The Vampire Lestat: The Vampire Chronicles, Book 2

This has always been my favourite novel from the Vampire Chronicles series (even though Interview with the Vampire is more popular) but I've always held off downloading it from Audible because it was only available abridged (aka butchered) but when this edition became available I downloaded this, Interview and Queen of the Damned immediately!

I've read the paperback edition of this book many times but Simon Vance narrates very well and captures the cheeky, elegant character of Lestat very well and brings out some subtleties that I've missed before.

This novel stands alone very well if you haven't read the other Anne Rice books since it only makes a few references to Interview with the Vampire.

I hope Audible will release more unabridged Anne Rice books (The Mayfair Witch novels!).

"Lestat" is a deeper more satisfying explanation of the vampire world that was revealed in "Interview". I enjoyed the examination of the conflict between living eternally but only as a serial killer. Apparently even vampires, however bad, have moral limits. I've listened to this series while driving to and from work in the dark and get lost in them completely.
This second book is great but I must say the last chapters feel tacked on - as if the book company stepped in and said to Anne Rice , "Sweet heart, you've got to write an ending that leads to a sequel, and make sure you include a car chase. Any old ending will do." Additionally, Simon Vance gets a little Bella Lagosi here and there but he is forgiven.

Again Simon Vance narrates wonderfully. Brings the book to life. Bought Queen of the Damned before the end of Lestat. I just can't stop.

I found this book more entertaining and engaging than Interview with the Vampire. Lestat has a certain charisma and emotion that make him a great main character to follow through time. You feel connected to Lestat and sympathize with his story.
The narrator- Simon Vance did a fantastic job of creating a narration that was full of life and easy to follow.
If you liked Lestat in Interview with the Vampire you will most likely enjoy the story of his life in this book.

This is the one vampire that EVERYONE on this planet knows the name of: LESTAT. He is Anne Rice's finest hour, her most famous creation and the beginning of her other vampire books even tho he came from Interview with the Vampire originally. This book shocked me at first, even tho I can recite the words nearly verbatim from the written word; I have read them so often. But I was astonished and DELIGHTED to hear the narrator speak in the French accent that was WHAT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE! Reading the story never gave me the actual mental image of the French accent even tho we are told that Lestat is French and from the late 1700's, it just never came across in the written words! But the Audible version shocked and DELIGHTED me to be so AUTHENTIC with the French accent and it surely made the OLD STORY TO ME almost brand new! This narrator does such an excellent job of reading the story I simply cannot tell you how wonderful it is! You must experience it for yourself! You MUST! Lestat is so famous, the movie with Stuart Townsend was excellent, as was Akasha (actress Aaliyah) and Marius and the others was very very good; but the Audible version of the story is so much better. You will hear and understand so much more and the authentic French accent is so very original, it was not used in the movie! but it really "makes" the story so perfectly original. I highly recommend this Audible book to any Anne Rice fan, any Vampire fan and any fan of good books! There is really nothing better than classic vampire stories!

This book was not at all like i thought it would be...the story from this point of view just blew me out of the water. To be made out to be the bad guy in the first book but then for the twist was just awesome

I devoured this series when it was first published and really loved them. So I was thrilled when unabridged versions finally showed up on Audible. It was a long wait. I wanted to love these books to death, but I didn't. I enjoyed them, yes, but love them? The world has turned and a lot has changed since they were written. The urban vampire genre has come of age and there are some very gifted writers churning out some fine work (my favorite: Kim Harrison) and sad to say, Anne Rice's vampires seem pretty stiff and contrived in comparison. And oh the lectures on morality. Yikes, I had forgotten how preachy she is. Sometimes (but far from always!) what she has to say is interesting. Certainly her ability to take a long view of human development through history can be entertaining... to a point. If you keep in mind that Ms. Rice was a bit of a pioneer in the genre, it is easier to accept the tales' limitations. "Queen of the Damned," with its very complex plot and characters is my favorite of the series. This is my second favorite. Or was. I am unlikely to reread it. Just ... well ... not good enough. I wish it were. I wanted it to be better. I really really did. Oh well. Perhaps I expected too much.

The reader is boring to put it nice this would be a better story if someone different read the book.

The store was fine the reader just couldn't keep me into the book he's so monotoned.

Anyone the showed emotion and got excited when they should.

None all are important in their own way.

Anne Rice is an amesome writer, very disappointed with the narrator. This book would have been a million times better if they had a different narrator/narrators.

yes i dont have much time to read and having it read to me lets me multi task

lestat of coarse

yes sounds the same

The real story of lestat

no

Filled in the gaps.

Edited it as it did drag on in parts.

He is OK, but he sounds too old for Lestat.

Tom Cruise perhaps?

OK book but not as fascinating as Interview with the Vampire.