The Vampire Lestat (Vampire Chronicles)

The most perfect prequel/ sequel ever Lestat is my fave vampire of all time!

Arrived in excellent condition and was as described

Just started this book & it’s so good!!! Gives a lot of extra context for the show too.

This is only my third Anne Rice novel though I have been a long time supporter of hers and a fan of her work. Having only recently read Interview with the Vampire, the first book in the Chronicles, I immediately wanted to read the next book, The Vampire Lestat. I'm so glad I did because it gave me a better understanding and a stronger admiration for Interview, of which I had somewhat mixed emotions about upon finishing it. In The Vampire Lestat, we learn more about Louis's maker and get to enjoy a nice long tale of his life story. We open in the 1980s with Lestat in New Orleans taking an interest in rock music and becoming a vocal celebrity. He has even sought out the book, Interview with the Vampire, to read and has determined much of it to be lies so he needs to set the record straight by writing his own book. From here, we spend a lot of time with Lestat as a human and get to study the close loving relationship he had with his mother. We meet his vampire maker, Magnus. We learn that Lestat loved the stage and we see the early development of what would become the Theatre of the Vampires which played such a crucial part in Interview. We witness Lestat's bond with Armand, the vampire who became the head of the theatre and learn a lot about his story and his creator Marius, who Lestat begins to obsess over. And Marius introduces Lestat to "those who must be kept," who are the king and the queen of all vampires. This sets the reader up for the next book in the series, Queen of the Damned. Rice excels at classic story telling, but treats her readers to a historical saga of fine vampire literature. Unlike the vampires today's generation obsess over, who are either blood thirsty monsters or sparkling romantics, Rice suffers her protagonist with questions of existence, being, and soul. Hers truly are vampires that will live forever, both on the page and in the minds of her readers.

one of the greatest books ever written; i re-read it now and again, i forget how many times, now. it has it all: it has great writing, so vivid that you feel like you are "there", plus the descriptions are incredible, and the other characters-friends, enemies, loved ones- are each unique and deeply interesting. and of course, of all the characters anne rice has created, lestat is the greatest. he is so well described; through time you understand him more and more, thru so many layers- he seems very real....... well, that could just be me. lestat has a very detailed back story, a torrent of encounters, adventures, and interactions with other fascinating characters, and he narrates his own story. the story goes back and forth in time, never letting up for a minute- there is no down time in this book. although the book is a bit dated as far as technology, it is a real classic, and i can't recommend it highly enough. i have read all of the books anne rice has written, and this is my favorite (maybe you can tell). the tone, story, and the characters, are all different in the first book in the series, "interview with a vampire". " the vampire lestat", the second book, changes all that, the perspective is completely different. lestat is a different character all together. don't let that stop you. each can be appreciated in it's own way.....but i am much more a fan of the second book, tvl. i love the sarcastic, passionate, wildly adventerous, intelligent, sensuous, and just plain off the wall, lestat. you'll see, you'll fall under his spell, too......

Anne Rice tells the story of Lestat de Lioncourt, an eighteenth-century French aristocrat who becomes a vampire. We follow Lestat's early years on the dark side as he struggles and inevitably fails to stay connected with his family, friends and former life. Most of the book traces Lestat's quest to understand his dark nature and come to terms with it. This involves meeting and hearing the stories of several older vampires. And finally deciding how he will exist in the world of humans. The book offers a sophisticated view of vampires and their history. It is more similar to historical fiction than to most vampire tales. In the spirit of carefully researched nonfiction, it presents history as a series of oral biographies delivered by its main characters. As their stories contradict each other, the reader sees the layers of history pealed back and learns more than most of the characters themselves are aware of. Lestat retells the story of Louis, the protagonist of Rice's previous book in the series, Interview with the Vampire , and corrects his errors, sometimes self-servingly. Having readjusted our perspective as readers, we do it twice more as Lestat tells what he learned from the older vampires Armand and Marius. These interlocking and contradictory tales are well-written and well-worth reading. Lestat's tale can be read independently of the first Vampire Chronicles book, but is necessary to understanding the events of The Queen of the Damned , The Tale of the Body Thief and subsequent books in the series. This book is easily the best of the series and a reasonable place to begin reading it. The author's skilled use of the unreliable narrator technique to present history makes the book worthwhile to anyone who appreciates good writing.

One of the most important books in the chronicles. The others reviewers said it all. It’s amazing and so perfectly written. I think we can all understand Lestat more and also how this form of vampire operates. Long live the Queen! As a fan of the franchise I’d advise to read them in order.