The Vampire Lestat
1986
- nobility
- vampire novels
- fiction
- vampires
- romance
- literatura norte-americana
- vampires -- fiction
- horror tales
- fiction, thrillers, general
- france, fiction
The story
The Vampire Lestat (1985) is a vampire novel by American writer Anne Rice, the second in her Vampire Chronicles, following Interview with the Vampire (1976). The story is told from the point of view of the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt as narrator, while Interview is narrated by Louis de Pointe du Lac. Several events in the two books appear to contradict each other, allowing the reader to decide which version of events they believe to be accurate.
What it’s like
Lush, overheated prose that lingers on candlelit cathedrals, velvet and blood-red wine, and the stink and splendour of eighteenth-century Paris and the Auvergne countryside. Rice's narrator is a self-dramatising vampire who addresses the reader directly, so the voice is confiding, theatrical and frequently funny, moving between rapturous description of music, incense and the city at night and sharp, bitchy asides. Sensory detail does most of the work: the glitter of chandeliers, the thrum of an opera or a rock concert, the cold weight of stone in old churches. Vibe is gothic indulgence with a rock-and-roll edge, best read late at night with a glass of something strong, or over a long rainy weekend when you want to disappear into a big, decadent story. The pace is leisurely and digressive, with long stretches of backstory and philosophical musing between bursts of action. Emotionally it is melodramatic and romantic, centred on a restless, vain and lonely immortal who slowly comes to see how much he needs connection. Violence is frequent and vivid, with bloody feeding scenes, a few brutal killings and mob violence, and a sexual undertone that is sensual rather than explicit. It suits readers who want operatic gothic romance and a charismatic, unreliable narrator.
More books like The Vampire Lestat
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved The Vampire Lestatand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
