Anne Rice...

[Eleasha]

... or not? And why?

[WildScribe]

I personally think that she is too hyped, although I might eventually pick up something of hers. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT I THINK SHE'S A BAD WRITER.

[Eleasha]

You haven't read any of her stuff?
I can understand that if it's for hype reasons. I try to say away from the bestseller lists myself... but there *is* a reason why bestsellers are bestsellers, lol.

[Silver King]

I like wild rice and dirty rice; but she's just...Anne.

[WildScribe]

You haven't read any of her stuff?
I can understand that if it's for hype reasons. I try to say away from the bestseller lists myself... but there *is* a reason why bestsellers are bestsellers, lol.

I realize that, and there are some books on the bestseller list that I have read... I guess my thoughts are that since they are so hyped, I already know the plots! Also, I like to catch midlists as they come out since they might not be around forever. Anne Rice isn't going anywhere soon.

[Eleasha]

Every year or so I still pick up my tattered copy of The Witching Hour and read it (I have a gorgeous hardbound copy, but I just can't seem to ditch my beaten and scotch-taped paperback).

Oh, I know what you mean about that... my copy of The Vampire Lestat is falling apart at the seams, the biggest spine crack being right in the middle of Lestat trying to rip Armand's head off, but I can't get rid of it.
And ugh, the Mayfair witches. I liked Lasher well enough, or at least his story at the end, but I loathe and despise Mona, and her being made a vampire was one of the most unpleasant and reprehensible things I have ever read. The Mayfair Witches just don't do much for me. They seem too normal or something, hehe.
The first six of the Vampire Chronicles are my favourite, and Blood and Gold... and Violin is absolutely gorgeous, and I'm reading Cry to Heaven and Christ the Lord right now.
I think I've read all of them except the Sleeping Beauty ones, Feast of All Saints, and The Witching Hour. Oh, and Merrick.
I'm just a geek. :)

[Shadow_Ferret]

I tried reading "Interview with the Vampire" to see what all the hype was about, got half way into it, got bored and sold it back to the bookstore.

[Eleasha]

Yeah, IwtV is a little hard to read... it's so angsty. And her writing style was different then.

[Inkdaub]

I like Anne Rice quite a bit though I must admit I'm not as into her work as I once was.

The Mayfair Witches stories were my favorites and I wish she would have followed them a bit more like she did with the vampires. I wasn't really into the vampires and the witches books but that was mainly me being bratty and wanting the witches to have their own identity. I know the vampires are more popular and I like the vampires...but the Witching Hour is better than any of the vampire books.

I also liked Memnoch the Devil because it was a bit different from the other vampire books. I liked Servant of the Bones as well.

[scarletpeaches]

I've only read IWtV (three times so far, and I love it if not for her style then the fact it's a vampire book). Oh, and 'The Mummy' - anyone read that?

I'm remembering more! I've read Cry to Heaven, which I remember loving - but I was about 12 at the time, so I don't know if that makes a difference.

So that makes 4 of her books I've read - the last one being The Vampire Lestat which I hated - it seemed to jump all over the place and be up its own arse. It took me weeks to get through and turning the last page was a relief.

The other three, I would read again. Anything else, I can't seem to get through.

[Jamesaritchie]

I always believed Rice made a mistake by refusing to allow editors to change anything, but even at this she's still manage to create memorable, and orginal, characters and stories. Darned few writers can do this.

[KTC]

I think The Feast of All Saints is one of the most beautiful books ever written. It is Rice's Great Expectations. I've read it about 10 times and never tire of its utter and staggering beauty. It is her opus.

I was in love with the vampire chronicles about 10 years back, but have since tired of them. The Mayfair books were also great for a time...so thorough in their self-history.

Again: THE FEAST OF ALL SAINTS (Utter beauty...I can't say enough about it. I fall back to that old New Orleans era every time I read it and I have to be brutally hauled back to the present.) If you haven't read it, do so.

[Jamesaritchie]

I realize that, and there are some books on the bestseller list that I have read... I guess my thoughts are that since they are so hyped, I already know the plots! Also, I like to catch midlists as they come out since they might not be around forever. Anne Rice isn't going anywhere soon.

