The book worm returns, after reading the third of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles,
The Queen of the Damned. Before reading it, I knew that some people didn’t find it as good as the first two, but I neither liked it any less or any better than the first two. It was a part of the ... Read review
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DAMN YOU, AKASHA
Advantages: A must read for Anne Rice fans and those of the vampire chronicles. You won't want to put it down. Disadvantages: Involves other characters, which can either be a good or a bad thing.
...Vampire Chronicles,
The Queen of the Damned. Before reading it, I knew that some people didn’t find it as good as the first two, but I neither liked it any less or any better than the first two. It was a part of the saga, so it had to be read.
Anne Rice still manages to keep that magical atmosphere throughout her books, and if anyone thinks that these are gruesome horror novels, then think again. They are stories about ... ...their life.
Queen of the Damned carries on from where The Vampire Lestat left off. Lestat is the lead singer of a rock group, and there is a concert planned. His songs and book (The Vampire Lestat), have been selling well, and he has a following of many mortals, believing him to human.
As the Vampires are telepathic (the older ones can read minds from far away), some decide that Lestat is going too far, and they decide to put ... more
The book worm returns, after reading the third of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, The Queen of the Damned. Before reading it, I knew that some people didn’t find it as good as the first two, but I neither liked it any less or any better than the first two. It was a part of the saga, so it had to be read.
Anne Rice still manages to keep that magical atmosphere throughout her books, and if anyone thinks that these are gruesome horror novels, then think again. They are stories about Vampires. Yes, they have to drink blood in order to survive, but it goes beyond that. They are not just dark ghouls that prey on the living, in fact, they have friends who are still human, and they wouldn’t dream of taking their life.
Queen of the Damned carries on from where The Vampire Lestat left off. Lestat is the lead singer of a rock group, and there is a concert planned. His songs and book (The Vampire Lestat), have been selling well, and he has a following of many mortals, believing him to human. As the Vampires are telepathic (the older ones can read minds from far away), some decide that Lestat is going too far, and they decide to put an end to him at the concert. At the same time, many are receiving a strange dream about 2 red haired twins. They wonder what it all means. As the concert draws near, we are told the stories of other vampires, and how they make their way to this concert.
THOSE WHO MUST BE KEPT These are the Mother and Father vampires of them all. These are the 2 very first ever vampires. We are told the story of how they came to be, which is in itself very interesting. There has to be a beginning for everything, doesn’t there? Their names are Akasha and Enkil, and they ruled the lands of Egypt long before the great pyramids. They are so powerful, that they do not need to drink blood anymore, and if they were to be destroyed, then all vampires would be destroyed. They are the telepathic link. That is why they are known as Those Who Must Be Kept, and they have been kept, up until this time, by Marius. So we find out what happens when they are aware of Lestat’s concert.
THE TWINS They are 2 red haired witches of a neighbouring land to Egypt. Not bad witches, but young women that can see and talk to spirits. At this time, most of the other vampires are having visions of these 2 women being abused. One has had her eyes removed, and the other has had her tongue cut out. Then they are placed inside 2 stone sarcophicus’s. Nobody knows what to make of these images that they are seeing, but they know it means great danger to them all, including Lestat. The names of the twins are Maharet and Mekare. We find out the whole story about these, and also what the images mean to the others.
KHAYMAN Khayman is an ancient vampire. He is of the first brood. In other words, he is a vampire directly descended from Akasha. He starts his trek to America very bewildered and very black skinned. He is also having these visions and knows that he is drawn to this concert because of some danger. He has had a long vampire sleep, and is finding it hard to remember his past. As he drinks blood to gain his strength, his skin colour gradually comes back to normal.
MARIUS The vampire that was made when he was 40 years old. A white haired male, who is very well educated, and lover of paintings and beautiful things. He has been a vampire since the Roman times. He has been protecting Those Who Must Be Kept for centuries, but now one of them, Akasha is awake again. She does not destroy him, but imprisons him beneath the ice. He sends out his telepathic cry for help to others, so they can come and release him.
PANDORA Marius was once in love with Pandora, and made her a vampire. She hears his pleas for release, so she and another vampire make their way to him, guided by his telepathic thoughts.
DANIEL & ARMAND Remember Daniel? The ‘boy’ who interviewed Louis in Interview with a Vampire? Well, after his book was published, he went to the last known address that Louis had mentioned where Lestat was. He wanted Louis to turn him into a vampire didn’t he? But Louis refused, so that’s why he was looking for Lestat. When he arrived, there was no Lestat. After a while, he saw a figure. It was Armand. Remember him? The leader of The Theatre of Vampires? They speak, and after a while they become great friends, travelling the world together. Armand has never made a mortal into a vampire, and vowed that he never would, but Daniel keeps trying to persuade him. “I would rather die than do that to you” Armand would tell him. What Armand does do however, is take small amounts of blood from Daniel and then allows Daniel to drink small amounts from him. As I have mentioned in previous opinions, vampires have no sexual contact, they show love by drinking each others blood. They make their way to the concert, as Armand has been having these visions too. Something happens on the plane which I am not going to reveal, and I thought it was just great.
JESSE Jesse is a blood descendent of Maharet. She does not know that her ‘Aunt’ is a vampire. Maharet has always looked after Jesse, sending her to good schools and supplying her money for travels throughout the world. Jesse has also inherited the ability to see and talk to spirits, as her ‘Aunt’ did all those centuries ago, and is approached by a secret agency in London, called the Talamasca, to work for them. Because of her psychic ability, she too is receiving these visions of the 2 red haired women, and makes her way to the concert as well.
