I have only read the first book so... you are telling me dramatic gay Louis wrote a tell all about his ex boyfriend. And Lestat was like “Na ah sis, here’s the real tea”. And then all their friends were like “Oh the drama is goooooood” and just copy them. Risking their own lives by doing so? Vampires in this universe are just beauty youtubers.
@ITK FTN I'd love to see some "Real Housewives of X" murder each other by: poison, sunlight, drowning, blood-letting, etc. THAT would actually make me want to watch those series. For now, I'll stick with Anne Rice and "Tru Blood's" Sookey Stackhouse. ♥ ♥ ♥
Out of all the things I expected to learn “Lestat had a mental breakdown because his book was a critical failure and became a youth pastor who beats up drug lords with his mind powers” was certainly not one of them.
I would have loved a book about Gabrielle de Lioncourt, Lestat's mom. I think Anne Rice truly missed the opportunity here, she is a very interesting character! And she could have show us Lestat's childhood (wouldn't it be adorable?) A great video! Thank you for your time and effort making it! Greetings from Spain!
you're not the only one. my co-worker and i joke about what her book would be like all the time. usually its like this I am the Vampire Gabrielle....I am the mother and the child of The Vampire Lestat.....oh shit what is my brat of a son up to this time!
@@nursemain3174 There's a Graphic Novel that follows Claudia's short Vampire life. Appropriately named Interview with a Vampire: Claudia's Story. It's written by Ashely Marie Witter, & I believe it's received Rice's blessing to be considered canon. Check it out. The artwork is gorgeous.
Fun fact: the original draft of Interview With The Vampire ended with Louis and Claudia finding the Theatre of the Vampires and living happily ever after, but her editor encouraged her to explore more and that's how we got the tragic bittersweet ending.
My favorite of the series is Tale of the Body Thief. Mostly because of ONE single reason. Lestat having to take a dump for the first time in over 200 years. That was pure gold.
I feel like that book had more comic relief than any of the others I've read so far. I found myself laughing out loud at some of the scenes in Body Thief. The only other time that I can think of that I thought was funny is Armand cooking animals in the microwave in Queen of the damned. Morbid but rediculous.
I think it was partially memorable because the premise of an extremely powerful, nearly immortal, vampire figuring out how to live as an actual human was really odd. The whole plot is weird really. Lestat attempts suicide in the desert. Gets a tan. For some reason I remember it fairly well after two decades.
My personal favorite is Interview, because it has by far the strongest feeling of connection with the Author... if you know what she was going through around the time she wrote it... it really feels like her entire soul is inked onto every page and I could see some aspect of her struggles reflected in nearly every character... I've found that the further you go in the series, the more distant Rice gets from her work
Memnoch the Devil was only interesting to me because it felt like it was mostly Anne Rice asking searching to understand her faith and asking questions about why her God would ordain this or allow that. As somebody who has asked similar questions, I felt that was very real.
I checked the timeline of writing since Blood Canticle was when Lestat was “having a manic breakdown”. That came out in 2003 and Stan Rice died in 2002 so I imagine that probably had a lot of influence. Probably just didn’t get mentioned because it’s kind of a downer to the tone but grief will really mess with you
Yeah, definitely had, significant event in her life can always be tracked in those books, like how she wrote Interviews after the death of her daughter
Girl, you should totally run a "Vampire Chronicles" book club! Assign chapters per week then discuss at the end of the week what we read, etc.. It would be so much fun!!!
For anyone curious who needs a guide, here's the publishing order 1. Interview With The Vampire 2. The Vampire Lestat 3. The Queen of the Damned 4. Tale of the Body Thief 5. Memnoch the Devil ~ 6. Pandora (New Tales of the Vampires) 7. The Vampire Armand ~ 8. Vittorio The Vampire (New Tales of the Vampires) 9. Merrick (crossover with The Witching Hour) 10. Blood and Gold 11. Blackwood Farm (Crossover with the Witching Hour) 12. Blood Canticle ~ Revival a decade later ~ 13. Prince Lestat 14. Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis 15. Blood Communion
It's really interesting to get an overview of Anne Rice's vampire books from the perspective of someone who knows them well and has a deep, but not uncritical, affection for them. I read three and a half of the first four books book in the 80s and early 90s. I loved the first three books, but lost interest halfway through the fourth. I think the video helps me understand why. I really wasn't onboard for the books to become specifically about the manic-depressive Lestat show; constantly hurtling between suicidal depression and bacchanalism. We've all fallen for a hot mess drama queen. But, if you haven't fallen for that specific hot mess drama queen, then, at best, you're only going to stick around for the sick rush of schadenfreude.
@@ANT96-x8d Yeah--incredibly sad. To lose two of the people who really formed the person I am in my teenage years--first Stephen Sondheim now Anne Rice.
It's such a careful needle to thread that I've so rarely seen done anywhere else. I am simultaneously incredibly compassionate for and also furious at Armand most of the time. Which is, I think, how both Louis and Lestat feel about him, so it's probably the appropriate emotion. Armand is compelling and entirely untrustworthy.