It's been my experience that mislist novels have exactly the same plots, and exactly the same characters, as bestselling novels. . .they just aren't written as well.

As for Anne Rice, you could she already has gone somewhere, at least where any future writing is concerned.

[Celia Cyanide]

I adored every minute I spent reading Interview With The Vampire. Vampire Lestat was a close second. Then I got to Tale Of The Body Thief, and it was just ridiculous!

S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S






Lestat trades bodies with this guy to be mortal for a day. Fun idea. Then the guy never has any intention of giving Lestat his body back, and Lestat is surprised at this...because???? Lestat has already been set up as utterly brilliant, and I'm supposed to believe that he never thought for a minute that this guy intended to use his vampire powers to wreak havoc? If even I figured that out, I think Lestat would have. And the way it was portrayed, it seemed like Lestat only wanted to do it so he could get it on with some people and taste food again. It was a novelty. If it had been established that all Lestat wanted in the world was to be a mortal man, it would have been different. I would believe that he might not think things through, because he wanted it so badly. And maybe he intended to stay a mortal, but then the guy was using Lestat's body to cause trouble. But no, he REALLY BELIEVED that the guy was going to show up the next day and give him his vampire body back! It was not a tedious read, but I found it silly.

[aadams73]

I read her books until I realised she was egotistically insane. At that point her work lost all its charm for me.

[Warp]

I was in love with her books when I was 12. Mostly IwtV, Vamp. Lestat and Queen of the Damned. I loved Louis, Lestat and that other one whose name starts with a K or something. Kaman? I don't remember. Anyway, they were perfect for me as an angsty preteen. I even thought vampires were real for a little while and was very paranoid about being bitten by one (I was a lonely little girl w/ no friends that year).
But when I got to Tale of the Body Thief it all fell apart like Celia Cyanide said. Couldn't even read it.

Now, I'm 25 (don't believe in vampires and I do have friends) and I'm very much over her. I cringe when I think of how much I loved her books. Oh well, it was a phase.

[WildScribe]

It's been my experience that mislist novels have exactly the same plots, and exactly the same characters, as bestselling novels. . .they just aren't written as well.

As for Anne Rice, you could she already has gone somewhere, at least where any future writing is concerned.

Midlist is just a bestseller waiting to happen ;) And by not going anywhere, I meant that I can ALWAYS go to the store and pick up an Anne Rice book. It seems like once certain authors hit the bestseller lists, they become lazy. Just my HO.

[Inkdaub]

Body Thief was pretty goofy. Memnoch was much better, though.

[Eleasha]

Memnoch was totally incredible. I don't get all the people who hate it...
But Body Thief was good *pout*. One of my faves.

[KTC]

I enjoyed Body Thief too, Eleasha. The first time I read it was on the beach in South Carolina. I remember buying it when it first came out and being excited about reading it. I found it extremely satisfying. It was exotic. The writing was kind of like her writing in The Mummy. Reading The Mummy was like walking into an early early movie set...it was another beautiful, cinematic work by her.


I can't believe nobody's talking about The Feast of All Saints? I think it's an important piece of American Literature.

[scarletpeaches]

So, KTC...what's your favourite Rice book?

Me, I can't stick her now. Her ego gets in the way of any enjoyment of her books; even the ones I've already read. I've just remembered two more. The Vampire Armand and Pandora. I was working long hours at the time and took those books to work for my tea- and lunch-breaks.

I should have taken someone's shopping list instead for all the good it did me. Okay, an author publishes a book you're not so keen on, you give them another chance. I've given Rice a gabillion (yes, that is a word) chances, and I'm done. There are authors out there I like more, and authors who can write...well, just better.

[Shadow_Ferret]

I read her books until I realised she was egotistically insane. At that point her work lost all its charm for me.Aren't we all? Otherwise why would we put ourselves through all this pain to get published?

Seems like a silly reason to deny yourself a good read.

[Celia Cyanide]

For those of you who liked Body Thief, wasn't it hard for you to believe that Lestat would be that dumb?

[WriterInChains]

I loved Body Thief, but couldn't stand Memnoch (it started out great, but lost me - too preachy maybe). After Marius' story (Blood & Gold? can't remember right now) I pretty much gave up on her. I loved the Vamp Chronicles & the Mayfair Witches -- everything up to Memnoch really. I think she grew up too much for me . . . or maybe it's the lack of editing, but I stopped reading her before she announced her religious intentions. That would've done it for me if I was still with her, though (not being Christian and all).

