| Title | : | The Tale of the Body Thief (The Vampire Chronicles, #4) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0345419634 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780345419637 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 468 |
| Publication | : | First published October 4, 1992 |
| Awards | : | Locus Award Best Horror / Dark Fantasy Novel (1993), Lambda Literary Award Gay Men's Science Fiction/Fantasy (1993) |
Praise for The Tale of the Body Thief
“Tinged with mystery, full of drama . . . The story is involving, the twists surprising.”—People
“Rice is our modern messenger of the occult, whose nicely updated dark-side passion plays twist and turn in true Gothic form.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Fast-paced . . . . mesmerizing . . . silkenly sensuous . . . No one writing today matches her deftness with the erotic.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Hypnotic . . . masterful.”—Cosmopolitan
From the Paperback edition.
The Tale of the Body Thief (The Vampire Chronicles, #4) Reviews
-
She's way too in love with her own writing at this point. Takes ten pages to describe the front of a mansion. In the words of the great Casey Kasem: Ponderous man, f'ing ponderous.
-
The first Rice novel I ever read. I was in Bari, Italy, waiting for the ferry to take me to Corfu, Greece. I was reading a hideously boring Candadian novel, and the young lady in line next to me was reading The Tale of the Body Thief. We switched books. I had never heard of Anne Rice. I fell in love with the book. Soon after, when I was in Sorrento a few weeks later, I was searching for any Rice books I could find.
Her writing is lush. Reading this book was like wearing a mink coat inside-out i.e. you feel the soft luxurious fur on your skin. Lestat, the main character, is a very egotistical vampire, yet he is very amicable. The story is very interesting. It is a man hunt. Someone has tricked Lestat into switching bodies, so Lestat becomes a mere human. Lestat and his friend must find the "body thief".
The action is not abundant and not thrilling. What attracts you to the story and keeps you reading is the language Rice uses and the character of Lestat. I highly recommend this book. -
Bullet Review:
Wow. What a serious waste of my time! I felt bad when I was bored with
The Queen of the Damned, which I attribute to being Vampire Chronicle-d out, but I can't use that excuse with this book. I had quite a few months between "Queen of the Damned" and whatever THIS is.
This book has a thread of a good idea - a being who can switch bodies and Lestat who wants to be a human again - and RUINS it with endless talking and thinking about the same points ad nauseum. Scenes that could have been powerful run FAR too long, thus running any good points into the ground.
And let me allow a few images to say how I feel about the rest of this series:
Full Review:
After being mostly OK with his vampire life up to this point (well, after the events of
The Queen of the Damned, where he defeats Akasha's uprising, I can see why he'd be a bit bummed), Lestat hears about a Body Thief - a being who can move between bodies and thereby live forever. Louis and David tell him repetitively and in long, clunky chapters that this isn't a good idea. After, of course, long, clunky chapters talking about what God is, who the devil is, and all sorts of religious issues that the author must have been working through at the time.
A quarter of a book later, Lestat meets up with the Body Thief. They spend several long, clunky chapters going back and forth on a "deal" so that Lestat can use a human body for a week. Lestat hems and haws (and Louis and David chime in again too) before he finally makes the switch, nearly halfway through the book.
Lestat then quickly learns that being human isn't all it's cracked up to be. It involves taking a p!ss, eating, being sick, and not being rapey when you want sex. He pretty quickly decides that being human is one of the worst things in the world.
When he is sick, he meets up with a nun, who takes him home to care for her - cue long, clunky chapters talking about religion and humanity and vampirity and all topics that could have been interesting if we hadn't spent several long, clunky chapters driving the point home.
Once Lestat is better, he rings up David and begs for his help to get his body back. Cue long, clunky chapters talking about everything we've talked about before, squeeze in a brief scene where Lestat gets his body back (and someone else gets a body transplant), and end with long, clunky chapters talking about stuff that really didn't belong in this book.
It may be hard to believe, based on my snarky plot summary, but I actually liked
Interview With The Vampire and
The Vampire Lestat. I thought they were fascinating books, the characters were great, the mythos wonderful. Sure, they are not action! Adventure! Thrills! Chills! every other minute but THAT WAS OKAY.
Even when I didn't like
The Queen of the Damned, I blamed that on the terrible Mary Sue character, Jessie, and the fact I had read the first three books straight through, which almost always leads to series burnout. So I gave myself a break, to renew my love of this series.
And then I listened to this audiobook.
Honestly, this could have and should have been a fabulous book. I mean, I still adore Lestat, Louis, David (Lestat and David TOTALLY needed to hook up!), and Gretchen. Even the Body Thief himself was fairly interesting.
The problem is, there was too much author intrusion, too much time spent on talking about various topics until their insight and usefulness had died a dismal death and too little time for the story to unfold. I can't tell you how many scenes there were that would start out awesome, with a great new idea, a new concept, a new thought, and then totally destroy it because the characters wouldn't f@#$ing move on.
