The Vampire Lestat, whom we first met in Interview With the Vampire , has his own story to tell. Anne Rice's second book in The Vampire Chronicles follows Lestat through the ages as he conducts his own search for his origins and to find meaning in what has happened to him. Unlike the cruel and dark Lestat we saw in Interview, this book reveals a sympathetic figure with his own blend of morality, romanticism, and bravery. Lestat has been asleep for fifty-five years and awakes entranced with the modern world. He becomes a superstar rock musician and millions of fans fall under his spell. Breaking the vampire code of silence, Lestat reveals himself to the world in the hopes that the world's immortals will rise and join together to solve the mystery of their, and his, existence.
The novel moves effortlessly back in time to eighteenth century France, the world …
The Vampire Lestat, whom we first met in Interview With the Vampire , has his own story to tell. Anne Rice's second book in The Vampire Chronicles follows Lestat through the ages as he conducts his own search for his origins and to find meaning in what has happened to him. Unlike the cruel and dark Lestat we saw in Interview, this book reveals a sympathetic figure with his own blend of morality, romanticism, and bravery. Lestat has been asleep for fifty-five years and awakes entranced with the modern world. He becomes a superstar rock musician and millions of fans fall under his spell. Breaking the vampire code of silence, Lestat reveals himself to the world in the hopes that the world's immortals will rise and join together to solve the mystery of their, and his, existence.
The novel moves effortlessly back in time to eighteenth century France, the world of Lestat's chilhood artistocracy, as he tells his story. From his childhood struggles against his father through free and easy eighteenth century Paris as an actor, and his making into a vampire. We travel with Lestat as he searches for other vampires, sometimes alone, sometimes with the haunting Gabrielle, sometimes with the devastating Nicolas. Lestat circles Europe searching for his origins, and for clues to the birth of the vampire, but he finds that the seminal answers elude him. Through his travels and searches, Lestat also makes enemies of vampires who are terrified that his wanderings and searchings will disrupt their coexistence with mortals, or that he will attempt to rule them all. And when Lestat finds the very first vampires, he finds his seminal truths, but also unleashes ancient forces and the wrath of his enemies. Lestat, hunter, has become the hunted.
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This second part of the Vampire Chronicles was much better than the first one. The characters had more depth and the storytelling was more to my liking. I also liked the setting of 1700s France better than colonial Louisiana.
At first, I didn't like the framing story of Lestat the rock star, but the epilogue was actually quite good. I even liked Louis in this book, which I didn't do in the previous one.
There were small(ish) things that still bothered me, like Lestat's semi-romantic relationship with his own mother, and the fact that the rock band Lestat founded doesn't have a bass player.
C'était vraiment chouette à lire. Il n'y avait pas un vocabulaire trop complexe ni même trop simple, rendant la lecture fluide !
L’intrigue du livre est vraiment sympa. Je ne me suis pas ennuyée pendant ma lecture. Le suspense est bien tenu et certains des retournements de situations sont intéressants, les autres sont prévisibles, mais sympas tout de même.
Le personnage qui m’a vraiment plu est Lestat, notre héro. Il est sensuel, apprécie la beauté des genres humains mais solitaire. Il est à noté qu’il est bi, ce qui est rafraichissant pour moi, car rares sont les livres que j’ai lu avec des personnages qui ne sont pas hétéro. L’un des points négatifs du roman est la subtile misogynie omniprésente chez tous les personnages, qu’ils soient homme ou femme et que j’attribue aux idées de l’autrice.
Je vous conseille donc de le lire si vous recherchez un passe-temps …
(Critique exportée)
C'était vraiment chouette à lire. Il n'y avait pas un vocabulaire trop complexe ni même trop simple, rendant la lecture fluide !
L’intrigue du livre est vraiment sympa. Je ne me suis pas ennuyée pendant ma lecture. Le suspense est bien tenu et certains des retournements de situations sont intéressants, les autres sont prévisibles, mais sympas tout de même.
