After the spectacular debut of Interview with the Vampire in 1976, Anne Rice put aside her vampires to explore other literary interests--Ita...
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Dec 16, 2009
Kelly
rated it: 
I'm going to just put this out there: Lestat is among the most fascinating minds I've ever been inside in literature. He just is. I understand that this is an erotic horror novel but that doesn't diminish the truth of that statement. This book holds up to the test of time. I re-read it last year, and found out that I had not had a silly teenage fancy about it.
I did not like Interview with a Vampire (mostly because I think Louis is whiny bitch), and I was going to quit reading the ser More...
I did not like Interview with a Vampire (mostly because I think Louis is whiny bitch), and I was going to quit reading the ser More...
6 comments
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(48 people liked it)
Dec 09, 2008
Cecilia
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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(5 people liked it)
Jul 12, 2010
Eddie
rated it:
This is one of those books that defined me. I don't mean that I turned goth or vampire or whatever. No... it started me thinking.
I was born and raised in the South. I didn't read anything else other than fantasy novels (like Dragonlance). I joined the Marines in 89 and while watching a movie about a teenage vampire it was mentioned that Dracula is 'good literature'. I went to the base library to check out Dracula and beside it on the shelf was this book. I took this one instead More...
I was born and raised in the South. I didn't read anything else other than fantasy novels (like Dragonlance). I joined the Marines in 89 and while watching a movie about a teenage vampire it was mentioned that Dracula is 'good literature'. I went to the base library to check out Dracula and beside it on the shelf was this book. I took this one instead More...
5 comments
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(20 people liked it)
Jan 22, 2012
Peter
rated it: 
This was the Audible audio book, unabridged, read by Simon Vance. Who gives a really good performance, I love his vampire voice!
Lestat de Lion court rises from his long hibernation in 1980 and decides to become a rockstar. He puts out an album and to accompany this he writes his autobiography - revealing the story of his youth as well as the history of the race of vampires, which started 4000 years ago in Ancient Egypt.
Some gleaned facts: Anne Rice loves the words: preter More...
Lestat de Lion court rises from his long hibernation in 1980 and decides to become a rockstar. He puts out an album and to accompany this he writes his autobiography - revealing the story of his youth as well as the history of the race of vampires, which started 4000 years ago in Ancient Egypt.
Some gleaned facts: Anne Rice loves the words: preter More...
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Jan 25, 2010
Christine (AR)
rated it:
Dear Anne Rice:
NOT WORTHY.
Signed, All Fictional Vampires Who Are Not Lestat
This was a re-read for me, but in all honesty, I don't think I was ready for this book the first time I read it. Or at least, I didn't appreciate it for the sheer masterpiece of storytelling that it is, and it's not just the mood and the world and the mythology and the fast-moving plot -- more than anything, it's the characters.
Lestat, of course, Rice's 'brat prince', arrog More...
NOT WORTHY.
Signed, All Fictional Vampires Who Are Not Lestat
This was a re-read for me, but in all honesty, I don't think I was ready for this book the first time I read it. Or at least, I didn't appreciate it for the sheer masterpiece of storytelling that it is, and it's not just the mood and the world and the mythology and the fast-moving plot -- more than anything, it's the characters.
Lestat, of course, Rice's 'brat prince', arrog More...
6 comments
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(15 people liked it)
May 23, 2008
Bart
rated it:
A happy surprise indeed. Perhaps it was a result of low expectations or a prior experience with the movie "Interview with the Vampire" that had me so unprepared to enjoy this novel.
The Vampire Lestat is a great read. It may not have all the literary quality of, say, Cormac McCarthy's equally gruesome accounts, but it is more enjoyable on its first reading.
What makes authors great, of course, is how their works hold up on revisits. Knowing the plotting and the More...
The Vampire Lestat is a great read. It may not have all the literary quality of, say, Cormac McCarthy's equally gruesome accounts, but it is more enjoyable on its first reading.
What makes authors great, of course, is how their works hold up on revisits. Knowing the plotting and the More...
