Why You Should Read: The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice (Spoiler-Free)

Mike talks about how he became a fan of Anne Rice's sprawling vampire epic The Vampire Chronicles and why you should consider reading it.
You can purchase The Vampire Chronicles Here: amzn.to/3kOBsb5 (physical) amzn.to/3i6Ufg2 (digital) amzn.to/333bdYl (audio)
0:00 Introduction & Reading Excerpt
2:32 Background
5:33 What Is It About?
6:26 What Makes It Good Or Bad?
18:44 Why You Should Read It
22:56 Final Thoughts
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Music used: "Hannibal" originally composed and produced by "Vivek Abhishek"
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Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0(CC BY 3.0)
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#MikesBookReviews #AnneRice #VampireChronicles

[@persefoniajax]

I agree with your assessment that they are a good balance of sexy and scary. When I read IWTV for the first time, one thing that really stood out to me about Anne Rice's vampires is how utterly human they are, yet at the same time how utterly inhuman. It's such a beautiful, poetic paradox.

[@Kiki-st5bc]

I really love when author make vampires “sexiness” how they lure their victims in. It really almost make them like a succubus

[@ticalian]

Perfectly said

[@joseph_b319]

80s vampires: when they ate you not dated you.

[@mikesbookreviews]

It was a golden era.

[@catspaw3092]

Lost Boys is proof of that as well as Near Dark & Fright Night.

[@Fenris77]

Indeed.

[@persefoniajax]

Tom Cruise did such a good job as Lestat, I agree! He really nailed the character, I think in part because he read all the books that had so far been written and just dived headlong into it. Kirsten Dunst's performance also blew me away - such a powerful, chilling depiction of a powerful, chilling character!

[@LVZVRUS]

He was too old to be Lestat imo

[@ixxgxx]

yeah no way. Tom sucked. too small, Anne wanted Julian Sands.

[@constancegoldwing5867]

I really want Andy Black to be the next Lestat, when the series gets made :)

[@karencamp741]

I agree Tom did an amazing job of Lestat

[@karencamp741]

@@ixxgxx I had to Google Julian Sands. Never heard of the man and I thank God she went with Tom Cruz

[@JLoveReads]

I read Interview and Lestat this year and I love how Rice gives these vampires layers. Yes, they are killers but they are an "onion" of complexities.

[@mikesbookreviews]

100 percent.

[@Benjamin-vl2oh]

Louis: Vampire are like onions. Daniel: They stink? Louis: Ye- No. Daniel: Oh, they make you cry. Louis: No. Daniel: Oh, you leave em out in the sun, they get all brown, start sproutin’ little white hairs. Louis: No. Layers. Onions have layers. Vampires have layers. Onions have layers. You get it? We both have layers.

[@illeone8530]

@@mikesbookreviews Whats the name of the band on your tshirt??

[@amansizedduck]

@@illeone8530 White Zombie. I know, I'm a year late...

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

So pleased you did this video. The Vampire Chronicles were my OBSESSION as a weird teenager.

[@mikesbookreviews]

You are not alone, my friend.

[@oliviawilliams6204]

Me too, with Vampire the Masquerade... what yes I LARPed

[@corpeter]

still is and long gone is the excuse of weird teenager

[@reginaldforthright805]

@@corpeter you could try creepy uncle

[@mindysbookjourney]

I am reading The Vampire Lestat right now, and I am loving it so far. Interview with a Vampire was wonderful.

[@madisongoodyear5040]

That intro was FIIIIRRRE!!! Like... best one yet? Maybe?

[@AsfandyarSheikh]

Nope, still Red Rising, 😜

[@Reeka0803]

First book I read by Anne Rice is Pandora. I read that book in just two days when I was 15 years old. I couldn’t put it down. I fell in love with the vampire Pandora. I reread it multiple times and it was the book that launched my obsession with other books by Anne Rice.

[@eboniestevenson231]

I know what you mean Mike. I like my vampires scary, manipulative, aloof, cunning, and down right nasty. Not glittering supermodels.

[@persefoniajax]

My golden TVC trio is Lestat, Louis, and Armand. I was disappointed that the later books fell away from my favourites.

[@corpeter]

same, they are fun together - such interesting dynamics. I always really liked Jesse and was disappointed to never much get anything more on her.

[@DanicaChristin]

I've read all 15 Vampire chronicles books and it's one of my favourite series 👍🏻I guess I'm one of the few people who continues to enjoy the more recent books, though I'll admit that some of the books in the middle were pretty bad.

[@corpeter]

I read them all, many times over - a part from a few in the middle I did not like. But the first and second I read like 20 times, 3 and 5 and TVA quite often as well. I also enjoyed her latest books - it a nice bow around the chonicals.