I love Lestat, so I tried Blackwood Farm; I read every word, but I'm not sure why.

Celia -- It was his hubris, IMO. One of the things I love about Lestat is his belief that whatever he wants/does/etc. will turn out exactly as he planned. I guess it's true that opposites are attractive! :)

[CBeasy]

I mentioned it like twelve posts ago! Has anyone seen the miniseries of Feast of All Saints that Showtime did a few years ago?
I remember hearing about this, but I didn't actually get to watch it. Was it a decent representation of the book, or was it terrible?

[blackbird]

I remember hearing about this, but I didn't actually get to watch it. Was it a decent representation of the book, or was it terrible?

I watched it just the other day (a local video store had it on sale for a decent price). It's okay, but could have used a good dose of editing. The pacing really drags. I found it mostly uneven, with some parts that are riveting and other parts that bored me to tears. Luckily, since I have it on DVD, I can fast forward through the boring scenes to get to the good parts.

[threedogpeople]

I haven't been an Anne Rice fan but did read one of her newer (newest?) books lately, "Christ the Lord, Out of Egypt". WOW! I have recommended it to several friends and they have enjoyed it too.

I haven't read "The Feast of All Saints". Would someone out there give me a quick overview so I can decide if I want to read it? It's set in New Orleans, one of the amazing places I've visited.

In the past I have found her subject material too disturbing (completely personal, since I read at bedtime I don't like reading nightmare fodder).

Judy

[LadyArmand]

As you can probably tell from my handle I rather like Anne Rice. I’ve read the Vampire Chronicles. I liked the series about the Mayfair Witches, Feast of All Saints was pretty good, as well as the Beauty Series. Although the Beauty series was not what I was expecting when I first started reading it. My favorite of her non vampire books though is The Mummy or Ramses the Damned.

LadyArmand

[Unique]

Feast of All Saints - it's hard for me to give an overview because the book is so detailed. Each time I read it, I take away something different. If you enjoy historical novels you may enjoy this one because it shows a part of history that you very seldom see. (no spoilers from me) :D

Queen of the Damned I read 5 times in a row. Not just 5 times - 5 times cover to cover with no other books in between. There are other books I've read 5 times, but never 5 times in a row.

I liked all the Mayfair Witch stories; I preferred them to the vampire stories but I'm not sure why. I've read Blackwood Farm twice. I really enjoyed it. I think what I liked about it - maybe what I like about Ann Rice in general is her detail. You can smell the candlewax, feel the lace, see those cameo buttons as if you held them in your hand.

A lot of authors can't 'do' that kind of detail (at least for me). It gets boring and I skip through to get to the 'good stuff'. I don't have that problem with her work. I read it all. For me, that says a lot.

[louisgodwin]

As you can probably tell from my handle I rather like Anne Rice.

<-- Ha! Same here. Louis is not my real name, btw.

I agree that Body Thief was the weakest of her novels. I loved Queen of the Damned and was appalled by the atrocious movie they tried to make out of it. Memnoch was great, so was Lestat and the original Interview. Come to think of it, I love all her books except Body Thief. The last thing of hers I've read is Blackwood Farm. I liked it to, but the lead character, Quinn, became annoying as hell at times.

[KTC]

The Feast of All Saints.

Marcel Ste. Marie is a 14 year-old growing up in New Orleans pre-civil war. He is of the free people of colour, descendants of African slaves and Spanish.

Marcel is enamoured of a man who grew up in the quarter and left to live in Paris…Christophe. Christophe is a novelist and Marcel and his friends are drawn to him because he has risen above his people. Marcel is all hormone crazed, like boys his age tend to be…filled with desire and dreams and not sure what he wants to become in life. His best friend, Richard, is a boy becoming a man. Richard is in love with Marcel’s sister, Marie. Marie is falling, with the help of her mother, into despair. Richard intends to save her. Marcel finds out that Christophe is coming home to start a school for his people and is out of his skin with anticipation. Marcel has a fling with Christophe’s mother and almost ruins his chances to get in with Christophe’s good graces. Marcel does enter Christophe’s school though, and excels. His father, Phillipe, a plantation owner, allows Marcel to go into Christophe’s school after Marcel gets himself thrown out of another school.