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(5 people liked it)
Apr 20, 2009
Helen
rated it:
I started off a bit slow with this one, because of 'vampire literature saturation' and in small part due to that Amazon 'review' Anne Rice did on her books/characters (what an ego!). Still, despite that astonishing view into Anne Rice's mind (assuming that was actually the author) I ended up really, REALLY enjoying this one. I loved Marius' history of himself and Those Who Must Be Kept, as well as the aftermath of Lestat's voluntary exposure to the world. I was being somewhat tongue-in-cheek whe
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(1 person liked it)
Apr 09, 2010
Let me clear one thing up: I haven't read Queen of the Damned yet, but this book definitely increased my love for Lestat.
In Interview With the Vampire, Lestat read to me as the aristocratic, realistic, practical vampire with a lust for blood and opinions grounded in blunt reality. I liked him as a villain, and I love him as a hero. Louis felt to me like a melodramatic teenager with a flair for angsty sololiquies. I don't hate him, but I don't have a passion for his character.
More...
In Interview With the Vampire, Lestat read to me as the aristocratic, realistic, practical vampire with a lust for blood and opinions grounded in blunt reality. I liked him as a villain, and I love him as a hero. Louis felt to me like a melodramatic teenager with a flair for angsty sololiquies. I don't hate him, but I don't have a passion for his character.
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(2 people liked it)
Sep 25, 2011
Ruhsora
rated it:
After reading the first book, I hated Lestat. He was conceited, materialistic, clingy, and he controlled Louis immortal life. When I first started reading this book, though, I saw another side of Lestat. How he grew up, his family life. I started to feel sorry for him, he wasn't allowed to pursue his dreams, he had a good friend, and he cared after his mother. He ran away from it all, and I cheered for him all the way. When he was turned into a vampire, I teared up, because he was snatched from
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Sep 11, 2011
Bronte
rated it:
I attempted to read this book in 8th grade but the full depth of the story couldn't have been appreciated back then. I'm in college now and it took me a couple months to finish it. I have to say, I understand now why Anne Rice is considered the queen of the vampires. Everything from the writing style itself to the characters, the plot line, and the possible meanings behind all of it drives me wild to think about. One would think it would be impossible to relate to a vampire but Lestat de Lioncou
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Sep 01, 2011
Pamela
rated it:
'The Vampire Lestat', well, "It is my personal favourite, from the series".
I suppose this becomes the part where I explain why.
I think more so that Lestat is my favourite Vampiric Character so the book seems to resonate more with my personal preference. The way he battles his demons is simply based around the wonderful ability of his creator, Anne Rice.
His mind is a captivating maze of explanations, hardships, dreams, faiths and his character is breathtaking.
More...
I suppose this becomes the part where I explain why.
I think more so that Lestat is my favourite Vampiric Character so the book seems to resonate more with my personal preference. The way he battles his demons is simply based around the wonderful ability of his creator, Anne Rice.
His mind is a captivating maze of explanations, hardships, dreams, faiths and his character is breathtaking.
More...
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(1 person liked it)
Jun 05, 2011
Monika
rated it:
I was somewhere between middle and high school, and craved for something dark. I've never read "The Interview", but seen the movie, so when I found a shelf in bookstore with Rice on it, I immediately reached for Lestat as the second in the series.
And it comepletely blowed my mind back then. I remember marvelling on how real and alive the characters felt to me. I couldn't believe that all that was a product of imagination of one person. I loved the richness of Lestat's character, More...
And it comepletely blowed my mind back then. I remember marvelling on how real and alive the characters felt to me. I couldn't believe that all that was a product of imagination of one person. I loved the richness of Lestat's character, More...
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(1 person liked it)
May 26, 2011
Heather
rated it:
I have to admit that when I started reading this book I got to a line about halfway down the first page or so... that read, "Right now I am what America calls a Rock Superstar."
I laughed hysterically, shut the book, and didn't pick it back up for many months.
I thought this was just something ridiculous they came up with in the movie interpretation of the book.
Later I braved the rest of the book and was pleased to find out that the rest of the book More...
I laughed hysterically, shut the book, and didn't pick it back up for many months.
I thought this was just something ridiculous they came up with in the movie interpretation of the book.
Later I braved the rest of the book and was pleased to find out that the rest of the book More...
