The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles #2)

Eddie

Rating: really liked it
This is one of those books that defined me. I don't mean that I turned goth or vampire or whatever. No... it started me thinking.

I was born and raised in the South. I didn't read anything else other than fantasy novels (like Dragonlance). I joined the Marines in 89 and while watching a movie about a teenage vampire it was mentioned that Dracula is 'good literature'. I went to the base library to check out Dracula and beside it on the shelf was this book. I took this one instead.

The book was great. I loved it. The book engendered a question within me that never found any sunlight growing up a protestant in the Deep South. That queston, can something evil love? The values of the Southern protestant is one of black and white and there is no mixing, no grey, no overlap. By witnessing the drama of Lestat's journey, this manifestation of the Shadow declaring it's evil and it's good... I questioned this myself.

It is a slippery slope to question everything. With no reading, history, or even exposure to any philosophy (Arkansas public school after all) I now asked questions about ethics, the nature of God, what is beauty, morality, and more. I had become a philosopher (though not a good one).

Now, 17 years later I've been around the world many times, am nearing the completion of two degrees (psychology and philosophy) and am a much different, much broader, much more deepened soul. The questions I've asked, the roads I've taken, the experiences I've had, are all a result of my search for my own truth. A lot of that was set afire because of reading this book.

I know that many bemoan Anne's move from the supernatural and to Christian writings. It's her life and I respect that. Yet I am reminded of something Jung said, we do not become enlighted by imagining beings of light, but by making the darkness visible (I'm paraphrasing). Lestat might not be a being of light (that's another topic) but his darkness is illuminating.

This is one of my favorite books ever.

Christine (AR)

Rating: really liked it
Dear Anne Rice:

NOT WORTHY.

Signed, All Fictional Vampires Who Are Not Lestat

This was a re-read for me, but in all honesty, I don't think I was ready for this book the first time I read it. Or at least, I didn't appreciate it for the sheer masterpiece of storytelling that it is, and it's not just the mood and the world and the mythology and the fast-moving plot -- more than anything, it's the characters.

Lestat, of course, Rice's 'brat prince', arrogant and compassionate and impossible, all at the same time -- he'd be enough to carry any book, imo, but the secondary characters are just as layered and bewitching, probably because we see them through Lestat's eyes. Nicki and his endless internal darkness; Armand, who manages to be both tragic and terrifying; Gabrielle, who seems like a force of nature; and even Louis, the whiny, unreliable narrator from Interview comes off as beautiful and mysterious, the star-crossed love of Lestat's afterlife. I swooned through the last chapter.

I didn't care for the places Rice took this series after Queen of the Damned, but for me, Lestat continues to define the vampire-as-anti-hero genre. No other blood-sucker comes close.

Gabrielle

Rating: really liked it
I was raised by an unapologetic bookworm with rather eclectic tastes and whether its nature or nurture, I eventually turned into one of those myself. During my formative years, if I dared to say I was bored to my mother, she would simply throw a book at me and say “Read. You won’t be bored anymore”. It was very good advice, that I keep to this day: you will never catch me without a book in my purse! But the thing about my mother is that most of her library was not children/teenager appropriate, and she does not believe in censorship… so I read an awful lot of very adult books very young. I think that I picked up my first Anne Rice when I was about nine years old.

I have read many vampires stories since – some really good and some really bad – and Lestat remains to this day my all-time favorite vampire.

Granted, there was a lot of stuff I missed when I read “The Vampire Lestat” the first time because, well, I was nine. But rereading it as an adult made me appreciate it so much more. First off, the amount of historical research that went into creating this book is staggering. Say what you will about Anne Rice as a person (she sounds rather insufferable) but the woman does her homework and weaves an amazing, complex and intricate story that bounces through the Âge des Lumières France, Roman Empire Egypt, colonial era New Orelans and modern day California. I am a sucker for history, so when a historical setting is as vivid as Ms. Rice makes them, I find myself utterly fascinated.

Of course, the character of Lestat is what truly makes this book wonderful: he’s a brat, with an greedy curiosity and a devil-may-care attitude that he takes a bit too literally (“If I was a damned thing, then let the son of a bitch come for me!”)… This was my first encounter with a villain who is not really a villain because he’s a bad person and it might just be where my weakness for bad guys comes from! The things about Lestat is that while he can be an absolute monster, he’s also a tortured being who wrestles with a strangely twisted conscience, strong feelings and an insatiable need to be loved. When you read “Interview with the Vampire”, he seems like a selfish, pompous jerk; but his background, so wonderfully detailed in “Vampire Lestat” shows him for what he used to be as a mortal and how the sorrows of his younger days are still a burden he carries within him and tries his best to camouflage by acting like a rock star – ages before such a thing even existed. He is a complex hero/villain, who throws it all in your face with charm and panache – and that is just irresistible.