THE TALAMASCA Although the book doesn’t talk too much of these, they do appear in future books. They are an organisation that watches the supernatural, gets rid of unfriendly spirits, and general work in that field. It is headed by an elderly gent by the name of David Talbot. They have heard and read the previous books, and believe that vampires are real. They do not however, want to destroy them, but merely to observe them. They protect many wonderful and ancient things in their dark vaults.
Other characters that are spoken about in this book are Gabrielle, Lestat’s mother, Louis, and 3 other vampires; Mael, Eric and Santino. Obviously I am not going to reveal the ending. What happens at the concert? What happens after? Who are the twins and why are they receiving these images? Does Marius leave his icy tomb? Do they survive? All these questions will be answered for you in the book. It really is a gripping book, that I could not put down. But then, I couldn’t put the first 2 down either.
I have just been to W.H Smiths and purchased the fourth chronicle, Tale of the Body Thief. This is all about Lestat again, who has now become a dark rogue to me, but a loveable one all the same.
carolinesite 21.03.2001
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Review of Queen of the Damned: The Vampire Chronicles (Vol3) - Anne Rice
Advantages: Brilliant combination of suspense and philosophy Disadvantages: There really aren't any
...more obvious than in The Queen of the Damned. The vampires of Rice’s world personify, and are even morally superior to the human world.
The novel is the third part of the Vampire Chronicles that Rice has written, and follows on from The Vampire Lestat, where Lestat has become a modern day icon, through being a rock star and publishing his autobiography which reveals the secrets of vampires. Of course, the human population doesn’t catch ... ...fiction.
Akasha, the Egyptian queen and mother of all vampires, has been awakened from her 6,000 year sleep by Lestat’s outspoken behaviour, and has designs on her own infamy: Akasha, wishes to be goddess to the world and to eliminate all vampires and humans who get in her way.
What ensues is an unlikely collaboration between the remaining vampires to stop Akasha; the reunion of Marius, Armand, Louis and Lestat and the First Brood vampires; ...
HappyBunny 11.01.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Queen of the Damned: The Vampire Chronicles (Vol3) - Anne Rice
Advantages: Excellent scripting and the new characters are interesting Disadvantages: Another reinvention of the Vampire mythos
Some books are very hard to form an educated opinion about. "Queen of the Damned" is one of them. I liked this novel, but I certainly didn't love it. I am hooked on Anne Rice's vampire series, but I hope "Queen of the Damned" is only a speed bump and not an indication of how the rest of these novels are going to go. In my opinion, the writing quality has gone downhill drastically since her masterful "The Vampire Lestat". I found myself plodding along ... ...what these characters were doing. It was very difficult at times, but I did finish it and will come back for more.
The side plots and flashback stories were much more interesting than the current "crisis" these characters were facing. I very much enjoyed the introductions and background stories of Jesse, Daniel, Maharet, Baby Jenks, and most of the other characters introduced here, and I hope to see more of them in books to come. Anne Rice has an ...
President-X-D 13.02.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Queen of the Damned: The Vampire Chronicles (Vol3) - Anne Rice
Advantages: Brilliant! Disadvantages: May feel compelled to never see daylight again
"Queen Of The Damned" is the third installment of the Vampire Chronicles. In this novel, we are treated to a solution of the cliffhanger ending of "The Vampire Lestat" and a overall view of that book; by this I mean that much of this novel retells the events of "The Vampire Lestat" again, but through different angles. All the characters we have come to love are mentioned and focused on individually and we get their sense of what happens, not just ... ...Rice has chosen to write in the third person, and for me, this is what makes this novel outstanding and probably my favourite of the lot. I like the fact that she manages to convey all the emotion we expect from these characters from a detatched position. I find this enjoyable and very interesting. I'm not going to ruin the plot line for you, I truly believe that if you've taken the time to read this then:
1) You're either friend or family, in which ...
minxette 29.01.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Queen of the Damned: The Vampire Chronicles (Vol3) - Anne Rice
Advantages: Wraps up those loose ends from previous books, and still spends much time with Lestat. Disadvantages: Exchanges powerful and charismatic first person storytelling for weaker third person ramblings.
...glory-seeking Lestat has awakened the queen of the title - Akasha, the mother of all vampires. She is a less than happy queen, and promptly sets forth to own the world - living and dead alike. Her ambitions must be opposed, and the battle begins.
I like this book a lot less than previous two. The story attempts to wrap up too many loose ends, bringing together a cast of familiar faces from the previous tomes, and feels a little like doing too much ... ...previous works is lost - the narrators. 'Queen of the Damned' is told from the third person as opposed to the first. Much of the joy of 'Interview' and 'Lestat' is staying inside the head of the vampire narrator, witnessing his asides, his perspective. Much of the sheer personality the device gave the novels is lost here, and even Lestat himself seems the less interesting from the outside. It still stands as a good read, but suffers somewhat from ...
RichardW 12.12.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Queen of the Damned: The Vampire Chronicles (Vol3) - Anne Rice
Advantages: Brilliant! Disadvantages: May get confused with the layout of the book
...vampire therefore the title the queen of the damned. Lestat 'the damndest creature' has now woken Akasha after thousands of years and causing catastrophy over the whole world. With new characters and old caracters we find in this book the fate of the vampires and tales from thousands of years ago when the vampire was created, up to nowadays twentieth century. The third book of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and as good as the first two books. This ... ...The Vampire Lestat, but it is not a must to read the book before you read this one. For £6.99 from Waterstones I thaught this book was a bargain, I found it thicker thicker than the first two books with up to 573 pages but it is such a good book that I really could not put it down. The only draw back I found to this book is the way it is layed out, at the beginning it was quite hard for me to get into because the chapters jumps from one tale to another ...
rhian200 19.06.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Queen of the Damned: The Vampire Chronicles (Vol3) - Anne Rice
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