I love Anne Rice's writing style. The Witching Hour is a Top 10 novel for me. I read Interview in 1976 when I was 10 and Lestat in 1985 when it was released. Loved them both, and stayed with the series until Blackwood Farm. It was a diminishing series after Queen of the Damned...

@_Mike.85

Ай бұрын

I've not read any of her other books, but I tried the Witching Hour a year or so back. I STRUGGLED with it and gave up a few chapters in... 😅. Maybe I'll try it again at somepoint, but I just found it SO dry...

I honestly think the 1992 theatrical version of -Francis Ford Coppola's- "Bram Stoaker's" Dracula would have been far more horror oriented without Anne Rice influence. Commenting early in the video so I'll edit out what you cover but she *really* solidified the melancholic and Byronic suffering of vampires that have affected our stories to this day, it's hard to find other examples of it that aren't geared toward kids or just straight up horror

"she came to her senses" 🤣 that made me laugh.

I’ve read them all. Interview with the vampire and vampire Lestat were amazing. I was 13 the first time I read Anne Rice. Somebody had passed on the books to my grandma and I used to spend summers with her til my mom thought I was old enough to stay home and keep an eye on my dad and older brothers 😂 The multiple POV for Queen of the Damned wasn’t my thing. I loved Tale of the Body Thief and Memnoch the Devil, though there are various versions and some edit out my favorite part. She went off the rails and the first printing of Blood and Gold had some seriously messed up bits that have since been edited out. I loved the side series with Pandora. I used to have a tiny kitty that I named after her. Sadly Pandora was a completely different character when she came back to the vampire side after her religious break. Otherwise, I enjoyed her return for the most part. It was pretty wild. Good luck with your read through!

Good luck with the plan, Michael. I have struggled trying to find the perfect vampire novel. The vampires seem to go to extremes. They're either too monstrous with inhuman looks and behavior, or they're melodramatic 20-simethings with dialogue and/or plots ripped from a teenage drama tv series. Happy reading everyone.

I was living off campus in a spooky old Victorian house with a bunch of other guys in an unofficial fraternity (think Animal House) where I read Interview With The Vampire which just made it spookier especially at night climbing those old creaky stairs to my room 🧛‍♂️

Have you considered that Wilkins may be practising to join the Anne Rice vampires? After all, he is showing certain symptoms..... Thankyou for this comprehensive and thoughtful overview Michael. I've never read Rice's work but she is on my list of authors to discover.

The Mummy she wrote was great and The Witching Hour.

I saw the movie. The people in the row in front of me could not shut up about how good looking all of the vampires were. I never felt inclined to read the books. However, I just looked up the plot summary for Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis (because I like Tarzan), and it sounds like it could be amazing! If you ever get that far in the series, and I am still among the living, let me know if you liked it. And if it can be read as a standalone! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and enjoy your reading.

Michael, you may have to consider becoming a vampire, yourself. You could use the whole "undead" thing/extended lifespan to tackle that TBR. Drastic times require drastic measures. Also, your blood soaked shirt is on point!

They're really fun up till "Memnoch The Devil". That one broke me of the series. I was working in a steel factory when I was reading them, and they were a great escape on my breaks up till that book, and then I was looking forward to getting back to work.

I read it in the early 80s. I was in high school but even then I thought it was weak sauce. I thought it was pretty weak sauce. I bought Captain Blood at the same used bookstore trip. I was amazed at how well written Blood was and how old it was. Really showed me that newer doesn't mean better.

I'm glad it will contribute to your 500 book challenge! I read Interview With A Vampire about 1980, I think. I quite enjoyed it. But then I read The Hunger by Whitley Streiber haunted me long after I finished it, and struck me as a more realistic idea of what immortality would actually mean for a vampire, and for people around that. That book wiped all other vampire books from my mind. Of course, that was 40 years ago, so I would have a different reaction to them if I reread them now. It's strange, though, that The Hunger seems to have disappeared from public consciousness altogether. I suppose young readers prefer sparkly vampires nowadays.