Le personnage qui m’a vraiment plu est Lestat, notre héro. Il est sensuel, apprécie la beauté des genres humains mais solitaire. Il est à noté qu’il est bi, ce qui est rafraichissant pour moi, car rares sont les livres que j’ai lu avec des personnages qui ne sont pas hétéro. L’un des points négatifs du roman est la subtile misogynie omniprésente chez tous les personnages, qu’ils soient homme ou femme et que j’attribue aux idées de l’autrice.
Je vous conseille donc de le lire si vous recherchez un passe-temps léger et sans prise de tête ! :D
Review of 'The Vampire Lestat (Rice, Anne, Chronicles of the Vampires, 2nd Bk.)' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
So, I read this book originally in the 80s. It's aged like fine wine, which I'm sure Lestat would appreciate.
Anne Rice was a trailblazer. I won't say she's the first person who did a sympathetic vampire protagonist, because there was a 19th century serial called Varney the Vampire that did that. But Anne Rice vampires shaped all the vampires that came after, with their ethical struggles and their existential crises and their QUILTBAG rep--aside from the oft-mentioned bit where all Anne Rice vampires are bi poly, there's also Lestat's mother Gabrielle who, upon being turned, immediately says "F*** this" to living as a woman, dons men's clothing, and vanishes into the wilderness to be her own person at last.
This book is mostly setting up how vampires work and their history, and ends on a megacliffhanger. But..... yeah. Good stuff. If you like vampires and haven't read the first …
So, I read this book originally in the 80s. It's aged like fine wine, which I'm sure Lestat would appreciate.
Anne Rice was a trailblazer. I won't say she's the first person who did a sympathetic vampire protagonist, because there was a 19th century serial called Varney the Vampire that did that. But Anne Rice vampires shaped all the vampires that came after, with their ethical struggles and their existential crises and their QUILTBAG rep--aside from the oft-mentioned bit where all Anne Rice vampires are bi poly, there's also Lestat's mother Gabrielle who, upon being turned, immediately says "F*** this" to living as a woman, dons men's clothing, and vanishes into the wilderness to be her own person at last.
This book is mostly setting up how vampires work and their history, and ends on a megacliffhanger. But..... yeah. Good stuff. If you like vampires and haven't read the first three of this series, what are you waiting for?
Malgré un début d’intrigue qui nous plonge dans les années 80, nous nous retrouvons vite dans le passé avec l’aide du point de vue de Lestat, mais aussi des autres personnages, que celui-ci rencontrera (ou à rencontré ?) le long de son existence.
C'était vraiment chouette à lire. Il n'y avait pas un vocabulaire trop complexe ni même trop simple, rendant la lecture fluide !
L’intrigue du livre est vraiment sympa. Je ne me suis pas ennuyée pendant ma lecture. Le suspense est bien tenu et certains des retournements de situations sont intéressants, les autres sont prévisibles, mais sympas tout de même.
Le personnage qui m’a vraiment plu est Lestat, notre héro. Il est sensuel, apprécie la beauté des genres humains mais solitaire. Il est à noté qu’il est bi, ce qui est rafraichissant pour moi, car rares sont les livres que j’ai lu avec des personnages qui ne sont …
Malgré un début d’intrigue qui nous plonge dans les années 80, nous nous retrouvons vite dans le passé avec l’aide du point de vue de Lestat, mais aussi des autres personnages, que celui-ci rencontrera (ou à rencontré ?) le long de son existence.
C'était vraiment chouette à lire. Il n'y avait pas un vocabulaire trop complexe ni même trop simple, rendant la lecture fluide !
L’intrigue du livre est vraiment sympa. Je ne me suis pas ennuyée pendant ma lecture. Le suspense est bien tenu et certains des retournements de situations sont intéressants, les autres sont prévisibles, mais sympas tout de même.
Le personnage qui m’a vraiment plu est Lestat, notre héro. Il est sensuel, apprécie la beauté des genres humains mais solitaire. Il est à noté qu’il est bi, ce qui est rafraichissant pour moi, car rares sont les livres que j’ai lu avec des personnages qui ne sont pas hétéro. L’un des points négatifs du roman est la subtile misogynie omniprésente chez tous les personnages, qu’ils soient homme ou femme et que j’attribue aux idées de l’autrice.
Je vous conseille donc de le lire si vous recherchez un passe-temps léger et sans prise de tête ! :D