To me, this was particularly apparent when Lestat was with Gretchen. What started out as a beautiful, sensual scene, quickly devolved into monotony and pedantry. Round and round, without end.
If only the editor had the sense to cut the book in half! That half would have been the most brilliant, poignant story probably in the entire series!
Speaking of series, here comes the biggest question: do I continue?
I read series for one of two reasons:
+ I enjoy the series
+ I enjoy the snark
It's obvious I'm no longer enjoying the series (and reading what many others have said about later books, I'm unlikely to refind my love of Lestat and company). Unfortunately, unlike with Anita Blake and Ayla, there really isn't anything to snark. It's just BORING.
And so, with that said, I'm out.
-
This book is very good. It is well written and packed of life reflections. There is no doubt that Anne Rice knows what she is doing.
Particularly, I just don´t think that this installment is at the same level as the first three books of this series. To me, this book seems to center more in introspections and rumination than in the actual plot. The storyline feels like an excuse for all the pondering, deliberating and meditating that the characters do. Don´t get me wrong, it was very interesting, it just didn´t capture me as much as the others did. This book was definitely more philosophical than emotional. There is less action and more talking and thinking, thus lowering somewhat the entertaining factor.
To me the actual story ended with the third book, so it took me a while to get into this one, it took me three separate tries actually, but I finally did. To be fair, there is very little story here to get into. -
I enjoyed Tale of the Body Thief more than any other installment of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles up to this point in the series. Unlike all of her other vampire novels, Rice doesn't spend half the book in flashbacks relating someone's history, and for that we are rewarded. More than ever before we are inside the mind of the vampire Lestat and can revel in his fiesty, pompous spirit and feel closer to him than ever before. I remember when reading The Queen of the Damned I was getting sick of the flashbacks and origin stories... I wanted to see Lestat in present day! I wanted to see him covorting around, just being him! And here we get that, we see him in every day existence, absorb the glory of it all, and experience his transitions as he gives up his vampire body to be a mortal once again and his supriring revelations he comes to discover. I didn't want this book to end. When I closed this book, I felt saddened at the silencing of Lestat's running narrative, his eccentricities and sensitivites. But there's at least one more to read, so I still have that to look forward to. But one thing's for certain... out of all the vampire chronicles, this is one I will be returning to and rereading in the future.
This book made me realize how incredibly awful it really is to be human. Rice personified it to the extent you feel she really does know what it's like to look from the outside at our species, and it's uncanny how she transforms Lestat's outlook in the process. Yes, this book made me want to live in Lestat's shoes for a day. If I could switch with his body, I think I'd like to stay in there, too. -
I re-read this recently and was pleasantly surprised. I had remembered it as my least favorite of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles.
This time, I found it to be absolutely delightful. Lestat in all his rash bravado and David, his (far) better half on a thrilling adventure together. -
3 Stars
Review:
I won't even do lists this time because I had the same likes and dislikes. The plot was slow (really slow for a while in the beginning), the writing was a bit odd with the flashbacks and characters telling long stories to one another, but I'm invested in the characters, and that's why I can't stop reading this series.
This one was much more focused on Lestat though, whereas the other books had a lot about the other vampires as well. And, to be honest, I think I'm more invested in the others than I am in him. Lestat was his usual reckless, selfish, vain, dramatic self, and I'm finding it harder to feel sympathy for him. The sheer recklessness of his actions was astounding, honestly. He doesn't think anything through, not even after hundreds of years of being alive and making mistakes. One thing in particular that threw me off a bit though was that he seemed to be getting back to his old self when the last book ended, laughing and having fun with Louis even. Then all the sudden in this book, he was despairing and wanted to die. I don't even know how much time had passed, and so it seemed sudden. Then again, I don't think he actually wanted to die. Afterward, even he didn't think he had actually wanted to die. He had to have known the sun wouldn't kill him. It was just another one of his dramatic flights of fancy. None of this is an insult to the writing though, it's just Lestat's character.
But anyway, things did pick up a bit once the story got to the body-switching part at least. It was especially interesting getting to see what being human again was like through the POV of such an inhuman vampire (although I do wonder how differently someone like Louis or Marius might have experienced it). Lestat just had one mess after another, he managed to get injured like five times within an hour. I almost felt bad for him, but I say almost because, again, it was his own fault he was in that situation. I liked the story most once David came back into it. I liked seeing the two of them work together, and the plot had much more tension during that time.
