Lestat. The vampire hero of Anne Rice’s enthralling novel is a creature of the darkest and richest imagination. Once an aristocrat in the heady days of pre-revolutionary France, now a rock star in the demonic, shimmering 1980s, he rushes through the centuries in search of others like him, seeking answers to the mystery of his eternal, terrifying exsitence. His is a mesmerizing story—passionate, complex, and thrilling.

You know, as much as I enjoyed Interview with a Vampire in the 90’s, I never bothered to try and read the series. I did buy several of the books over the years, but this series has remained in my physical TBR bookcase for far too long. Since I had more time for audiobooks during the day at work, I got the idea to finally get into the books and I’m really glad I did.

From what I remember from the movie, Lestat is portrayed as a possessive and controlling jerk. But then in Queen of the Damned he’s some kind of rock star? There was a big disconnect between the movies and I think it comes not only with the fact movies were filmed a few years apart and with different actors, but also because they skipped over this book. This book actually explains more about Lestat’s past and at least gives the reader an opportunity to see him as something more than a villain. In truth, he’s just a flawed creature and I would almost dare to call him human. In Interview with a Vampire, Louie is portrayed as being the more human of the pair, but I can’t help but wonder if perhaps his love/hate relationship for Lestat left him blind to how Lestat truly was. Or perhaps Lestat is just doing damage control in the book and he’s exaggerating about his side of the story.

So, while I thoroughly enjoyed learning of Lestat’s life before book one, I wish there had been some crossover about the his side of things that occurred in the original book. Then again, by not doing that, Anne Rice has really earned my respect because it would have been so easy to just make half of this book all about book one.

I just have one question for those who have read this book and loved it… did it bother you that Lestat finds love for every single vampire he has relationship with? Even creepy statue-wannabe Akasha. I don’t know why that bothered me so much, but it seems his love was being expressed every time him met a new vampire. I just don’t get it? Surely there should have been one distinct instance in which he didn’t automatically fall in love with another vampire. Also, my other question comes with Gabrielle’s talking about Marius as if she knew him. If he’s been hidden away with “Those who must be kept”, then why was she speaking as if she’d met him. I’m positive she never does and with the exception of Lestat’s story, no other vampire has for several hundred years.

This is a phenomenal story and I have to admit, as a history buff, I really found all the historical aspects of Ancient Egypt, Rome and even pre-Revolution France had me completely enthralled. I can’t wait to read more of the series. Though I’ll be reading the books out of order, I’ll be reading Interview with a Vampire next. I just chose this one because I knew basis for the first and third books, thanks to the movie. I wanted a real introduction to the series.

Rating

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Pick up your copy on Amazon: The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice