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The Tale of the Body Thief

The Tale of the Body Thief

List Price: $7.99
Your Price: $7.19
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A literary Tale of Great Worth
Review: I have read many Anne Rice novels and have found this one to be the most intriguing and splendid. Rice thrusts the reader deeper into the depths of Lestat's mind. We experience a moving and powerful relationship between Louis, Lestat, and David Talbot. This book is less about Lestat trading bodies and more about finding satisfaction and peace in oneself. Their are many interesting religious insights in this book as well; the scene when the mortal Lestat and the nun are conversing about God and if he truly exists or not is mind-bending. Another is when David Talbot is talking about how he once saw the devil and God conversing at a cafe. The book has many levels to it, you can take it for it's face value, as just a plain good tale, or find more hidden meaning within the pages. It is up to you. Either way read it and enjoy!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Change
Review: "Tale of the Body Thief" was... somewhat different than a normal vampire story, even by Anne Rice's standards. It is more to do with the spiritual side of ourselves, the aurora within that some call a soul. It's a definate read for anyone wanting to follow the entire "Chronicals" series.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good
Review: The Tale of the Body Theif is another excellent book by Anne Rice. The only problem that I could find wrong with the book is that it is very drawn out. Lestat will be talking about one topic and then switch off to a completely different one only to lead back to the previous idea. Quite a bit of repititon. Yet very entertaining. See for yourself.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Body Thief Stole My Heart
Review: In a brief summation.. I wasn't introduced to Anne Rice until I saw the movie "Interview with the Vampire" and "The Queen of the Damned". Boy, I had no idea what I was missing until I read the Vampire Chronicles. My supervisor gave me his copies of "QoD" and "The Tale of the Vampire Thief" which I read first. From the moment I began reading The Vampire Thief, I knew I would thoroughly enjoy it.

The emotional display Lestat went through, the banishment from those he loved, his talks with his beloved Claudia, and the near loss of his life made my heart weep. I cried when Lestat cried, I was angry when he was angry. I went on that rollercoaster ride with him.

I have since read the first three of the chronicles and they all are amazing, but this book touched me so deeply that I am currently re-reading it for the third time.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Book Is So-So
Review: What WAS exciting about this book was the prospect of Lestat being human again. It was interesting to see the unexpected challenges faced by being mortal again. And the free spirit in me DID enjoy the homosexual content--meow! (Made me wish I were a guy!)

However, after awhile the book left me high and dry. I believe the story should have ended with the fantastical "Queen Of The Damned". Readers who look closely will realize this book is a reflection of Anne Rice's personal struggles with morality and faith, and it might as well be an emotional bibliography.

I have great respect for Anne Rice, but "Queen" and the whole "Witching Hour" series has been her superb work to date. "Body Thief" might have been a bit more believable, but it wasn't.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Lestat comes way out of the closet
Review: I thought the first 3 vampire books were great. Then Rice tried to make a forth book in what should have been a trilogy. More subtle signs of affection between vampires to help them cope with their immortality is replaced with rampant homosexuality in thought, word, and deed. It got boring very quickly when page after page has Lestat wanting to have sex with anything that moves. His character along with half the characters in the book turned into a bunch of gays that didn't have the interesting sides they showed in the previous books. It makes me wonder if Rice got a hefty sum of money from the gay community to make a book portraying even vampires as homosexual.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Lestat's interminable angst
Review: THE TALE OF THE BODY THIEF is one of those books I normally wouldn't pick up unless stranded alone on a deserted island with no other diversions. However, a dear friend of mine, who idolizes Anne Rice and has a warm and fuzzy preoccupation with vampires, sent me this book trusting that our friendship would compel me to read it. Yeah, well, I'm a soft touch - but just this once, mind you.

The protagonist of this dark fantasy is the Vampire Lestat, a recurring figure in Rice's series "The Vampire Chronicles". To make a 435-page epic short, Lestat wants to be mortal again after centuries of being Undead. The old adage is "Be careful what you wish for." It's not surprising, then, that Lestat soon regrets a too hasty career move that he's talked into making by the Body Thief. And, in a subplot, his life is complicated by a relationship with a nun that would likely cause the Pope to issue an edict or two. As the frenetic storyline unfolds, Lestat is helped out of a desperate situation by his long-time human friend, David Talbot, the Superior General of the Talamasca, a semi-secret order of scholars dedicated to the study of the occult. (And what good pot-boiler doesn't benefit from an inscrutable organization?) In any case, after a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth, our anti-hero discovers perhaps a universal truth - that a man's and vampire's best friend is a big, shaggy dog. As a general rule, I prefer cats.