If I were to cross him in passing I'd approach him with extreme caution while I'd be more at ease around Marius and Lestat but I'd be nervous around Lestat because of his unpredictable personality he'd either kill me or talk to me xD
I want a Claudia novel and a Gabrielle novel from their prospective. The Claudia will never happen due to how she was inspired. Both would be fascinating to read through there eyes though.
My top 3 is 1 - Interview with the Vampire 2 - The Vampire Lestat 3 - Blood and Gold I cannot avoid putting the first book at the top, since it is such a powerful foundation to everything else in the series. It's that good. (Also, I haven't read the last 3 books yet)
Me: just finished QotD Maven: you CANNOT read the new trilogy without reading ALL the 10 books before. Me:... Me: *adds Prince Lestat to cart* I’m sure she doesn’t mean it
It's kinda sad that Anne Rice wrote the latest book as an ending, sort of like facing her own mortality and that by itself exhibits more courage on her part than I'll probably ever exhibit in my life.
QotD is my favorite for the Daniel and Armand love affair, and the history of the Vampires origin. Armand is my favorite Vampire too, by far. imo, it is her best most thought out novel in the whole series. The characters were fleshed out whereas in later books they are not at all. There are so many vampires now with zero personality in her books, I just can't get into them.
I love how everyone's top list is so different due to personal preferences. My favorite book in the series is Blood and Gold. I thought It was just so grand and lush. Plus Marius is the most complex character, rivaling Lestat. His war with Eudoxia is one of the most intense moments in the series for me. I absolutely love that book. Even the book ends resulting in the end of Santino were great! Two books that are also in my top five are on your lowest ranking, being Memnoch the Devil and Vittorio The Vampire. Memnoch was fascinating book and being raised in a Christian household, it felt like taboo reading such deconstruction of creation and the relationship of God and Satan. With Vittorio, I thought the atmosphere was so campy and densely gothic. His entire adventure about avenging his family and murdering a vampire coven with the cliché vampire seductress was in the same being as Tale of The Body Thief; taking a know concept but giving it the Anne Rice lush writting. I loved these two books and I avidly defend them in the fandom. I did hope that Vittorio would appear by the end of Blood Communion and join the happily ever after but oh well..
Yea I loved Queen of the Damned and Memnoch the Devil for the reason she was lukewarm about them: cause of the epic mythologies they told. When it told the stories of how vampires were created or when Heaven and Hell came about I was blown away. And when during the book they returned to what the characters were doing in present time I was annoyed. lol
When I started reading the Vampire Chronicles I was 14 and I didn't have access to them in English (because I am from Eastern Europe) and they weren't all translated yet in Romanian. So I read and re-read the first 4 or 5 until they literally fell apart. By the time my reading comprehension in English got good enough to read an Anne Rice book, I was already deeply attached to some character couples in her book (namely Armand & Marius). I was in an art high school studying oil painting and went on to art university; I was pretty much worshipping Marius, and the idea of Master & Apprentice also being in a romantic relationship. I bought my first book in English, Blood & Gold and started reading... and I hated the plot and the book soo much that I didn't even finish it. I just threw it away because I got angry at Marius for leaving Armand and giving a shit explanation for it 😂. It's been more than 10 years since I "read" Blood and Gold and I am still upset. I listen to the Vampire Chronicles audiobooks from time to time but I always stop right before Blood and Gold. I just have a visceral reaction and I get angry at the characters. I have noticed that I have always been very critical with Anne's female Characters and from my point of view, she is not very great at making female characters. I mean I love Gabrielle but I absolutely HATE Akasha and Bianca and Rowan (from the Witching Hour). My number one Vampire Chronicle book is Memnoch and then the Body Thief and then followed by Interview with the Vampire. Lestat is fun, but his story doesn't carry me like that...
@@oanaheller2166 i agree with the Lestat point. I don't care much for him. I enjoy him but he is too much of a brat and his impulsive character gets under my nerves. I enjoy the other characters more.
