ANNE RICE, GUIDE TO THE NOVELS OF
Created | Updated Jun 11, 2003
A Neophyte's Guide to the Novels of Anne Rice
Okay Neophyte, here we go...but first, a little background info:
Anne Rice is perhaps the most famous Romantic writer of the Twentieth Century. She was born in and lives in New Orleans, located in the Southern United States. She is the author of some 21 novels as of this writing and she is most famous for her "Vampire Chronicles," which detail the lives of a group of vampires from their own points of view.
HER GENRE
Often described as a horror or "gothic" writer, Anne Rice actually combines elements from many different styles and genres to create her own unique fiction. While most bookstores will have her in a small horror section right next to Stephen King and Dean Koontz, her books are not horror in the conventional sense. While they feature vampires and ghosts, the horror is mostly philosophical.
She is first and foremost a Romantic writer. She has the great sweeping compassion of the Romantic Era, the love of antiquity, of Tragedy, of music and beauty. While she lacks the dark nihilism that is assosiated with the Goth movement, you will find a certain Goth aesthetic in her books. You will also find a bit of the Harlequin Romance novel in there too, mostly in the most florid dialogue. There is a bit of the travelogue also. Her locations are almost chartacters onto themselves(Beware, however, as she loses all control when writing about Italy.) After reading her novels you will want to go to New Orleans. And finally, Anne Rice is a first rate historical writer and most of her books feature one or more lengthy flashbacks to a past era, rendered in stunning detail.
SOME OF THE BOOKS:
INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE('76)
Her first novel is the sweeping account of a vampire's first 200 years, his life and his losses. This one is narrated by Louis and there is an overwhelming tone of grief and loss. It very passionate but also rather one-note book. It is basically about a vampire who can't deal with being a vampire but also won't take his own life. This is the "Giovanni's Room" of vampire fiction. It introduces Lestat, who will narrate many of the other books, and the child-vampire Claudia. It was made into a rather good movie in 1994 with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, although the movie suffers from the book's ponderous plot. Probably not the best book to start off with. Maybe see the movie and keep in mind that it has a very different ending, then go to the second book.
THE VAMPIRE LESTAT('85)
Her second "Vampire Chronicle" is the story of Lestat's early years and his recent resurrection in the late Twentieth Century after having been underground for 60 years. The tone is wonderful and actually much more light and optimistic than the previous book. This is the genius of Anne Rice the combination of horror and optimism. These books DO NOT glorify evil, or destuction. Her moral compass never wavers. Lestat is vampire who is in love with the world and with humanity. He has an evil life but desperately wants to have some good purpose in the world.
The bulk of the book is Lestat's autobiography of his life as a young man in rural France, his escape to Paris with his best friend to become and actor,and his abduction and transformation into a vampire, and his subsequent travels and his quest to find the true history of the vampires and his search for love and companionship.
Although this is my personal favorite, I will say that is is probably among the worst written of the "Vampire Chronicles," it's a bit of a mess and some of the dialogue is a bit much.
THE QUEEN OF THE DAMNED('88)
This third Chronicle continues right where "'Lestat" ended. This one uses many narratives and characters to tell the story of the First Brood of vampires and their final confrontation in the Twentieth Century with Akasha, the oldest and most powerful vampire. Akasha abducts Lestat and tries to seduce him into her plan to interfere with humanity and install her own social order so that there will finally be peace on Earth.
Okay...So what she does here, is that she takes what is a comic book plot basically, a group of super-beings(many of whom fly ala Superman) and stand them up against an "evil" superbeing bent on world domination and makes it into a philosophically charged debate on the nature of evil and the evil of "ism"s. She very skillfully uses humor to avoid this being the all out camp fest that this could have been. In fact there is once segment that is like a twisted vampire version of "La Cage aux Folles."
This is one of her best written and most enjoyable books, and has deservedly sold like a kajillion copies
THE MUMMY('89)
This does not belong in any other series of books, although they are all set in the same universe. It's about the mummy of Ramses II brought back to life in Edwardian England as a beautiful immortal man, and his subsequent adventures with a group of mortals in Egypt.
Much lighter than the Vampire Books, a lot of fun. A good book to start with actually. Would make a great movie!
