading it, but that one I won't be picking up again.

 

And then, there's her Mayfair Witches books. I don't really care about witches to be honest, vampires are my true love. :D I have read the Witching Hour, and even Lasher I think, but these were just bizarre and I don't care about them.

 

Was quite sad she started with those religious books, for reasons above.

However, I read she's working on a new novel, or that it's out already, called Angel Time. Oh yeah, just looked it up, it's released in October.

Anyway, the series is called Songs of the Seraphim, and labled as metaphysical thriller. If I can, I'll try reading it.

Angels and such can be cool, look at the Prophecy. Love those films. :lol:

 

 

Without mentioning any particular book then, what I love about Anne Rice is the way she can create worlds. She can make you smell the streets of New Orleans, see the world through the inhuman eyes of her vampires. Her books are sensual without being overly sexual (not that that is something I particularly mind, on the contrary actually), her characters beautiful and intriguing. She'll always be one of my favourite authors, despite the books she writes now. :D

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I read she's working on a new novel, or that it's out already, called Angel Time. Oh yeah, just looked it up, it's released in October.

Anyway, the series is called Songs of the Seraphim, and labled as metaphysical thriller. If I can, I'll try reading it.

Angels and such can be cool, look at the Prophecy. Love those films. :roll:

 

 

I quite fancy reading this book too when it's published :D

 

So far I've only delved into The Vampire Chronicles so it'll be interesting to see how I rate her other work. I was considering the Witching Hour books but I'm not too sure now. What was it that you disliked in particular about them?

 

I'm still halfway through The Vampire Armand due to assignments and an upcoming exam but I can't wait to start reading it again. I too love how she opens up these worlds which make you feel like you've been there. Armand and Marius are currently in 16th Century Venice which I don't know too much about but the way she describes architecture, furnishings and attitudes makes the place seem familiar. :D

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^That novel Angel Time is out already, at least I can get it at my online shop. But the book's still around 22 euros, which for me, is too expensive for a book I don't know I'll like (funny too, paperback is 22, and hardcover 23 euros, which would you buy:tong:)..

 

I would say you should still try to read the Witching Hour books and see what you think of them, I just didn't really care much for them, but they're not bad books. This whole idea of Taltos too, was just bizarre in my opinion and I couldn't quite catch on. Won't elaborate because that's something you have to descover slowly in these books if I remember correctly. Anyway, there are people who enjoy these books as much, or more, as the Vampire Chronicles, I'm just not one of them. But you could be. :lol: Just try and see. :roll:

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Well honestly I couldn't stand Dora much either, why Lestat was so infatuated with her.. pff. :roll:

 

And I know Amazon is cheaper. But. My country doesn't have it, I don't have a creditcard, and the shipping is ridiculously expensive compared to the online shop I order at now. I checked out the German Amazon, but same thing pretty much, plus lots of books there are in German, and while I can understand it, it's not a language I like reading in. Then I'd rather read my own. :lol:

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Well honestly I couldn't stand Dora much either, why Lestat was so infatuated with her.. pff. :D

 

I know! I couldn't either :blush: I thought he'd have more taste :lol:

 

I hope you manage to get your hands on Angel Time :) I try to avoid buying things online if I can, plus I love bookshops so I usually always buy books in person if I can.

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^Well I'll wait for the price to drop and then I'll buy it I think. If I have to rely on my library I have to wait forever.:blush:

I love bookshops too, but my town only has one decent one, and since I live in a country that's not english-speaking, the amount of english books they have is limited, plus they're more expensive than online. :D

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A friend from work loaned me Rice's Vampire books in a box set. They've sat at work for a month or so now. I don't know how I'm going to read them when my mom thinks they're bad books and doesn't want them in her house. I've read other vampire books and don't see how they could be any worse. I think the friend will be asking for them back soon. I need to get around to reading them. If only I had a chauffeur to drive me to and from work then I could read during the half hour trip instead of focusing on driving. Or I could learn to multitask. :D

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My Mother used to be very careful about what we watched on tv and what movies we might stumble across but I think she probably thought that no harm could come from a book......how wrong was she! :D I used to scare myself silly with the odd horror novel when I was a kid.

 

I hope you manage to find the time and place to read these books without upsetting anyone :blush:

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I don't know how I'm going to read them when my mom thinks they're bad books and doesn't want them in her house.

How old are you? My mom never dictated what I could or couldn't read, my dad didn't care. Mom even got me adult books from the library on her librarycard cause I had a children's one and couldn't get them. I have been reading Stephen King since before I was 10 years old. And after I was like, 12, I had no one checking what books I read.. and I ended up fine hee hee.

But the Vampire Chronicles bad books? Has your mom read them herself or does she hate the idea of them...