I just realized what Unique already said. It’s impossible to pin this down. It’s layer upon layer upon layer. There’s Vincent Dazincourt, Dolly Rose and the death of her daughter, the evil and remorseful Lisette (Ooh, Lisette…I almost forgot. What a tragic character!).

Just think Great Expectations…a young man searching for his place in life, set in New Orleans. It’s breathtaking. Wait until Marcel finds the passion of daugerotype…wow!

Just read it. You will see…

[David McAfee]

I tried reading "Interview with the Vampire" to see what all the hype was about, got half way into it, got bored and sold it back to the bookstore.

Ditto.

[LadyArmand]

Personally I think Interview with a Vampire is the weakest of the Vampire Chronicles. But then again I think the vampire novels were she isn’t primarily using Lestat’s voice all suffer in one way or another. This to me is because she has made Lestat her hero/our hero for the duration, and when he isn’t in the forefront the novel it tends to drag. Especially in novels like Blackwood Farm, where he’s basically a supporting cast member. Her detail which I usually love then becomes tedious and over thought (at least to me.) It took me a long time to read Interview with the Vampire. Of the Vampire Chronicles my favorite novel is The Vampire Lestat, because we finally get to hear about his life and hardships from him and not filtered through Louis and his issues with Lestat.

Tale of the Body Thief, I liked because as with all the books about Lestat being told by Lestat there is this element of him wanting to be redeemed. Then to have him at the end of Body Thief, make David who has gotten this new body, this second chance at life. But with the advantage we all wish we had, a vampire was delicious, because here is someone who wants to be redeemed, damning someone else and still expecting that person to love him for it. And getting that love, which is even more astonishing. Memnoch the Devil was interesting to me because here again it’s about Lestat wanting to be redeemed. And of all people the devil is offering it to him, through this woman. Yeah, it got a little heavy handed with the religious rhetoric, but it was still an interesting exploration into the desire of someone who calls himself a fiend yet yearns for redemption and the inability to either gain it or except it. Because he wants what he has, he likes what he is and what he can do. He loves that even among other immortals he’s seen as something other, something special. He genuinely loves being the Brat Prince reigning over this savage garden. He loves that even when he completely screws up as in Queen of the Damned and Tale of the Body Thief, they still love him, they still all gather to comfort him. And yet there is a part of him that can honestly say that he was forced to be what he is, he never consented and therefore should he be granted some sort of redemption for that fact alone.


Feast of all Saints

What I loved about Feast of all Saints is that for everything else it is, it’s also a novel that touches on something that not a lot of African American’s like to talk about which is the hierarchy within our own culture. What allows Marcel to rise above or at least be given the opportunity to rise above is the fairness of his skin. And that’s something that not a lot of authors black or white like to touch on. It opens too many wounds. But in this novel it’s done in such a way that it gets incorporated into the story telling without being preachy about it. It’s just a fact of life that like everything else has to be dealt with.

[nancy02664]

I've only read one Rice book: The Queen of the Damned. Not awful, but not compelling. Her characters were intriguing, and the mythology she created for her vampires was pretty cool, but the plot seemed contrived and the writing/language itself was bland. Forgettable overall, at least IMO.

[kristin724]

Also a not quite former Anne Rice Reader. I lost interest after the Pandor and Vittori the Vampire got a little silly. I'm not surprised she's returned to her Christian roots, and all the power too her, but I think that has alienated a lot of her brooding audience. I suppose The Vampire Lestat is also my favorite. I read a lot of vampire work in the past that was not wholely satistifing. That's why I wrote my own. 80)

[CBeasy]

Yeah, the pacing did tend to drag, but I was satisfied enough with the casting decisions, and felt like they at least tried to stick to the book. To put it mildly, it was no Queen of the Damned.
I admit, I love me some Anne Rice. I know she's an egotistical maniac, but I can't help it. If there's one thing she does well, it's to create an immursive novel. Queen of the Damned was the quintessenial bad movie adaption of a book. It was everything I hate about Hollywood. They jazzed everything up for the short attentioned spanned and basically eliminated any plot points that would have been hard to explain. Interview really wasn't too bad, but QotD was downright soul crushing.