THE WITCHING HOUR('90)
Probably the closest book she's come to a conventional horror novel. It's the story of a dyansty of witches begining in Scotland in the 1600's through is current manifestation in present day New Orleans. The family is intertwined with a malevolent spirit named Lasher who is their servant but who also has plans for the family. The family is also intertwined with a long-lived group of paranormal scholars, the Talamasca, first introduced in the Queen of the Damned.
It's quite long and a little slow to get started but it is a great book, maybe her best. A good alternative for people who are turned off by vampires and want some mortals to relate to.
THE TALE OF THE BODY THIEF('92)
In my opinion, word-for-word her best novel. The very bizarre plot concerns Lestat's opportunity to switch bodies with a mortal man for one day to see the sun and experience humanity as he hasn't for 200 years. Things go horribly wrong and Lestat is trapped within the now-sick body. He must rely on his friend David Talbot, from the Talamasca to help him retrieve his body.
It's weird but it works. It's a great character study of Lestat as he is slowly stripped of his illusions and Romantic ideals. Its much shorter than the other books, its only a tale after all, but it is very economically written and is one of the few Anne Rice books that is set wholly in the present. Also, kudos to her for writing an interesting and compelling elderly character. This book is a great read.
LASHER('93)
Very unpredictable sequel to the Witching Hour. I'm not crazy about it, maybe because it goes in such a completely different direction than what you expect at the end of "The Witching Hour."
TALTOS('94)
Another entry into the incresingly strange and unpredictable "Witching Hour" series. This one having a cool fairy tale feel as well a some Talamasca intrigue. I probably need to read it again.
MEMNOCH THE DEVIL('95)
Fifth "Vampire Chronicle" in which Lestat is stalked by someone claiming to be the Devil himself, and is taken on a tour of heaven hell and creation. Sounds far fetched, but if your read the preceding books closely you can kind of see it coming. So begins Anne Rice's great preoccupation with things spritual that has lasted the whole second half of the 1990's. It's an interesting book but not as fun or well written as the preceding Chronicles. And it is our last book with Lestat as the narrator(at least for a while.)
SERVANT OF THE BONES('96)
Okay, i'm not going to write much about this book because I really don't recomend it. I will say that it has some really cool depictions of ancient Babylon, and some interesting Magical/Spiritual ideas. It's also notable because it is her first really contemporary book, that very much refers things happening in the late 20th Century.
But, like Memnoch, it's very preoccupied with spiritual questions, I think, at the expense of the storytelling.
VIOLIN('97)
Some people really hate this book. I don't hate it, although I wouldn't recomend it to new reader. I will say that is very much a Romantic novel. It is irrational at times, hard to follow, a mess, also dreamlike and vivid. It's not to be read the same way her older books are, you can't rush through it on a single week-end. It's not a page turner.
It's also nakedly autobiographical, the rosetta stone of connecting Anne Rice's life with her novels. (Also read "Prism of the Night" Kathrine Ramsland's biography of Rice as a companion book.) Really interesting. Would be a better movie than a book.
PANDORA('98)
This is not quite a Vampire Chronicle, it's part of a new series called Tales of the Vampires. These are shorter novels that take place within the framework of the Vampire Chronicles, and are handsomely published in almost palm-sized hard covers. Anyway, Pandora was a supporting character in The Queen of the Damned, and here she tells the story of her life in the Augustan Age of Rome and the political intrigue that forced her to hide out in Antioch where she encounters a familiar faced vampire.
This is Rice's most enjoyable novel in a long time. She vividly brings Ancient Rome and Antioch to life while creating a wonderfully quirky character that I suspect is very close to her own voice. Its also a kind of cool complement to Robert Graves "I,Claudius" which takes place at the same time. So if you've read that book, or seen the wonderful BBC miniseries you can kind of get a feel for the setting of "Pandora."
THE VAMPIRE ARMAND('98)
The sixth Vampire chronicle is the story of Armand a popular character who has played major roles in many of the preceding books. I recently reread this book and, I must say, I really enjoyed it more the second time around. A lot of what drives the Vampire Chronicles is the use of character voice, because they are almost all in 1st person narrative. I hadn't realized how successful she was at capturing Armand's voice. It's a very different voice than that of Lestat, or Louis. It's the voice of a adolescent man. Its also a voice that was shaped in the Italian Rennaissance, Anne Rice is at her most florid and erotic in this novel.
