The Vampire Chronicles
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The Vampire Chronicles is a series of novels by Anne Rice that revolves around the character Lestat de Lioncourt, a French nobleman made into a vampire in the 18th century.
The chronicles have gained a large fanbase since the publication of the first volume in the 1970s. The first four books, which feature Lestat prominently, are especially popular; the later books have been criticized as having lost some of the sparkle and vitality of the earlier works.
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Books in the series
The Vampire Chronicles
- Interview with the Vampire (1976)
- The Vampire Lestat (1985)
- The Queen of the Damned (1988)
- The Tale of the Body Thief (1992)
- Memnoch the Devil (1995)
- The Vampire Armand (1998)
- Merrick (2000)
- Blood and Gold (2001)
- Blackwood Farm (2002)
- Blood Canticle (2003)
New Tales of the Vampires
- Pandora (1998)
- Vittorio, the Vampire (2001)
Vampire properties
Anne Rice's vampires are different in several ways from classic vampires like Dracula. Rice's creatures are not affected by the usual weapons against classic vampires: garlic, crosses or silver, and they cannot be killed with wooden stakes.
They need blood, but not every day. Human blood is preferred as it is more nutritious, but animal blood is also used. They do not age physically, but vampires younger than a thousand years old can usually be killed by exposure to sunlight or fire.
They do not possess magical powers, such as changing into bats or casting spells, but some of the stronger, older ones do have the power to fly. Most of them also have the power to read thoughts of mortals and weaker vampires. They have other physical abilities: they can move very quickly (faster than human eyes can see); great strength; extremely keen senses; and very old vampires or ones who have been made or strengthened by feeding on blood that is close to the root of the vampiric mother may have additional gifts like the ability to move matter with the mind (Mind Gift) and the ability to set things ablaze by the force of will (Fire Gift). They have many artistic talents, like singing, painting and acting.
The main characteristic of Rice's vampires is that they are all excessively emotional and sensitive, being easy prey to intense emotional suffering and aesthetic passions. They are usually very beautiful, as older vampires avoid making new ones out of old or ugly mortals.
Synopses
The Vampire Chronicles
Interview with the Vampire
The first book in the series, it tells the story of Louis de Pointe du Lac, a French nobleman living on a Louisiana plantation in the late 18th century. In the 20th century, Louis allows himself to be interviewed by a reporter and tells the tale of his transformation. He was made into a vampire by the charismatic Lestat de Lioncourt, the central hero of Rice's Vampire Chronicles. Lestat and Louis lived together for almost a century in New Orleans, along with the child vampire Claudia; but Louis, discontented with his new immortal life, eventually sought to escape from the influence of Lestat....
The Vampire Lestat
The story of Lestat de Lioncourt in "his own words". Lestat writes his autobiography and tries to convince us that, not only is he not just a character in a story, but that he is very different from the Lestat portrayed in Interview With The Vampire. It covers his life from growing up in France and his "making" as a vampire, to his life in New Orleans and eventual rock stardom. The narrative takes several long detours to include the background of Armand, a character from Interview, and introduce several other ancient vampires, such as Marius and Pandora. It also goes into detail on the vampire origins by introducing the Mother and Father: Akasha and Enkil.
The Queen of the Damned
This is probably the most complex book of the Vampire Chronicles. It introduces several new characters and splits the narrative between them to form wider image of the vampiric world. Lestat is the main character and is responsible for waking Akasha, Queen of the Damned and Mother of Vampires, from centuries of sleep. The book is notable for providing a detailed fictional origin and history for Rice's vampires.
The Tale of the Body Thief
After the epic scope of Queen of the Damned, Rice returns to the private story of Lestat and his dealings with a mysterious magician who wants to trade bodies. We meet again David Talbot, an elderly mortal belonging to the scholar order of the Talamasca, introduced in Queen. His story intertwines with Lestat's as they become friends and face the Body Thief together.
Memnoch the Devil
This book turns to religion as Rice brings the devil, Memnoch, on Lestat's trail. Being very ironic and cynical, Lestat does not believe Memnoch's claims of being the master of Hell. This all changes when the devil takes the vampire for a biblical ride, offering a retelling of the entirety of biblical history from the devil's point of view. This history reinterprets biblical stories to create a complete history of Earth, Heaven, and Hell that fits neatly with the history of vampires given in The Queen of the Damned.
The Vampire Armand
This is the complete story of Armand, made by Marius and a very important character on the beginning of the chronicles, affecting Lestat's and Louis lives. A Russian religious boy is kidnapped and taken to Italy, where he is sold as a slave on a whorehouse of Venice. There he is called Amadeo and later is saved from death by the painter Marius.
Merrick
In this book Anne Rice brings together the vampires and the Mayfair Witches. We meet again Louis, Lestat and David. They are followed by the beautiful witch Merrick, an offshoot of the Mayfair clan, who knew David when he was a mortal man working as a member of the Talamasca.
In this novel, it becomes clear that one of the largest myths of the series is in fact false. Throughout the series of novels, it seems that the powers of a witch are lost upon their transformation into a vampire. However, Merrick does not experience this loss. Later in the series, it becomes clear that the worlds of the vampires and witches are never nearly as separate as you might think.
This novel was also a major turning point for Louis, one of Lestat's first, and most beloved vampire companions: he attempts to commit suicide by allowing himself to bake in the sun. As the other vampires, including Merrick and Lestat find him, they restore him by showering him with their preternatural blood which restores the lifeless, ashen husk into a rejuvenated Louis.
Blood and Gold
This book is the life story of Marius, made a vampire by the celts before the fall of the Roman Empire. He had many lovers and produced many paintings during his travels on Europe and the East. Marius was the protector of Enkil and Akasha, until they are awakened by Lestat's rock music in the 20th century.
Blackwood Farm
A young gentleman named Tarquin Blackwood is haunted by a ghost named goblin that only he can see. By pleading to Lestat for aid, Quinn Blackwood obtains the friendship of Lestat. He and Quinn quest to learn more about the creature, goblin. By meeting Quinn's human family, Lestat discovers that Quinn has quite a haunted past and learns that he is tied to the clan of Mayfairs who also make New Orleans their home. The book completes the struggle between Quinn and goblin in an exorcism of the creature by Merrick Mayfair, who has previously become a vampire, made by Louis. In this exorcism, Merrick sacrifices herself and removes the presence of goblin forever.
Blood Canticle
Centered in New Orleans, Blood Canticle is narrated by Lestat. The protagonist is a young Mayfair witch, named Mona. At the beginning of the novel, Mona is wasting away, victim to a mysterious disease brought on by the birth of her daughter, a so called Walking Baby. As the novel plays out, Mona and her guardian, Rowan Mayfair, the current designee of the Mayfair legacy, reveal more and more about the powerful genetic plague that has haunted the Mayfairs for generations: the Taltos.
New Tales of the Vampires
Pandora
Anne Rice takes a break from Lestat's tale in this book, turning to an ancient lover of Marius, called Pandora. This is the story of their relationship as a vampiric couple.
Vittorio, the Vampire
Not really related to the vampire chronicles classic characters, this book tells the tale of a young Italian nobleman who is abducted by a vampire coven in the middle of rural Italy.
Themes and Concepts
Blood
Blood is seen as the ultimate relief. Through blood-taking, the vampires experience the only relief and rapture that they can know.
It may also be seen as a substitute for sex and other mortal pleasures that are not available to vampires.
With the taking of the blood, it is also possible for the vampire to learn about the lives of their victims; a kind of instant life review, the vampire can experience the key parts of the victim's life.