This video was so fun! Thank you for the time and dedication it took to put it together! I will check out more of your RU-vid content :-) I've read all her books, Vampire Chronicles and otherwise. My VC ranking is as follows: 1. Memnoch the Devil 2. Queen of the Damned 3. Pandora 4. The Vampire Lestat 5. Interview with the Vampire 6. Prince Lestat 7. The Vampire Armand 8. Blood and Gold 9. Merrick 10. Vittorio the Vampire 11. Tale of the Body Thief 12. Blackwood Farm 13. Blood Communion 14. Blood Canticle 15. Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis I love your reviews and thoughts in that what you vehemently disliked about Memnoch and QotD is what I love most about them: the side stories. I was raised hyper-Catholic so Memnoch's existential story of the history of heaven, Hell, Jesus- all that really resonates with me. The story of the twins in QotD is one of my favorite arcs of the entire series. Pandora I loved, to your point, because it was one of the few pieces written through the POV of a female vampire, as well as her perspectives of turn of the millennia Rome and delving into the historical importance of Antioch. A lot of the middle stories have a lot of overlap, particularly the Vampire Armand and Blood and Gold. I adore all the art history, and the return to Italy unlike she's done since Cry to Heaven (unrelated to the VC). In a recent re-read of Blood and Gold, however, I realized that I had wanted more of an overlap of his life with Pandora than was written, and much less (if any at all) of an overlap with Armand as Armand's POV does a more than adequate job describing life with Marius after being rescued in Venice. The bottom third of my list I think are all just okay. I love Anne Rice's writing style and didn't have a hard time in the once or twice I have re-read them. You are obviously much more of a diehard fan of all things Lestat- which, hey, we're all fans or we don't read the entire series, right?- but for me, Tale of the Body Thief never does it for me. I think it's a valid story in that yes, after QotD, Lestat would be having an existential crisis of what to do following the extermination of Akasha. Unfortunately for me, I'm not as bought on to his POV explorations in the modern world to thoroughly love the book as much as others. I will end my thoughts on the VC by stating that I didn't like the further explanation of Amel and the alien contact. I was satisfied with the origins as they were described in QotD and felt that Amel, like all things in life, had a mysterious history that could have been left as such. Sorry if it comes off as brash, but as a long time fan, the explanation of the origins of the vampire essence (?) in Realms of Atlantis was a bit of a boner killer for me. (Lol) Like you, I'm a huge lifelong fan regardless of individual praises or criticisms I may have. I love her work so much, I've made it to her Halloween masquerade ball in New Orleans twice and got to see her in person both times. The second time was right when Prince Lestat was published and I had three days or so to cram the book so I "felt like I read the assignment before going to class" (funny enough most people at the masquerade hadn't finished or read it yet lol). Her writing has been such an inspiration to me in becoming who I am, alt and queer and all. It would be super rad to know your thoughts on Lives of the Mayfair Witches- I know, non-vampire so perhaps someplace else. The Witching Hour stands as one of my top three favorite books of hers, while Lasher and Taltos gave me lukewarm enjoyment. (I guess delving into the Taltos just didn't do it for me). Also, your thoughts on non-series books (Feast of All Saints, Cry to Heaven, Servant of the Bones, The Mummy, if you've read them) would be cool as well. I find there are so many gems of stories in those that many fans overlook. Thanks again! Looking forward to more of your content :-)
I've watched this the whole way through like 3 times by now just because your enthusiasm for this series is so powerful and contagious. Like I was fairly ambivalent about The Vampire Chronicles before, but after seeing this I've got the urge to track down the rest of the books that I haven't read
😢 I am one of those fans who ranked Memnoch extremely high on my list and exactly for the reasons that you mentioned. I love Lestat and his relationship with Louie but what drew me to all the books was more of the urban fantasy and listening to the back stories about what happened in years past. Finding out about the creation of vampires, learning about the history of the Mayfair witches, hearing the account of the creation and subsequent existence of a genie, Azriel, and everything to do with Memnoch. Honestly I think it's my interest in archeology that led me to enjoy these parts of Anne Rice's books.
Lestat and Queen are tied at the top for me. Don't love the newer books (not read the most recent yet) as much, they read like fan fiction to me and I cringed any time Rice tried to incorporate science into Prince. More like magic since it's so paper thin and clearly just an excuse to give Lestat a son out of nowhere. Personally I find the series and Lestat less interesting following Queen of The Damned. Edit. Blood and Gold was a pleasant surprise though and easily my favourite outside of the original trilogy. Nice to see it get some love.
Actually, I AM an Armand fan. I loved your ranking, though I am less inclined to agree with your ranking of the newer books only because I'm not really a fan of the direction they took. It's difficult getting beyond the aliens, the status of Amel, and that whole thing with Mekare. Definitely not a fan of that. I liked my ancients just as they were and am slow to accept altered lore and new characters. It was difficult enough for me to accept Thorne (spoiler, I still haven't accepted him). I started reading the series in earnest in 1995 after Memnoch and read every subsequent publication as they were released until Blood Canticle. That book and Merrick almost broke me. I agree with you on Memnoch. I think it could have been interesting if she actually went somewhere with that character, especially considering the information we get in the most recent trilogy. Anyway, another great review! I loved every moment.
I haven't read the books, but every time you talk about them I want to! Definitely going to check out my local library and see if I can get my hands on them (in order don't worry). I'm also really interested in learning more about the fandom history and Anne Rice's history with her books and the fandom (I know about the fanfiction stuff but that's it). So if anyone wants to fill me in, I'd greatly appreciate it (I'm poking around the internet too, so no worries)!!
