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new orleans vampire chronicles vampire lestat even though pointe du lac tom cruise queen of the damned years ago brad pitt highly recommend ever read high school point of view plantation owner well written must read anne rice little girl bram stoker saw the movie
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Kodiak Girl
5.0 out of 5 stars Happy Reading
Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2017
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If you like vampire books then Anne Rice is the best storyteller in the business. Interview with the Vampire is the first of a long line of vampire books, and I would definitely read them in order. This book introduces you to Lestat, who is in so many of Ms. Rice's books, and to some other key characters who have recurring roles in future books. I bought this because I lent or lost my copy and decided to go digital with my kindle and build my library again in a way that's easily moved. You just can't beat Anne Rice's vampire books, they are well written with fully developed characters who draw you into their world so completely it's amazing. This isn't the teenage version of vampires, it's written for adults who are interested in this world that only Anne Rice can write so well.
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Joy Cagil
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb! Innocence and Guilt and Immortality against Morality
Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2019
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In this book, Anne Rice tells a flashback story, until the last scene. Throughout the book, there is an interviewer called the boy who tapes the interview and there is Louis the vampire who is telling the boy about his experiences up to the point where he is talking to the boy, which means there exists in the novel a frame story and a core story.

The frame story consists of the interviewer and Louis. The core story talks about Louis’s adventures and relationships.

The setting, in the beginning, is the late twentieth century San Francisco. Before that, it is Pointe du Lac, a plantation in Lousiana, New Orleans, and Paris, France. The protagonist in the core story is Louis, a vampire of about two centuries, and the antagonist is Lestat who turned Louis into a vampire.

The secondary characters are Claudia and Armand, with Claudia’s role being much greater than Armand’s. Claudia attracted Louis first, then she was made into a vampire by Lestat possibly to keep Louis with him.

I found the relationships among the characters to be the most interesting in the story rather than the events of the story, in which the action never stops. The tension and suspense in the book are also fascinating as does the writing style, and even if the events seem to be far out, the skill of the author adds a believability factor to unbelievable circumstances.

Both Louis and Claudia have mixed feelings about Lestat, and they take some kind of revenge from him, which ends up giving Louis guilt feelings. Lestat, on the other hand, loves them but as a vampire, he is selfish but much more knowledgeable. Then there are the strong love and hate relationships between any two or more vampires, which was interesting, like that of Lestat and Louis, Louis and Armand, and Armand and Santiago and the other vampires. The relationship between Louis and Claudia had more love than any other relationship in the story. These relationships had nothing to do with gender or sex but possibly their type of attraction was due to who these vampires were.

As characterization is superior to the horror elements in the novel, I didn’t think Lestat to be a villain at all. He was a vampire who knew what was there to know about the vampire lore, but wasn’t willing to share it fully, only because he wanted to keep those he was attached to close to him. He was selfish that way. Also, that he didn’t go after vengeance after what Claudia and Louis did to him elevated the way I thought of him.

Then both Louis and Lestat love all arts and spend time in the opera or at the art museum and all vampires have intensely alert senses to shapes, colors, sounds, and smells. In fact, all these details and their peculiar richness make this book very readable.

I don’t normally read horror, but I must have read this book much earlier possibly during the late seventies, as I recalled much of it while reading it the second time this October, and I am not sorry for it. Truth is, I enjoyed it greatly.
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Mother Tucker
1.0 out of 5 stars Depressing, dull, lifeless
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2020
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I wanted so badly to like this book. If it were not for Anne Rice's excellent writing (and yes make no mistake her imagery and the way she writes is excellent) I would give this review 1 stars. The characters have no redeeming qualities. None. Each one is as horrible as the last. There is no fun or playfulness. The story is like suffering from depression itself. Repetitive, monotonous, lonely, hard to explain, numb. There's just no feeling here, it's all so apathetic. I wonder if she was suffering from suicidal thoughts or depression while writing it. For the life of me I have no idea how this book is a cult classic, or how people enjoy it so much.
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Dorian
5.0 out of 5 stars Book that made me fall in love with vampires
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2013
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I wasn't familiar with Anne Rice works since 2010 May. Then I first time saw "Interview with the Vampire" movie and fell in love with "blonde vampire". After that movie on TV, I downloaded that movie to my computer. And found who created this story and started looking for a book. I was very lucky I found that book and ordered. It was simply curiosity to read and see which is better: movie or book. Of course it was book. After reading this book, I found out that there are even 9 more books in this serie. Of course I couldn't find any of them in my country, in any language. I felt so sad... I still was not adult and couldn't order these books from other countries, I also couldn't read in English very good. But I never gave up. I started reading "The Vampire Lestat" online and saw it wasn't that hard to read in English. But I still so wanted paper books. These electronic books are unemotional...so cold... no smell of ink...

