Yearly remembrance - Anne Rice

October 4, 1941 - December 11, 2021

I'm a day late! Sorry, Anne.

It's hard to believe another year has passed since you left this world. You are sorely missed. Just knowing there will be no more of your writing brilliance makes me sad. I take heart though in the wonderful adaptations of your works, Interview with the Vampire and The Mayfair Witches. Your work will now be forever immortalized not only in print, but on the screen too. Your dear son is doing a wonderful job of carrying on your legacy, and he keeps your memory alive for us. I hope you are resting well. 

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Yearly remembrance - Anne Rice

It's hard to believe you've been gone for a year. I miss your delightful and intelligent posts from your page that used to pop up in my Facebook news feed. You were definitely dedicated to your "people of the page." I like to think you're smiling, wherever you are, at the brilliant interpretation of your characters in the "Interview with a Vampire" AMC series. You will live on forever in your characters. Even knowing that though, you are still missed greatly by many. 

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Blast from the Past...The Tale of the Body Thief (A review)

I have been listening to Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles on audio over the past several months.  These are actually re-reads for me.  I'm revisiting them in preparation for picking the series back up with The Vampire Armand.  So far, I have listened to Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat and now, I finished The Tale of the Body Thief (I reviewed Interview with the Vampire here, but did not manage to review The Vampire Lestat due to hectic times during the holidays).  Now, I am currently listening to The Queen of the Damned.  I had to go out of order because my library didn't have Queen on audio.

It has been at least 15 years since I first read The Tale of the Body Thief.  It is amazing to me how much a person can forget about what happens in a book after all those years.  That's why re-reads are never a waste of time...in my opinion! One thing I will say up front is that I did not remember the book being so funny.  I don't know if Rice intended this or if it is just my more mature sense of humor or even if it was just the way the audio book reader said certain things, but there were times as I was listening that I actually laughed out loud.  Anyone that reads my blog or knows me, knows that I love the vampire Lestat.  He is probably one of the most entertaining characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading.  In this book, what happens to him at times borders on the hilarious.  It is a total "fish out of water" tale and Lestat plays the part well.  I can't say too much without giving away the plot.  Suffice it to say that although Queen of the Damned is my favorite Anne Rice book, I have to say that this one is probably a close second.  It hones in on the plight of Lestat and his torment and really gives him a heart and soul in the eyes of the reader.  I think even Lestat learns some lessons in this book (if that's possible for him) and one of them is to be careful what you wish for.  Whether you're a fan of Anne Rice or not, this one is definitely worth a read...or two...or three!

Book synopsis:

Lestat, the vampire-hero, enchanter and seducer of mortals, speaks in the new book in the bestselling Vampire Chronicles that began with Interview with the Vampire and continued with The Vampire Lestat and The Queen of the Damned. For centuries Lestat has been a courted prince in the dark universe of the living dead. But now he is alone, and everything he has come to believe in is called into question. Soon he will embark on the most dangerous enterprise he has ever undertaken.

Read for the following challenges:

Audio Book Challenge 2010
The 2nd Challenge
100+ Reading Challenge

Links will take you to my challenge blog where you can view my progress on all current challenges.  If you haven't already, follow me there as well.  When I reach 40 followers, I will be hosting a giveaway!

Favorite Fictional Character--The Vampire Lestat

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.

Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Jenny at TakeMeAway. It is the time each week to recognize those older books… an older book you’ve always wanted to read, or one that you have read and love; maybe one from your childhood; or review an older book -- how about even a classic!

This is my first time doing this and my pick for this week is:

Queen Of The Damned by Anne Rice

Did you ever wonder where all those mischievous vampires roaming the globe in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles came from? In this, the third book in the series, we find out. That raucous rock-star vampire Lestat interrupts the 6,000-year slumber of the mama of all bloodsuckers, Akasha, Queen of the Damned.
Akasha was once the queen of the Nile (she has a bit in common with the Egyptian goddess Isis), and it's unwise to rile her now that she's had 60 centuries of practice being undead. She is so peeved about male violence that she might just have to kill most of them. And she has her eye on handsome Lestat with other ideas as well. (synopsis from Amazon.com)

Now anyone that knows me knows that Anne Rice is my favorite author and that this is my favorite book. The story behind my discovery of it is interesting. When I was in my late teens/early twenties, I came across this book as a book club selection in one of those mail order book clubs. It sounded good so I bought it. I started reading it and my mom noticed the author. She went to her bookcase and pulled out Interview with the Vampire and said, "That book is actually the third in the series. This one is the first one." Now I had remembered seeing it in mom's bookcase for years, but had never actually pulled it out and read it. So to make a long story short, I still ended up reading Queen of the Damned first and then went back to the beginning of the series. I don't know if it's due to the fact that I read it first or if it's because in this book, Rice really explores the history and the origins of the vampires (I lean toward the latter). All I can say is that I have read it three times and I'm getting ready to revisit it a fourth time as I'm reading The Vampire Chronicles (actually on audio) once again, up to Menmoch the Devil, in preparation of reading The Vampire Armand. I have been too long away from Rice's beloved vampires!