Having read and loved them all I can honestly say that I wish we had gotten more novels from Louis' perspective as I always preferred him to Lestat. I love Lestat too but find he's better in small doses. Anne Rice is one of the few authors who is as good at philosophy and historical depictions as she is at action and drama. Here's my list: 01.) Interview With The Vampire (1976) -- Reason: Louis is my favorite literary character bar none. 02.) Pandora (1998) -- Reason: I loved her character almost as much as Louis and the depiction of the fall of the Roman Empire from her perspective was so intriguing. 03.) Blackwood Farm (2002) -- Reason: Quinn and Mona are not dead, Do You Hear Me?! Favorite romance ever tying together my two favorite book series ever. 04.) The Queen of the Damned (1988) -- Reason: Amazing story telling the secret origin of Vampires, not to be missed. 05.) Blood Canticle (2003) -- Reason: Wonderful tie in to one of my other favorite series: Lives of the Mayfair Witches. The Taltos are also really cool. 06.) Merrick (2000)-- Reason: Another great crossover to the Mayfair Witches as well as my beloved Louis getting some much needed action. 07.) The Vampire Armand (1998) -- Reason: More historical awesomeness. Truth be told, I probably like Armand more than Lestat because he reminds me of poor vicious Claudia. 08.) Tale of the Body Thief (1992) -- Reason: Fantastic idea for a story and lots of expanding of the rich supernatural world of the Chronicles. 09.) Memnoch the Devil (1995) -- Reason: A fascinating take on both heaven and hell and Lestat punches the Devil in the face. 10.) Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis (2016) -- Reason: Very science fiction and very fun. Louis is also back and finally gets something to do. 11.) Vittorio the Vampire (1999) -- Reason: A truly beautiful journey back into history. Also, I'm a sucker for a good story about Angels and Vampires. 12.) Blood and Gold (2001) -- Reason: Marius gave us both Armand and Pandora and if that's not enough reason to love him, he also tells one hell of a story. 13.) The Vampire Lestat (1985) -- Reason: Great book, as they all are, but I can only take so much of the Brat Prince before I get tired of him. 14.) Prince Lestat (2014)-- Reason: See above 15.) Blood Communion (2018) -- Reason: Hands off my Pandora, Arjun! She deserved so much better. I couldn't disagree more with your characterization of some of these books, obviously. Mainly I like it that Louis and Lestat didn't remain static and showed very different aspects of their personalities as they are quite old Vampires and so should be many-faceted, not to mention have the capacity to change and grow. I also didn't care if an interesting character like Vittorio never appeared in any of the other works or differed from a lot of the other Coven of the Articulate by being hetero. Nor do I believe in holding a grudge against a book because of what Anne Rice did with her career. In defense of Blackwood Farm, it's kind of funny that in a book about undead creatures and magic what trips you up is that Quinn and Lestat had a conversation that was too long. I always just figured they talk faster than is humanly possible with their preternatural senses or that some or all of it was communicated telepathically. Not clear how Lestat's behavior with Mona in Blood Canticle is any more horrible and toxic and wrong than what he did to Louis and Claudia. The dude is messed up. 😜
This is great! It never occurred to me that different facets of the books could appeal to different people. I reread Queen of the Damned because I love the flashback scenes. Come to think of it, I love all the "listen to my 300-page life story" moments. I'd completely forgotten that Merrick used love spells. Whoops. I just remember being happy that Rice incorporated Black magical traditions. Anyhow, wonderful video!
When Anne Rice passed away I decided I’d do the audiobooks so now I’m on Vampire Lestat and I love him so much. He’s so tender and I would say just as human as Louie.
after watching this video, i've decided to finally dive into the vampire chronicles!!! i was part of the generation who started reading for fun because of twilight. looking back, that wasn't a great start. due to school, i have stopped leisure reading (studying law does that T.T) but watching the videos on your channel makes me so excited to back to leisure reading. over the year of watching your videos, i was so tempted to read but i was so busy. finally, i'm going to dive into it!!! thank you so much for reminding me about how amazing books are!!! (btw, i've already bought your book as an audiobook and i'm excited to listen to it too!)
Thank you so much for this video! I haven't read these books in years and feel that I may have not read a few. This reminder makes me want to go back and either read or reread some of them.
Blood and Gold and The vampire Armand are in my top five of the series (though i haven't read the three new ones) because their relationship is just so interesting to me (also I like sewer gremlins and history) plus my bi self also can't complain about that aspect
I really want to read the whole series but you've actually gotten me really interested in Blackwood Farm, the Witch trilogy, and Pandora. The whole series sounds very interesting but those 5 and descriptions you gave them stand out the most to me.
Pandora is one i feel people kind of sleep on. It was the 3rd book i read and i enjoyed it ALOT. The connection between Armand and Pandora's book, the character interactions, and i wish more was done with Pandora's story.
