Anne Rice!

[Kitera]

I've recently watched 'Interview with the Vampire,' and thought it was a fantastic film! Really dark and creepy, but was well done. I was planning to read the Vampire Chronicles that Anne had written. Have anyone read it? If so, what is your opinion on it?

The man in the bookstore told me it was very dark....

 

[The Ace]

Yes it is, I always felt a little dirty reading most of her stuff. The fact that she also wrote "Exit to Eden, " and an S/M trilogy based on "Sleeping Beauty," makes you wonder.

 

[Kitera]

Yes it is, I always felt a little dirty reading most of her stuff. The fact that she also wrote "Exit to Eden, " and an S/M trilogy based on "Sleeping Beauty," makes you wonder.

Are there a lot of exotic stuff in her books?

 

[ice.monkey]

If you enjoyed the film I think you'll really enjoy her first two books - Interview and 'The Vampire Lestat'. After that, in my opinion, she starts sliding downhill. 'Queen of the Damned' wasn't bad but 'Body Thief' was awful! I tried reading a couple of her other books but I think her editor had been sacked by then and she seemed to have too much of a free licence. Tedious.

Are there a lot of exotic stuff in her books?

Not really in 'Interview' and 'Lestat'. Although she does parallel blood sucking with f*****g!

 

[Kitera]

If you enjoyed the film I think you'll really enjoy her first two books - Interview and 'The Vampire Lestat'. After that, in my opinion, she starts sliding downhill. 'Queen of the Damned' wasn't bad but 'Body Thief' was awful! I tried reading a couple of her other books but I think her editor had been sacked by then and she seemed to have too much of a free licence. Tedious.

Oh...hmmm thanks telling me Ice. Actually I am kind of reluctant to read her stuff, especially cause its so dark in the theme and I'm kind of used to all the happy fluffy fantasy stuff. I'll give it a shot though.

 

[HoopyFrood]

Ooh, dark stuff?

Sounds like my kind of book!

Actually, I saw her books in Waterstones the other day and was tempted to buy one. Especially as (and this may come as a shock to you (not)) I watched Interview with a Vampire when I was quite young and thought it was sehr gut.

 

[ice.monkey]

Don't be put off by them being dark or by my comments. I really enjoyed the first two books: 'Interview' and 'Lestat'. I would definitely recommend you read them. After that she disappointed and I've held a grudge ever since.

 

[Kitera]

What's sehr gut Hoopy?

Say, what age were you when you watched it?

DAmmit! I should have gotten that copy today! It was on sales, but I didn't. Thanks Ice.

 

[HoopyFrood]

"Very good" in German. Sorry, I tend to do that randomly!

And hmm...what age...well, it was certainly many years ago, I know that much! I can't say for sure, but I might've been about 9 or 10, perhaps.

 

[littlemissattitude]

I gave up after Queen of the Damned but, as others have said, the first two or three (Interview, Lestat and Damned) were all fairly good. Don't ever read her Mummy, though. And maybe I'm twisted, but I thought Exit to Eden was a pretty good book. Odd, yes, but there was a story well told there. Belinda was a bit much for me, however. I think she was trying to out-Nabokov Nabokov with that one.

 

[Lirineth]

Anne Rice is one of those authors where its either love at first sight or you will never really get to like her. You may like some of her work, but she will become just another author out there

The first book of Anne Rice that I read was The Witching Hour, and although I did enjoy it very much it was one of those books that I would not read again. But at the back of the book was the preview for Interview with a Vampire and that certainly caught my interests. It was one of those books that I couldn’t wait to get out of the bookshop to start reading.

Many years have gone by since I read not only Interview, but almost all her books, and although I have read many vampire stories, hers keep for me that special quality. Lestat, the main character manages to retain a mixture of innocence and horror at the same time. And of course there are times when he is simply funny. Maybe my opinion is biased by the fact that I do like her vamps very much, specially Lestat.

As for the movie, although I did enjoy it, it has a huge fault and that is the choice of actor to play Lestat. Legend has it that Ms Rice had a real bad time coming to terms with this choice because Lestat’s appearance was based on her husband a very handsome and tall, blond, blue eyed man, and lets face it Tom Cruise is quite far from that, don’t you think?

One book of hers that is one of my all time favourites and I tend not to re-read it but just take out of the shelf and open it anywhere and read is Cry to Heaven, nothing to do with vampires or the fantastic world but as I said is now one of my dearest books.

My suggestion is give it a try, who knows maybe you become another fan, one way or the other you will be entertained.

 

[Somebloke]

I have read her books but stopped after the third because of the constant self-indulgent nature of her characters. They seem to alternate between self-pity and self-love as they wander the earth indulging mostly in oddly incestuous love affairs/mutual feedings and music sittings/operas/rock concerts. Lestat especially repulses me as a posturing twit with all of the moral dignity (good or evil) of an 25-year old rock star with a fashionable drug addiction (he actually becomes a rock star briefly). The majority of her books seem to involve philosophical posturing and long, long, long winded explanations regarding the current situation.

That being said, apart from these pacing/characterisation flaws she is a good author with an excellent ability provide vivid descriptions- the only reason, really, to continue reading the books. Basically, if you have a degree of emotional sympathy for the characters then you'll love the books; otherwise, I would only reccomend the essential three (Interview, Lestat, Queen of the Damned) and see how it goes.

 

[Blue Tyson]

It is no dark in a horror and gore sense, in general, if that is what you are worried about.

 

[Alcatraz]

I'm a big fan of the Mayfair Witch Novels and their cousins The Vampire Chronicles.

The only thing which I found off putting (and this is just my hang-up) is the ammount of homo-erocticism which appears in the Vampire novels, especially, 'The Vampire Armand' and 'Tale of The Body Thief.'

I like how she 'merged' her two saga's of the Mayfairs and the Vampires.

I've also read read 'Ramses: The Mummy' and the other one, where the name escapes me about the young Jewish boy turned into an avenging angel/ghost in ancient Babylon who appears in the modern day.