I am glad to see I am not the only one who like this book better than “Interview”: Louis is super whiny and kind of a drama queen, as where Lestat just rocks. The supporting characters are really well fleshed out: the relationship with his mother Gabrielle is wonderful, if somewhat disturbing. The introduction of Marius, who is my second favorite of the Rice vampires, is also a huge plus! His story is fascinating and his voice is just as delightful as Lestat’s, albeit less bratty. And of course, he tells us the massively awesome story of “Those Who Must Be Kept”! This sort of elaborate mythology that blends history with supernatural elements never ceases to fascinate me, and it is beautifully told.

I find that the writing also as a sensuality (for lack of a better word – I don’t think it’s erotic, but it’s definitely lush with feels) that “Interview” lacked. There is darkness, but also a humour and poetry to the language that makes it very unique and sumptuous. The philosophical musings about immortality, religion, love and art were a bit nebulous to me when I was young; it made the re-read very fresh because I understood the motivations and struggles of the characters a lot more, adding a new depth to the story.

To me, Anne Rice remains a guilty pleasure kind of read, but if you have never read any of her books before I’d recommend “Vampire Lestat” as a good place to start!

Jennifer

Rating: really liked it
The Vampire Lestat is the second book in The Vampire Chronicles series by Anne Rice. I adored the first book, Interview With A Vampire which was told in Louis' perspective, a vampire that Lestat made who clung desperately to his humanity. The Vampire Lestat is Lestat's story told in his perspective. Although I viewed Lestat as somewhat of a villian in the first book, the reader gets a glimpse of Lestat when he was human and first made vampire. His story is long and tours the globe, even with a history lesson of vampire history. The present-day setting of the book is in the 1980's and I loved Lestat's view on the 20th century, along with his view on humanity, good versus evil, life and death, and his fellow vampires. I was pleasantly surprised to see this side of Lestat. Anne Rice's writing remains beautiful, lyrical, and generous with detail. I plan to continue the series.

My favorite quote: “None of us really changes over time. We only become more fully what we are.” Anne Rice, The Vampire Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles, #2)

Melissa

Rating: really liked it
Oh, how I love Anne Rice.
I actually started reading these books after I read Twilight. Yes, surprisingly, I went back to vampire fiction after that. Meyer is a good writer, but once you've met Anne's Vampires, you're never going back. Anyhow, this book was great. It still has the good kind of vampires: the ones that sleep in coffins, drink human blood and burn in the sunlight.



This second book in the series wasn't disappointing, although I feared it might be, after reading the amazing 'Interview With The Vampire'. It was also quite interesting, since I read this book after I'd seen the movie 'Queen of the Damned', which is based on this book and the next book.
The violin!! Turns out it didn't belong to a girl at all, but to Nicki, a boy. Damn you, untruthful modern cinema.

The characters in this book were brilliant, the story-line was good and the ending was awesome. I can't wait to read 'The Queen of the Damned'. I own all of the books in this series and it's about time that I finish them all. Warning: Addicting series!

Alina

Rating: really liked it
I liked this one much, much better than the Interview!

Crystal Starr Light

Rating: really liked it
The year is 1984, and Lestat is the famous lead singer of the group, The Vampire Lestat. He stumbles upon a simple little book, "Interview with the Vampire", starring Louis, his ersatz lover of sorts (because vampires don't exactly have lovers the same way humans do). So Lestat sets the record straight and tells the tale of his life as a vampire.

When people say this is better than Interview with the Vampire, they are not kidding. This book is light years better than "Interview". I almost wish this book never ended, it was so good. I already have book 3 lined up to read - and normally, I would give myself a break, just so I didn't burn out.

What makes "The Vampire Lestat" so good? Just about everything - from characters, to setting, to writing, to mythos. About the only thing I can critique is that at one point, not long after Gabrielle is turned and we meet Armand, the story kinda stalls and gets a bit dull. Oh, and when Marius is telling his story, I kinda got confused and thought we went back to Lestat's POV. But honestly, those are nitpicks - I enjoyed myself thoroughly with this book.