[blackbird]

I admit, I love me some Anne Rice. I know she's an egotistical maniac, but I can't help it. If there's one thing she does well, it's to create an immursive novel. Queen of the Damned was the quintessenial bad movie adaption of a book. It was everything I hate about Hollywood. They jazzed everything up for the short attentioned spanned and basically eliminated any plot points that would have been hard to explain. Interview really wasn't too bad, but QotD was downright soul crushing.

The film version of Queen of the Damned was to me a horrible letdown, especially since I'd loved Interview With the Vampire (the movie, that is) so much. That film will always be a classic to me; I loved everything about it, but especially, the chemistry between the performers. Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise and Kirsten Dunst all gave outstanding performances, but more than that-the three of them made magic together. It remains to me one of the classiest and most intelligent horror films ever made.

Queen of the Damned, by comparison, is little more than a cheesy B flick with some bad special effects. The only things that make it even halfway salvageable are the soundtrack (ok, it does have some great tunes) and maybe that sexy hot tub scene with Aliyah and Townsend (who incidentally might have made a halfway decent Lestat had he been given better material to work with) but otherwise I hated it. Again, maybe it if weren't for the comparison to IWTV, I might find it more tolerable, but as a sequel to that film, it was just downright embarrassing.

[Eleasha]

I haven't seen either movie, and I'm dying to (even though everyone everywhere says QotD sucks). I'll probably have to wait till I move out of my parents's house in another year and a half. :S

QotD wasn't my fave of the Vamp Chronicles, but that's not to say that I didn't like it. I'd read it just for the Daniel/Armand stuff. But the parts with Mekare and Maharet dragged a little for me. And it's painful to see Lestat with a female, even if it is Akasha. Just horrifying to my poor strained yaoi fangirl sensibilities. That was the only bone of contention between me and Tale of the Body Thief; that Gretchen person.

And, just to say here... I think the worst book of the entire Vamp Chron. has to be Blood Canticle. I mean... I loved Lestat's voice in it. I thought it was totally hilarious. But it WASN'T LESTAT!!!!! It was sooooo wrong! And that stupid bitch Mona Mayfair. -_- And poor Quinn (who was always a bit of an oddball anyway, which could explain it) in love with that witch. (Lame pun most strongly intended.) I don't know. I figure that Blood Canticle being the only book I own that I have ever accidently dropped into the bath has to be an omen or something.

[Alan Yee]

The Vampire Chronicles wouldn't have ended like that if her husband hadn't gotten sick. She says Stan Rice was the inspiration for Lestat, and when he got cancer and was dying, she apparently didn't want to write about vampires or witches anymore. The voice was completely different from the Lestat from Books 2-5. As I read Blood Canticle, I could sort of see the inspiration dying as she wrote it.

I've read almost all of her books she's published, and I liked most of them to some degree, or at least didn't hate them. I notice her earlier ones are usually better than the ones that followed. She said that after The Queen of the Damned was published, she asked her editor to not give her thorough edits anymore. And fittingly enough, QotD and The Mummy were the last ones that I thought were really good.

Since she isn't writing horror anymore, maybe I can make myself some territory of my own...

[wyntermoon]

I loved the Mayfair Witches series, enough that I named my first daughter Rowyn, but the rest of her work left me a little cold after the first 15 pages of describing a sunset.

[Sneaky Devil]

I cannot get over Anne Rice's Vamipre Chronicles (or The Lives of the Mayfair Witches). I am now currently reading them again for the millionth time.
My favs are Queen of the Damned (horrible movie though!) and I especially LOVE The Vampire Armand. He is my FAVORITE, though Marius and David come a close second to Armand, I must admit.
Who doesn't love David Talbot???

[C.H. Valentino]

(raises hand)

Not a big fan of David Talbot. Never have been a big fan. I found his character to be too cosmic good- He seemed so...whiny....maybe.....I don't know. Just bothered me- I did however always enjoy Lestat's interaction with him.

I do however adore Marius and Armand. I read The Vampire Armand many times until Blood and Gold came out- then I found I preferred that one. But honestly, give me any one of the Chronicals and I'm happy.