I got very insulted by some fans that I didn't have any of Anne Rice books... And in autumn a miracle appeared. They translated "The Vampire Lestat" in Lithuanian. I ordered as soon as it was able to buy and when I got it, I started reading it like a zombie. But it still was not enough. So I found out way to get books from UK by one bookstore. So I bought all serie. Of course that bookstore got closed soon and I was again sad without English books. And well.. I got job, I got credit card and could order anything I wish from all over the world. And I started collecting Anne Rice books in ALL languages, in all covers. I have many editions so far. And this edition of "Interview with the Vampire" was my dream to get because of amazing cover. And here it is- I have it. It was so hard to get these all books, I felt like living in some end of the world where I couldn't get my favorite books.

I still didn't finish reading all Vampires Chronicles serie, I needed rest from these books for a little. But Anne Rice created best books about vampires of all times. In Lithuania I have no fans to talk about these books, mostly all people do not like fiction books here. But I'm so happy I found this author and can call her my God, my inspiration and creator of immortal characters I will never forget.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Book that made me fall in love with vampires
By Dorian on January 23, 2013
I wasn't familiar with Anne Rice works since 2010 May. Then I first time saw "Interview with the Vampire" movie and fell in love with "blonde vampire". After that movie on TV, I downloaded that movie to my computer. And found who created this story and started looking for a book. I was very lucky I found that book and ordered. It was simply curiosity to read and see which is better: movie or book. Of course it was book. After reading this book, I found out that there are even 9 more books in this serie. Of course I couldn't find any of them in my country, in any language. I felt so sad... I still was not adult and couldn't order these books from other countries, I also couldn't read in English very good. But I never gave up. I started reading "The Vampire Lestat" online and saw it wasn't that hard to read in English. But I still so wanted paper books. These electronic books are unemotional...so cold... no smell of ink...

I got very insulted by some fans that I didn't have any of Anne Rice books... And in autumn a miracle appeared. They translated "The Vampire Lestat" in Lithuanian. I ordered as soon as it was able to buy and when I got it, I started reading it like a zombie. But it still was not enough. So I found out way to get books from UK by one bookstore. So I bought all serie. Of course that bookstore got closed soon and I was again sad without English books. And well.. I got job, I got credit card and could order anything I wish from all over the world. And I started collecting Anne Rice books in ALL languages, in all covers. I have many editions so far. And this edition of "Interview with the Vampire" was my dream to get because of amazing cover. And here it is- I have it. It was so hard to get these all books, I felt like living in some end of the world where I couldn't get my favorite books.

I still didn't finish reading all Vampires Chronicles serie, I needed rest from these books for a little. But Anne Rice created best books about vampires of all times. In Lithuania I have no fans to talk about these books, mostly all people do not like fiction books here. But I'm so happy I found this author and can call her my God, my inspiration and creator of immortal characters I will never forget.
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Top reviews from other countries

Marly Z
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Vampire Novel I've Ever Read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 24, 2009
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About 6 years back there was a phase when all I would read was YA vampire fiction - I devoured the Vampire Diaries by LJ Smith and her Night World series, loved Vivian Vande Velde's Companions of the Night, eagerly awaited the release of each new Darren Shan book, I even delved into the more 'adult' Anita Blake books, but those quickly lost my interest. But for some reason I never felt inclined to read Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles - until a few weeks back when my friend showed me the film 'Interview with the Vampire', and intrigued, I bought this book.

What strikes me most with Rice's vampires is the perfect balance she has between making them human and making them monstors. Louis, Lestat and Claudia are so incredibly developed, such complex 3D characters that I believe they put even the greats like Jane Austen's characters to shame (I still have not gotten over the 2 years at A-Level I had to endure learning about Emma Woodhouse's 'complex' personality). But not only that - whilst most vampire fiction I've read has an exciting, fast paced plot and intriguing characters, I feel that Anne Rice is truly a master of story telling - there is just as much internal action going on here as external action, and I get the sense that Rice has truly questioned the essence of what it means to be a vampire, and through Louis, Claudia and Lestat, we begin to understand the answers.