Congratulations on making a successful return to scripted videos, Maven! Thanks for continuing to do your best for us in the time of the "new normal". I'm drinking a toast to you
Armand's fan here! Completely on board with you on "his" book. My top three would be: Vampire Lestat, Queen of the Damned and a tie between Armand and Pandora. I liked Memnoch as a concept and as a book, but not as part of the Vampire Chronicles. Love your videos as always😁
Your channel makes me want to finish reading the whole series. It was Merrick that made give up reading them Interview and Blood and Gold are my top 2. I love emo Louis with a burning 13 year-old goth kid passion that has never faded.
as someone who loves Anne and Vampire Chronicles I still have to admit seeing Blood Canticle and Blackwood Farm crossed out with big red cross is so satisfying tbh 🤣 Glad Anne herself confirmed they are ret-coned because I never want to read them again and pretend they don't exist indeed. Vampire Lestat will always be the best book in the series in my opinion, one I can always reread for the lest of my life. and I also have a really soft spot for Armand's and Marius's books they are fantastic.
This is maybe my favourite video of yours, and definitely one of my favourite videos to watch in general. I just love how excited you are about these books. It makes me so happy to see you so happy when you talk about the ones you love. Currently, I’m on The Witching Hour and am reading all the books in order of publishing, as you suggested. I even read Vittorio’s book. It sucked.
@0:14 When I literally had to pause this far in because I had to stop laughing, I knew I was in for a good time. Btw, been following you ever since you helped The Dom with Interview/Queen.
I really like your self irony and wit and general style!, and also am fan of the novels, they have accompanied me through life since I read Interview in the early 90s; just recently I belatedly read Blood Communion which I surprisingly found better than the two aforegoing ones. Am looking fw to perusing your fun videos!
This is such a late comment, but I just wanted to say I read them all (even the Mayfair witches ones) and that I started cry laughing once you started ranking the worst ones. I love Prince Lestat for the same reasons you mentioned. People are complaining about Anne Rice just wanting to cash in on her VC fame, but I was there celebrating how she retconned Blood Canticle 😂😂 It was all just a fever dream...
I've read all her vampire books except Vittorio. I just re-read the first 3, and I thought they'd seem dated since she started writing them in the mid 70s, but all three still seem timeless and were great fun to revisit. I'm from New Orleans, and in the late 80s, Anne Rice began having yearly Halloween costume balls, called "Le Temps du Vampire". The first few years I think she threw the parties at her house in the Garden District, but eventually they had to move to a larger venue.
I have been obsessed with all things Anne Rice since the first instant I was forbidden from watching the Tom Cruise/Brad Pitt movie as a kid. I have read every, single, one of her books; and I agree we are a rare breed. I honestly try to dodge the: "What's your favorite?" question as much as possible, because it shifts and changes throughout various stages of my life. The Vampire Armand stands out as an almost guilty pleasure, because as a gay man I enjoyed it thoroughly in my teens for...yeah. You know why. It's always funny to me how the younger kids who proclaim to love genre fiction take a kind of weird pride in NOT reading or loving Anne Rice. And it always baffles me, because like Shakespeare; EVERYTHING is in these books. Every emotion, every kind of story and every trope you can imagine.
The graphic novel told from Claudia's point of view is my favorite. Her character fascinated me as a tween/young adult so it was nice to "spend more time" with her. Plus the art is lovely.
Gosh I miss your videos! I've only read the classic Interview with the Vampire. I knew the other existed but I never knew they were all conected! Im really gonna dive into all the others! (specially Vampire Lestat!)
The first five are great. Introduction, Lestat tells his back story to the interviewer and starts a goth rock band with his vampire abilities that awaken the first vampires, Lestat fights the Adam and Eve of vampires, Lestat has his body stolen by a mage and becomes a mortal, Lestat fights a being that claims to be the devil.
I would recomend it... Also if you turn out to be like me and don't care about Lestat as the main character I would also recomend stoping there. Almost everything in one way or another revolves around him from that point on. On the other hand if you really like him you have a host of books to read afterwards :)
You will not be sorry. I've read them all, except the final 2 which are on top of my "To Read" list, & they definitely bring the reader into a compelling new world. Be careful though, these books may lead you into a wonderful obsession that could last a lifetime!
I am a Marius girl through and through. He is my prince to be honest and I was squealing like a baby when I found out about Blood and Gold. Vampire Lestat is my favorite book because it is where we first meet Marius, but Blood and Gold is a close second.
About halfway through. As someone who knows minimal about TVC and Vampires in general (other than keeping my facial hair in sweet vampire-esque chops, and having played VTM...) you keep my attention. I highly enjoy looking into the window of this content. Thank you for being thorough enough for all to enjoy. I enjoy all the reviews, I finally felt the need to comment. :-)
@@GreatgoatonFire I never read the two mummy books, but they are like reverse vampires (immortals from egypt via elixar which anything that touches it will become indestructable....including plants and fish....it's gruesome, Started reading wolf gift, but lost my copy.