Lestat is a WAY better protagonist than Louis. He's not so whiny, so pathetic, so useless. He's a master of his own life - sure, he contemplates whether he is evil and tends to choose victims who are evil (those women Louis says Lestat seduces? They are prostitutes that cheat sailors and probably kill them). He is a passionate being - he cares enormously for Nikola and Louis (some of the sweetest interactions in the book) and his mother (though his love for her gets a bit creepy in the "I don't think we should be kissing our MOM this way"). He is a curious being - he searches all over the Mediterranean for Marius and the source of answers. He is a powerful being - his powers attract the attention of Armand and Marius and when others can't stand being a vampire, he is able to press on.

The rest of the cast is beautifully done as well. Gabrielle, Nikola, Marius, Armand, and even Louis all get dimension. They are real people, with real desires - Gabrielle to be set loose to live alone. Nikola to balance his "wicked" pursuit of the theater with his religious beliefs. And so on. And so forth.

The story was engaging and exciting. I was enthralled with the depths of the mythos, a perfect balance of complex and yet simple - not a list of rules sloppily tacked together when the author needs to add a new challenge to her characters, but actual rules that make sense in the world and seem to originate naturally from the circumstances. And the addition of Akasha and her brother - I can't tell you how deliciously creeped out I was! I loved it!

At this point, I'm just gushing. Honestly, I really loved this book and am SO GLAD I didn't give up on this series. If you like your vampires wicked and blood-thirsty, you definitely need to check out this series!!

Calista

Rating: really liked it
I loved these books in my 20s. Lestat had a great origin story and we explore that here. Anne takes us all the way up to Interview with the Vampire. Lestat is a crazy maker, he likes trouble. He did have a rough start as an immortal.

I loved the tone of Anne's books. They were so brooding and gothic and lush. She uses flowery language and I loved that then. Plus Lestat was Bisexual and he was one of the first characters I read that way. it was a big deal for the 80s and 90s as there weren't many characters outside the norm.

I still have a warm feeling when I think of these books. I haven't re-read them in a while so that might ruin it or it could bring me back to a more simple time in my life. I would like to read this series over someday.

Kelly

Rating: really liked it
It is my suggestion that, if you want to sample Anne Rice, and have never read any of her other works, this may be the book you want to read instead of her most famous novel, "Interview with a Vampire." let me explain.
"The Vampire Lestat" is quite a different novel from the first in the series, because we are dealing with an entirely different vampire than the depressed and vulnerable Louis from Rice's first book. Don't get me wrong, Lestat was the antagonist in Interview but towards the end of the novel you start to think maybe that's not the case. That single thought pushed me to read his story to find out why Lestat was the way he was.

I LOVED learning about where Lestat came from and also finding out about ALL of the ancient vampires, all the way back to the very FIRST vampire. In Lestat's story, the reader goes throughout the centuries, as he meets other vampire's who tell their tales. This book feels like a world tour that goes back to Ancient Egyptian times, to classical Rome, to pagan Europe, to the times of the French Revolution, to an old, decaying (slightly creepy I might add) Parisian cemetery and back up to the present time. It was FUN to follow Lestats journey to find the truth..the same truth that Louis was always searching for, but never found.

The entire story is fascinating and spans centuries as Lestat grows from a fledgling vampire into the emotional, lonely, angry, and finally carefree vampire he is upon setting foot on a San Francisco stage to perform his first rock concert in front of 15,000 screaming fans. (Yes, Lestat is a Rock star in the 1980's in this book! My first thought to that was, "Whatever!" But then it made sense.)

Lestat now gets a chance to tell his OWN story, and it makes us (the reader) realize that he has suffered even more than Louis and shows that he is not a villain; he is the tragic hero of sorts. He is actually far more aware than Louis, something else that Louis doesn't see either. He is a gentle, innocent, thoughtful young man who has suffered so much in his life, and then he is forced into becoming one of the living dead, who now must kill to survive. It is explained to us why Lestat is the way he is and why he does the things he does which is truly interesting.

