Tagged: the vampire chronicles

Blood and Gold by Anne Rice

(Cover picture courtesy of Rankopedia.)

Once a proud Senator in Imperial Rome, Marius is kidnapped and forced into the dark realm of blood, where he is made a protector for the Queen and King of the vampires—in whom the core of the supernatural race resides.  Through his eyes we see the fall of pagan Rome to the Emperor Constantine, the horrific sack of the Eternal City at the hands of the Visigoths, and the vile aftermath of the Black Death.  Ultimately restored by the beauty of the Renaissance, Marius becomes a painter, living dangerously yet happily among mortals, and giving his heart to the great master Botticelli, to the bewitching courtesan Bianca, and to the mysterious young apprentice Armand.  But it is in the present day, deep in the jungle, when Marius will meet his fate seeking justice from the oldest vampires in the world.

If not for PandoraBlood and Gold would be my favourite novel by Anne Rice.  The story of Marius, a logical Roman man, kidnapped and turned into a vampire against his will.  But what stands out for me is the amazing amount of detail Anne Rice puts into her historical fiction.  The splendor of ancient Rome, the horror of the Black Death, the energy and creativity surrounding the Italian Renaissance…all of the settings come alive and you feel like you’re really there along with Marius.

Marius himself is a very complex character.  His traditional Roman upbringing and his naturally logical personality clash very well with Pandora’s free spirit and dreamy personality and it makes for a very interesting relationship.  However, since Pandora mostly focused on their relationship, Anne Rice doesn’t spend nearly as much time on it.  Instead, she focuses on the relationship between Marius and Armand, his student and the courtesan Bianca in Renaissance Italy.  Blood and Gold certainly fills in a lot of the questions I had from reading The Vampire Armand.  If nothing else, it paints Marius in a more sympathetic light!

Blood and Gold isn’t for everyone.  If you get annoyed by long, detailed descriptions of historical events and daily life, you won’t enjoy Blood and Gold.  But for someone like me, who loves it when a writer showcases their knowledge of the era, Blood and Gold is perfect.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice

(Cover picture courtesy of Collider.com)

In a new feat of hypnotic storytelling, Anne Rice elaborates on the extraordinary Vampire Chronicles that began with the now-class Interview with the Vampire and continued with The Vampire Lestat and The Queen of the Damned.

For centuries, Lestat—vampire-hero, enchanter, seducer of mortals—has been a courted prince in the dark and flourishing universe of the undead.  Now Lestat is alone.  And suddenly all of his vampire rationale—everything he has come to believe and feel safe with—is called into question.  In his overwhelming need to destroy his doubts and his loneliness, Lestat embarks on the most dangerous enterprise he has undertaken in all the danger-haunted years of his long existence…

The Tale of the Body Thief is the fourth book in Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, but by this book, it seems like her heart wasn’t really in to writing it.  While the premise of the novel is interesting enough and her descriptions are just as wonderful, it seems to lack the spirit and enthusiasm of the first three books.  It seems as if she was pressured into writing a fourth book to capitalize on her series’ fame and that’s the worst reason for any author to write a book.

Even though it feels like Anne Rice had to continue the series because of its immense popularity, Lestat is still as complex as ever and after being a vampire for so long, he struggles as a human.  It’s amazing to see him struggle over things that normal humans do every day, like eating and going to the bathroom.  Along the way he meets David Talbot, a former member of the supernatural secret society, the Talamasca.  Together they discover that the man Lestat switched bodies with has no intention of switching back and they hatch a plot to get Lestat back in his proper body.

I’ll add my usual warning: this is not a fast-paced novel.  Yes, it has an interesting plot, but no, it is not a fast plot because The Tale of the Body Thief is a character-driven novel.  Anne Rice has wonderfully sensual descriptions and a compelling writing style, but as with all of the books in the Vampire Chronicles, The Tale of the Body Thief contains explicit sex scenes and other mature content.  I would recommend it for ages 14 and up.

I give this book 3/5 stars.

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The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice

(Cover picture courtesy of Simania.)

In a feat of virtuoso storytelling, Anne Rice unleashes Akasha, the queen of the damned, who has risen from a six-thousand-year sleep to let loose the powers of the night.  Akasha has a marvelously devious plan to “save” mankind and destroy the vampire Lestat—in this extraordinarily sensual novel of complex, erotic, electrifying world of the undead.

The Queen of the Damned is, out of all the books in The Vampire Chronicles, the one I enjoyed the most.  Why?  Because I’m shamelessly obsessed with ancient Egypt.

Now, no one really knows much about Pre-Dynastic Egypt and Anne Rice paints a vivid picture of what could have been.  The reasons behind the cannibalism practiced by Maharet and Mekare’s tribe are very intriguing, however, there is little to no evidence supporting the practice of such ritual cannibalism in Egypt.  In fact, the only real evidence of cannibalism in Egypt is found in the autobiography of Ankhtifi, a man who lived during the First Intermediate Period.  As much as it makes a nice story, I have to point out that it was not Akasha and Enkil who united Egypt.  It was Narmer (Menes to the Greeks) and his queen Neithhotep who first ruled over a unified Egypt.

Aside from inaccuracies most people wouldn’t notice, The Queen of the Damned is a good book.  The plot is not very fast, but Anne Rice made up for it in her sensual descriptions and intriguing characters.  Unlike most villains, Akasha is a three dimensional character, with redeeming qualities to complement her gaping flaws.  She also has realistic motivations behind her deeds, which makes her stand out from the crowd.

As with all of Anne Rice’s books, this is not recommended for young or sensitive readers.  There are explicit sex scenes, cannibalism and violence.  Personally, I would not recommend The Queen of the Damned for anyone under the age of fourteen.

I give this book 4/5 stars.

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The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice

(Cover picture courtesy of this site I cannot translate.)

Lestat.  The vampire hero of Anne Rice’s enthralling novel is a creature of the darkest and richest imagination.  Once an aristocrat in the heady days of pre-revolutionary France, now a rock star in the demonic, shimmering 1980s, he rushes through the centuries in search of others like him, seeking answers to the mystery of his eternal, terrifying existence.  His is a mesmerizing story—passionate, complex, and thrilling.

If you don’t like slow plots or are in any way sensitive to gore or explicit sex scenes, this book is not for you.  But if you can appreciate a slow but compelling narrative filled with fascinating characters, you will appreciate The Vampire Lestat.

The Vampire Lestat is the second book in the Vampire Chronicles, but you don’t have to read Interview with the Vampire to understand it.  Anne Rice lets her book stand on its own, but it is interesting to see first Louis’, then Lestat’s different perspectives.  Whereas Louis found his vampirism to be a curse, Lestat chose to embrace it, delighting in his newfound power.

I think a big part of why the Vampire Chronicles are so popular is the fact that Anne Rice has created truly memorable characters.  If I’m honest with myself, Lestat remains in my mind along with other great characters like Thu, Harry Potter, Katsa and Hamnet.  What keeps people coming back for more is her characters, not her slow moving plot or her sensual descriptions, as some reviewers claim.  Lestat is not always sympathetic, but he is appealing enough to command your attention.

I can honestly say that once you start reading The Vampire Lestat, you won’t be able to put it down.  When I first read it, I stayed up until four in the morning to finish it—although that was partly because the alternative was going to sleep on a concrete floor with nothing but a thin sleeping bag.  Still, it is a great book and you’ll have to forgive me for being cliché and describing it as “hypnotic”, because there is no other word for it.

I give this book 4/5 stars.

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