[Alitriona]

I'm not a big fan of David either. I agree if Queen of the Damned was going to be ruined in a movie, they should never have made it at all.

[Hesperides]

I started reading those books when I was 10, so I've read them a billion times. Up until Anne Rice went on YouTube telling everyone what they were really about. It was like a stab in the heart.
My favorite, I think, was Pandora. And Tale of the Body Thief.
But I'm upset with AR, so I won't be opening the books anytime soon.

[Yathrib]

I'm not in absolute idol worship over these books, and here's why:
I read and positively adored Interview with a Vampire and The Vampire Lestat. I felt that after that, the books just tanked off in quality. I stopped with Memnoch the Devil and haven't even finished it (that was well over a year ago.
Someone told me that A.R. doesn't use editors, and I think that has a huge hand in my distaste for the later works. The first two she worked really hard on, and you can tell that they are of a high quality, but after that, she stopped putting so much effort into them. Without an editor, there's no one to say, "Hey Anne, you know I love your blood suckers and all, but don't you think we could do without this little piece here?"
It's like there's no filter or modifier to her work, and that's ok because, sheesh, the lady could get her grocery list published and it would be on the NYTimes bestsellers list.

Anywho, I don't begrudge anyone their enjoyment of a good vampire book, but I felt that Rice's works do deserve to receive some criticism once in a while.

[Hesperides]

If you're friends with her on Facebook, you've seen this:

The last Vampire Chronicle was written in 2002. For me, there is no going back to the vampires. I am a Christian novelist now, and probably was in the past while not admitting it.


What do you think?

For me, it ruined the Vampire Chronicles for me. I started them when I was 10 and they meant so much to me. Now that I know what she was really doing, it's like a chunk of my soul is missing.

[KikiteNeko]

So a mormon and a christian write vampire novels...

Sounds like the set-up to a bad joke.

[Hesperides]

It's like a joke in itself - the two biggest selling vamp writers are religious.

[scarletpeaches]

Why is that a joke?

At least IwtV was a good book.

*coughlookinatyoustephcough*

[Devil Ledbetter]

Why is that a joke?

At least IwtV was a good book.
Yes, it was. Rice's beliefs at the time, or subsequently, are irrelevant.

Same with Meyers. Her books are poorly written not because she's a Mormon, but because she's careless.

[Hesperides]

Yes, The Vampire Chronicles were good. I just feel let down, I guess. My monster vamps weren't so monster after all.
Steph's religion, I think, helped? It reached a younger audience, maybe, since it wasn't complex or dark. Mommies could feel okay about their 13 yr olds reading them.

[scarletpeaches]

I'm sorry, I'm just not getting it. How does the author's Catholicism retrospectively make her vampires less vampy?

[Adam]

Ya know what made her vamps seem less vampy? Vittorio. Ugh! That guy, and the book he came in, sucked! ;)

Loved the rest of em though, and it's a shame she gave up on 'em.

Ooh! Idea!


Coming soon - Blood noon, a Vampire Chronicles tribute, by Lord Adamson.
Don't worry, I read up on copyright and I reckon I can swing it!

[Hesperides]

I'm sorry, I'm just not getting it. How does the author's Catholicism retrospectively make her vampires less vampy?

She claims they were on the path to God. When they opened their eyes to their new world, they were actually awakened to their new path of spirituality. It was really a religious series with lots of metaphors, apparently.

[Hesperides]

Coming soon - Blood noon, a Vampire Chronicles tribute, by Lord Adamson.
Don't worry, I read up on copyright and I reckon I can swing it!

I'd read it! :)

[scarletpeaches]

I just read it as a story about vampires.

It's certainly no more Catholic than the godawful Twilight saga was Mormon.

Whatever Rice says about it, the series is what it is. Every author is influenced by their background but at least Rice has talent, if a propensity to go all Britney on Amazon.

[SPMiller]

Considering that the concept of vampirism is itself inextricably linked with Judeo-Christian myth, it's hardly surprising that some vampire writers would suddenly decide they're gung-ho for Jesus.

[scarletpeaches]

Or - ahem - that some Christians wouldn't have a problem with writing about vampires.