"The Vampire Armand" is of course the story of Armand, how he was abducted from his home in the steppes of Russia as a young boy and sold into the flesh markets of The West. He is purchased by a mysterious Venetian painter who makes him his apprentice(to a lot more than painting.) This painter, Marius, nourishes him with love and education, and finally makes him into a vampire. Not long after Marius is attacked by a coven of Satanic vampires who see him as a heretic, Armand is abducted by these vampires and indoctrinated. Much of the material after this point has been covered in other novels, so "'Armand" skips ahead the the events after "Memnoch'" and his love for a pair of young mortals.
Believe it or not the book has what amounts to a happy ending. With this book, and "Pandora" and "Merrick", I think, as she gets older, Rice is trying to wrap up loose ends. She is saving even the most hopeless characters from the deepest misery and loneliness. I think she does this not out of sentimentality, but out of a great love for these characters. And so it is with "Armand" a character who has always been amoral and somewhat cold here finally finds warmth and love.
VITTORIO THE VAMPIRE(1999)
The second entry to Tales of the Vampires is the story of Vittorio, a previously unknown vampire who tells the story of how his family was slaughtered by vampires in Renaissance Milan, and his quest for revenge and his love for one of the vampires in the coven. Its a short, violent, cinematic-style love story. I do need to reread this one, as there are a lot of historical references in the text but its not a bad little book.
MERRICK(2000)
The latest "Vampire Chronicle" promises a bold new direction for the chronicles, one where things actually happen. There is evidence that Rice may have another tightly-plotted page-turner in her yet. This is not really it, but it's a good sign.
"Merrick" tells the story of the vampire David's attempt to reach the spirit of the vampire Claudia for the aguished Louis. Using a voodooine named Merrick, who is distantly related to the Mayfairs(of the "Witching Hour") and who was an intimate of his during his later mortal life, David wants to find some kind of peace for Louis, and to reach out to his mortal life. I won't give you any spoiler material, but this is an eventful novel that involves Lestat's return, the Talamasca, and Louis' fate. All the ingredients of Rice at her best. I hope they come together more solidly in her next chronicle but this is a good start. Fans of Louis will definitely want to read it.
THE REST
In addition to the Supernatural stuff, she's also written two purely historical novels: :The Feast of All Saints," and "Cry to Heaven" as well as some erotica, "The Sleeping Beauty Trilogy" and "Exit to Eden," among others.
Okay Neophyte, here we go...but first, a little background info:
Anne Rice is perhaps the most famous Romantic writer of the Twentieth Century. She was born in and lives in New Orleans, located in the Southern United States. She is the author of some 21 novels as of this writing and she is most famous for her "Vampire Chronicles," which detail the lives of a group of vampires from their own points of view.
HER GENRE
Often described as a horror or "gothic" writer, Anne Rice actually combines elements from many different styles and genres to create her own unique fiction. While most bookstores will have her in a small horror section right next to Stephen King and Dean Koontz, her books are not horror in the conventional sense. While they feature vampires and ghosts, the horror is mostly philosophical.
She is first and foremost a Romantic writer. She has the great sweeping compassion of the Romantic Era, the love of antiquity, of Tragedy, of music and beauty. While she lacks the dark nihilism that is assosiated with the Goth movement, you will find a certain Goth aesthetic in her books. You will also find a bit of the Harlequin Romance novel in there too, mostly in the most florid dialogue. There is a bit of the travelogue also. Her locations are almost chartacters onto themselves(Beware, however, as she loses all control when writing about Italy.) After reading her novels you will want to go to New Orleans. And finally, Anne Rice is a first rate historical writer and most of her books feature one or more lengthy flashbacks to a past era, rendered in stunning detail.
SOME OF THE BOOKS:
INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE('76)
Her first novel is the sweeping account of a vampire's first 200 years, his life and his losses. This one is narrated by Louis and there is an overwhelming tone of grief and loss. It very passionate but also rather one-note book. It is basically about a vampire who can't deal with being a vampire but also won't take his own life. This is the "Giovanni's Room" of vampire fiction. It introduces Lestat, who will narrate many of the other books, and the child-vampire Claudia. It was made into a rather good movie in 1994 with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, although the movie suffers from the book's ponderous plot. Probably not the best book to start off with. Maybe see the movie and keep in mind that it has a very different ending, then go to the second book.