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How old are you? My mom never dictated what I could or couldn't read, my dad didn't care. Mom even got me adult books from the library on her librarycard cause I had a children's one and couldn't get them. I have been reading Stephen King since before I was 10 years old. And after I was like, 12, I had no one checking what books I read.. and I ended up fine hee hee.

But the Vampire Chronicles bad books? Has your mom read them herself or does she hate the idea of them...

 

 

Well I'm 21 :D, but I live at home and to be respectful I usually obey house rules (although it is not really a rule just her opinion). She has never read them, but hasn't heard anything positive about them. I'll probably ended up reading them only because they can't be much worse than the other vampire books I've read. She never liked those either really. My mom has always been open to me reading almost anything. Only certain books she has voiced her opinion about.

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You can always get a flashlight and read under the bed covers in the middle of the night while mom is fast asleep, Lit_Driven_Girl. :)

 

I adore the Vampire Chronicles - I haven't found a vampire novel that comes anywhere close to what Anne Rice have achieved with these.

 

To contribute to current discussion: I thought Lestat's interest in Dora in Memnoch was quite refreshing, actually.

Also in Blood Canticle and The Body Thief he had a more average love interest.

I quite like the way he sees beauty in even just everyday, boring humans.

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I always thought interview with the vampire is the best from the vampire chronicles because of the main character and storyteller being Louis, the book being more sensitive, subtle, and romantic . The other books have Lestat as the main character and storyteller. Of course, he is interesting too, as with the others - Armand, Marius, ..But if Lestat is in the story, there is more gore. The differences between characters are so delineated, I felt and expected differently from the stories..

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Oh I agree.. on the books being different as the main characters differs. But I don't like Interview with a Vampire that much, because Louis is the main character. I don't like Louis very much, he's gloomy, and whines too much. You're immortal, why sit around in a dank, dark corner when you can roam the world and be happy. He gets better again in some of the later books, but no, not my fav vampire.

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Oh I agree.. on the books being different as the main characters differs. But I don't like Interview with a Vampire that much, because Louis is the main character. I don't like Louis very much, he's gloomy, and whines too much. You're immortal, why sit around in a dank, dark corner when you can roam the world and be happy. He gets better again in some of the later books, but no, not my fav vampire.

 

Louis is very self-absorbed in a way. I find that I like reading his musings. He is very contradictory too since he hates violence and killing but does kill his victims with much relish. I think part of why Louis "whines too much" is because he is a relatively new vampire "new born" so to speak.

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True, he's sort of new, but I think it's more his personality. He was that gloomy and whining even before he died. You know,

the way he acted after his brother died, that he thought he was the fault for that and everything..

 

 

Plus, the other new vampires, say Daniel, David or Jesse aren't like that at all. So it's more Louis himself. But nope, he's not my favourite vampire.

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Ditto what Univerze said re: Louis. I have the same problem with him that I subsequently had with Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer - jeez dude, a parenthesis of existential angst is understandable but at the end of the day, you're immortal, live it up. Which is why I've always loved Lestat and his parallel in the Buffyverse, Spike.

 

I believe Rice herself might have shared the same partiality... after all, her prose flows much better when she's narrating from Lestat's point of view, which IMHO points towards her liking him more than she does Louis.

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Horror is not a genre I usually read but I've always enjoyed vampire movies and recently read Bram Stoker's Dracula, so thought I'd follow it up with Interview With the Vampire. Somehow vampire type stories always seem to be removed enough from reality not to be scary.

I've only just started IWtV but the passage where Lestat drains Louis's blood and he slowly dies and sees the world through the eyes of a vampire for the first time would be one of the most powerful pieces of writing I've read. It's really beautifully written.

Anne Rice is amazingly descriptive and you can picture the scene crystally clear. I'm finding her a very powerful and disturbing writer.

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^Well I wouldn't say I find Anne Rice's work disturbing (except for when she writes horrible characters like Mona Mayfair, you'll get to know her if you keep reading the Vampire Chronicles), but her way of writing does make you feel like you're there, in New Orleans for example, you can just smell the air, feel the atmosphere etc. Though this is better is her early Vampire Chronicles, like they are better in any way.

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Horror is not a genre I usually read but I've always enjoyed vampire movies and recently read Bram Stoker's Dracula, so thought I'd follow it up with Interview With the Vampire. Somehow vampire type stories always seem to be removed enough from reality not to be scary.

I've only just started IWtV but the passage where Lestat drains Louis's blood and he slowly dies and sees the world through the eyes of a vampire for the first time would be one of the most powerful pieces of writing I've read. It's really beautifully written.

Anne Rice is amazingly descriptive and you can picture the scene crystally clear. I'm finding her a very powerful and disturbing writer.

 

Interview is probably the only novel from the Vampire Chronicles series which can be described as 'horror'. It's a perfectly fine stand alone novel, but I do hope you'll continue with the rest of the series, even though it isn't always as horrific as one might expect. :lol:

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