book 2 of The Lestat Series

by Anne Rice

isbn: 0345313860
subject: Fiction and Literature
finished: 3/15/1998

I didn't read this, but rather listened to it on tape (unabridged, of course) during the long drive back to Charlottesville from the Keys after spring break. The Vampire Lestat is the second in Anne Rice's series of vampire books; Lestat is a powerful and obnoxious vampire created in pre-revolutionary France. The book follows his development, and reveals the history of the vampires in the process. I think Rice's world building is the strongest aspect of this book; is it well thought out and well paced, unveiling a bit at a time until everything fits together. Unfortunately, this means that not much is saved for the third book; although I don't remember it well since I read it quite a while ago, I know that I didn't like it much. This leads to another gripe -- the last chapters of The Vampire Lestat are logically part of Queen of the Damned; they don't fit in well, and create an annoying cliffhanger ending. That said, I love the idea of a vampire rock star and wouldn't be surprised if that were the image that inspired the whole series. This is an entertaining book, appropriate for killing time in the car, but not much more.