If you want an in-depth explanation of the series and which ones are necessary and which ones you can skip if you want, watch Maven of the Eventide's ranking of the series.

I love that photo art so much. Well done!

Recommend Interview, The Vampire Lester then Prince Lestat would round off the Trilogy.

Great entertaining video Michael! I loved Dracula. But I have to admit, these books aren't my favorites.

Funny Body Thief is where I ended the first time. Last year started the series again, Blood Canticle I still need to read. I did skip ahead and read, Prince Lestat - as good as Interview, and nice summary of all the vampires from the chronicles, could read it without the others. Enjoy the chronicles 😎

Read Interview last year is after watching the movie years ago, and the series. You have reminded me to pick up Vampire Lestat. Thanks Michael😀

Yessss. I came across a used copy of Interview with the Vampire last month. Maybe I’ll start reading it this week

I especially enjoyed the first four, up to Tale of The Body Thief.

The outfit!

@Yesica1993

Ай бұрын

I am wondering how many servants Roger had to k * l l this time to get enough blood to dye that shirt such a deep hue. Must've been quite the mess.

Interview with the Vampire is extra memorable because it came out during the BITEcentennial year!

@michaelk.vaughan8617

Ай бұрын

😫

I think in 1995 what you were doing was re-reading "Dracula", AGAIN!😆 I never got to read "Interview..." or "...Lestat", though I did read a graphic novel version of "...Lestat" that came out in the '90's which was good with great art (The Vampire Lestat: A Graphic Novel, 1991, Random House, painted art by Daerick Gross -pretty reasonably priced out there in the secondary market). I did not mind the recent "Interview..." TV series. When I first saw the trailer for it I didn't think much of it either, but I gave the first episode a shot anyway and found myself pleasantly surprised with the show and ended up watching the rest of the series. Of course, as I said, I've never read the novel and had nothing to base the TV show on (except the 90's movie), but as far as entertainment value goes on the show's own merits, I enjoyed it (and I think I liked it more than the movie). I'd say just give the first episode a watch, and from that you should be able to tell if you're gonna like the show or not.

When we are born, we are as smart as ever. As we age, we trade intelligence for knowledge and experience. I read The Hobbit as a teen. When the movie came out, I finally figured out the book. The whole thing was a riddle. The book was about two guys living in a hole in the ground. These holes were not dank and wet, but wonderful places. Once hole warm and comfy with food and accommodations. The other was a nice dry place to seek refuge from the elements. Then a bunch of dwarves invade these holes. With Bilbo, family and neighbor broke in, and tried to take his stuff. With Smaug, the dwarves just moved in and made Smaug's home their own. When Bilbo came home, he set things right and took his home back. When Smaug returned home, he sent the dwarves packing. Stop and think about Smaug a bit. He didn't kill all the dwarves, he let them run away. Then he was a good neighbor to the Lake people. Never bothered the lake people, and minded his own business. Smaug only attacked the Lake people after they helped a band of thieves. rob his home. I've had bad neighbors. Smaug isn't one of those. They say, "There is never anything new in fiction." Yeah, no. I'm sure others had written vampires a people with a complex life, but Ann Rice was the first to do right. I read a handful of Ann's vampire books and realized her first book was the best. In the first book, Lesat was larger than life and a force of nature. In time, Lestat was worn down. Hey, if time can wear down mountains, what chance does a vampire have.? With most people, we change with time. I've seen creative people completely ruin older works of theirs. They think, "It's mine. I can do what I want." No, the younger version was a different person. You are ruining someone else's work. I think Ann Rice wanted to make a living. The book after, Interview with a Vampire was just fan fiction. Of late, Ann Rice has a bad reputation. They say she dox people who criticized her books. She did dox but it was against people who were homophobic and claimed to have committed violent crimes against people. I heard a recent interview with Salman Rushdie. He said, "I had such high hopes for the online generation. Now, all they do is ban books that have the smallest flaws in their eyes." Honestly? I think Ann's work Interview with a Vampire is a landmark in fiction.