When you read "Interview with a Vampire" you don't know then that Lestat is misunderstood by Louis, and therefore misunderstood by the reader, whom is seeing the story through Louis' eyes. The glimpses of Lestat we have in Interview with the Vampire, of his relationship with his father, of the way he acts, of his charm that Louis finds both attractive and repulsive, of his love of bright artificial light and his desire to live luxuriously, of his friendship with a young musician, of his doting upon Claudia and showering her with gifts, of his fear to lose Louis, of him emotionally distraught and pleading with Louis to come back to him in Paris (which I didn't understand at the time), and finally of the frail, broken, and pitiful shadow of a man he has become by the end of Louis's story, where Louis finds him again in New Orleans. All of these things are hints at the depth and complexity of the character of Lestat.

In The Vampire Lestat, you will finally see the entire picture, and see the masterpiece of a character that Lestat is. The depth and the multi-dimensionality, and the humanity of Lestat. If you liked Louis before, you will still like him. But you will like Lestat even more because you will see how completely misunderstood he is and learn the story of the pain and sorrow he kept hidden in his heart, hidden underneath that charming facade that Louis encountered on his plantation in 1791. You will start to understand HOW Lestat could act the way he did towards Louis and Claudia which was the answer to the questions I was seeking in this book so I closed the covers of this book satisfied.

Ashley Daviau

Rating: really liked it
Interview With the Vampire is a tough book to beat. That being said, I think I actually enjoyed this book more than Interview. And that’s saying a lot. Rice has such a beautifully poetic way of writing, it’s just so rich and you can’t help but be hypnotized by the story. I think Lestat is probably my favourite fictional vampire to date, there’s just something special about him as a character and I adore it. For me this book was utterly flawless, I loved every single word of it!

Jeffrey Caston

Rating: really liked it
[Lestat is entrusted with a vamp secret that if it got out (i.e., Akasha and Endil)) as well as them literally getting out -- could cause a whole lotta chaos. (hide spoiler)]

Kit (Metaphors and Moonlight)

Rating: really liked it
4 Stars

Review:
Time for another super long review that no one will read!

Things I Disliked/Things I Didn't Mind but Others Might Dislike:

- The book was long, and between the flashbacks of Armand's and Marius's lives and Lestat's kind of long-winded way of talking about everything, the story moved forward at a very slow pace sometimes, which made me impatient.

- A lot of the characters' actions and words were dramatic and/or strange to the point of being unrealistic, but somehow it just worked and never pulled me out of the story.

- The parts about Lestat kissing and wanting to ravage his mother were... odd.

Things I Liked:

- I was impressed with the way Anne Rice was able to portray the perspective of an immortal who had been around for a long time and had seen the world change. The way Lestat viewed all the changes... they were things I'd have never thought about, but, once I did think about them, they made sense.

- The characters were all so complex, like WOW.

- The writing was engrossing and sucked me in. (Thankfully Lestat didn't use the word 'plump' to describe everyone like Louis did lol.)

- It was interesting to learn some background that related to Interview, like how the Theatre des Vampires got started.

My Thoughts on the Characters (there might be *SPOILERS* in this section):

- Lestat. People told me I would change my mind about Lestat once I read this book. In a way, they were right. But in a way, they were also wrong.

In reference to everything that happened in Interview, what we have here, essentially, is a case of "he said, she said." Louis has one version of the story, Lestat has another, and all we have to go on is their words.

But, if Louis was telling the truth about how Lestat treated him---and I'm inclined to believe he was, since Claudia felt the same way---nothing in this book changes the fact that Lestat was abusive toward them. (Here's where I get a little more pedantic than I normally do in reviews, but I think this is an important topic.) Lestat's past, his sadness, etc. doesn't excuse that. His love for Louis and his claims that Louis misunderstood everything don't excuse that. Even the fact that Louis did in fact misunderstand some things (like that Lestat mostly fed from evildoers) and did leave some things out (like some of their good times together) doesn't excuse that. Because guess what? Someone can be a good person in some ways, do nice things, etc. but still be abusive. I can't even blame Louis for leaving out the good times they had because people do seem to have this belief that if someone does nice things sometimes, if the abuser and victim ever have fun together, if the abuser and victim love each other, then it means the abuser can't possibly be abusive in any way; so no one would have believed Louis had he mentioned the good times. And, quite frankly, when Lestat was talking about how great his relationship with Louis was, well, people who are emotionally abusive and manipulative often do say things just like that. There are plenty of abusive people in the world who refuse to see or admit even to themselves that their behavior is abuse and who believe their relationship with the victim is caring and supportive even when it's not. Just as Louis's narrative was biased in some ways, so was Lestat's. For example, he stated that he hid his powers from Louis because Louis couldn't handle it, but that's just proof that he was keeping secrets and making decisions about what was best for Louis instead of letting Louis make those decisions himself. And let's not forget, Lestat left things out of his version too, like how there was SO MUCH he could've told them about their kind without having to get into personal stuff and without breaking his promise to Marius. And how he taunted Louis and said mean things to him (and to Claudia). He himself even said that he's selfish---and he is---so there was nothing in this book that makes me think that Louis actually lied in his story.