[@cloudbloom]

For those who like vampires and haven't read the Necroscope series by Brian Lumley, give em a shot they are excellent☺

[@alynam82]

Yep, I agree 👍 (only read the first so far, but still...)

[@evawebb6585]

I have been trying to find those but was forgetting the writers name. I had read at least one book.

[@marcweber8509]

Bryan Fuller would have been the perfect person to adapt this, if you look at what he has done with Hannibal. But apparently they have a different vision...

[@mikesbookreviews]

Yeah, it's a shame it fell through. After what AMC did in their Preacher adaptation, I'm not very hopeful.

[@corpeter]

@@mikesbookreviews I struggle with the different vision. But even more because it claims to stay true to the core and I fail to see it. Blood and violence do not make up for deeper meaning. And although AR vampires have teeth and are vicious and unapologetic they are deeply layered - that what I love about them. I cannot see it in the adaption as of now. There are like 2 layers (one being bloody vampires) and whatever other layer the writers choose to do depict - at least for me it is. They play heavily on the unreliable narrator but this will not make up for the route they chose. If they do I would be glad but I have not trust in them when it comes to showing the depth of the source material. They use too many tropes from typical shows and TV vampires that ironically were influenced by AR. And they chose to portrait it this way to make it more modern. But why need the true immortals need to be modern? And is upping the gore, the violence and the shock moments the modern we want? I do not need it. Many love it. I respect that. I am torn - kinda ok, kinda not. For me it is more True Blood than AR. It is for the love of the books and the bits and pieces you can find I like it - not for the over all renewed take, that feels quite opposite to what the books represent for me.

[@shamarremp7089]

Also just finished Blood Communion and I felt she wrapped it up perfectly, similar to Endgame.

[@corpeter]

yes it is a goodbye

[@akaram325]

Dude! You gotta read The Passage by Justin Cronin! It was such an epic trilogy. It’s like a The Stand with vampires and it lasts 3 tomes. I really was surprised by how much I loved it

[@crazy4cairns]

Agreed. Really enjoyed the series although the first book is still the strongest. Definitely not any sexy vampires in that series!

[@MobbJacket88]

The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned will always be two of my favorites. These books literally got me through high school.

[@Freakgirl1985]

Back in 2000 I read "Interview with the Vampire" and got hooked on Anne Rice's books and vampires and also reading. Until then I barely read, rather played video games or watched TV, but ever since IWTV I have been enjoying reading a lot. My tastes have changed quite a bit since then, though :D I love Lestat and one of my favourite books by her is "The Mummy"

[@marcusmusings]

The Vampire Lestat was the first really long book I read. I felt so accomplished after finishing it. For years, Lestat has been one of my favorite protagonists

[@mikesbookreviews]

Lestat is an incredibly layered character.

[@corpeter]

I feel you. IWTV was the first English novel I read - I had the translation and the original side by side. Back then it was hard to get a copy of the original books in bookstores ( can you believe it) and I would have to wait for ages for the translation so I asked friends abroad to get me the latest books. Menoch the devil I worked through asking my teacher questions what this word means in this context or that. And she made googly eyes for my weird vocabulary questions, haha. No internet only dictionaries and it took me ages to get through 🙂 But I felt great I could spend time with Lestat.

[@corpeter]

@@mikesbookreviews oh he is. That makes him so beloved.

[@lunacarmin]

The Mayfair witches is a solid series of hers✌️ but I checked out of the vampires after the original trilogy.

[@melissayoung1060]

Loved the Mayfair Witches.

[@evanhovey2554]

And they come together later in her writing for blackwood farm and blood canticle.

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

I wandered into Mayfair Witches and was thoroughly entertained. Blackwood Farm was also a really solid book.

[@oliviawilliams6204]

A shame she killed Mona off screen

[@karencamp741]

I just started my first Mayfair witch book. Loving it so far

[@simonedwards9450]

Planning to start this tomorrow with Interview with the vampire. I love Anne Rice. A long with Dracula and King, these are the vampires for me. Twilight does not exist in my world. Not only does Meyer have crappy, boring sparkly vampires, she can’t write worth a damn. Rice’s prose is like poetry, like a twentieth century version of Poe. She’s brilliant!

[@michaelo5665]

The fear and the sex were intertwined so tight you can't always separate panic from arousal. Anne Rice was a genius when it came to blending the two. I find her witches series to be the last good treatment of that genre as well.

[@Vangone-bu6vu]

I stopped at Memnoch the Devil. I thought it ended in a good enough “wrap the series up” way. I like Christopher Beuhlman. He has two vampire books, Lesser Dead and Suicide Club. Lesser Dead is my favorite.

[@Michael_L_Morrison]

Yeah, Memnoch killed the series for me. I went no further, but I did enjoy The Witching Hour.