One last thing to note before I get to my spoiler-filled thoughts, trigger warning for *MILD SPOILER* *END SPOILER* This is something I plan to talk more in-depth about in a discussion on my blog soon. (It's posted now, here's the link:
Why Readers Like Characters Who Have Done Awful Things)
My Thoughts on Everything Else (there might be *SPOILERS* in this section):
Honestly the little lover's quarrel between Lestat and Louis around 26% was the best part of the book. Despite all the things I've said about their relationship being messed up, I kind of ship them now. Why can't I just have a book about them actually being together? Because Interview was not that book. It glossed over all the feelings and the connection between them, and that relationship was unhealthy anyway. I mean, their relationship would still be unhealthy, but it would be a little more equal, at least, now that they understand each other better and now that Louis is not being purposely kept in ignorance by Lestat. And I don't even care how unhealthy it would be, I just want to see them together, quarrels and all!"Lestat, you can't become human by simply taking over a human body! You weren't human when you were alive! You were born a monster, and you know it. How the hell can you delude yourself like this."
"I'm going to weep if you don't stop."
"Weep. I'd like to see you weep. I've read a great deal about your weeping in the pages of your books but I've never seen you weep with my own eyes."
"Ah, that makes you out to be a perfect liar," I said furiously. "You described my weeping in your miserable memoir in a scene which we both know did not take place!"
I think I could read a whole book just of the two of them bickering.
And speaking of things I could read a whole book about...I should have switched bodies with the dog, I thought. And then the thought of Mojo inside my vampiric body started me to laughing.
I didn't know I wanted that until it was suggested. But come on, imagine even just a short story about a dog running around in Lestat's body. That would be hilarious.
On a more serious note, I liked that Lestat got a taste of his own medicine in this book. Throughout their time together in Interview, Lestat always thought he knew what was best for Louis, but in this book, when Louis decided he knew what was best for Lestat (refusing to turn him when he was stuck in the human body), when Louis had the upper hand, Lestat didn't like that at all. Do I agree with Louis's decision? I don't know, but I think it was fitting for Lestat, even if he failed to see the comparison. Even if he burned down Louis's house in anger and reverted back to his crappy treatment of Louis, threatening to kill him, holding it over him that he was his maker.
And it's funny how he talks of being betrayed by a dear friend when he himself betrayed a dear friend very soon after by turning David into a vampire against his will. Then he had the audacity to feel miserable about it. This is why I can't take his misery seriously or sympathize with him sometimes---he brings it upon himself, he hurts other people, then he wants to play the victim and get upset and makes it all about him instead of the people he hurt.
Overall Thoughts:
I enjoyed the book in the end, although I could've done without all the slowness at the beginning. And like I said, I'm too invested to let some odd writing choices stop me from continuing!
*I’ve read this book multiple times. This review was written after my 2nd read.*
Reread Ratings:
No Rating (1st Read – mid/late 2000s)
3 Stars (2nd Read – 2018)
Recommended For:
Fans of Books 1-3 in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. Anyone who likes beautiful yet deadly vampires, descriptive writing, and amazingly complex characters.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight -
Leer sobre vampiros no es una nueva moda. Los vampiros no nacieron como una explosión de hormonas adolescentes, ni mucho menos del cine (aunque sea este el que nos haya dado las imágenes más vivas y majestuosas de ellos). Seguramente no muchos estuvieron de acuerdo con el ahora cliché del vampiro refinado y elegante que creó Polidori en su célebre relato “El Vampiro”, que luego pareció afamarse con la obra de Bram Stoker “Drácula”, inspirada en parte en la historia del conde Vlad Tepes. Pero juzgar a un lector simplemente porque lee un libro de vampiros es otra cosa.
Terminé de leer la semana pasada “El Ladrón de Cuerpos” un libro que esperó muchos años para llegar a mis manos y que quise devorar desde que, casi de un tirón hace un par de años, terminé los primeros tres libros de la saga de ‘Crónicas Vampíricas’, me atrevo a decir, un clásico de la literatura contemporánea escrito por la muy preparada Anne Rice.
Me encontraba leyendo las últimas páginas en un Transmilenio en Bogotá, cuando una señora que se sentó a mi lado no pudo evitar leer la contraportada de mi libro. Entonces, luego de un bufido parecido al de los toros (caballos si se quiere) la señora me suelta: “¿qué pasa que todos leen de vampiros? ¿Ahora todos quieren ser vampiros? ¿se quieren vestir como vampiros? ¿Usted también quiere dar susto? ¿Salir medio desnudo a la calle?”. La señora se baja del transporte y sigue hablando sola… está bien, me soltó todo eso de medio loca, pero ¿no han ido demasiado lejos los últimos escritores sobre vampiros?
Si la señora y yo estamos de acuerdo en algo es en esto: los vampiros son hoy un fenómeno juvenil exagerado, que raya los límites de lo sensual para convertirlo en sexy (que no es lo mismo) y que, luego se convierten solamente en moda. No se imagina ella la cantidad de diálogos existenciales, descripciones fantásticas y trivialidades embellecidas que puede encontrar en los libros de Anne Rice, una experta en historia que además se toma el atrevimiento de crear vampiros “elegantemente sensuales” y no “vulgarmente sexys”.
