Interview with the Vampire [Feb 15, 2019]

[Jenna, I'd be free if not for Temper & Edgewalker]

Feb 15th.

[EchoBaz(Unofficial World's Fastest Reader)]

I've always wanted to read this, but I'm currently in a massive non-graphic fantasy novel slump.

Wish me luck in getting myself through this so I can read this as a group.

Count me down as a maybe.

[Diana Stormblessed]

I was waiting to see if anyone else was going to do this buddy read. I'd love to reread it.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I'm still a bit behind on everything... this is loaded on my phone, tho, so I'll be here soon...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Started this at work... around 20% in now... waiting for the other shoe to drop... so far, Louis has been a pretty likeable character for the most part, so I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop... this isn't the image in my head from everything I've heard about the series, over the years...

I can't say that there's been too terribly much to engage me, yet, to think the book is awesome... but there's something to the style that keeps me reading, regardless... moreso than Lirael, which I've been reading for a few days now, and keep pausing to read entire other books...

[Diana Stormblessed]

Timelord Iain (Eeyawn) wrote: "Started this at work... around 20% in now... waiting for the other shoe to drop... so far, Louis has been a pretty likeable character for the most part, so I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop......"

I think you are thinking of Lestat in regards to what you have heard about this series.. Louis is a likable character.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Yea... I agree that Louis is a likeable character... but somehow liking him feels wrong... there's this whole sense to the book... it reminds me of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strip_s...

By that I mean the sense of being incrementally convinced to do things... (view spoiler)[from the early stuff through to this whole disturbing scenario with Claudia... young vampires are always weird... wise beyond their physical years... moreso pre-puberty (hide spoiler)]

[Diana Stormblessed]

I started it today and holy hell is this the worst narrator ever. I know there are multiple narrated versions, but the one I have is horrible. As he's speaking about his French accent, IN AN AMERICAN ACCENT. The narrator can't even get the lead character's name right. He's FRENCH. It's pronounced like luh-ee, not Luh-is. The S is freaking silent! I'm so mad at the narrator that I'm considering putting this down and finishing it on my kindle. I haven't been this mad at a narrator since the Warbreaker one made Lightsong a surfer boy. I'm really glad I've read this book (multiple times) before or this narration would have put me off the book entirely.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Maybe that was part of my problem... I listened to that book... the book was just OK for me, but I plan to continue for another book or 2 before possibly quitting...

[Jenn]

Diana Stormblessed wrote: "I started it today and holy hell is this the worst narrator ever. I know there are multiple narrated versions, but the one I have is horrible. As he's speaking about his French accent, IN AN AMERIC..."

Who's the narrator? I like Simon Vance's version. Too bad that he only narrates about half the series before it switches to various other people that I just don't like as much.

[Kirsten]

I really enjoyed this book when I read it. Will you guys be doing the WHOLE series? I'd love to join in.

This book isn't just a vampire book, it's also a well written historical.

[Diana Stormblessed]

I think this is one book where the movie was better. But I did love Lestat's book (the next one I believe). I think Lestat is one of my favorite vampires. I'm hoping to go through the whole series. I never got past book 6 or so before and I'd love to finish them all.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Adrian wrote: "Diana Stormblessed wrote: "I started it today and holy hell is this the worst narrator ever. I know there are multiple narrated versions, but the one I have is horrible. As he's speaking about his ..."

Looking at the books on Audible, I think it's the other way around... in 2011 they started having Simon Vance re-narrate the series, in some random fashion... I can't figure out the rationale, but he did books 1-3 in 2011, 4 & 11 in 2014, 5 in 2015, and 12 in 2016... but books 6-10 are still the versions by random people in 2000-2003, and the new Blood Communion is done by a new narrator, so Simon Vance has been abandoned...

[Jenn]

Timelord Iain (Eeyawn) wrote: "Adrian wrote: "Diana Stormblessed wrote: "I started it today and holy hell is this the worst narrator ever. I know there are multiple narrated versions, but the one I have is horrible. As he's spea..."

Oh, you're right. I read that and then totally forgot. But yeah, the middle of the series is still pretty rough. I hope that at some point the bad reviews those narrations have will be noticed and Simon Vance will be re-hired to do them over, but I think it's unlikely.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I think there was a resurgence of interest when Anne Rice started working on the Lestat / Atlantis stuff, but maybe that's waned now... before that, I don't think a Vampire Chronicles book had been published in over a decade... similar to how the original audiobooks came out around the time the Queen of the Damned movie came out (and DVDs were new and cheaper than cassette tapes?)

[Diana Stormblessed]

This is def a case of the movie being better than the book. Granted my audiobook (by Frank Muller) was just the worst thing ever, but still, I remember loving the book when I first read it and now it was meh.

[Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos)]

I just started reading this so I will try and catch up. I am really enjoying it and I keep picturing Brad Pitt and Tom Cruz as I read lol.

[Carl]

Absolutely love the vampire chronicles and reread the first book like two months ago, forgot how much I missed them.