[@mastersal4644]

I stopped then too. I kind of enjoyed that - it was weird. I made the mistake of recently picking up Blood and Gold - yikes!

[@SlowBurnReader]

The Vampires in the Dresden Files I felt were well done.

[@Hellothere-bm2fo]

How

[@SlowBurnReader]

@@Hellothere-bm2fo I mean, in this series you have the different levels of vampires, you have the seductive white court that focuses on succubas end of things, while the black court are the scary undead vampires that would tear you to pieces. And the red court are a mixture of the two, I dunno just my opinion but I believe they are interesting.

[@Hellothere-bm2fo]

@@SlowBurnReader okay danke for explanation

[@allisonchainz82]

My favorite books of all time! And re reading them as I get older I always understand more and see things I didn't see before. For me the series ends with Tale of the Body Thief.

[@EricMontreal22]

Yep for me too. I gave up during Memnoch the Devil I'm afraid.

[@gustavoherrera6175]

I think i stop reading on the 5 o 6 book, i thought it was getting a littler rubish. When it git witches and spirits i said no, this is not for me. Loved the firt 3 book. The contrast between Louise and Lestat's pov was great and adds dimentions on the caracters.

[@PuttinOnTheSpritz]

I’m reading the OG books now and I’m loving it. So good and excited to keep reading her books ❤

[@jannarosereads4805]

this introduction was definitely one of your best!!

[@jade7398]

I just finished reading Interview with the Vampire yesterday! I loved it.

[@makewami1529]

And this was the reason I started reading 🤯🤯

[@nikoroo]

Fantastic summation. I just binged the new tv series and was surprised at how much I loved it. Still has the same tone as the books and the original movie (which I loved!!) and now I’m inspired to tackle the books once again. I think I made it to book 2 over ten years ago and life took over and after stopping where I left off, now I can’t remember what happened, so I think it’s time to reread them! Was intimidated by the fact that there were ten books and I had a feeling things might get too drawn out but now I’m confident in knowing I can stop after book 3. Thank you!

[@mastersal4644]

Given that Anne Rice is the progenitor for most paranormal vampire romance (IMHO) I think you could blame her too for where we are in the genre now. Though no one hits her original heights Scary vampires still exist I would say - just not in YA. I haven’t read it by Fledging is often quoted as terrifying - which makes me scared.

[@constancegoldwing5867]

Mike- if you have not read Blood and Gold- please do, there are vampire secrets in this book.

[@turtleanton6539]

That reading REALLY sold me on the books

[@mikesbookreviews]

The characters are brutal and unforgiving. I think you'll dig it.

[@turtleanton6539]

@@mikesbookreviews thank you !

[@WhiskeyBlack777]

I read the 1st four books when I was 14 (back in the 90s when the film came out) and fell madly in love. I haven't read any of the others though, or actually anything else by her. I really want to pick them back up & fall back into the world I loved so dearly. I recently purchased the two werewolf books by her & the Mayfair Witches trilogy. So I think I'll start reading The Witching Hour while I agonize over which copies of TVC to purchase all over again.

[@asfaloth12]

Ah, this brings back memories. I first read Interview with the Vampire as a teenager, and it was truly haunting. The movie was a excellent adaptation, and Tom Cruise's performance as Lestat was so good (personally, I think it was one of his best roles). Queen of the Damned is a very good book as well.....and I wish the adaptation had done it justice. It may be time for a re-read of this trilogy next year. Thanks for sharing this :)

[@mikesbookreviews]

Absolutely. It has aged incredibly well.

[@clancyconnolly495]

Was debating whether or not to read this this month. Your review really helped me make the decision to read it, I have the first one on my shelf and am ready to give it a shot! Also awesome opening- it had great ambiance!!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Enjoy!

[@nolanpakizer9744]

Great video! I'm stoked to see videos still being made on the vampire chronicles. I loved the first three too, and I was pleasantly surprised with Body Thief. The books start to become conventional wish-fulfillment fantasies about beautiful rich people instead of the gothic horror and vampire lore we get with 1-3. Good or bad, it's something very apparent. Also, glad you mention the wordiness because I felt like that was a major change in Lestat's narration style. It made it harder for me to read overall.

[@AlbertTheConjugator]

Blade was one of my favorite vampires too 😄 Now, there was a badass!

[@evawebb6585]

And claudia was based on Anne's daughter that had died at a young age. And it was her way of working through the grief.

[@evawebb6585]

Am glad they took that out i don't remember if that was in the original book or not been a few since I have read it. I just remember her Anne Rice stating that Claudia was based on. Her daughter that had died in the 70s. At the age of 5.