I'll never be one to appreciate blood-sucking demons or Anne Rice. Therefore, my three-star rating of THE TALE OF THE BODY THIEF is severely skewed and will undoubtedly cause fans to howl. Rice's prose is richly descriptive and a magnificent achievement. Lestat's first person testimony of his re-acquisition of human frailties was understatedly comic. ("But, if you eat, you know what will happen? You'll have to go back in that bathroom again ... The thought almost made me gag.") Unfortunately, that doesn't make up for a story that was, for me, excessively long and tortuous to the point that I just wanted to get to the end and move on. As a matter of fact, I wished Lestat would just move on. His angst and loneliness was tiresomely endless from start to finish no matter what form he took. And he's not the sort of character that inspires my sympathy or admiration - he's basically vicious, selfish and confused. (Where are a good, fire-sharpened stake and a sledgehammer when you need them?)

While I thank my friend for the opportunity to expand my pulp fiction horizon, I also hope she forgives me.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: worst i ever read!
Review: I have to say that this is the worst book i've ever read! The summary first intrigued me however when i read what happens when Lestat gives his body up for that of a human? It was very boring and was really a chore to plod through the pages. I barely finished it and had to rely on those bribed reviews to keep myself going! I don't know what it was, but I felt that within that book, there was something lacking and there wasn't any depth to the book, none at all. WOuld have been better if I was wise enough to borrow it from the library instead of spending my own money for it. ONly book i can think that's a little better than this piece of junk is Vittorio the Vampire. Listen Anne RIce, if you are reading this, do me a favor and stop writing the chronicles! There are other supernatural stuff you can write about such as werewolves and ghosts.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Renewed my interest in the series
Review: Instead of filling the fourth installment in the Vampire Chronicles with various histories on ancient vampires and myths, this story takes place present-day. There's real action involved, no discussions of heroic or tragic battles. Lestat puts it best when he muses, "...I've been a man of action. Grief is a waste, and so is fear. And action is what you will get here, as soon as I get through this introduction." (2) This is entirely Lestat's story. The book is filled with his devilish plots and ideas, and there is little involvement from other vampires. He has always been a creature of impulse, and this story allows his character to really develop those ideas.
The setting is Miami, and Lestat has been troubled lately by disturbing dreams of Claudia and his mortal friend, David Talbot. Lestat is the same ancient, mischievous youth that he's always been; only now he has a body that can withstand any kind of torture he may put it through. So he becomes bored with his immortal life. He looks for a release. And he is soon in touch with the Body Thief, who has an interesting proposition.
Rice's story did not get weighed-down in lengthy passages discussing the history of the vampires, as some of the previous novels in the series had. I was completely captivated until the end, and I found the ending was remarkable, very true to the character of Lestat. This book was full of surprises, drama, and mystery. It answered so many questions about her characters, but asked so many about our own. I also really enjoyed some of Lestat's observations on every-day human life. When he finally gets what he thinks he wants (a day in the life of a mortal body), he finds it repulsive. The only reason Interview is better than this book is Interview is told by Louis. What can I say, Rice has convinced me to hate Lestat (but that's a good thing)!
If you're an avid reader of the Vampire Chronicles, I'm assuming you'll read this book without a prompt. If you've dabbled in the series, don't skip over this book! And if you're new to Anne Rice's world of the vampires, you can start here because you won't get bogged down with history. (But for your sake, eventually read Interview with a Vampire because you'll be doing yourself a disservice if you miss out!)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good book
Review: This was a good book because it gave some in depth secrets about some of the characters. The whole idea about body switching is wonderful. I love Lestat and how he actually has to struggle and how he isn't the most powerful vampire anymore. The fact that Louis said that he wouldn't make Lestat a vampire and that he would never give the Dark Gift to anyone must have taken guts. But then you should read Merrick... but oh well. Tale of the Body Thief is one of Rice's best works. This is a good read for anyone that loves Lestat.


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