[SPMiller]

I assumed that went without saying.

[dgrintalis]

I'm neither Christian nor Mormom, but my tale is about vampires. I feel like such a freak.

;)

[scarletpeaches]

Aye.

scarletpeaches, shamelessly bumping up her post count in a thread about one of her pet subjects. ;)

[williemeikle]

She claims they were on the path to God. When they opened their eyes to their new world, they were actually awakened to their new path of spirituality. It was really a religious series with lots of metaphors, apparently.

Yep, it got really obvious that was the way it was going around about the time of Memnoch the Devil and got even more pronounced in later books.

Too much "poor me, God hates me" sermonising and not enough bloodsucking. I hated everything after Queen of the Damned.

I've had enough of metrosexuals posing as vamps... I say its time to get back to vicious bloodsucking b@stards.

[mscelina]

Or vampires set in the era of the vampire paranoia in Europe, when peasants were desecrating graves to find alleged vampire evidence and the Empress Maria Theresa issued an edict to make them stop.

Celina, shamelessly paving the way for much self-promotional work for her vampire project The Vampire Covenants trilogy coming in April with vampires in the 1780s and making the Benedictine monk almost single-handedly responsible for the vampire mania in the eighteenth century into a vampire himself.

*grin*

No sparkles or Egyptians though. Sorry, kids.

[Adam]

Now that sounds more like it. ;)


Or vampires set in the era of the vampire paranoia in Europe, when peasants were desecrating graves to find alleged vampire evidence and the Empress Maria Theresa issued an edict to make them stop.

Celina, shamelessly paving the way for much self-promotional work for her vampire project The Vampire Covenants trilogy coming in April with vampires in the 1780s and making the Benedictine monk almost single-handedly responsible for the vampire mania in the eighteenth century into a vampire himself.

*grin*

No sparkles or Egyptians though. Sorry, kids.

[trickywoo]

I read Rice's spiritual autobiography recently - a good read, by the way. But she talks about how, while her own spiritual journey couldn't help but influence her writing, her books reflect more her wrestling with religious issues than as some sort of religious platform.

I think she's an outstanding writer and am just now reading her work - both the Vampire books and the Christ the Lord books - for the first time.

[Little Bird]

I get really sick of authors who happen to be Christian getting bashed for whatever they write--by non-christians as well as by other Christians.

If they write Christian books, some people say they don't have the guts to write mainstream books. Other Christians criticize them for which subjects they choose to write about or how they handle them. Now non-christians (forgive me if I'm getting the wrong idea about your beliefs) are saying Christians aren't qualified to write about vampires?

I am a Christian, and my faith influences what I write about & how I do it, as I'm sure everyone's worldview does. I've read books by some Christian authors who've taken their stories to places I don't think I'd go. But I think it's dangerous to say certain topics or genres are strictly off-limits to Christians. To me, the ethics of it is all in how they're handled.

In the case of Rice's Vampire books, the complaint seems pretty silly. It's my understanding that Rice only recently rededicated herself to her faith. She did not sit down to write books with a Christian message at the time those books were written.

Aside from that, you may be enjoying more books with Christian themes than you realize. If you really think about it, if you threw out all the books with themes that could somehow be related to Christianity, there would be very little left. Redemption, good versus evil, self-sacrifice, the hero who saves the day, spiritual or character growth, "messiantic" concepts such as a person being special or chosen to do something great, forgiveness--I could go on and on.

If you can't enjoy a book because you suspect Christianity may have influenced its author in some way, what on earth are you going to read?

I can uderstand not wanting to get whacked over the head with a religious message you don't want to hear, but come on. Rice didn't do that in her vampire books. The fact that you liked them until you got the news that she's a Christian proves that.

All of Western civilization has been influenced by Christianity. That includes literature. It's unavoidable.

[Hesperides]

I don't think anyone's forbidden from a genre because of their faith. To me, it was just like someone telling me my best friend really wasn't who she said she was for our entire relationship. It's hard to explain, I guess.

Looking forward to more demonic vampires!

[mscelina]

Now that sounds more like it. ;)


Okay, that's it. You're hired as my publicist. :)

[Adam]

Okay, that's it. You're hired as my publicist. :)

Woo! I accept payment in either cups o' tea, or buckets o' blood. ;)

[TTCleveland]

Whatever makes her happy.