[@evawebb6585]

And she was dealing with some pretty intense feelings at the time. The script was a rewrite from the book and I imagine they put some changes in there. To go with the times.

[@evawebb6585]

So Claudia in the book was 5 not an older childlike in the movie. As well as Armand was a teenager in the books.

[@Fayefaye90]

Just found the 20th anniversary edition of Interview With A Vampire at my local thrift store for a quarter and came on KZbin to watch a review! This video got me so excited to read it! Definitely starting it tonight.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Hope you love it!

[@juangallardo134]

Hey Mike! Big fan from México. I thought you would find interesting the fact that in Latin America booktube is all about horror. Horror book videos and Stephen King videos are the most popular, while fantasy doesn't do very well.

[@ivanperez5354]

No sabía, i didn't know that. You have any good booktubers I should subscribe to?

[@barrilrayder]

Cuales booktubers son esos?

[@juangallardo134]

Martín Rondina, Vikinga lectora, Para que leer, The pennywise code, son solo algunos ejemplos

[@barrilrayder]

@@juangallardo134 Gracias.

[@tomahawkchop7669]

Let the Right One In should be a must read for you Mike. Was also made into a movie in Sweden. Then again for the states.

[@forwhy8723]

Oh that's a creepy one.

[@burge2695]

Love that movie...swedish one in particular but the english version was pretty good as well

[@mstrssdae]

Ironic, I was just going off about the same thing this morning. The complexity of the story as well as the characters themselves, explores what it is like to feel isolated. There is so much to explore in these intricacies of their relationships together as well as with themselves. That is why I chose Interview with the Vampire as one of the topics for my thesis. I have had to write this post about five times to keep myself from going into my thesis topic. "in Paris, a vampire must be cleaver for many reasons. Here, all one needs is a pair of fangs." - Lestat, Interview with the Vampire

[@neelaomara5344]

Found Vamprie Chronicles buried in my kindle. Have been gorging on them. Man that woman can write!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Yeah, she was brilliant for a long time.

[@evawebb6585]

I loved queen of the dammed. Gives the history of her version of were vampirism came from.

[@mikesbookreviews]

The book is great.

[@fangs1972]

Great video, Mike, and worth the wait! I've read all "The Vampire Chronicles" and for me, the first 5 are the essential ones.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Yeah, it was mostly solid through 5.

[@JamesMcCormickIV]

Love these books. Hrm... 2nd book in my cyberpunk detective series is called Forever Six. Wonder if these books had more influence on me than even I know. :)

[@my_cousin_mose9782]

I would agree the books were still good up until Memnoch the Devil. I read up through Blood and Gold and only managed to get to that point with audiobooks. I skipped Blackwood Farm and Blood Canticle and just went straight for the new books that brought Lestat back to the front and I dont think I need to progress any further. I feel she embraced the "Twilightness" and I dont want to read about Lestat doing those kinds of things.

[@mikesbookreviews]

It got consistently bad around the book 6-7 mark.

[@MagusMarquillin]

My older brothers were both fans of it; I'm not sure if they stopped reading because they got bored, I think it was more they had read everything published at that point mid-ninties and then moved on to other books. I finally tried Interview 20 years ago, I had been a fan of the film since my brother bought the VHS, and I became *enthralled* in the twisted existentialism and historical details of Louis voice in the book. Lestat was even better, I loved how he finds Louis book and feels so betrayed by his POV that he had to write his own immediately, and then go break _every_ facet of Vampire law - as he does. Queen of the Damned crescendoed all the elements and characters together perfectly, it felt like the Apocalypse had arrived for human and vampire alike. I'm sure glad she didn't stop there though because, as I recall, Body Thief and Memnoch were even better, really intense and personal stories for Lestat with more supernatural mystery to keep things fresh. And as for Armand; well, technically I did stop there, I never read that book, but not because of boredom. I've just never been a devoted reader for very long at a time - that was probably one of my longer stretches - I got distracted, so I simply never picked up the book. But, I did alredy know the story somewhat, in fact I heard it before any of the books in the form of an abridged audiobook on 4 cassette tapes I had gotten for Christmas. I actually liked it, even though I didn't know some of the pre-story. Maybe it worked better for being abridged - there wasn't a lot of (non-sexual) action in it. I don't know, but I'm keen to give it and the whole series another go now that I'm back into reading - I hear she's brought Atlantis into it somehow. Maybe by chance I did stop just before it got disappointing, but I'm hoping I'll see it differently then you. I've been collecting her other books when I see one, I've even got her Werewolf series and her Jesus series. LOL

[@robinrinsmith]

Hate to break it to you but since bringing Atlantis into it, the books have become garbage. I tried to read them, but they’re nothing like the originals. Anne Rice’s writing has always been a little hit or miss, but it’s like she recently took writing lessons from a 13 year old fan fiction writer! You can try them, but I recommend starting with a library copy, otherwise you may realize that buying one was a waste of money!