May 10, 2011
Joshua
rated it:
I returned to this book years after I read it. I was a child then, and it let me in. I was both repulsed by and intrigued by the setting and characterization: after all, I was a young man who still listened to nu-metal and was expecting more fighting, more vampiric battles, and the like.
But coming back to it with a more mature perspective, I can't help but appreciate it for all new reasons. Lestat no longer seems as heroic to me, but actually more human; his struggles are really what w More...
But coming back to it with a more mature perspective, I can't help but appreciate it for all new reasons. Lestat no longer seems as heroic to me, but actually more human; his struggles are really what w More...
Apr 07, 2011
Alex
rated it:
What I like most about Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles so far is her committment to retooling Vampire mythologies for the twentieth century without turning them into crass marketable potboilers (or indeed frustrating anti-feminist Mills & Boon romances for teenagers. Given her own referencing within the book I imagine that Rice would see her novels as spawning from the great Vampire classics Polidori, Varney, Carmilla and Dracula but for the first time the Vampire isn't the sexual threat in the
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Feb 04, 2011
Dana
rated it:
I have been reading vampire books for a very long time (since 1980). Lestat is by far the best vamp book anyone could read. He is the gothic god, if there ever was one. All Lestat ever wanted was a friend. His best friend, Nickie, was lost to him from being born into his dark gift. For all eternity, he plagues himself with yearing for a rich friendship. Louis is his most loyal friendship, but one with a grudge. Little Claudia, well she had no remorse for her attempted murder of her dark father,
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Jan 14, 2011
Austin
rated it:
I just finished Anne Rice's second book in The Vampire Chronicles. "The Vampire Lestat" is part prequel and part sequel to the first book in the series "Interview with The Vampire." It tells the story of Lestat. It tells how he was created, and where he is now. Readers will learn more about characters from the first book as well.
Like her first book, Rice uses first person narration to tell her tale. By doing so (and retelling parts of the first story from a diff More...
Like her first book, Rice uses first person narration to tell her tale. By doing so (and retelling parts of the first story from a diff More...
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(1 person liked it)
Jan 14, 2011
Madalina
rated it:
Compared to contemporary vampire prose this book only highlights the differences between our cultures today and 25 years ago. It would be a stretch to say that we resemble the vampires we pen today like Anne Rice and her times might resemble hers, but, as we know, there has always been a tight bond between our cultural mass personalities and our mythology/religion. I don't think I can really apreciate this book until I can pinpoint it.
Frankly, Lestat seems a too open about his emotions an More...
Frankly, Lestat seems a too open about his emotions an More...
Nov 30, 2010
Melissa
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Nov 28, 2010
Tanabrus
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Nov 06, 2010
Kelly
rated it:
It is my suggestion that, if you want to sample Anne Rice, and have never read any of her other works, this may be the book you want to read instead of her most famous novel, "Interview with a Vampire." let me explain.
"The Vampire Lestat" is quite a different novel from the first in the series, because we are dealing with an entirely different vampire than the depressed and vulnerable Louis from Rice's first book. Don't get me wrong, Lestat was the antagonist in Intervi More...
"The Vampire Lestat" is quite a different novel from the first in the series, because we are dealing with an entirely different vampire than the depressed and vulnerable Louis from Rice's first book. Don't get me wrong, Lestat was the antagonist in Intervi More...
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Jun 09, 2010
Michelle
rated it:
All I can say is... wow. This is an incredible book. Incredible!
If you read my review for the first book in the series, Interview with a Vampire, you know that I loved but didn't think it was the best in the series.
This one might be.
Cast aside any preconceptions you might have about Lestat after seeing the movie INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE. Both the book and the movie show us Lestat through Louis' eyes. The Vampire Lestat shows us Lestat through his own eyes, a More...
If you read my review for the first book in the series, Interview with a Vampire, you know that I loved but didn't think it was the best in the series.
This one might be.
Cast aside any preconceptions you might have about Lestat after seeing the movie INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE. Both the book and the movie show us Lestat through Louis' eyes. The Vampire Lestat shows us Lestat through his own eyes, a More...