I have now ordered the next 3 books and eagerly await their arrival. An amazing piece of work, I'm just dissapointed I have not read it previously. Far better than the Night World series, in a totally different league to Darren Shan, and completely and utterably incomparable to the Twilight series - this is the best vampire novel I have ever read, and one I will come back to time and time again.
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Mrs. Chadwick
5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC READ
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 31, 2009
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This first novel I read by Anne Rice was "The Mummy, Or Ramses the Damned" which I first read in 1992,(it's been read more then once). Then I noticed she'd written a series called "The Vampire Chronicles", and with being interested in that subject and enjoying the previous book I read by her I decided I'd buy the first 5 novels in the series.

I'd already seen the film back in the 1990's, but couldn't remember much about it. Just before my books arrived the film was on TV again so I watched it again. The film left me with many questions, I felt there was a lot left out especially were the deaths of Claudia and Madeleine were concerned. After watching the film I started to read the novel.

The journey begins in the 20th Century as a young lad is interviewing a vampire as he wants to tell his story so others will know. His name is Louis Pointe du Lac and as the interview unfolds we find out why he became a vampire and a about the vampire that made him who is called Lestat. But Louis is no usual vampire, he's different and Lestat doesn't like it.

The interviewer asks all kinds of questions and Louis tells him of how he finds the child Claudia and why he makes her a Vampire. Lestat teaches them both about being a vampire; he keeps a tight hold on both Louis and Claudia which leads to arguments and death. Here I will leave the story as I don't want to ruin it for you.

Anne Rice is a powerful writer; her characters are always believable and have great depth to them. Her descriptive work and plots are fantastic, and never disappoints the reader. :-)

The story grips you from the start, and with every turn of the page she draws you further into the story, it's a compulsive and enjoyable read. :-)

I highly recommend the book as it's far better than the film. :-)

I'm now looking forward to starting the second novel in the series which is called "The Vampire Lestat", and I'll be starting that as soon as I've finished this review. :-)
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the great amphibian
5.0 out of 5 stars Tragic vampire life story.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 4, 2002
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Several of my recent fiction purchases have been vampire related, such as Brian Lumley's Necroscope series, Richard Matheson's "I Am Legend", and of course, Anne Rice's vampire chronicles. Although the vampire concept works well in SF, as Matherson definitively demonstrated, it is refreshing to read vampires in a traditional setting. Anne Rice epitomises the classic style of vampires in her writing, with familiar idiosyncrasies, physical characteristics, and surroundings.
Rice maintains credibility throughout the novel in terms of the direction of the narrative, and seldom if ever are concepts introduced that seem 'unlikely' in the credible setting built up. Without speculating too specifically, I understand that Rice underwent some family tragedies not long before this novel was written, (in 5 weeks!), and her extreme sentimental openness in the novel is surely justified, and the novel actually benefits from this emotional release. It would be a comfort to be able to express your feelings as cogently as Rice if one was overcoming a tragedy.
There is only one possible loophole in the story, (although my identification of this is very questionable as it is subjective, and I could probably be proven wrong and convinced of the proof). This is when Louis seems to have only just met Armand, and although Louis has been searching for another civilised vampire, (civilised apart from the fact that he kills countless innocent mortals), for years, I felt that he would need to know Armand for longer to warrant exchanging words of love. It seemed as Louis virtually walked up to Armand and said, 'ah, hello.. I love you!'. As I said, that is a purely subjective observation; (please note that the previous dialogue is not a quote). The other interesting factor about this novel, in my opinion, is that Anne describes predominantly male thoughts, (the narrator is male: Louis), when she is female, so for any male readers it is intriguing to see her perspective.
To conclude, IwtV is a wonderful tragic vampire biography, and is not too immensly melancholy to be unbearable to read.
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mrskvetoslavac
5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping and Amazing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 23, 2010
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This is the first in the Vampire Chronicles and you may remember it in form of a film starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. And the girl from Spiderman when she was little... (Kirsty something)

The book is necessary evil as i would call it, i have actually only read it after i had read the second one - just to fill in the gaps and remind myself of some of the parts of the story... Just seeing the film does is not satisfactory (this shortcut does not work).

It is good, but i wonder if i would have enjoyed it more had i read it before The Vampire Lestat, coz all the way through this book i could not wait to get to the end so i can start reading The third one - Queen of the Damned.

I would recommend you read it first - if you liked the film or if you like vampire stories, and then if it takes your fancy you will have a ball with the rest of them....
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A great book with a quiality print
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 16, 2019
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The only way it could be better is it it was a hard back
Great story , high quality book
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