Thank you! I have had the Prince Lestat book sitting on my shelf from 2014 unopened, because of the terrible disappointment after reading Merrick and Mamnoch! So I will finally read it!!!! Thank you! My favourite is also The Vampire Lestat, then: The Vampire Armand, Blood and Gold, The Tale of the Body Thief, Interview With the Vampire, Queen of the Damned, Pandora, Mamnoch the Devil, Merrick, and I couldn't finish the Blackwood Farm, now I realise, it's because I hadn't even touched the witch books and had no idea what was happening 85% of the time. The Vampire Lestat was my first ever vampire book, and although I didn't know English so well, it was AMAZING! Changed my life and got me sucked into all of this. Please make more of these videos!!! I want to know moooreeee! Without having to read the books I don't personally like.
@@darkservantofheaven and not even only the post twilight generation. I was there for most of the original releases of the vampire chronicles but still only now read it for the first time.
I just discovered your channel yesterday cause you came up on my recommend. So I decided to give this video a shot cause hot damn do I love me some Lestat and omg you did NOT disappoint!!! I love your explanations of why you ranked each book and it's so nice to hear genuine things from fans. Absolutely great job and I look forward to watching more!
As someone who has only seen the movies, the thing I learned from this video that I'm most surprised by is that king of charisma Lestat is also gullible as hell.
I found your review highly entertaining! I usually skip them but I loved every minute of yours. Thank you :) I read Interview when I was a teen, and this year at 29 I picked up The Vampire Lestat for the first time. It quickly became one of my ALL TIME FAV BOOKS! I followed with Queen of the Damned and devoured it. I came here because Body Thief destroyed me :( and I needed to see if reading any further would compound the damage. I love Lestat, and I cant bear to see him more traumatised than he was during his whole human body ordeal, and then uncharacteristically turn on David like that. It was an assault on his character to me. So here is my ranking: 1. The Vampire Lestat 10/10 2. Queen of the Damned 9/10 3. Interview with the Vampire 9/10 4. Blood and Gold 8/10 5. Tales of the Body Thief 4/10 I plan to read Pandora, the Vampire Armand and Blood & Gold (because Marius is my fav apart from Lestat). But I will skip the rest, because I dont think I can take the aliens. Please god, no aliens! *rips hair out* Edited to include ranking for blood and gold
I love all the times you said "Don't worry, he gets better" 😂I just started Prince Lestat. I also have the graphic novel about Claudia. I haven't read it yet, but I've seen the art and It's beautiful💖 Awesome video💖 (sorry for my english 😅)
Quite on point, marvelous Maven. First time I read Interview it was from dusk till dawn; classy tie, shirt, blazer & pressed pants. An old friend had read the book, kept on talking about it, so I followed.
I love this series. I read Interview when I was maybe...15? back in 1999. I've read it twice again since and can really find something to love in all that I've read....well...except Vittorio. He was entirely forgettable. The original trilogy are three of my favorite books of all time. I read the Mayfair Chronicles in 2001 when I was 17 before picking up Merrick and liked them too. I think I was in the right headspace to embrace the weirdness. lol. Didn't pick up The New Tales until after I read Blood Canticle but they didn't pull me in as much. I loved Prince Lestat when it came out but really dragged my feet moving on to the Realms of Atlantis which I'm in the middle of now. The title alone had me scratching my head but it's got me intrigued so far once I picked it up. Blood Communion is the only one I have not read yet but can't wait. Ranking so far: (maybe I'll come back and revise once I finish the last 2) 1 Interview with the Vampire 2 Queen of the Damned 3 The Vampire Lestat 4 Prince Lestat 5 Blood and Gold 6 The Vampire Armand 7 Tale of the Body Thief 8 Memnoch The Devil 9 Blackwood Farm 10 Blood Canticle 11 Merrick 12 Pandora 13 Vittorio The Vampire
Blood and Gold my fave! Marius is my boy. Gosh we have a lot of the same covers. I have them all and Mayfair witches up to blood Cantacal. I remember putting the series a side after how much I hated memnok, but thankfully picked it up again. Then got stuck again on Merrick, gosh I hate Merrick. That one I think I just stopped reading. But then blood and gold came out, and I still remember being in the book store and picking it up all excited because Marius was my favourite (at this point I didn’t realize he was a main character in les mis and would cause some confusion if I were to join a musical forum page while using that as my screen name, whoops). But then blackwoodfarm came out and because I never finished Merrick and they were both Mayfair related, the book sat on my shelf unread for years. I finally did and own Blood Canticle, but by then my love for Anne Rice had soured, her “return to religion” really felt like a slap in the face. So the hard cover still sits unread. I knew she was writing again, but hadn’t really looked into it, figuring the new books couldn’t match the old ones. But maybe it’s time I consider it.