TL;DR: Will we ever know the true, unbiased tale of exactly what happened between Louis and Lestat? Probably not. Do I believe Louis did have some good times with Lestat, that he had some feelings for Lestat, that he too was afraid of being alone and wanted the companionship they had? Yes, but I already said that in my review of Interview. Do I believe Lestat has good qualities and did some good things with Louis? Absolutely. But do I believe any of that makes his abusive behavior toward Louis and Claudia any less abusive? No.

I will concede, however, that Louis's version of what happened in Paris was all wrong. Of course, that's Armand's fault for purposely setting everything up to appear that way to Louis. It made me feel for awful for Lestat though when I realized that he didn't mean to get Claudia killed, didn't even know they were in Paris, and that he was treated just as badly by Armand.

What I find sad about the whole thing though is that it seems like Lestat and Louis could have had a great relationship if only Lestat had treated him a little better. Lestat is someone who seems to like to think and learn too, who appreciates beauty in things, who loves mortals, and still has a lot of love and humanity left in him. Despite their issues, I kind of ship Louis and Lestat and would've liked to know more about the close/good parts of their relationship. But by the end of this book, they seemed to understand each other better, so maybe things will at least be better between them from now on.

Anyway, despite Lestat's negative traits (or maybe because of them), I still feel that he's a fantastically complex character and one that I found myself feeling for. So the people who said I'd change my mind were right in that I do see him in a completely different light now. And there's just something about him. You can't not be drawn to him. I mean, the man wakes up after who know how many years literally underground, and within days he's decked out in leather and riding a motorcycle around New Orleans. Despite being dead, he's so full of life and vitality. He's so emotional and dramatic about everything. He feels so deeply. Apparently he was like that even as a human. And I did feel bad for him at times; even if he did bring some of his problems onto himself with his impulsiveness, rebelliousness, and selfishness, he didn't deserve all the bad things that happened to him.

- Armand. So... Armand is awful. But also very complex. I feel like he never actually cares for any of the vampires he keeps company with, not even the ones he takes as companions. I mean, he manipulated Louis to turn someone else into a vampire (which destroyed Louis emotionally), and he killed Claudia (which further destroyed Louis) so that he could have Louis to himself. He also let Louis kill the other vampires in his coven, and he himself killed most of the vampires in his previous coven. And even after everything Lestat did for him, when Lestat needed help, Armand just used him, forced him to rat out Claudia because it served his (Armand's) own purposes, then pushed him off a building. I don't think he even understands what love is. He jumps around from vampire to vampire, telling them he loves them within like five minutes of meeting them, but it's never actually love. Maybe that's because the first "love" he ever felt sounded to me more like Stockholm Syndrome after being taken and sold as a kid. (I don't mean to imply that Marius treated him badly; in fact, Marius was the first to treat him well, but he did still essentially own Armand.) And as he said himself, because he was taken as a child, he never had a normal human life, which was why he didn't even know how to exist among mortals.

- Nicolas. I think Nicolas was the one I felt the worst for. Imagine things from his perspective: giving up everything and being disowned by your family to run away to a new city with your lover; seeing your lover being kidnapped and hearing him shout for you as he's pulled through a window; worrying that your lover has been killed or something awful has happened to him; all the sudden being showered with gifts from your lover but still with no explanation or visit from him only for him to one day show up at the theatre where you work, put on some grand supernatural display, and then run off again, still with no explanation to you. Then, to top it all off, he was kidnapped and nearly drained by a bunch of vampires in an underground crypt, turned into a vampire himself, and had his hands---his most important body parts as a violinist---cut off. Nevermind that they were reattached, it would still be awful. No wonder the poor guy went mad. No wonder he hated Lestat. No wonder he decided to go into the fire. I liked Nicolas, and I shipped Nicostat, so that whole storyline was very tragic.

- Gabrielle. She's not my favorite. Gabrielle's not terrible, but she's cold, and I can't understand her desire to spend her life away from all civilization.