Memnoch the Devil and Blood & Gold are my two personal favorites.

@gingerbibliophile

Ай бұрын

I loved Memnoch the Devil! Blood and Gold was a bit much between Marius and Armand for me at times. Though my copy got destroyed and I noticed there was some serious editing done removing some of that in the newer version I ended up with.

Great video! I loved the original trilogy but it all went downhill in terms of quality from then. The Vampire Lestat remains my favorite just because he is a badass vampire. The Witching Hour was so disappointing to me. People rave about it but I think aaah NO!

'Moon over Bourbon Street' by Sting from the album 'The Dream of the Blue Turtle' (I think...something like that, anyway) was inspired by 'Interview'. That's the only one of Anne Rice's books I've actually read, and I found that was an elegant sufficiency.

@russworks2882

Ай бұрын

Sting was apparently Rice's choice to play Lestat in the first movie and I think he was up for it. I don't know how we ended up with Tom Cruise, but I didn't see Cruise as the character at all.

@parazatico9030

Ай бұрын

@@russworks2882 I didn't know that. He wouldn't have made a bad Lestat at all. The decision to cast Cruise was just baffling.

We have the exact same history with Rice's vampires -- I made it through Body Thief, then just stopped cold. Let me know if you read her werewolf novels. I've avoided them like the plague thus far, but perhaps I'm missing out.

I read The Witching Hour and it was a really big book,so much it took me forever to finish it. That was about 1995ish?

When you’re done with your 500 Book Challenge, you should read The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. It’s a vampire novel you’ll love. I thought it was the best I’d read since Anne Rice. It’s less titillating than Rice’s, but even more historical. Who would’ve guessed?😉

I read the first three books last year. I enjoyed the first, but the endless grief became a bit much for me after a while. The second blew me away. It's the first time I've found a more modern book that left me feeling as fulfilled as 19th century works do. Then the third felt like such a let down. The 80s got too deep in that book in the worst way.

I gave up after the third, i loved some of the elements of Queen but the lestsat rockstar jumped the shark for me at the time. Currently if im reading an author i do it in publication order as its interesting how themes are carried on even with different stories. The tv series i thought was good, takes the spirit and a lot of the same beats of the novel but its own world

