Queen of the Damned (Vampire Chronicles, Book III)

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Summary: Quintessential Rice, bringing forth a compelling question.
Review: "You know that's a foolish objection. Such distinctions are never more than superficial. Women are women" Can you conceive of war made by women? Truly, answer me. Can you? Can you conceive of bands of roving women intent only on destruction? Or rape? Such a thing is preposterous. For the aberrant few justice will be immediate. But overall, something utterly unforeseen will take place. Don't you see? The possibility of peace on earth has always existed, and there have always been people who could realize it, and preserve it, and those people are women. If one takes away the men." -Anne Rice

Third in the Vampire Chronicles, and the darkest and least compelling, this is still well written and contains the quintessential Rice characteristics: Set in magical places, with Lestat and company to people the pages, and bound together with just the right words to weave its spell. The darkness in this chronicle is balanced by more romance and love stories than has been seen before, and that is the saving grace of the work. Gone is the breathtaking descriptions of Paris in the 1700s, and the magic of being taken to another time and place and being kept under Rice's spell as she weaves her magical tale. The interactions of the supernatural beings have taken on a mighty mission, and the story weaves its own web of tension and intrigue. There are some very interesting things to think about in this work. What would the world be like if one took away the men, leaving only a few around for reproduction purposes? Recommended.

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Summary: Queen of the Damned
Review: This book is my all time favorite! The original copy I purchased literally fell apart and had to be replaced. While I agree that a new reader should start at the beginning to understand the relationships between the characters, you could pick up this book and appreciate it on it's own. As always, the love and friendship between Lestat and the others is often hilarious and touching.I can visualize the characters, they're surroundings, and the interactions that take place.Everytime I reread this book, I find a new idea, fact, or twist connecting the entire series together. QOTD is a must read, again, and again, and again.

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Summary: Best One
Review: I know there's not much that can be said about the Vampire Chronicles that hasn't already been said. However, seeing as humans have huge egos as a general rule, I'll do my part and give you my own personal opinion.

QOTD is definitely my favorite in this series, and although most people tell you to start with Interview... I think that's nonsense. If you'd like to start with this one, you have my blessing. Be forewarned, however, that in it the history of all vampiredom is revealed and all is (metaphorically speaking) brought to light.

The atmosphere created by this novel, as with the other Chronicles, is one of intrigue with an edge of slowly mounting terror. Disturbing mental images that will stick with you for eons abound, and the climax of QOTD is not to be missed. It will leave you somewhat fulfilled but haunted, nonetheless.

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Summary: A Great Vampire Read!
Review: I am an avid Anne Rice reader. I await her books with impatience and I love to revel in her older stories (I cannot count how many times I have read Interview). I love to go back to Lestat's stories, how he came to be, what has happened to him. The Queen Of The Damned picks up where The Vampire Lestat left us and the book is a joyride into vampire and Egyptian mythology, as well as in eroticsm and darkness.

The Queen of The Damned as awakend and she is killing off all of the earth's vampires, save for Lestat's covent. She has a purpose; to get rid of the men of the earth in order to find peace in the world. She wants to destroy violence and create a pure world which she will rule. She kidnaps Lestat in the hopes that he will join her in her quest.

The tale spirals from every corners of the world, going from mythic Egypt to today's modern rock-scene world. Anne Rice brings the stake to a whole new level with this book; although I just can't imagine how they will turn this story into a movie. There are so many wonderful characters (old ones like Louis, Arman and Marius as well as new ones like Jesse, David and Khayman) and Rice's narritive style is so poingnant that this is one book you will not want to see end.

Anne Rice has reinvented the mythology behind the idea of vampires with this book. She gives them a new origin and a new form, and I quite enjoyed her vision. No one writes vampire literature like Anne Rice does. This is one book that you will keep coming back to time and time again.

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Summary: Anne Rice's 'The Queen of the Damned'
Review: If you've ever wanted to find out how Rice's vampire generations were created, then you need to read this book. It starts out kind of slow, but once you're about 1/4 of the way through it, it picks up. It's really good and I loved it.

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Summary: Anne Rice's Top novel
Review: The QOTD damnded is absolutely haunting and unforgettable.The story of the Red-haired twins, Maharet and Mekare, is one of the most amazing parts in the novel. Lestat once again stirrs the senses to bring us this interesting tale of him and Akasha, the Queen of the Damned.

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Summary: Second best book in the VC
Review: IWTV being the first of course. The parts I loved were Armand and Daniel, Khayman and Jesse's stories, Baby Jenks was ok. The parts that were boring and I skipped through were the Twins, Pandora, and Lestat with Akasha. Those parts just were not interesting at all.Anne's explaining of the origins of the Vampires is just plan stupid. Sorry but it is. It makes no sense at all. But even then the stories are great to read and the new characters are really interesting.Armand and Daniel should have had a book on there own! It's the most interesting story in the book!

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Summary: Anne losing her touch
Review: I can see what Anne was trying to do with this book. She was trying to make a sweeping epic with deep philosophical undertones. Unfortunately, as much as I love Anne's work, she did not have it in her. This is the novel in which Anne Rice lost the melancholy touch that made her previous vampire books (Interview With the Vampire and the Vampire Lestat) so excellent. Many of the characters from the first two books are written completely out of character in Queen of the Damned. Furthermore, Ms. Rice's vampire mythos, which was so original when she wrote Interview With the Vampire, is already becoming a cliché.

Nevertheless, Queen of the Damned starts out strong. Storyline after storyline is intricately woven into the book, and if the brooding tone of Anne's early works is lost, it is almost made up for by the suspense. As the book goes on, the reader learns the details of how vampires were created. As in all of Anne Rice's books, the plot occasionally drags and the dialogue is very unimpressive. All in all, however, the first 2/3 of the book are very satisfying.

Unfortunately, the entire book falls flat on its face at the end. The showdown between the villain and the ancient vampires determined to thwart her consists of a 10-page debate on ethics in a comfortably furnished library. The villain is also killed off much too easily, and many of the other more interesting characters in the book are hopelessly underused.

Queen of the Damned is not a bad book. But is is not a very good book either. It is not nearly on the same level as Anne's earlier works. Bottom line: Anne Rice should learn to quit while she is ahead (the next three books in this series are downright bad).

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Summary: Rice at her best.
Review: After years of badly written gothic soap operas, Rice finally decides to publish something halfway decent. It's good to see her using something vaguely resembling talent.

However, I do have one question: What's with the god-awful book cover?

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Summary: a series in decline
Review: Alas, by this volume Rice is trying to milk this series. This time around, everything seemingly gets explained: vampire origins, what it means, etc. The characters are no longer changing, but instead are stable. While there are some wonderful new characters, the mystery is gone and so, at least for me, the fun evaporated.