Volviendo al libro, una continuación de la saga que empezó en “Entrevista con el vampiro”, continúa con “Lestat el vampiro” y “La reina de los condenados” hasta llegar al título que nos compete, lo que inicia como una discusión existencial sobre “lo moral” en la vida vampírica, nos pasea luego por interesantes teorías sobre la existencia del bien y del mal, de Dios y el diablo, hasta convertirse en una cacería llena de experiencias sin ningún tabú sexual ni moral y detalles tan bien descritos que se hacen casi perceptibles.
¿Vampiros que brillan y salvan adolescentes? No, nada de eso encontrarás en los libros de Rice, que explota la figura de Polidori y Stoker desde dentro, creando vampiros más introspectivos, reflexivos y, si se quiere, humanos, conscientes del error, la belleza, el caos y la divinidad, como no es imaginada desde Rimbaud.
Una obra muy recomendada para las tardes lluviosas de Bogotá, y hasta para los domingos asoleados en el parque. Una obra que se queda y no que pasa por moda. Una que debe leerse en presencia de todas las viejitas locas del país. -
3.5 stars. Another solid chapter in one of the most iconic vampire series of all time. It is amazing that even after all this time (and the endless series of vampire novels) that this series still shines as one of the better ones. Recommended!!!
-
The Tale of the Body Thief is the 4th book in the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. And it is by far the best one.
Lestat is being followed. Everywhere he goes he senses that someone is watching him. He can’t shake it. Finally, his mysterious follower leaves him instructions to meet. Is it a trap? Is he being lured in under false pretenses? Of course, every single person that Lestat talks to instructs him NOT to go.
So, being Lestat he goes.
The man who Lestat meets offers him a once in a lifetime opportunity- to be mortal again. After centuries of immortality, Lestat could walk in daylight, taste wine and foods, and once again experience life through mortal eyes.
Once again everyone tells Lestat not to even entertain the notion.
Once again, Lestat does what he wants and goes full-bore into the endeavor. I’ll give it to him, he had a contract, rules, agreements and an arrangement that made sense to both parties. But a man who physically steals bodies? Can he truly be tusted?
Of course not. Lestat is forced to be mortal for much longer than he intended. His body has been taken from him and he is now susceptible to the elements.
What ensues is nothing short of exciting. The whole book I was on the edge of my seat. I didn’t know whether Lestat would be able to track down the man who had taken possession of his body. Being mortal he no longer has his preternatural abilities. He’s an average human being. Would the other vampires trust that he was in fact Lestat? Would they even help him given the almost nonstop trouble he had caused as a vampire?
This book was so revolutionary to me. The idea of an immortal being once again becoming mortal and the manner in which it was done was just so fucking cool. I absolutely loved it. If you want to read one book out of the entire series, this should be the one you check out. -
After the first three books in the Vampire Chronicles series in which Rice burrows deeper and deeper into the historical origins of vampires, she sets aside her digging along with much of her ornate prose - although none of the melodrama - to tell a simpler adventure tale which ultimately doesn't quite stand up to her earlier books.
-
It is official: this is the book that made me an unwavering fan of Lestat. While the previous Vampire Chronicle, Queen of the Damned features an array of characters and scenarios, there wasn’t as much a focus on the Brat Prince. In this, the fourth book in the series, Anne Rice has almost inverted that: Lestat de Lioncourt is front and center through all of it; the reader gets to, finally, see him fall, and seek redemption.
The concept is pretty simple: Lestat, after over two centuries of being a vampire, has grown weary of it all. He’s tired of the purgatory, the repetition; he longs to feel human pleasures again. He comes across a mysterious spirit — a body thief — that allows him to trade places with a human man.
By combining her trademark erotic and horrific tendencies with a hilarious and enthralling fish-out-of-water scenario (Lestat was human in the 1700s, mind you, and is attempting human life once more in the early 1990s), Anne Rice created a truly addictive read — perhaps the closest she’s come to a true crime thriller . . . sort of. This book is jam-packed with cool ideas and a lot of intriguing theology talk. I know the next novel in the series goes deep in that direction, and I can’t wait to jump on it. -
The story itself isn't bad. My main problem with this novel is how it dragged on. Rice takes pages and pages to discuss one thing, when it can be said completely in half the space. I found myself dragging through this read, and forcing myself to get through it. Just to say that I finished it and can mark it off. It picked up for a little bit at the end, but it started to drag again. It takes Lestat 50 pages to decide if he wants to do the body switch. At that point the conversation starts to circle. You want to smack Lestat and Rice because everyone knows he is going to go through with it. Might as well make it happen instead of talking about it. What happens when he becomes mortal again? He gets sick and lies in bed. Such a riviting read. I don't know what to do about this series
____________
Here's my spoiler filled (non-serious) summary of the book:
La de da I'm Lestat the Vampire. This kid just gave me a package. That's weird. Hey David, this strikingly handsome kid keeps giving me packets with exerts in it.
Well Lestat there's a theme of body switching in them.
