Reviews with content warning for Cannibalism - The Queen of the Damned

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Reviews tagging 'Cannibalism'

The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice

47 reviews

mxine_'s review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

messy and chaotic vampire bullshit, i want 10 more of these.

Content Warnings

herelieshenry's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Content Warnings

gravery's review against another edition

2.75

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Some parts gripped me more than others - I was locked in in the beginning, but it really slowed down for me after

Lestat leaves with Akasha

. I couldn't stand

Akasha's

reductive logic - I understand that the whole point is that she's wrong and single-minded, but between her monologues and Lestat's whining about how he doesn't agree but is just sooo in love.... I almost pulled a muscle in my corneas with how much I rolled my eyes at this book. Those chapters were such a slog for me. Oh, and don't even get me started on the Orientalism, white supremacy, and second-wave feminism. Beyond cringe! A product of its time, I suppose - and its white, heterosexual, Christian creator, of course.

That being said, I did really like the changes in POV - it kept things fresh in a series that has, until now, been a lot of monologuing. Not that there weren't an obscene amount of monologues in this one, but that's just Anne Rice for you. At least the different perspectives kept things fresh.

Will I continue to read the series after how much this one vexed me, just for the homoerotic vampires? Probably, yes.

Content Warnings

analuizavarela's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

As a follow up to "The Vampire Lestat," I certainly wasn't let down! At the end of TVL, you get the sense that Lestat's wounds are now open and he's just at the start of a non-linear path to healing, and QOTD shows just exactly how non-linear this path can be. Akasha, the titled Queen of The Damned is a character designed to trigger Lestat with an incredible (and frightening) precision. The new characters we're introduced to are an assortment between delightful, heartbreaking and infuriating, but so it goes with The Vampire Chronicles, all roads leading us to a somewhat anticlimactic but nevertheless satisfying conclusion.

Content Warnings

takarakeireads's review against another edition

4.5

dark 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

YOOOOOOO What the f did she put in this book!??! This was by DEF my favorite of the series so far [this might also be fueled by my recent obsession with the tv series which is why I decided to actually continue reading the books]

Lestat is iconic as always
We got some new female rage characters (praise!)
Really enjoyed the expanded world building from prev books
I honestly couldn't put it down!
-.5 star just for some slow parts, if you've read the first two books you know how Anne can go on a bit too long...which she did do a bit less in this

Content Warnings

metamorphesque's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional 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

I want to hug these idiots so tightly. There's a deep love in me for this book that just grew and grew with each page. Just a gorgeous book and a gorgeous story with all the arguments in this absolutely fascinating me endlessly. To dismiss the novel as "boring" or "slow" is to miss out on the richly layered characterization that Anne Rice has crafted. The depth of the story lies not just in the events that unfold, but in the intricate web of relationships, histories, and existential dilemmas that haunt these immortal beings. Moreover, this book isn’t merely about plot; it’s an exploration of myth, power, and the burden of immortality. So if you've finished it and come away thinking it's simply boring, slow, or lacking in action, then you've fundamentally overlooked Anne Rice's nuanced characterization and misunderstood both the essence of the story and the depth of the characters. :)))

thought-provoking journey into the dark, seductive world of Anne Rice’s vampires, one that is well worth the investment
beautifully different characters with such intricate feelings and interpersonal relationships - this is fundamentally a character novel btwww so if you're reading it for the plot and complain about it ??? what are you doing?? lmao go read twilight instead.
there's a lot that goes on here politically ((idea of world peace ushered by genocide lol
not a whimsical fantasy or some lighthearted cozy vampire bs, it's a dense fucking book with thick prose that deals with heavy topics and complicated characters with trauma, and immortality, and religion mixed into all of it ofc
ancient characters full of biases my beloved
love that the message boils down to "No one needs or deserves a God stepping in to solve their problems with deceptively simple solutions, just as the global North should learn to keep it's hands out of the global South"
however, I am ON. THE. FLOOR. at this fucking 500yo grown ass vampire painstakingly feeding individual paper towels to the garbage disposal at 1am. Armand making smoothies and cooking rats in a toaster oven, come on now. <3
iCONIC. totally would give it 8/5 purely because of devil's minion.
I really enjoyed the different POVs, finally got to see khayman and jesse and maharet tho that plotline dragged a bit lol I can appreciate having the major arc of lestat and louis towards the end there though, so worth it
akasha is Meh for me like Gurl plz
the vampire mythology was interesting but personally I couldn't give a damn
which brings me to lestat's shenanigans and 'tell me how bad i am, it makes me feel so good’ lestat you whore are you ok ?? xd
unfortunately this book faces its share of criticisms, with some people out there lamenting the writing style, the slow pacing, or a perceived detachment that makes it feel like the reader is merely observing the vampires from a distance
- all these overlook a fundamental aspect of the novel: the narrative conceit that Lestat himself is the "author" of this story in-world. like girl he doesn't care about rules, he doesn't like them including those of writing novels by extension xd This rebellious approach isn't just a quirk of his either btw; it's deeply embedded in his character - he is impulsive, narcissistic, and insatiably curious, and the book's style mirrors these traits
- the sprawling narrative, the meandering reflections, and even the slower pacing are all deliberate choices that reflect Lestat's temperament; almost as though you are being brought into the mind of a vampire whose perspective spans centuries, with all the complexity and indulgence that entails, all the extravagance and horror of it too

Ultimately, if you come away from Queen of the Damned feeling that "nothing much happens," it suggests a misunderstanding of what Rice is attempting to achieve :)) The novel is a meditation on the vampire condition, a gothic tapestry where the beauty lies in the details, the characters’ introspections, and the lush, poetic language. To reduce it to a lack of conventional action is to overlook the artistry and nuance with which Rice breathes life into her world. Her work is not about meeting conventional expectations, but rather about challenging them, offering an experience that is as much about mood and atmosphere as it is about story :))

Content Warnings

madamenovelist's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

eleasofia's review against another edition

4.5

dark mysterious slow-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

i know that a lot of people perceived this book as too slow-paced, but it almost felt medium-paced to me to be honest. my reference point for what "slow" is might be off, but i was so drawn into the story, it definitely didn't feel slow to me. yes, the story is told differently than before with alternating narrators/ povs, most of which are characters that are newly introduced. in the beginning, some of the chapters are a bit hard to get into because it feels a bit like starting a new book for the first pages, but i got through that quickly and then those chapters were interesting to me too. it makes the story complex and sometimes repetitive, and maybe unnecessarily so, but i actually enjoyed most of it. the same story could've probably been told from less povs and with less side stories, but with the exception of one,

the baby jenks chapter

, i liked them. some of them did more for the furthering of the plot than others, but they were all meaningfully connected in one way or another. and even if they didn't serve the plot, i felt like they served the world building and lore and that's probably what i love most about the series beides the various characters. regarding the story itself, i really enjoyed how everything came together and how all ends of the individual stories were tied up. the ending was very satisfying to me. i'm definitely going to read the next book, but the first three books could very well be a trilogy.

Content Warnings

windurm's review against another edition

4.75

emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Really satisfying ending

Content Warnings

seanamcphie's review against another edition

3.5

dark funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

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