For the last few years, I've been doing theme years. Like yourself, I just buy far too many books and I've come to the conclusion there is no way possible, unless I become a vampire myself, that I'll ever finish all the books I currently own. So, I've found myself digging back to the beginnings of the books I've bought and working my way forward through the various series. I'll still take time out to read something I'm interested in....Like a Robert E. Howard book I haven't read before. But I'm trying to stick to my plan for the most part. This year, I started the Vampire Chronicles. Or you could just say Anne Rice's works in general. Other than some hard to find stuff, I'm just plowing through them in order. At least as regards the Vampire Chronicles. And, strangely enough, Anne has one of those literary worlds where you can almost say all of her pure fictional stuff takes place in one world to one point or another. She's written some historical novels, the religious works, and some romance books under pseudonyms that don't really connect, other than possibly some of the Anne Rampling books. But most of her pure fictional works make up one large body and I've been working through it. I don't want to throw out a bunch of spoilers. I bought her first several vampire books back in the early 90's and everyone and their brother kept spoiling them for me, especially when the film came out. So I just didn't feel the need to read them. But with the advent of the tv show, I decided I wanted to read the actual books, since I was enjoying the show. And the books are a treat! The closest thing I can describe Anne's work to is DC's Vertigo comics. There is a lot happening, but it's not all fights and people flying and shooting energy beams at each other. The biggest moments tend to come from revelations that make you realize that a lot of things in the other books are wrong. Or they've been embellished by an unreliable narrator. Also, Anne is just gifted with a beautiful way of describing everything going on. She just draws you into the books! As long as they are, I was reading the first three books in a couple of days each! They're just hard to put down! One bit of spoiler I will give. And to all who don't want to know, just don't read this paragraph. But I like the way that she writes the Vampire Chronicles as each book being written by a vampire. Interview being Louis' book. I know so many people, who must not have read the books very carefully, that complain that Antonio Banderas is a poor choice for Armand in the movie version. BUT...In Interview with the Vampire, Louis never describes him. They mention constantly that Claudia is an abomination since she was a child turned vampire. And all of those people who have probably skimmed the book go on about how Armand is a child as well. But we don't learn this until the Vampire Lestat, where we see Lestat's version of things. And he throws it out there how Armand was also turned at a young age. Apparently Louis just wanted that part left out of his book. And embellished a lot of other things as well. Lestat is admittedly an unreliable narrator. But his writings tend to be corroborated more than Louis'. From his own writing, it's obvious Lestat is far more cultured and smart than Louis gives him credit for, so I tend to believe his accounts more. The world of the vampires is just enthralling! Each book gives us a glimpse deeper into their history. And their origins. And they get more and more bizarre! And some of this is touched on in other books. The Mummy books you can take or leave, although I heavily suggest the first one, since it takes the mummy stories and turns them into a romance story and a potential apocalypse of horrifying proportions. The stakes get pretty high in Anne Rice books! Servant of the Bones can fit in ok if you choose to read it. But the Mayfair Witches books tie in heavily! For one thing, the Talamasca is kind of the major supernatural organization in the Rice books. Kind of like a Paranormal Shield. But closer to the Watchers in Highlander: The Series. The Talamasca studies and observes. Sometimes stepping in if they can make a difference and staying far away if they can't. With the vampires, they have a keep away at all costs rule, that of course doesn't always work. But they play a huge part in the Mayfair Witches books! Which I heartily recommend! These books are like a supernatural bible of paranormal abilities and the effect on one family through many generations. They read like a history of a family that is very gothic and very dark. Faint of heart people that are trouble by sexual activities both normal and taboo might want to veer away. But if you can take the weirdness, it's captivating! I've been working through the books in order of publication. So, I've veered in and out of the Vampire Chronicles, The Mummy, and now the Mayfair Witches. There is more intersection beginning in Queen of the Damned, moving into The Witching Hour, coming back to Tale of the Body Thief, and I just started Lasher. I was reading Lasher at the laundrymat tonight waiting for clothes to wash and dry. People in there thought I was waiting out a storm. But I was so into the story that I probably read for an hour after my clothes finished! It's just an excellent read so far! So, in closing this term paper, I will just say good luck! I think you're in for a good time. I may hit a spot where I start to not enjoy the books as much, but it hasn't happened yet! This bizarre world is just captivating me! PS: As to the current television series that got me interested in the books again in the first place. The Interview With the Vampire series so far isn't staying on track with the novels so much as the movie did, but I think it's closer in spirit to the novels. They're doing some race swapping and going heavy on the romance of Louis and Lestat. But, honestly, that's a thing in the books and they're not shying away from it like the movie did. I recommend a viewing! It looks to have enough differences that it's keeping it interesting! And the actor playing Lestat is giving it one hundred percent! As to the Mayfair Witches show, I don't like it as much. Don't get me wrong, Alexandra Daddario is who I'm always going to picture as Rowan Mayfair. But the plot itself is all over the place! It's combining characters and events that were supposed to take place over centuries into a modern mess! It feels a lot like the Preacher tv show. It can't seem to get out of the first story arc and keeps forcing everything that happens into that one plot and making a mess of it. Maybe Season 2 will be better, but I'm not in a hurry to find out. Whereas I am looking forward to Season 2 of Interview with the Vampire. At least they know to do stopping points and the same points in the book as Anne did.

There’s a Booktuber Maven of the Eventide who is the Vampire expert. She would probably

I enjoyed Interview with a Vampire and Lestat, but the rest of the sequels were disappointing. I also enjoyed Rice's The Mummy, which everyone seems to forget. The first book in the witches books was also good.

@gingerbibliophile

Ай бұрын

Yes! Mummy was so good! I was so excited for the sequel, but it ended up being a major let down.