Thank you for this, you reminded me just how much I love this entire series. I've read all of the old ones, but only prince lestat of the new trilogy. Partially because I can't get myself to finish it, since then it will be over as she really will not be writing more of them now. :( My ranking (excluding all of the new trilology because I feel like wihtout part 2 and 3 I can't properly judge its spot for me yet) is this: 1. Interview with the Vampire - because it feels so raw and emotional and I actually really appreciate how sad it is, sometimes I just really love when a book makes me feel melancholic and complicated 2. Queen of the Damned - because I love both the modern and the ancient parts, especially as an archaeologist 3. The Vampire Lestat - he's just so FUN 4. Blood and Gold - I just love historical fiction ok 5. The Vampire Armand - we love our complicated chaos sewer gremlin and his sad history
I remember being overly excited when I heard rumors about another book in 2013 that I poured all the internet for any details and then finely got to read Prince Lestat I personally loved the new introduction to new characters, my favorite top two are The Vampire Lestat and Blood and Gold The Vampire Marius I find him fascinating to a degree that I flew through the whole novel 3 times in a year and The Vampire Lestat has so much heart and soul to it like the first book Interview With the Vampire
I loved this video! I’ve never met anyone else in real life that has read all of both series so this was super fun. I want to go re-read them all again now. Its been over a decade and I need to read them with this new perspective;)
I recently started a reread of the series and watching you gush about these books just made me all the more excited to delve back into them. Much like you, this series was such a huge part of my life and definitely attributed to my queer awakening! I was really excited when Prince Lestat came out but never finished it since the first half felt just really hard to get through... I’m actually excited to try it again once I finish my grand reread after watching this 🙂 I was also really happy to see Blood and Gold so high on this list! The art historian in me is definitely biased, but it really is such an interesting story from a historical standpoint, and Marius is SUCH a flawed and fascinating character. I definitely would have liked more Pandora, though, because she is an absolute delight and always deserves more screen time. Also, I am that shameless Armand fan, guilty as charged. I will love my murderous sewer goblin to the end of my days 🖤
I have read ALLLLLL of them! Including The Lives of the Mayfair Witches. Starting with Memnoch, I read them as they were published. It took this video to make me realize this and how many hours I have spent on these books! Ok well actually, I haven't read Blood Communion yet because Realms of Atlantis did not sit well. But after watching this, I decided it's time and it's on the way. Thank you! In defense of Merrick, I loved the voodoo and ritual magic aspects. Rice had not done that before in such depth and it was fascinating to read. Plus any time they dig Claudia up, you know you're in for some DRAMA! Blackwood Farm is an excellent stand alone story. Very creepy! It's a shame what happened with Quinn. Canticle was terrible!! Ranking my least favorites would be so much easier than my top ones, it's so hard to choose. Great video!
I love hearing your perspective on this series! I was so young(11) when I originally read most of this series! At 33 it’s such a different vibe to say Armand is my favorite, and the rivalry/obsession you mentioned feels so authentic to why Armand is my favorite!
I read Interview with the Vampire several years ago and enjoyed it very much (and honestly, I'm a fan of film!Armand probably solely because he's played by a young, hot Antonio Banderas who exudes homoeroticism out of his every pore), but you talking about them over the years has made me want to dive into the entire series!! I will read them in order, but not one right after the other; I have so many books on my to-read list that I will probably put a couple of "palate-cleansers" in between the Vampire Chronicles novels. Might take me a while, but it's definitely one of my goals now!!
Finally! I love all the little quotes she sneaked into the video :). I just read the first three, and honestly had some problems with them too. Interview is my favorite for sure. But after reading The Vampire Lestat I was kinda disappointed at how she almost copied Louis's personality onto Lestat and added more vampire traits that weren't mentioned in Interview like the sweating and crying blood that just came out of nowhere. This video kinda makes me wanna read most of the books now and also not read them at the same time (with all the "and then he k*lled himself- nvm he's ok" and changing up old canon.. ).
I have read them all, except from Blood Communion which will arrive tomorrow (I had to wait because I read them in spanish and they took all this time to translate it). In 2004 I discovered Blood and Gold and I didn't know it had to view with Interview or that there was a whole series. I loved Marius and his relationship with Armand, so I continued reading other books, the ones I could find, out of order. My favorites: Blood and Gold, Armand the vampire, Pandora, Queen of the Damned... etc etc I read bad things about Blood Communion, I hope its not that bad. Loved your video btw, first time I see one of them. Now to watch some more.
My first exposure to the vampire chronicles was the Interview with the Vampire film, which I love. Then I moved on to the tv show, which I also love (seriously, I would be totally fine if they wanted to publish a new audiobook of Interview narrated by Jacob Anderson.) I finally decided to read/listen to the original novel and I literally can’t put it down. It’s wormed it’s way into my brain, and even though I know the story from the film, reading it has been an experience.
Armand fan right here. I read this series as an early teenager and I must say they have influenced me in so many ways and have a special place in my heart. My top three are The Vampire Lestat, The Vampire Armand, and Blood and Gold. Also a fan of the Mayfair Witches (even though I'm not really into the crossovers with the vampire chronicles saga), the only books I have yet to read are the new ones but because of university, I haven't been able to.
