Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

100 reviews

erebus53's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was a bookclub read (that I nominated) for #FOMO club. As someone who was a goth kid in the 90s, I was already well familiar with the plot of the book, and the movie, and I had frequently listened to quotes and rants about it. I had learned much of the book from cultural immersion. As a result it's difficult to objectively review something that was just, Known, by my social group. It's like trying to review Princess Bride, or Star Wars.

There were a few little things that I picked up from this read through; for example, it rocks my world that there is a reference in the book about a lone leader who was the only one in the social group who didn't dye their hair black. If I had only read the book in 1996, I would have been able to quietly flex with all my baby bats... (as I didn't either).

Realistically though, the book has some very problematic and unsettling features. It's supposed to be gothic horror, and it gets that way by how it messes with people's heads. It's very dismissive of Consent, and it challenges Church and Morality. There is blood and booze, and debauchery. The main character comes across as remorseful and moody, but he is also inconsistent, and has low-key pedophilic vibes. The character is also fairly non-sexual.. being attracted more by beauty and vivacity, which I think leans a little into Acephobia, to try and un-human him.

As someone who was a LARPer (live action role player) I spent about a zillion nights in fancy dress playing at vampires. It was interesting to read about vampires who knew nothing about their own 
kind because as a player of Vampire games and student of vampire myths, it makes anything these undead creatures do in a book seem familiar to ME, but they of course, having only just being reborn into night (muahahah) they don't know what they can or can't do, and have no words for the things they feel.

I think the book is clever in the way that it launched thousands of vampire fans, and in how the struggles of immortality are depicted, but as a story it kind of drags, and the characters aren't particularly loveable (I know... but it's _my_ opinion, and LeStat is a deadbeat dad, and Louis is a moper).

All in all it's a so-so story. It's not bad, but also not something I'd rush out and buy a copy of to lend to all my friends.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, Murder, Violence, Death, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Slavery, and Racism

penguuu's review against another edition

Way too long, way too slow, none of the characters are likeable, I couldn't do it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Pedophilia, Violence, Racism, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Just, bad.

michayla13's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Incest, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Gore, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Suicide, Grief, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Torture

I enjoyed reading this book but it was far from good. There’s a horribly written incest/pedophelia plot which seems more romanticized than condemned in any way. It feels very sloppily written as well. If you’re looking for a book to read based purely on vibes, then this book is okay, but try not to think too hard while reading it.

acogna's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Disturbing, uncomfortable, unsettling, and dark. In all, an excellent horror. Also, Anne Rice's writing is a huge coin flip of a bet but some of the sentences here were so decadently beautiful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Slavery and Adult/minor relationship

seanml's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Interview With the Vampire was not what I expected. For whatever reason I thought it's be suave and golden, when really it was cold and sorrowful. I found the middle very much dragged for me, even up until the final 40 pages. A relationship between the protagonist and their closest friend is a strange one and I know it's supposed to be, but it toes a strange line. Don't get me wrong - Anne Rice can write some incredibly poetic lines. Every once in a while I caught glimpses of the heart of the matter and Rice's ruminations on eternity and love, but they were seen through the haze of conversations that circled around and lengthy traveling. 7/10.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Blood, Child death, Slavery, Stalking, and Violence

Minor: Gore

thoseoldcrows23's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

As a lover of vampire fiction in general it was really cool to go back to this and see all the different ways Interview's DNA has permeated the genre. That said, this was a book with a lot of highs and lows for me. On one hand, Rice's writing is beautiful, and the first half of the book was exactly the kind of gothic horror I like; however, the later half falls victim to melodrama that killed much of the atmosphere I loved and that brought to the forefront the many flaws in Rice's world building. As it stands, I don't know if I'll continue the series, but I am at least glad I finally gave this one a go.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Murder, Violence, Child death, and Blood

Moderate: Slavery and Sexual content

citrusandwords's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Eating disorder, Murder, Toxic relationship, Classism, Death, Slavery, Blood, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

crowpeaches's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Interview with the Vampire is a good book and has interestin  things to say regarding spirituality and death, though despite it being the point, it's a bit too drawn out and ponderous, with Louis becoming extremely irritating and whingey toward the end. The atmosphere in the book is excellent and the writing is seductive - that being said the relationship between Claudia and Louis made me feel extremely uncomfortable at points.
Final thought is Lestat is a brilliant character and I wish there'd been more of him, which may motivate me to read more Lestat books in the overall series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Gore, Slavery, and Violence

jessthanthree's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Blood, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Animal death, Slavery, Racism, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Gore, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Cannibalism

chris_reads's review

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Dysphoria, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, and Death

Minor: Violence, Animal death, and Emotional abuse