Really? That sounds fun. I always wanted to be a mortal again. What could go wrong?
Well Lestat, a lot of things. He's a known villian and thief who was kicked out of my organization for being a dick. Why on God's earth would you give him your immortal body?
But I wanna be a mortal. -Pout pout.-
I really think you should think this through and make sure that answer is no.
-Pout pout-. Screw you David. I'm going to talk to Louis. He's a vamp. He'll understand. Hey Louis I have the chance to switch bodies and be a mortal. You jelly?
Lestat you're an idiot. Don't do it.
Screw you Louis. You were always a pussy. -Flies away-
Hey dude let's do this. You're a lowly human who couldn't possible outsmart me. For I am Lestat the Vampire Extraordinaire!
-body switch- Whoah this is creepy. Hey I'm a human again. Omg what is peeing. Why is it gross? Peee everywhere!! -changes clothes- God why does my stomach hurt? You mean I have to eat? That's stupid, but ok apart of the experience. Hey! that douche stole all my hidden money. That jolly trickster. He can't help himself.
-Bums food. Gets drunk. Accidentally rapes a girl. Feels guilty. Goes home.-
I dont wanna be a human anymore.
NEXT DAY.
That douche bag stood me up. I don't think he ever meant to give me my body back. Sacreblue!
-Wanders around DC in a freak blizzard Anne Rice thinks is normal. Gets pneumonia. Meets a nun/nurse. Bangs nun/nurse. Talks about life/god/the universe. Gets better and goes back to Louis.-
Hey uh so you were right. He fucking swapped and dashed and being human sucks, because did you know they can't read minds or fly or even see in the dark? What the fuck right? So you gunna change me into a vamp so we can go get this guy? Huh huh?
Screw you Lestat. You're an idiot. You got what you wanted and seem to be having a great time. Peace.
FUCK YOU LOUIS! I BURN YOUR SHACK HOUSE. BURN!
-Enter Marius to give him a judgemental look from the shadows. Exit Marius-
Screw you guys too! I'll get it back on my own.....
Heeeeeey David. As you see, I'm a hot sexy 20-something year old. So I'm thinking you help me get my body back and I'll let you have sex with me before I switch back. What do you say?
I'll help you Lestat, but we'll see about the sex.
-Finds where the fiend is. Gets ready with fake passports and books the boat.-
Sex now David?
No.
-Gets to the tropics to board boat.-
Now David?
No Lestat. As much as I want to, you're too hot and I am a flappy old man. I am embarrassed.
Sigh fine David.
SURPRISE ATTACK ON THE BODY THIEF.
Success! Yay I'm a vampire again. But instead of seeing how David fared in the skirmish (since I had to go to daytime hiding), I'll go visit that nun/nurse to show her I'm really a vamp.
-She freaks out and goes to church to pray.-
Wellll that could've gone better. ;_; I guess I can check on David.
Hey David what happened? Why are you acting different? Mon Dieu! You're the body thief in David's body. You cur!
-Angry body smash.-
Shit I killed David's body he's going to be pissed....
So yeah I'm sorry I smashed your head, but the body thief is trapped in there, so yay?
Sigh, Lestat I'm sad about my old body, but at look how hot I am in this body you just had -muscle flex-.
Know what? You're right.
-Kills David. Makes him a vamp.-
Screw you Lestat. You knew that's not what I wanted.
I'm a devil. What can I say?
You're just jealous because I am able to handle this body better than you.
I cannot confirm or deny that statement.
Well you're a jerk anyways. -Runs away.-
-Lestat goes back to New Orleans to his new house he got with Louis.-
Don't even ask what just happened to me.
Ohh I know.
What but how?
-David comes out of the shadows.-
How could I ever remain mad at you, you old lug. Let's travel the world together.
Really? ♡ yay.
THE END -
I don't know if I enjoyed it as much and felt so emotionally attached to this book because of the sad news of Anne Rice's passing a while ago. However I feel that this story was truly captivating and so intriguing to continue reading. But this was the last book in the series I had at home so I'll need to try to find the rest. Hopefully my library system ha e them
-
This was fun! I liked this better than book 3 as I enjoyed the single POV and there were not as many characters to keep track of.
-
Comenzó con todo y por la mitad decayó mal mal. No estoy completamente seguro pero creo el 30% del libro es UNA charla entre dos personajes sobre cuestiones teológicas fuaaaa que ganas de mor1rme. Por lejos el peor libro de la saga. Espero mejore en los próximos.
-
Lestat is at it again. Such an impetuous beast! Triple dog dare him and he will do it in a heartbeat. This time he meets a man who can switch souls and steal bodies as if they are mere vessels. His acquaintance may be Lestat’s undoing. Along with his close friend, David, they chase this man down. Louis makes an appearance as well as Claudia. Loved that! We soar to Paris, the Bahamas, New Orleans. Lots of money thrown around. Rice does it again.