- Marius. He seems like a kind and understanding person, but I need to learn more about him before I can really form an opinion.

My Thoughts on Other Things (there might be *SPOILERS* in this section):

- I loved the scene when Lestat and Gabrielle rose in the church. You had these two powerful, deadly vampires, and they put on this whole theatrical show to terrify everyone in the church, but the only reason they did that---what the terrified people in the church would never have guessed---was because they themselves were terrified. The humor of their theatrics plus the kind of irony of them being just as terrified made that scene stand out in my mind.

- I'm gonna let my freak flag fly for a moment and say that I still remember the first time I read the scene when Lestat and Akasha drink from each other at the same time, and, at that time, I swear it was the most erotic thing I had ever read. To this day, I still love reading about two paranormal creatures drinking blood from each other at the same time.

- The ending got so intense when vampires started going up in flames and everything. I loved it. But I also loved that Louis was back and even that Gabrielle was back.

Overall Thoughts:

This review is long enough already, I'll just say that I liked it, and the complexity of the characters has yet again given me a lot to think about!

*I’ve read this book multiple times. This review was written after my 2nd read.*

Reread Ratings:
No Rating (1st Read – mid/late 2000s)
4 Stars (2nd Read – 2017)

Recommended For:
Fans of Book 1 in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. Anyone who likes beautiful yet deadly vampires, descriptive writing, and amazingly complex characters.

Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight

Melody Sams

Rating: really liked it
It’s been nearly ten years since I first read this novel and I still find Lestat just as fierce and fascinating as ever! It’s of my opinion that he’s one of the most charismatic and contradictory characters ever created in literature.

Stepheny

Rating: really liked it

3.5

The second installment of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles switches perspective. The story is now being narrated by the one and only Lestat de Lioncourt. He is outraged by Louis’ tale and feels the need to defend himself. He decides to write a book detailing his long life as a vampire.

Lestat runs away with his lover when he is a young man. The two men run away to France where they drink wine and cry over the beauty of music and art. They’re of course madly in love and enjoy nothing more than the company of one another. One night Lestat is kidnapped and turned into a vampire by Magnus. However, Magnus does not stick around to show him the ways of the world. Instead Magnus kills himself with help from Lestat and leaves Lestat a fortune. Lestat, not wanting to upset his loved ones decides to flee and leave them completely. But he uses his new-found wealth to shower them with gifts from afar.

Later on down the line, Lestat’s beloved mother Gabrielle comes to him in Paris tells him that she is dying. He decides to give her the dark gift so that they can spend all of eternity together. He has what I would call an unnatural attachment to his mother. Norman Bates, anyone? At one point I was wondering if the two were going to have sex and I’m still not wholly convinced that they didn’t. I’m not sure how becoming a vampire affects your relation but I’m pretty sure she is still his mother and it’s weird.

After Armand meets Lestat he shows him how they were made. He tells him the tale of Those Who Must Be Kept. These are the two alpha-dogs; the two original vampires. While they do not need to be approached, they do need to be respected and protected. Armand tells Lestat to leave them alone while he runs out on an errand, and Lestat of course does not.

Here’s the thing. Lestat is a shithead. He is so self-absorbed he can’t be bothered with thoughts of how his actions may impact others. He’s like a teenage girl. He’s emotional, quick to anger and feels entitled to everything. He thinks he is above everyone he encounters. He views himself as untouchable. He has all the arrogance of new money.

Listening to Lestat explain his side of the story about what transpired between Louis and him was quite comical. I don’t believe his side of the story at all. Lestat is more likely to try to convince you of his innocence while scoffing in his head at how pathetically gullible you are. Whereas Louis, I do believe. He was a whiny little bitch, but he would have no reason to lie.

Listening to how the vampires were made and meeting great characters like Armand and Marius was fantastic. Even though Lestat is a repulsive character his tales are much more intriguing than Louis’ ever was. This one leaves you with quite the cliffhanger ending and I was glad I didn’t have to wait to begin the next. Once again- Simon Vance narrates and absolutely rocks the audio version!

Jaidee (breaktime...only upd rd prog until 20th)

Rating: really liked it
3.5 stars !

The vampire lestat is like lavender candy floss.

addictive and a tad too sugary
too little....you want to grab another sticky handful
too much....a belly ache and tooth decay

beautiful to look at but melts to something hard when saliva is added

very enjoyable but need time away or it may lead to self-combustion

next year will start volume 3