It's like a joke in itself - the two biggest selling vamp writers are religious.

I don't see how...the vast super-majority of native English speakers are Christian, obviously the chance is very high that the vast super-majority of English-speaking authors also would be....

Fantasy is fantasy. Go figure. :p

[Kathleen42]

At least IwtV was a good book.

*coughlookinatyoustephcough*

It was okay. Looking back, though, it would have been better had Louis sparkled a bit more.

[Romantic Heretic]

To be honest I didn't care much for Rice's vampires.

They seemed a bit too much like Greek Gods; beautiful avatars of the best and worst of humanity. I couldn't identify with them at all.

[Delhomeboy]

'Salem's Lot FTW.

[MaryMumsy]

I tried to read Interview when it was first out. Because I liked the vampire novels of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. Couldn't get more than 50 or so pages into it. Gave it back to the friend who lent it to me. Have never tried any of her other stuff.

MM

[marie2]

I didn't like IwtV at all. All Louis did was WHINE WHINE WHINE. It was really annoying. My favorite book of hers was The Vampire Lestat. Her narrative voice in that book was fantastic.

[Adam]

I didn't like IwtV at all. All Louis did was WHINE WHINE WHINE. It was really annoying. My favorite book of hers was The Vampire Lestat. Her narrative voice in that book was fantastic.

Ditto, so much better imo. :)

[Hesperides]

I liked Tale of the Body Thief. Vampire experiencing mortal life... Interesting concept.

I must say - when I came into AW today, I freaked the hell out!

[justbishop]

Yes, I'm resurrecting this thread. I honestly cannot believe I've been here as long as I have without seeking it out and posting.


I admit, I love me some Anne Rice. I know she's an egotistical maniac, but I can't help it. If there's one thing she does well, it's to create an immursive novel. Queen of the Damned was the quintessenial bad movie adaption of a book. It was everything I hate about Hollywood. They jazzed everything up for the short attentioned spanned and basically eliminated any plot points that would have been hard to explain. Interview really wasn't too bad, but QotD was downright soul crushing.

Soul crushing. That is a perfect way of explaining that abortion they tried to shove down our throats as a movie. My husband and I waited for that thing to come out (we are both huge fans), and almost walked out 15 minutes into it. Wished we had afterward.

I'm sorry, I'm just not getting it. How does the author's Catholicism retrospectively make her vampires less vampy?

I'm wondering this as well. I chose not to read the stuff she wrote after her "reawakening", but it didn't lessen my love of the stories that came before.

And really, I couldn't care less what she says the books are about. I know what they mean TO ME*, and that's all that really matters. And for the record, I plan to pass all of my beaten up AR paperbacks to my Daughter Claudia as soon as she shows any interest in reading "grown up" novels ;)

* I've always interpreted the Vamp Chronicle vampires as a lens through which I'm reminded how fascinating and precious we humans, as a species, are. Call me cheesy, but I need to be "told" how wonderful and short life is every so often when I feel like its just a big trough of crap.

ETA: Anyone read The Wolf Gift? I pre-ordered it for my Kindle, and am sad that I just wasn't able to get into it. I don't think I made it through the first chapter :/

[Devil Ledbetter]

I read Interview as a youth and loved it. Read it again as an adult and wondered why everything was glittering. The wet streets glitter, eyes glitter, hair glitters, glittering glitter glitters. I think I know what gave a certain other Vampire writer an idea about glittering vampires.

[LongWave]

ETA: Anyone read The Wolf Gift? I pre-ordered it for my Kindle, and am sad that I just wasn't able to get into it. I don't think I made it through the first chapter :/

I'm about 1/3 through Wolf Gift. I like it, but i'm not able to find a groove because i've been so busy lately. The first 1/3 seems a bit slow, but I feel it starting to pick up.

btw, I'm a big Anne Rice fan. Read all the vampire books, but the MAyfair series -- Witching hour, Lasher, and Taltos, are my favorite.

[justbishop]

Good to know that it picks up at some point, thanks :)

And I love love love the Mayfair Witches trilogy! The first book is just amazing, but I feel like it slides into the realm of the ridiculous by book three.