30:00 armand is my fav bk. & blackwood is 2nd. ive nvr thought of armand as a villain at all. & marius. vittorio & pandora are fine. everything to atlantis - including the mayfair bks - i love. i love it all. i probs like things in atlantis ive largely forgotten. i just know too much science: anywhr science gets mixed into anything, i tend to have a little meltdown.(oh memnoch is...a LOT.) _JC
Just watched like a behind the scenes about the new show and the actor playing daniel was like "ive never played a vampire" then said he got cast as the interviewer again and was pumped but sad hes not a vampire i chuckled to myself lol im like HANG IN THERE BUDDY!
Read and loved Interview, Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned when they came out. Read Tale of the Body Thief and decided I was done with Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. I still re-read the original three regularly, but the one reading of TotBT was enough for me. I'm glad her fans have other Vampire Chronicle books to read and enjoy.
I love the Vampire Chronicles and really everything Anne wrote. I read everyone of the Vampire Chronicle books as they came out. I was 13 when Interview was released and LOVED it. Most of my books are hard back and signed by Anne - except the later ones after she restarted after her pause. Great Channel!
I stopped reading the VC in High School after trying to do Take of the Body Theif for a book report. I just...hated it so much. It was so hard to get through. Perhaps though, 15 years later I should probably try and get through the whole series, I have half of them and the witches series sitting unread on my bookshelf still lol. Also absolutly agree that The Vampire LeStat is the best book.
My top three (or four I suppose) are definitely 1. The Vampire Lestat (I might actually need to buy a new copy too, the old one is starting to fall apart I've read it so often!) 2. Interview with the Vampire 3. The Tale of the Body Thief (small, compact story, but so much emotional depth!) 4. Memnoch the Devil (batshit crazy story, but what it does to Lestat psychologically is fascinating.)
I absolutely love The Vampire Chronicles (though I've only read maybe half of them)... but my all-time favorite Vampire mythos will always be The Legacy of Kain.
I have read all 15 of the Vampire Chronicle books as well as the three Mayfair books. Here is how I would rank them: 01.) The Queen of the Damned (1988) -- This was the first book in the series I ever read and it introduced me to this wonderful vampire world. 02.) Interview With The Vampire (1976) -- Because who doesn't love Louis and I found Claudia to be an interesting character. As well as learning more about Lestat. 03.) The Vampire Lestat (1985) -- I loved reading Lestat's backstory and how he was as a mortal. 04.) Blackwood Farm (2002) -- This one just drew me in. I really liked Quinn's character and all his human family. Also that Mona was in it, making it a crossover. 05.) The Vampire Armand (1998) -- Because who doesn't love Armand? He is an interesting vampire with a lot going on in his tragic back story. I just wanna hug him. 06.) Blood and Gold (2001) -- Marius is just an all around fascinating character with a good balance of realistic flaws and a fascinating history. 07.) Blood Canticle (2003) -- I like Lestat's narrative style choice in this one. Although I found Mona a bit annoying at times, I wish she would have had a happy reunion with her daughter. I also kind of wish that the series had ended here. 08.) Pandora (1998) -- I liked learning more about the backstories of Marius and Pandora, but Pandora was never one of my favorites, I mainly read it for the parts about Marius. 09.) Tale of the Body Thief (1992) -- I hated this book when it first came out, because I was sad that everyone left the Night Island, I always pictured them there as one big happy family. But on subsequent read through, I find Lestat's mortal adventure to be interesting to read about. I also really liked Mojo... I wonder what ever happened to him? 10.) Blood Communion (2018) -- Wasn't too bad, still have no idea who half of these new vampires are, but at least it reads like a Vampire Chronicle book. 11.) Vittorio the Vampire (1999) -- It was an okay book, but I didn't really get invested in the character. 12.) Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis (2016) -- It was a bit weird, but still a fun read at least. (However, I am still pissed over all the well know characters that were killed off in these last three books!) 13.) Prince Lestat (2014)-- I would have liked this book, but I just can't forgive her killing off the three ancient vampires, who I have loved since I first read QOTD. Also, the history of the Talamasca should have remained a mystery. 14.) Merrick (2000)-- Well the look at David's past was interesting, I intensely disliked Merrick and how she cruelly manipulated and devastated Louis for her own selfish gain. 15.) Memnoch the Devil (1995) -- This story just really dragged by, I didn't find Memnoch at all interesting, and I read it when it first came out and was heartbroken that she killed Armand! I also really liked the three Mayfair witches books and think they are well worth a read. I am still undecided if I think of the last three vampire books as being part of my personal canon or just Lestat chilling at Blackwood farm and writing the books as a sort of fantasy work. The shame is, I would have liked these books if it hadn't been for what she did to Khayman (one of the most interesting of the ancients) the red haired twins, Mona and Quinn. After that, I just couldn't bring myself to care about any of the flood of new characters. My trust in the author was broken, why bother caring about them when any one of the new characters could just be gone in any future books that maybe written.