-
This one was took the series back up a notch for me. I was dissapointed in Queen of the Damned.
-
Not as good as the first 3… it took me a while to get into it.
-
My first read of the The Vampire Lestat was quite some years ago, I was somewhere around 15 at the time. I remember being delightfully amazed by this character, the sheer raw sensuality of his persona and of the way he conducted himself. Always wanting everyone to notice him, to fear him, to love him, and actually giving them all the tools required to do so.
The torture of immortality is always a floating theme in Rice's books. So is the appreciation of everything thats fragile and beautiful for that, all of the vampires' love for humans and their mortality being a clear example of this. This book, however, takes it a little bit further.
It wasn't just Lestat looking at mortals he fell in and out of love in a time lapse of 10 minutes, it was actually him living in man's flesh the fragility of it all. The torment of being an easy to break mortal, of having to actually do something with the short time span you get living. The anguish behind questions so fundamental like what can you do with your life to make it matter, how do you transcend, how to affect the big picture or does this big picture even matter at all.
This book actually feels as an outsider looking into what it means to be human, to be fragile. To have human needs and to try and not find them disgusting. To be ever so confused as to what the best approach to this transcendance would be. It continually references parts of Goethe's Faust to keep on elaborating on to the questioning of the impossiblity that there is a god and a devil that actually exist as protrayed to us by religions such as the catholic.
The "action" part (it's a vampire book after all) did seem to take a bit of low profile role on this one, giving us entire chapters of Lestat in his human form talking to some other human, most notably Gretchen or David, trying to figure it just what it all means.
I understand some people that are going around saying it's a slow book. It is, very much so. And a lengthy one, I think it's as long as Queen of the Damned. I would, however, recommend not to let this move you away from this one, but to find the simple beauty of humans interacting that Rice presented us with this book. -
Why did I like this book so much? Why is Anne Rice simultaneously a literary genius and batshit insane?
I shouldn't have liked this book, anyway; there were a lot of little things that irked me while I was reading it - but in the end, there I was completely engrossed again. Raglan is a kickass weirdo of a character (and her descriptions of his movements in the fantastically creepy lead-up to his introduction have stuck with me for half a decade now); she's still obviously a liiiittle bit too obsessively in love with her own Lestat, to the point the brattiness he (and she) takes such pride in gets annoying, but his first (re)impressions of the human world are, like everything Ricean, so expertly crafted and weirdly insightful that I ended up thinking of this book every time I drank orange juice for something like six months.
Also, he finally gets to have sex with someone! Or, you know, a lot of someones. Bizarrely, for an author whose entire oeuvre ooooozes unresolved sexual tension, it was deeply anticlimactic (har). Pages were flipped with a depressing since of Ew what do you even see in her, Eurgh he is SO OLD, Ugh you are supposed to be on a MISSION what is this, etc.
Also Louis was in it for approximately ten seconds, which is not NEARLY enough. -
Re-read. Lestat is turned back to human by swapping bodies, stupidly assuming that he can switch back after trying it out. Obviously, the other guy decides to keep Lestat’s body, powers and riches. D-oh. The rest of the book is Lestat trying to get his body back.
Read roughly 270 pages with some light skimming (a little under halfway, 45%). There were some scenes I remembered fondly, namely the part in the Gobi desert—which I had attributed to another part of the series. But overall, it felt dated and lacked tension. Knowing the plot wasn‘t helping, obviously. Too much detail, bla-bla and over exposition of almost everything. I skimmed quite a bit to get to the body swapping part, but was willing to plod on.
Then the rape happened—I had no recollection of that scene from previous reads. Or maybe I didn‘t understand and consider it rape before—it has been several decades since I read this last. That scene pretty much killed the book for me. I read on for a little bit, then put the book down with the plan to pick it up again at a later date. It‘s been sitting there for a month, looking at me and I feel absolutely no compunction to pick it up again.
Besides that, I was bored with the dated tone and endless navel-gazing and lost all interest in continuing. I can‘t even be bothered to skim my way to the end.
I have the next two books of this on my shelf. I am not sure if I want to continue. At this point I am considering to dump them and call it for this series, I‘ll see. -
“Revenge is the concern of those who are at some point or other beaten. I am not beaten, I told myself. No, not beaten. And victory is far more interesting to contemplate than revenge.”
It's weird re-reading this book in a good way. As a middle school brat I hated this book. It's full of long descriptions, winy vampires and humans, and a old man that somehow captured Lestat's attention. So why would anyone read this and think it's awesome?
“One tiny flame could make so many other flames; one tiny flame could set afire a whole world.”
Well five years later me would.
Seriously I loved this book. I love old man David and felt his ending was perfect. I love that Lestat can't stop crying every five seconds because he's just an old child. I could even tolerate Louis even though I still don't like him, and he's a dick for most of the book. I love the long ass descriptions about food and mansions. Yes it's pretentious and unnecessary but it felt like I was in those places as I read fifteen pages of Miami heat.