2 comments
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Feb 19, 2010
Kate
rated it:
I enjoyed this one a lot more that The Interview with the Vampire. Lestat's life story was intriguing and compelling. Though the "Rock Star" idea was a little weird for me I was glad to find that the story was based in his past rather than the rock star present. It was interesting to see what Lestat hid from Louis and why. I like his philosophy to "life". Armand is a prat, though I though Lestat was an ass after the first book so I'm sure Armand has redeeming qualities a
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Jan 25, 2010
Paula
rated it:
Actually done as an audioCD, but couldn't find that edition, so am listing as a regular book.
It seems so cliche today to write a book about vampires but Anne Rice is clearly one of the original masters of the genre. Written in a way that felt that the true master, Mr. Bram Stoker, the book quickly drew me in, despite a questionable narrator (long, dramatic pauses are not necessary after EVERY sentence, my dear sir).
The series started with "Interview with the Vampire" More...
It seems so cliche today to write a book about vampires but Anne Rice is clearly one of the original masters of the genre. Written in a way that felt that the true master, Mr. Bram Stoker, the book quickly drew me in, despite a questionable narrator (long, dramatic pauses are not necessary after EVERY sentence, my dear sir).
The series started with "Interview with the Vampire" More...
Nov 26, 2009
Chipper
rated it:
After thoroughly enjoying Rice's Interview With the Vampire, I fully expected to be let down by her second installment in The Vampire Chronicles: The Vampire Lestat. I was not. The Vampire Lestat is a fascinating character and novel. Like its predecessor, this novel is not a pop-culture vampire tale crafted for teenagers. Rather, it explores the problems, complications and inner-strife that immortality gives rise to and the larger questions an immortal might ask and seek to discover in himself,
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(2 people liked it)
Sep 22, 2009
Jon-michael
rated it:
This is one of those books that defined me. I do mean that I turned goth or vampire or whatever. No... it started me thinking.
I was born and raised in the South. I didn't read anything else other than fantasy novels (like Dragonlance). I joined the Marines in 89 and while watching a movie about a teenage vampire it was mentioned that Dracula is 'good literature'. I went to the base library to check out Dracula and beside it on the shelf was this book. I took this one instead.
More...
I was born and raised in the South. I didn't read anything else other than fantasy novels (like Dragonlance). I joined the Marines in 89 and while watching a movie about a teenage vampire it was mentioned that Dracula is 'good literature'. I went to the base library to check out Dracula and beside it on the shelf was this book. I took this one instead.
More...
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(5 people liked it)
May 22, 2009
April
rated it:
I first read the Vampire Chronicles when I was in high school. I immediately fell in love with the characters. Rice is so vivid in her description and detail. You almost feel you are there with the characters. I have since read the Vampire Lestat multiple times and it is by far my favorite in the series.
This book begins with Lestat waking up in present times. He falls in love with rock music and forms a band. Sounds cheesy, but that isn’t the direction the book takes. This is the bio More...
This book begins with Lestat waking up in present times. He falls in love with rock music and forms a band. Sounds cheesy, but that isn’t the direction the book takes. This is the bio More...
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(2 people liked it)
Apr 09, 2009
Ayla
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
May 18, 2011
Shannon
rated it:
'The Vampire Lestat', well, "It is my personal favourite, from the series".
I suppose this becomes the part where I explain why.
I think more so that Lestat is my favourite Vampiric Character so the book seems to resonate more with my personal preference. The way he battles his demons is simply based around the wonderful ability of his creator, Anne Rice.
His mind is a captivating maze of explanations, hardships, dreams, faiths and his character is breathtaking.
More...
I suppose this becomes the part where I explain why.
I think more so that Lestat is my favourite Vampiric Character so the book seems to resonate more with my personal preference. The way he battles his demons is simply based around the wonderful ability of his creator, Anne Rice.
His mind is a captivating maze of explanations, hardships, dreams, faiths and his character is breathtaking.
More...
Mar 14, 2009
Lindsay
rated it:
Obviously, as a tormented, emo teenager, I was way obsessed with this book, and I remembered that a lot of that was based in the fact that I was an angsty 14-year-old. Now, years later, I decided to re-read it for kicks and I have to say that it's still fantastic, and that assertion is in no way based in any stupid self-indulgent fascination with suffering. It's just a beautifully written book. It starts off slow, but the second half is striking and magnificently written. Rice uses some of the m
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