[@MagusMarquillin]

@@robinrinsmith Your not breaking it to me, I've heard fans say that, and I've heard other fans say they're interesting even though different, and a big improvement over how she ended it when she was returning to Christianity. Good suggestion going for library copies, I get a lot of thrift books though and if I can get them there it's not too bad of a risk.

[@drewe9163]

I had a coworker who wanted me to read Twilight, so I told her I would if she read Interview with the Vampire. So we lent each other our books, I stopped halfway through Twilight and returned it saying I didn't like it. She kept Interview for a year without reading it and when I finally got it back, it had been in the back of her car the whole time and was completely destroyed.

[@mikesbookreviews]

This is why I stopped loaning out books.

[@Steffenevil666]

That's so messed up. She is not ur friend at all. What ppl do to books. Friends' books man. That's insane. I hope u let her know that was messed up.

[@lupilotty9317]

Glad I came here. Bought 'The Vampire Lestat' 15 years ago thinking it was the first in the series. It's been sat on my shelf ever since. Glad I didn't read it now! Will go buy 'Interview' 😂

[@arnrockwell]

Love the video, Mike! I'm re-reading the whole series to catch up to the three newest books (which I haven't read before) and to review for my channel. Totally agree on the first three. The Vampire Lestat is my favourite in the series so far. In my opinion, everything from The Tale of the Body Thief to Merrick was okay at best and horrible at worst, but I loved Blood and Gold. Then again, Marius has always been a favourite character of mine. I hope the newest entries don't let me down!

[@hollymantooth7926]

I really loved that one as well.

[@Hallowhaunt]

I stopped reading after Blood and Gold but I've been wanting to go back and re-read and try to get through them all! I remember loving TVA but I'm not sure why, lol... but then again it's been 20 years since I read that so maybe it's time for a re-read!

[@mikesbookreviews]

I can attest to the original trilogy having aged wonderfully. Read it again in 2017.

[@Michael_L_Morrison]

While Memnoch the Devil killed this series for me, i was really digging these books. Also loved Anne Rice's The Witching Hour.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Damn near everyone dropped the series sometime between Memnoch and Blood & Gold. It's amazing.

[@Emp6ft10in]

Memnoch the Devil felt like it was the start of a totally new series with a completely different theme. She just sort of placed Lestat at the front of it. I stopped reading half way through in fear it would ruin the characters for me. Before that book she had written it all so realistically I almost felt like they could be real. Now suddenly they are talking to the Devil, discovering the beauty of Catholicism, time traveling, and literally drinking the blood of Christ... If anything that book is a good example of how really messed up a persons mind gets once they start getting really religious.

[@justineharper3346]

@@Emp6ft10in I stopped in the middle of Memnoch too. It just didn’t have the same feel, like you said. I did read a few of the later ones and enjoyed them though

[@toriwellington9228]

Loved the intro! Just added the trilogy to my tbr. Thanks Mike!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@laughingvampire7555]

Remember that When Anne Rice wrote the book she was talking about the music of Lestat she was talking about heavy metal band and in that moment of the movie making KoRn was the thing, it was also the collapse of nu-metal after the movie came out.

[@catspaw3092]

I really love your opening of your video & the heart beat really makes it scary & intense vampires are meant to be scary, mysterious not glittery. I love your bookshelves are all those vampire novels?

[@mikesbookreviews]

Glad you enjoyed it! The music credit is in the description if you want to hear the whole track.

[@rainbowstarks]

Thanks for the review Mike! As a new reader of the trilogy (read interview as a teen) I was a bit heartbroken as well that the magic doesnt continue into the next books. Gona give them a shot but I doubt anything will top those 3 amazing books.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Best of luck! There is some great stuff in the sequel books but a lot of “huh?!” as well.

[@joseph_b319]

That White Zombie shirt is awesome!!

[@talenacaro8131]

You need to read pandora. First book I read of hers my dad gave me and I fell in love with the character

[@leenox23]

love the quote in the beginning! it's my favorite vampire series . and as of now you are the only booktuber i know that liked it.

[@persefoniajax]

Check out Dominic Noble's stuff on the series. He's done a few lost in adaptation things about the movies and has reviewed the first three books.

