I am a day late posting this...sorry about that! I fell asleep early last night.
This weekly event was created by Ryan at
Wordsmithonia.
The Vampire Lestat...there's not much more a person can say about him. Just the name is enough, at least for those of us that are loyal Anne Rice fans. Lestat--dubbed the Brat Prince, the Wolf Killer and other very appropriate monikers--is the epitome of the evil protagonist with a yearning to overcome a fate he did not choose and find some sense of humanity again. I have read the
Vampire Chronicles through
Memnoch the Devil and I am currently rereading them via audio book (in preparation for picking up the next book in the series,
The Vampire Armand). In
Interview with the Vampire, told from the point of view of Louis, Lestat is demonized. But as the books progress, so does Lestat. We get that Louis has made him out to be more evil than he truly is, but really I think a large part of that evil leaves him after the Claudia debacle in
Interview. Lestat is witty, clever, impish, and fiercely loyal to those he loves. He really is the most unique vampire ever written (IMO). I think that is why it has been so difficult to find exactly the right person to portray him, which I will discuss below.
There have been two movies based on the
Vampire Chronicles.
Interview with the Vampire which starred Tom Cruise as Lestat and
Queen of the Damned with Stuart Townsend portraying him. The film version of
Interview with the Vampire was by far the better adaptation. And while Cruise did a pretty good job (I mean he did play entirely against type), I still was not completely satisfied with the depiction.
Queen of the Damned was a hot mess. They took one of my most favorite books and basically destroyed it. Stuart Townsend did okay playing the rock star version of Lestat, but there just was not any depth of character. I really wish they would remake that movie, but alas, it probably will not happen. If they do make more movies from the books, I don't know who should play Lestat. It's going to take just the right person to satisfy me and I'm not sure if that person even exists!
If you have not read Anne Rice's
Vampire Chronicles and discovered Lestat, you are really missing out. Ask any Rice fan who their favorite character is...I bet the majority will answer with a resounding
LESTAT!
The Vampire Chronicles (in the order they should be read):
1.
Interview with the Vampire (1976)
2.
The Vampire Lestat (1985)
3.
The Queen of the Damned (1988)
4.
The Tale of the Body Thief (1992)
5.
Memnoch the Devil (1995)
6.
The Vampire Armand (1998)
7.
Merrick (2000)
8.
Blood and Gold (2001)
9.
Blackwood Farm (2002)
10.
Blood Canticle (2003)
For more information on Anne Rice, click on her picture in my right sidebar.