I liked the religious debates going on between David and Lestat. It's interesting seeing that vampires view themselves as evil yet some people (the people that get close to them) are like "nah, your good. Drinking human blood isn't a big deal" I also liked reading about humans who did not take the existence of vampires well.
“So we reach into the raging chaos, and we pluck some small glittering thing, and we cling to it, and tell ourselves it has meaning, and that the world is good, and we are not evil, and we will all go home in the end.”
Once again Anne Rice has won my heart with her writing. That bitch.
“I am not times fool, nor a god hardened by the millennia; I am not the trickster in the black cape nor the sorrowful wanderer. I have a conscience. I know right from wrong I know what I do and yes, I do it. I am the Vampire Lestat. That's your answer do with it as you will.”
P.S: I LOVE DAVID! WHY MUST I FALL FOR THE "GAY IN LOVE WITH VAMPIRES" ONES!?
P.S.S: Mojo is the best -
This was the book that made me quit the series. It was that bad, and that's saying something because I loved (still love) the first three books and will cherish them always. But this book. This book is an abomination and almost ruined every pleasant memory I had of that long summer when I first read Anne Rice.
The Queen of the Damned wrapped things up fairly well, and I felt there was no need to continue Lestat's lavish story arc. But of course it had to continue. And so the result is a convoluted "examination" of humanity and immorality, seen through Lestat's POV. But really, it's just Lestat living out a ridiculous dream of becoming mortal again. That's the whole book, just him running around in a human body and enjoying the "pleasures" of having bodily functions again.
And the point of this story is what again?
I don't know, but it's rather indulgent and pointless in the end. These Vampire Chronicles should have ended on a high note with Queen of the Damned. -
Lestat returns, in this the fourth novel in the Vampire Chronicles. Lestat, always one looking for trouble, always philosophizing, meets with a Body Thief: a man capable of switching bodies with other people, most of the time against their will.
Lestat agrees to switch bodies with this Body Thief for one day, so that he can feel what it is like to be human again.
As one expects, everything does not go as plan, and Lestat has to try and get himself out of the dangerous position he has put himself in.
I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions of Lestat's rediscovery of human life, although it made being human suddenly seem disgusting to me, and made me, much like Lestat, wish to be the immortal undead.
This was another wonderful foray into Lestat's psyche and his world, and I am still immensely enthralled by this series.
I am a little bit apprehensive about the next one, being Memnoch the Devil, given some of the reviews which I have read on here, but I am still going to give it a bash. -
And this is where the author jumped the shark with this series and I lost all interest in it. Lestat switches bodies with a human, shacks up with a nun, experiences the complete human digestive process again for the first time in over a hundred years and realizes that, orgasms aside, being human sucks. 🙄
The TV show Angel would end up doing this concept much better in the S3 episode "Carpe Noctem." Minus the nun boinking, which is always a bonus. Just go watch that. Trust me.
Anyway, teenaged me, who only read these because my very religious mom would disapprove if she knew, decided this rebellion just wasn't worth the brain cells and time. 😂 -
A good story - interesting and captivating - but it is safe to say that Lestat has to be the world's biggest moron to not see what happens coming. Also - I predicted one of the big "twists" at the end, but not the final one - so good on Anne Rice for that.
There was one scene that probably didn't need to be written in complete detail, which knocked this down a star.
I am still interested in seeing where and what Lestat gets himself into next. -
Lestat has become thoroughly disillusioned with his life as a vampire. Isolated, bored and generally dissatisfied he tries to end it all – which doesn’t work out as planned given his incredible power level
When someone makes him an offer he can’t refuse, though he really really really should as multiple people tell him. But since when has the Brat Prince listened to the advice of others?
He agrees to the Body Thief’s proposal – he will swap his incredible vampiric body for that of the Body Thief’s human one – letting Lestat experience humanity while the Body Thief, Raglan, a deeply unsavoury character, plays around with Lestat’s amazing powers
It does not go well.
I love that Lestat becomes human and hates it! Especially since this follows both Louis and Lestat playing the “woe, I wanna be human!” game – and since Louis is probably responsible for an entire genre worth of vampires moodily staring into the night and cursing their immortal super powers. I love how perfectly Lestat sums up just how much better it is to be a vampire, how awesome being a vampire is, how incredible his powers are – and no, getting to see the pretty sunshine does not make up for having to do all the nasty organic things that he hasn’t had to deal with for the best part of two centuries. I love how gross he finds the daily life of being a human. I love how hard he finds it, how painful, how difficult.
Yes, he looks hellaciously whiny when he complains to Louis about it, but it is a powerful moment – Lestat (and Louis) have reached such a power level that being human is beyond their conception. The struggles of humanity are insurmountable tortures to Lestat because he is so separated from them.