Interesting.. after knowing about the book and the film my entire life, i just picked it up and started reading it.

Dapper Mike

Oddly enough I have never read any Anne Rice until last year when I finally read INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE and really enjoyed it. I am reading VAMPIRE LESTAT and I am struggling with this one a bit. I like the two LESTAT movies, but the tv show is terrible

I love a good vampire book/movie.. but would you please do a deer hunting video?

I had come to a decision to try the series again when I ran across the first five books in the 50 cent clearance rack at a used book store and then Anne Rice passed away soon after. I initially stopped after 'The Tale of the Body Thief' though I at least know why. I have blocked it from my memory the exact reason; but 'Taltos' for some reason upset me and I swore off reading Anne Rice for decades. Which made me feel very weird to actually go to a book signing for 'Violin' (which I never read). I was in New Orleans on a business trip, bored, not a French Quarter guy, and learned she was doing a release signing. I still want to finish the series but events in 'Memnoch' really shifted the series based on the next however many books I have read. They felt more like historical romances rather than horror. Not my thing. Sometimes think about skipping to 'Prince Lestat' because of the Mayfair crossovers. I really wish I remember why 'Taltos' had such an effect on me. hahaha My guess for those two other books is they are characters that I remember mentioned a lot but don't think they directly interacted with Lestat. So new seems weird since think the characters were much older than Lestat; if my memory is right. I have no clue though.

I *love* the recent TV series adaptation of Interview.

Do you own all of these books already? You do have this other challenge going on, you know.. Edit: ah, I see I should’ve waited until the end. Carry on!

Oh, wow. I went to look her up because I remembered she'd had some sort of conversion to Christianity or at least Catholicism. (I haven't read her books, so I don't really follow her.) But I'm seeing that she posted something on Facebook that she changed her mind some years later. Sad.

You definitely have to squeeze in those other side books. I mean there’s another 370 spaces on the 500 book challenge 🤷🏻‍♂️

the novels are best. hard to adapt well. best to listen to Concrete Blonde for a good adaptation

😊

Im not sure the series is worth reading after Queen of the Damned. If you really want a vampire series to read, look at Barbara Hambly's James Asher novels. Or Fred Saberhagen's Dracula novels.

I actually quitr like the TV show.

The Jesus era books are not good Michael. They are cringey. Very... very cringey. But I'm sure you've guessed that 😂. I didn't think the series went down hill. I read them all through Blood Canticle. I also read Merrick and Vitorio and Pandora which were also good. I assume they are not Vampire Chronicles because they are not about the main group of vampires. But who knows!

@michaelk.vaughan8617

Ай бұрын

Yeah, I did suspect major cringe in those Jesus books.

If a vampire was to fight a werewolf, which one would come out the winner?

@SuperDevilDoctor

Ай бұрын

Watch the movies WEREWOLF VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMAN (1971) or NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF (1981), both starring Paul Naschy, and you’ll find out!

@glenmcculla6843

Ай бұрын

@@SuperDevilDoctor I endorse this comment.

I loved Interview With the Vampire, The Vampire LeStat was hampered for me by the lamest description of a rock band ever. We can all easily imagine what a band that LeStat joined would have looked, and sounded like, and what Anne Rice wrote wasn't even close. I gave up after Queen of the Damned, and have little interest in going any further. You could always give her erotica a try. I did, and I've rarely read anything quite so boring. 😂

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Saint-Germain series is MUCH MUCH better

@michaelk.vaughan8617

Ай бұрын

I actually have the first few books in that series but haven’t read them yet. I’m glad to hear that they are good.

A furniture store !! Well that explains your costume today 🤭. Please tell me it wasn't Ikea, please, please. 🪑🛋 I didn't know she went down that religious path. Very odd. Interesting wikipage read though. Do any of the chronicles have football and war? 😉 Here's what I'd do: read the books published up until 1998, trust me (although I've read none of them myself 🤭). I was wondering how you'd fit this in with your 147 other read-a-thons. 🤔