[@robinrinsmith]

Great review! I loved the Vampire Chronicles, but after Memnoch, it slowly went downhill. As for the life changing event, I think it may have been her husband’s death. So she wrote religious stuff for awhile, then she gave up on the church again. (She was raised Catholic.) I think Anne Rice is one of the few writers who can do vampires justice. I love vampire stories but I’m very selective and I’ve come to hate the whole vampire romance genre. As for her writing, she’s very hit or miss, she has a tendency to go off on tangents. But when it’s good, its very good! But when its not, oh boy. As for her more recent vampire books, sadly, I can’t recommend them. She’s taken it into a more sci-fi/fantasy direction and it’s not really working. Also, I think she’s trying to connect with a younger, more modern audience. I tried to get into them, but they’re just so awful! But since you recently got into manga, you might want to give Hellsing by Kohta Hirano a try. It’s a ten volume vampire series about a secret organization who fights vampires and the supernatural using Dracula as their super weapon. The story is about nazi vampires trying to destroy the world. So basically, Dracula vs. the vampire nazis. It’s extremely violent and over the top, even a little silly at times but overall, pretty entertaining! The art style is very rough, though, but worth trying out. There are two anime versions, the first, from 2003, is a tv series that deviates from the manga. The other, released between 2008-2014, is based on the complete 10 volumes, and is divided into 10 volumes. It’s pretty faithful to the manga.

[@thomasfranche6770]

I think she had to give up the Church, at least publicly, because of Christopher. She would have been much more credible had she stuck to her guns regarding Catholicism. It's painfully clear how Catholic she was in her novels (Witching Hour, Lasher, Feast of All Saints, etc.) and her flip-flopping made her seem flighty. It was too bad she didn't have more children besides Christopher, because she probably would have prefered a huge, entangled Mayfair-like family and not owning tons of gorgeous Garden District real-estate that sat empty.

[@leahv5892]

I honestly like the fact that these vampires are highly dysfunctional in their relationships. They’re manipulative, spiteful and vain. It’s very human to make them this way. Modern vampires are perfect and brooding. Waiting to fall in love. These vampires aren’t looking for that. They want sexual companionship and don’t want to be alone. They want someone to manipulate.

[@mikesbookreviews]

You nailed it. It's what makes them different than any other vampires I've read.

[@lukebrawley8669]

Buffy and angel are my fav vampire TV shows. I just read Dracula this month, I have Salem's lot and I am legend next on my vampire reading journey. You have just convinced me to read these books, ordering now!!!

[@skyandthreadtarot8365]

I read the trilogy as a teen after falling in love with the movies, but I got distracted by other things and never got to get further into the series. So I started a re-read this year and have made it to book 5. Hearing now that I may be about to pass the apex makes me nervous.

[@inocanandrei6950]

I grew up with Anne Rice's books. No author has risen to the level of the author in the way she described vampires. At that time I had not read Salem's Lot by Stephen King. The last book I read was The Story of the Body Thief.

[@gregkral4467]

I did kinda enjoy Memnoch the devil though.... it helped me think through some spiritual isues I was thinking at the time, I could relate in ways, but agree, the original trilogy is indeed the best of all.

[@cjacja21]

I'm a huge Rice fan. I think to appreciate Merrick, Blackwood Farm and Blood Canticle, it's worth reading The Lives of The Mayfair Witches series. I do agree that the original trilogy is phenomenal

[@halliehurst4847]

I have a very old copy of Anne Rice’s Witching Hour I think it was? And the cover has a review which goes something along the lines of ‘the horror question of our times is who reigns supreme: Anne Rice or Stephen King? Well this confirms it, move over King, we have a Queen’ I always think about it and laugh when considering just how far downhill Anne Rice went. But this has got me remembering just how good she was in the beginning. Time for a reread.

[@MovieMannShow]

Mikes book reviews I know you don’t typically do trailer reactions but they released a full trailer for the remake of the stand and I think you should react to it!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Apparently CBS is striking down trailer reactions to it in certain territories. So I decided against it.

[@thisandthat418]

Very few series can keep up the quality of the first few books, I've read the original 3 maybe 4 books in this series.....it's been so long since I read them I can't really remember, but I did love them. The Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series by Laurelle K Hamilton is now up to book 20 something and still going but really should have finished years ago, although I keep reading them as they are addictive, I just tend to skip the ridiculous, repetitive sex scenes and concentrate on the remaining story. I have to say though the first 10 or so books in this series are fantastic and I highly recommend them.

[@lizbotnick]

Obsidian Butterfly was such a good high point in that series! If you liked the intrigue/crime solving aspects of that series, you may like Barbara Hambly's series that starts with Those Who Hunt the Night

[@rabbithowls71]

I have been waiting for the next Vampire Chronicles book since I was 12. Definitely sad it won’t continue. It was a good ride.

[@christianantal8574]

Those first 3 books were Anne Rice at her best. My fav was TVL. There were some decent ones after Queen of the Damned, but none that could match those first 3. And there were also some bad ones in there too. But as a collector, I must have them all. I have all of Anne Rice's books. And I'll say this, The Witching Hour (the first book in Lives of the Mayfair Witches) is also among her best. I often can't choose which one I like best. You should give that one a shot.