The real world parallels for this are many and deep (for example, the number of extremely privileged, wealthy people putting marginalised cultures, experiences et al on shiny pedestals without even beginning to understand what it actually means to be those people) and it’s an extremely well maintained theme throughout.
Are there things about being human Lestat likes? Yes. Is being a vampire an inherently lonely experience? That’s extremely clear as the human Lestat makes his connections (which fall apart when he becomes a vampire) but it has become clear over and over (and is overtly stated in this book) that the few remaining vampires in the world simply cannot get along for any great length of time. Of course there are attractions, but those can only be realised by ignoring a huge wealth of pain and hardship and difficulty that being a human brings compared to the vast abilities of vampiredome.
While I generally find the endless philosophical debates in this series incredibly, painfully dull, I actually really liked Lestat and Gretchen (not so much the fever dreams) with their delving into what is goodness, what makes a life worthwhile, what is a good life. It’s a big, meaty, thought provoking topic which was handled quite well – albeit long windedly. I also liked Gretchen’s point about her celibacy – she views celibacy as a way of ensuring all of her life can be dedicated to helping others without the ties or distractions of a relationship. As her growing preoccupation with her celibacy and desire to have sex grew, she recognised that as a distraction in and of itself and therefore the moral choice was, basically, to scratch the itch. It’s a fascinating moral viewpoint – the whole conversation really works (except for the repetition).
I like the development of the antagonist as well, for all his cunning his flaws are written large – and there’s a lot of thought gone into the whole concept of stealing a body; after all, would we really know how to move a body that is a different shape from our own? Let alone a body with super powers? I imagine, given Lestat’s incredible abilities, the only sensible response at controlling that power for the first time is some kind of terror – like a new driver suddenly behind the wheel of a Maserati.
Then there’s the negative. Firstly, the standard problem I’ve complained about with every book in this series – this book doesn’t need an editor, it needs to be assaulted by a drunk man with a chainsaw who’ll just chop huge chunks of it away quite randomly. Again, this book could have been half, a third as long as it actually is. We had a lot of random Claudia hallucinations that just seem to be there to fill up space. Lestat begins the book all suicidal which we’re told about at length, including his suicide plan… he then gets over it. After an interminable amount of time bemoaning his existence and trying to end it all, he decides he’s done that now and moves on – the whole thing feels like a painfully pointless way to give Lestat a tan.
In fact, the whole beginning of the book is like some kind of test of reader dedication to see if they have the mettle to keep reading. Beyond the Claudia hallucinations, unnecessary recaps and random not!suicide, we have a truly horrendously long conversation between David and Lestat that covers nothing of any real relevance – except maybe to try and tell us that these two are bestest buds ever, even though none of the books felt the need to develop that. Oh and Lestat kills serial killers and romances and kills old people for some unknown reason which, despite having zero plot relevance, required so many many many pages to describe. I also have a repeated notes with a growing number of exclamation marks saying “ENOUGH WITH THE BLOOD REMBRANDT!” I think a full quarter of the beginning of this book is spent on utter pointlessness.
Unfortunately this book moved Lestat from a character I found somewhat intriguing to one I found infuriating in the extreme. If something were to brutally murder Lestat I wouldn’t feel sad, I would smugly declare he got what was coming to him.
Lestat has the impulse control of a small child – no, small children show greater restraint. And not just in agreeing to Raglan’s deal – but in the end with David, in his interactions with Louis, most of what he did as a human, his early book angst, in fact, just about everything Lestat does, he does on a whim with little to no thought of the consequences. And he always has (Claudia is a classic example).
I could handle that – if he learned. If for one millisecond he learned. If he once decided to plan or consider or look back on his past mistakes or if he showed even a modicum of character growth. He doesn’t. Ever.
Read More -
I feel like my descriptor for this book, "The last time Lestat appears in a book that isn't terrible" is a bad description (because I liked Memnoch the Devil a lot--just not because of Lestat). It's just this is kind of one of those books that I like but there's nothing really awesome about it either. Interview with a Vampire and The Vampire Lestat are genre changing magnificent works of fiction. This is okay and has an interesting premise. It's okay. The first two were Raiders of the Lost Ark, the third was Temple of Doom, and this is The Last Crusade. You know, the movie before everything completely goes to hell.
The premise is pretty simple: Lestat meets a psychic who can steal bodies and decides to switch place with the guy for a year because he's staggeringly bored with unlife. Lestat immediately finds out being a squishy human again is HORRIBLE and tries to become a vampire again--only to go to Louis, the worst possible candidate for turning someone. He also falls in love with a nun. The funny thing is that I completely buy Lestat is so used to reading people's minds and manipulating them that he misses a psychotic body stealing mass murderer might not want to lose his new immortal vampire superbody. You can basically guess where the plot goes from there.
It's basically a comic book plot with strong characterization and some genuinely memorable moments. Certainly, it's a more coherent (albeit less crazy fun) plot than Queen of the Damned.
7.5/10