THE VAMPIRE LESTAT('85)
Her second "Vampire Chronicle" is the story of Lestat's early years and his recent resurrection in the late Twentieth Century after having been underground for 60 years. The tone is wonderful and actually much more light and optimistic than the previous book. This is the genius of Anne Rice the combination of horror and optimism. These books DO NOT glorify evil, or destuction. Her moral compass never wavers. Lestat is vampire who is in love with the world and with humanity. He has an evil life but desperately wants to have some good purpose in the world.
The bulk of the book is Lestat's autobiography of his life as a young man in rural France, his escape to Paris with his best friend to become and actor,and his abduction and transformation into a vampire, and his subsequent travels and his quest to find the true history of the vampires and his search for love and companionship.
Although this is my personal favorite, I will say that is is probably among the worst written of the "Vampire Chronicles," it's a bit of a mess and some of the dialogue is a bit much.
THE QUEEN OF THE DAMNED('88)
This third Chronicle continues right where "'Lestat" ended. This one uses many narratives and characters to tell the story of the First Brood of vampires and their final confrontation in the Twentieth Century with Akasha, the oldest and most powerful vampire. Akasha abducts Lestat and tries to seduce him into her plan to interfere with humanity and install her own social order so that there will finally be peace on Earth.
Okay...So what she does here, is that she takes what is a comic book plot basically, a group of super-beings(many of whom fly ala Superman) and stand them up against an "evil" superbeing bent on world domination and makes it into a philosophically charged debate on the nature of evil and the evil of "ism"s. She very skillfully uses humor to avoid this being the all out camp fest that this could have been. In fact there is once segment that is like a twisted vampire version of "La Cage aux Folles."
This is one of her best written and most enjoyable books, and has deservedly sold like a kajillion copies
THE MUMMY('89)
This does not belong in any other series of books, although they are all set in the same universe. It's about the mummy of Ramses II brought back to life in Edwardian England as a beautiful immortal man, and his subsequent adventures with a group of mortals in Egypt.
Much lighter than the Vampire Books, a lot of fun. A good book to start with actually. Would make a great movie!
THE WITCHING HOUR('90)
Probably the closest book she's come to a conventional horror novel. It's the story of a dyansty of witches begining in Scotland in the 1600's through is current manifestation in present day New Orleans. The family is intertwined with a malevolent spirit named Lasher who is their servant but who also has plans for the family. The family is also intertwined with a long-lived group of paranormal scholars, the Talamasca, first introduced in the Queen of the Damned.
It's quite long and a little slow to get started but it is a great book, maybe her best. A good alternative for people who are turned off by vampires and want some mortals to relate to.
THE TALE OF THE BODY THIEF('92)
In my opinion, word-for-word her best novel. The very bizarre plot concerns Lestat's opportunity to switch bodies with a mortal man for one day to see the sun and experience humanity as he hasn't for 200 years. Things go horribly wrong and Lestat is trapped within the now-sick body. He must rely on his friend David Talbot, from the Talamasca to help him retrieve his body.
It's weird but it works. It's a great character study of Lestat as he is slowly stripped of his illusions and Romantic ideals. Its much shorter than the other books, its only a tale after all, but it is very economically written and is one of the few Anne Rice books that is set wholly in the present. Also, kudos to her for writing an interesting and compelling elderly character. This book is a great read.
LASHER('93)
Very unpredictable sequel to the Witching Hour. I'm not crazy about it, maybe because it goes in such a completely different direction than what you expect at the end of "The Witching Hour."
TALTOS('94)
Another entry into the incresingly strange and unpredictable "Witching Hour" series. This one having a cool fairy tale feel as well a some Talamasca intrigue. I probably need to read it again.
MEMNOCH THE DEVIL('95)
Fifth "Vampire Chronicle" in which Lestat is stalked by someone claiming to be the Devil himself, and is taken on a tour of heaven hell and creation. Sounds far fetched, but if your read the preceding books closely you can kind of see it coming. So begins Anne Rice's great preoccupation with things spritual that has lasted the whole second half of the 1990's. It's an interesting book but not as fun or well written as the preceding Chronicles. And it is our last book with Lestat as the narrator(at least for a while.)
SERVANT OF THE BONES('96)
Okay, i'm not going to write much about this book because I really don't recomend it. I will say that it has some really cool depictions of ancient Babylon, and some interesting Magical/Spiritual ideas. It's also notable because it is her first really contemporary book, that very much refers things happening in the late 20th Century.