[@atom0191]

Thanks for the video, Mike!! I loved the movie Interview with the Vampire

[@roygbiv7370]

Always love your videos, Mike!

[@Savagedbd]

for anyone that wants to read the full series with the witching hour books this is the order they should be read in ok heres the full order Interview with the Vampire The Vampire Lestat The Queen of the Damned The Tale of the Body Thief switch to the witching hour books here: The Witching Hour Lasher Taltos Continue on with the lestat series: Memnoch the Devil Pandora The Vampire Armand Vittorio the Vampire Merrick Blood and Gold Blackwood Farm Blood Canticle Prince Lestat Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis

[@pryingpandoraa]

I also started reading The Vampire Chronicles in high school. My enjoyment for the series peeked with The Vampire Lestat and waned with Queen of the Damned, I kept reading them and at one point I threw my copy of The Vampire Armand across the room. Anne Rice would spend 4 pages describing a hotel room. I don’t remember which book it was in but one of her later ones she started to do the same thing and then stopped and said “I want everyone to be able to read this book from the man and the Pent House to the girl in the trailer park.” This particularly upset me since I have been reading her book since my freshman year of high school and I was the girl in the trailer park. Stopped reading her books then.

[@laughingvampire7555]

read it, and listen to it, I'm listening The Vampire Lestat in audiobook right now, after reading it multiple times.

[@charlesgrey8651]

Great episode 👏🖤🧛‍♂️

[@anusreechoudhury6099]

Yeah man you're right, Anne makes her LGBT vampires likeable by even straight readers. I mean she makes her characters so good, you don't even care whether they are LGBT or anything. Like you mentioned, it's just another layer to their character. I am a straight guy here writing this comment from my wife's account haha (because she is doing something on my phone), I recommend this series to every fantasy/horror reader, straight or not, it doesn't matter, just read it :)

[@dimitrescucrncevic9746]

Her vampires don’t seem to have a sexual preference lol

[@jaredgenova2228]

I think a big drop off point many people reach with the Vampire Chronicles is when, sometime after Queen of the Damned, she begins to use her vampires to tell philosophical and historical stories. For example, Memnoch the Devil (one of my favorites in the series) uses the world according to Lestat to delve into the depths of the spiritual and existential crisis Anne Rice was facing at the time. Similarly, Pandora was more a novel about ancient Rome and its eastern reaches in Antioch than a horror novel about vampires hunting humans. The first three Vampire Chronicles are absolutely gothic horror, but down the road they absolutely veer off that trajectory and are more gothic stories than anything else. Personally, I like how she implements historical elements into her books. I just re-read Blood and Gold and I was reminded how wonderfully she blends art history as well- something I find people criticize her for and accuse her of getting stuck in the weeds a bit. It's a personal preference, and I understand both sides of the argument. Outside of her vampires, I loved The Feast of All Saints and Cry to Heaven. Both of those are simply historical novels with no supernatural elements whatsoever. Also, I would say The Witching Hour may be my favorite book she's ever written, or pretty damn close. That was her love letter to New Orleans, and whenever I'm down there I make a point to head to the Garden District and pay her house a visit to reminisce on moments from that story.

[@curioussoundwave2275]

I read these in the 90's. I continued in the early 2000's up to Vittorio. I haven't read any since then. My favorite in the series was The Vampire Lestat.

[@cloudbloom]

Love these books! Such fascinating characters and the origin of the vampires was a really cool concept

[@Dragondarkness30]

I loved the intro. I'm an Anne Rice fan but yeah like you were saying I cant seem to get back into the series it starts to loose the good stuff that the beginning of the series had I have read the four books from the beginning I tried to read book 5 which I'm thinking about getting back into but I couldn't get into the beginning of the book because it felt slow I did enjoy book 4 it had me hooked it was almost like I was there it pulled me in. I totally understand book 3 was like 2 different books. Interview was amazing as always. I also have the new books in the vampire series but I have yet to crack them open.

[@remyblas]

I've always felt a bit guilty that even though these were some of my favorite vampire stories, I never got to even start reading Memnock the Devil (book 5). But I guess I wasn't missing much then? So maybe instead of one day forcing myself to get back into the next books, I could just re-read the first 3, since it's been too long and I'm sure I would find a lot that I haven't noticed many many years ago when I read them first.

[@justintack5205]

I will say, I'm getting my thoughts down here about 5 minutes into your video, so I haven't gotten to your statements on her later books, but that opening trilogy really made an impact on me. I got really into Anne Rice in the early '00s, as those were my teens, and at the same time I got really into two tabletop roleplaying games: GURPS and Vampire: The Masquerade. The blend of being into all three of those at the same time created some interesting gaming sessions with my friends, as well as reading and writing vampire-related things. I fell off the series with Blood Canticle, but maybe I could try dipping my toes in some more.

