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Fiction. Horror. HTML:The hypnotic, deeply seductive novels of Anne Rice have captivated millions of fans around the world. It all began a quarter of a century ago with Interview with the Vampire. Now, in one chilling volume, here are the first three classic novels of The Vampire Chronicles. INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIREWitness the confessions of a vampire. A novel of mesmerizing beauty and astonishing force, it is a story of danger and flight, love and loss, suspense and resolution, and the extraordinary power of the senses. "A magnificent, compulsively readable thriller . . . Anne Rice begins where Bram Stoker and the Hollywood versions leave off and penetrates directly to the true fascination of the myth�??the education of the vampire." �??Chicago Tribune THE VAMPIRE LESTATOnce an aristocrat from pre-revolutionary France, now a rock star in the decadent 1980s, Lestat rushes through the centuries seeking to fathom the mystery of his existence. His is a mesmerizing story�??passionate and thrilling. "Frightening, sensual . . . A psychological, mythological sojourn . . . Anne Rice will live on through the ages of literature. . . . To read her is to become giddy as if spinning through the mind of time." �??San Francisco Chronicle QUEEN OF THE DAMNEDAkasha, the queen of the damned, has risen from a six-thousand-year sleep to let loose the powers of the night. She has a marvelously devious plan to "save" mankind�??in this vivid novel of the erotic, electrifying world of the undead. "With The Queen of the Damned, Anne Rice has created universes within universes, traveling back in time as far as ancient, pre-pyramidic Egypt and journeying from the frozen mountain peaks of Nepal to the crowded, sweating streets of southern Florida." �??Los Angeles Times From the Trade Paper… (more)
User reviews
Though "Interview" is often cited as
Update- Done with The Vampire Lestat. Not bad, but I have to say it wasn't quite as satisfying as the previous book was. There are a lot more things going on in this story, but it somehow doesn't feel as cohesive as Interview with the Vampire did. I also felt that the author was somehow deviating a bit from the original concept; that might have helped make the series more popular, but I'm not sure it's made it better. Not a bad book, but not as good as the first one in the series.
The reader will find themselves transported to that dingy New Orleans Hotel room where the first installment : " Interview with the Vampire" started, you'll become "the interviewer;" who's immediately smitten by his beauty; then terrified by his fiendish demeanor, and candor. Your heart will skip several beats as Lestat's recounts his last night as a human, as he shares his grief for the life and loves he's lost. Part of you will want to scream and run from the room in terror; yet you will find yourself fantasizing about letting him take you in his arms for that fatal last kiss.
Lestat's chronicle will re-awaken deliciously dark desires, and even philosophical re-examination of those uncomfortable questions about life, human existence, and " the meaning of all" (only if you want it to, like I do).
To me, Anne Rice's Lestat is a personification of what's both good and bad about humanity, and the individual's search for significance. Love him, hate him, or fear him, bet you cannot help empathizing with Lestat's reluctant bloodlust, as well as well as his conflicted drive for love, fame, acceptance, and even"Sainthood."
Lestat the cynical 15th century vampire who was unwillingly bestowed "the gift/curse" of vampiric immortality struggles to hold on to what's left of his humanity, morality, and soul in an increasingly changing world?
Through the eyes of The Vampire Lestat, and his cohorts, the reader is taken on journeys backwards and forward through time to share in the many adventures of Lestat and the other inhabitants of this preternatural parallel universe, where vampires, witches, demons, and spirits abound; Where the lines between good and evil; heroism and Villainy; hedonism and religion are skillfully blurred then redrawn. Underscoring the "self evident'" truths about humanity's frailty and our search for love- the only truly immortal gift.
The Vampire Chronicles are my favorite works of Anne Rice's, and I have read just about everything by her including biographies. To me Rice is the best Writer in this genre, her works are definitely not just " blockbuster fluff". Yes they are highly addictive and enjoyable, but I found this series to be well researched, prosaic and pleasantly philosophical at times. It's the definitive "Vampire" series, and all others are poor imitations (IMHO).
I didn't rate it 5/5 stars only because Rice failed to deliver on hers/ Lestat's implicit promise for an equally great sequel/ revamped "Vampire Chronicle" after " Queen of the Damned", subsequent attempts like "The New Vampire Chronicles" didn't quite deliver. She should really consider bringing Lestat into the 21st Century-I am really eager to hear his commentary on life in today's World.