But, like Memnoch, it's very preoccupied with spiritual questions, I think, at the expense of the storytelling.
VIOLIN('97)
Some people really hate this book. I don't hate it, although I wouldn't recomend it to new reader. I will say that is very much a Romantic novel. It is irrational at times, hard to follow, a mess, also dreamlike and vivid. It's not to be read the same way her older books are, you can't rush through it on a single week-end. It's not a page turner.
It's also nakedly autobiographical, the rosetta stone of connecting Anne Rice's life with her novels. (Also read "Prism of the Night" Kathrine Ramsland's biography of Rice as a companion book.) Really interesting. Would be a better movie than a book.
PANDORA('98)
This is not quite a Vampire Chronicle, it's part of a new series called Tales of the Vampires. These are shorter novels that take place within the framework of the Vampire Chronicles, and are handsomely published in almost palm-sized hard covers. Anyway, Pandora was a supporting character in The Queen of the Damned, and here she tells the story of her life in the Augustan Age of Rome and the political intrigue that forced her to hide out in Antioch where she encounters a familiar faced vampire.
This is Rice's most enjoyable novel in a long time. She vividly brings Ancient Rome and Antioch to life while creating a wonderfully quirky character that I suspect is very close to her own voice. Its also a kind of cool complement to Robert Graves "I,Claudius" which takes place at the same time. So if you've read that book, or seen the wonderful BBC miniseries you can kind of get a feel for the setting of "Pandora."
THE VAMPIRE ARMAND('98)
The sixth Vampire chronicle is the story of Armand a popular character who has played major roles in many of the preceding books. I recently reread this book and, I must say, I really enjoyed it more the second time around. A lot of what drives the Vampire Chronicles is the use of character voice, because they are almost all in 1st person narrative. I hadn't realized how successful she was at capturing Armand's voice. It's a very different voice than that of Lestat, or Louis. It's the voice of a adolescent man. Its also a voice that was shaped in the Italian Rennaissance, Anne Rice is at her most florid and erotic in this novel.
"The Vampire Armand" is of course the story of Armand, how he was abducted from his home in the steppes of Russia as a young boy and sold into the flesh markets of The West. He is purchased by a mysterious Venetian painter who makes him his apprentice(to a lot more than painting.) This painter, Marius, nourishes him with love and education, and finally makes him into a vampire. Not long after Marius is attacked by a coven of Satanic vampires who see him as a heretic, Armand is abducted by these vampires and indoctrinated. Much of the material after this point has been covered in other novels, so "'Armand" skips ahead the the events after "Memnoch'" and his love for a pair of young mortals.
Believe it or not the book has what amounts to a happy ending. With this book, and "Pandora" and "Merrick", I think, as she gets older, Rice is trying to wrap up loose ends. She is saving even the most hopeless characters from the deepest misery and loneliness. I think she does this not out of sentimentality, but out of a great love for these characters. And so it is with "Armand" a character who has always been amoral and somewhat cold here finally finds warmth and love.
VITTORIO THE VAMPIRE(1999)
The second entry to Tales of the Vampires is the story of Vittorio, a previously unknown vampire who tells the story of how his family was slaughtered by vampires in Renaissance Milan, and his quest for revenge and his love for one of the vampires in the coven. Its a short, violent, cinematic-style love story. I do need to reread this one, as there are a lot of historical references in the text but its not a bad little book.
MERRICK(2000)
The latest "Vampire Chronicle" promises a bold new direction for the chronicles, one where things actually happen. There is evidence that Rice may have another tightly-plotted page-turner in her yet. This is not really it, but it's a good sign.
"Merrick" tells the story of the vampire David's attempt to reach the spirit of the vampire Claudia for the aguished Louis. Using a voodooine named Merrick, who is distantly related to the Mayfairs(of the "Witching Hour") and who was an intimate of his during his later mortal life, David wants to find some kind of peace for Louis, and to reach out to his mortal life. I won't give you any spoiler material, but this is an eventful novel that involves Lestat's return, the Talamasca, and Louis' fate. All the ingredients of Rice at her best. I hope they come together more solidly in her next chronicle but this is a good start. Fans of Louis will definitely want to read it.
THE REST
In addition to the Supernatural stuff, she's also written two purely historical novels: :The Feast of All Saints," and "Cry to Heaven" as well as some erotica, "The Sleeping Beauty Trilogy" and "Exit to Eden," among others.