[@justintack5205]

15:00 Great statements on how Rice handled her LGBTQ+ character writing. As a kid growing up in rural Michigan, I had very little known contact with anyone who wasn't like me. Anne Rice and Robin Hobb really helped prime me for acceptance of anyone who wasn't horrible to people once I made it out into the cities.

[@justintack5205]

My own final thoughts: The trilogy was absolutely the best bit, and things really fall apart with over-explanation. You've probably convinced me to at least check out some detailed reviews of the newer books, but at minimum I'm doing a reread of that opening trilogy. If anyone wants to try and experience some of what Rice's vampires discuss regarding the march of time and their lack of place within the modern world, check out the solo rpg Thousand Year Old Vampire. It's meant for just a single person with a couple of dice, and you follow the prompts in the book to tell the story of your vampire's unmooring from mortality and how they deal with that. Or don't deal with that, as the case may be.

[@mariacifarelli4204]

Great video Mike, gosh I haven’t read much A R in years I read the Witches when I was younger and it kind of scared me 😂 So now I think I’ll put the Vampire Diaries on my TBR list ... you really like to mess up my TBR list 🤣 it’s getting longer every time I watch one of your videos I have Malice next to read .... NOTHING is going to mess with Malice .... 😂🤣

[@ducky36F]

I got to the end of the original run which was ‘Blood Canticle’. But yeah I don’t even really remember what happened in it tbh. It had Lestat back which was great but was very low stakes. I bought the new ones but I haven’t really felt the urge to read them yet Glad to hear some positivity about the series though because like you I really did love the first 3

[@rodtaylor5476]

Love IWTV and The Vampire Lestat, but QOTD is next-level epicness. Body Thief is great too but then I stopped as Memnoch was too weird for me. I've started again with the Prince Lestat book.

[@OfJaggedRisings]

Does anyone else think of Anne Rice as historical fiction as much as anything? I haven’t read her for years but was a big fan in my late teens and early twenties and remember that being my take.

[@LeortisBooks]

I don’t even know why but this has always been my “guilty pleasure” series. I love these books but for some reason feel weird about reading them, don’t even know why lol.

[@barrilrayder]

Speaking of vampires, you should read Fevre Dream by George Martin.

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

Barril Rayder yes! Fevre Dream is kinda forgotten I feel. But it’s a goody for vamp lovers

[@mastersal4644]

Agreed! Game of thrones causality I feel given no one picks up anything else by Martin

[@thevampirelover]

I'm a huge VC fan who actually did finish the entire series. It started going downhill with Merrick for me too, but I do love TVA and B&G pretty well as backstories personally. After those she lost touch with her own canon I think and mixing VC with the Mayfair series was a bad call in my opinion. I think her not having an active editor after QotD made a big negative difference.

[@ivanperez5354]

I own Interview with a Vampire and it's a good read, I just need to get the rest of the vampire chronicles books.

[@lynndillon8188]

Just read the first 2 . Good read. They stay with you for a while after you read them. Thats one way to know that you have read a good book

[@gegalloneword1481]

I tapped out at Memnoch the Devil as I couldn't finish The Vampire Armand. I didn't care for the movie, Interview's only saving grace, imho, was Kirsten Dunst as Claudia... so good.

[@mikesbookreviews]

The Vampire Armand almost sent me into a depression it was so bad.

[@barbaratyhe2955]

@Mike Have You read Coldfire Trilogy by Celia S. Friedman? There was a different take on vampiric themes - character name was Gerald Tarrant. This seems to be a quite forgotten series but I remember I liked it when I read it years ago. Maybe worth checking?

[@mikesbookreviews]

I haven’t but I have the trilogy in my Kindle.

[@xMoac]

The body thief and memnoch the devil are also interesting reads. I am re-listening to the body thief , it’s a good read. But you are right I have not read all the books but I agree that some of the charcuterie seem stuck in place rather then doing some change as did Lestat. Lestat is now my favourite vampire.

[@nickmattio3397]

“Ohhh Loouuiiiissss...Stiiillll WHINING!!....If You Don’t Mind, I’ve Had To Listen To This, For Centuries! I’m going to give you the choice, I never had. HuhHahaHahaa.”-Lestat/Tom Cruise, Interview With The Vampire

[@sebastianrivera6976]

Realms of Atlantis was horrible for a Vampire Chronicles story but an interesting novel on its own. Prince Lestat was just as exciting as Queen of The Damned, and Blood Communion was a satisfying end. The series is over now. She lost control of how many vampires she crammed into the story but it was still a good ending!