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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The charming esoterica that encroached on the universe where the books as written are objects consumed, and “real” memoirs by the vampires, actually ends up escalating to a silly degree, undermining the gothic noir aesthetic cultivated. It becomes about, basically the fate of the world, rather than moody broody sad boys.
There are some shining moments, such as when the origin of the vampires is revealed, even if that mystery probably would have been fine being obscured forever. Unfortunately the ultimate villain is a bit of a sideshow caricature, who has wild, literal insane ideas that escalate the stakes. It’s not entirely supposed to be sensical, but it shifts the expectations away from the core drama and interest, and also takes a very long time to get to and resolve the cliffhanger events of the second book, where Something is killing vampires and seems to be chasing after Lestat and company. This deflates the tension for more than half of the entire novel, only to attempt to ramp it up with the new threat, which just didn’t feel at all natural.
I found I couldn’t get invested in anything beyond the recounting of the ancient tales, which is really what this series is best at. The modern aspects do come into some play with the Big Bad, but they never feel properly situated, as with the backstories of individuals. And before it’s done any Justice, suddenly it’s all in peril? It just felt rather clumsy and odd.
Frank Muller narrating is amazing though, even if he does mispronounce things from time to time. I guess books on tape, back in the day, probably found it more difficult to edit and check these things. Any time he pronounces the name like Louis instead of Louie, I internally riot. Still, miles above the other samples I’ve tried, if you can find it.
There are some shining moments, such as when the origin of the vampires is revealed, even if that mystery probably would have been fine being obscured forever. Unfortunately the ultimate villain is a bit of a sideshow caricature, who has wild, literal insane ideas that escalate the stakes. It’s not entirely supposed to be sensical, but it shifts the expectations away from the core drama and interest, and also takes a very long time to get to and resolve the cliffhanger events of the second book, where Something is killing vampires and seems to be chasing after Lestat and company. This deflates the tension for more than half of the entire novel, only to attempt to ramp it up with the new threat, which just didn’t feel at all natural.
I found I couldn’t get invested in anything beyond the recounting of the ancient tales, which is really what this series is best at. The modern aspects do come into some play with the Big Bad, but they never feel properly situated, as with the backstories of individuals. And before it’s done any Justice, suddenly it’s all in peril? It just felt rather clumsy and odd.
Frank Muller narrating is amazing though, even if he does mispronounce things from time to time. I guess books on tape, back in the day, probably found it more difficult to edit and check these things. Any time he pronounces the name like Louis instead of Louie, I internally riot. Still, miles above the other samples I’ve tried, if you can find it.
This book made me want to change my rating of The Vampire Lestat to 3 stars rather than 4 as this reminded me of everything that the second installment lacked. The gripping stories, the rich collection of characters all interacting with one another, and the classic horror elements.
In The Queen of the Damned, Rice exercises her talents as a fine storyteller with a plot that is layered and intricate yet gripping from every angle. With each character's detailed history laid out in the second book, Rice now has the opportunity to progress the story rather than waste time on introductions.
Everytime I pick up another book in this series, I promise it'll be the last one I read as each one gets longer and more self-indulgent than the last. Needless to say, I'll be telling myself this same lie for the next 9 books in the series.
In The Queen of the Damned, Rice exercises her talents as a fine storyteller with a plot that is layered and intricate yet gripping from every angle. With each character's detailed history laid out in the second book, Rice now has the opportunity to progress the story rather than waste time on introductions.
Everytime I pick up another book in this series, I promise it'll be the last one I read as each one gets longer and more self-indulgent than the last. Needless to say, I'll be telling myself this same lie for the next 9 books in the series.
Denne her er muligvis min favorit vampyr bog fra Anne Rice. Jeg er bare så kæmpe fan af hendes familie historier og hendes måde at binde ting sammen på gennem et stamtræ.
Jeg har aldrig set filmen, men det virker ikke som om folk er super glade for den... Den må jeg lige få set på et tidspunkt og vurdere selv. Bogen er ihvertfald rigtig god, hvis man er til lange familie fortællinger.
Jeg har aldrig set filmen, men det virker ikke som om folk er super glade for den... Den må jeg lige få set på et tidspunkt og vurdere selv. Bogen er ihvertfald rigtig god, hvis man er til lange familie fortællinger.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
don’t let my high rating fool you- i’m incredibly biased.
I love the characters. I love the storytelling. I love the philosophical exploration. I love this book. I've never been so enamored with so many characters in one book, and I think Rice does an amazing job of making them all multidimensional and consistent.
I highly recommend this. I was enraptured the whole way through, and regretted getting it in audio book format because I didn't want to put it down and I couldn't justify spending gas money just to drive around and listen to it.
Absolutely stellar vampire lore. When reading The Vampire Lestat, I was regretting that I didn't pick up the series sooner, but now I'm really glad I waited until now, because I don't think I'd have been able to fully appreciate it all while I was younger.
I hear that after this book, the series takes somewhat of a downturn. I hope that the quality remains high, though. This is a stupendous book and I really want more like it.
I highly recommend this. I was enraptured the whole way through, and regretted getting it in audio book format because I didn't want to put it down and I couldn't justify spending gas money just to drive around and listen to it.
Absolutely stellar vampire lore. When reading The Vampire Lestat, I was regretting that I didn't pick up the series sooner, but now I'm really glad I waited until now, because I don't think I'd have been able to fully appreciate it all while I was younger.
I hear that after this book, the series takes somewhat of a downturn. I hope that the quality remains high, though. This is a stupendous book and I really want more like it.
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Death, Rape, Cannibalism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Incest, Religious bigotry, Death of parent
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
no matter how bad of a day you’re having, lestat de lioncourt is having a worse one