Rating: 
Summary: What a challenge
Review: Anne Rice boldly takes on the task of sanctifying the villain of her "Interview with the Vampire." In this novel, Rice, through a tedious plot, tries to paint her hero Lestat human. This book moves slower than the other novel but it deals more with the inner workings of one character moreso than the other did. The psychological snapshot of Louis in the last novel does not compare to the intricate portait of Lestat in this novel. Lestat is a character who has been confronted with so many problems one wonders why he hasn't ended his vampiric life. By the end of the novel, I actually found myself feeling some sort of sympathy for the character but still found myself incredulous of his sensitive side after Louis' butchering of him in the last novel. The immersion into the beautiful world of eighteenth and nineteenth century France was a definite departure from what I was used to reading everyday pop fiction. I think this book was a good afterthought to Interview with the Vampire and a beautiful introduction to her next installment Queen of the Damned. Who said that a bridge can't be beautiful?
Rating: 
Summary: Rice Should Have Started Clean
Review: There are certain problems with this book. I loved the first novel in this series, "Interview With The Vampire", but Rice made a mistake I think, in making this book a continuation of her previous one. I think it would have been a much, much better book if she had started clean. For example, a great deal of what one had to believe about Louis and Lestat in the first book had to be not only suspended, but actually reversed in this one for the story to make any sense. In "Interview" Lestat is portrayed as a childish, vengeful, sadistic man with no feeling or depth whatsoever. Here he is shown as the "vampire's vampire" -- a man of unusual depth (which unfortunately doesn't stop his constant immaturity from getting the better of him), and Louis is shown to be a weak, vacillating, pathrtic creature -- far removed from the tragic figure that he was in the first novel. The series sort of loses its integrity after this. Also, many of the characterisations are hard to believe . . . Lestat (pre-vampiric) and his friend get drunk and spend the night in some sort of existential angst moaning about philosophy. Trust me, this is NOT what drunk teenage males think of! The vampire is also nearly elevated to the status of a god, being able to fly and being virtually indestructable, but still beins concerned with the pettiest of human problems. Lestat simply seems to waste his immortality. The invulnerability of the characters makes all of the shenannigans that they go through seem rather pointless. Instead of using his dark gift to elevate himself and understand life, Lestat prefers to waste his time in childish pursuits that are curiously pointless. So why the four stars? Well, Rice IS an excellent writer. The book does captivate one and draws a person into the drama. She writes with a lushness that any romantic writer would envy. The story is great, but the near hero-worship of Lestat seems absurd, and the inconsistencies with the first novel really did take away from the book's value.
Rating: 
Summary: A Juicy Little Morsel!
Review: I first read "The Vampire Lestat" about seven or eight years ago. Since then, I have become a big fan of Anne Rice's novels, and this book in particular has become one of my favorites. "The Vampire Lestat" is an exquisitely worded novel about a mortal who becomes a vampire after killing a pack of wolves in the forests in pre-Revolutionary France. In the book, Lestat narrates his "life" after transformation. Those of you who are not familiar with Anne Rice's style of writing might be rolling your eyes right now and saying, "Oh, brother! Not another cheesy vampire novel?" Well, you would be wrong! Rice writes in a way that makes your mouth salivate for more of her juicy morsels. Her words drip with richness and clarity. When she describes Lestat feeding upon his victims, Magnus' leap into the fire, or Armand's underground coven, you can envision her images so clearly it is as if you are actually there. Her language is so lush and awash with beauty that it seduces you and blinds you to the atrocities of the events within this book. This is not a cheapie dime-store horror novel or even a romantic love story. It is a seduction of your imaginaiton. Succumb to it and read this book!
Rating:
Summary: Lestat: The All Time Great Anti-Hero
Review: 'The Vampire Lestat' is a wonderful work of fiction that takes the reader through centuries of undead history. The story revolves around the adventures of the newly-created Vampire Lestat and his quest to understand his demonic origins. His quest takes him around the world and back through time as other, older Vampires share with him their secrets. In 'Lestat' we see a much different being than was presented to us in 'Interview with a Vampire.' Rather than the cocky, vain, unfeeling Vampire that we had known Lestat tells his story with humility and an almost human fraility. Rice's sensual writing style and her unwavering ability to probe the darker sides of the human condition make her an entertaining and thought-provoking author. The Vampire Chronicles are truly great works of fiction and 'The Vampire Lestat' may be the best of the series.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing characters
Review: Anne Rice is a master of setting a scene, she makes you feel that you are truly in it. And when you add to that her sensual and engrossing characters, quite a potion is brewed. Very intoxicating...
Rating:
Summary: Nice enough to read
Review: Well.. when I started reading it I was looking quite forward to it, thinking that i would finish it in a week or soo... wasn't like that. The book starts up quite nicely but then it slows down, we become involved with Lestat's feelings a bit too much, then Armand comes along. That's when the fun starts, it took me a week to get there and as soon as i started reading that, in 2 or 3 days i was finished. I the plot is awesome from then on. How Lestat looses everyone and then gets them back, how the Enkil is jealous of the Akasha and Lestat and how Marius plays them. It's also fun to listen as vampires speak about the children of the millenia and other myths like that and then pick up a book(i.e. Pandora) and learn about them... We also get some insight on what is happening to Louis in the present as he goes with Lestat to his concert. If it wasn't for the slowness in the start/middle i would have given it 5 stars. But 4 is good. Otherwise, it's quite a nice read
Rating:
Summary: Horror?
Review: Anyone who enjoys Rice's work will esteem this volume as one of her most riveting and mesmeric creations. I think, however, that the people who would benefit most from readng this novel are those who consider Rice's work as 'horror', and avoid it for that reason. This is not genre horror! It is literature, fantastical, dark, philosophical literature. It is a tale about a vampire, one of the living dead - someone who once was human but no longer is. Yet this novel actually conjures more questions and promotes more affection for our own humankind than the majority of modern 'realistic' fiction. Rice has a wonderful sense of what makes us humna, of the effect that the age we live in has upon us, and she uses the guise of an immortal to demonstrate this with great sensitivity. The differences between this work and "Interview" are manifold and although many fans of Rice became so enamoured of the remarkable Lestat that they couldn't stand 'Interview', I find that reading 'Interview' over again and then going back to Lestat makes one appreciate Rice's characters and writing skill even more.
Rating:
Summary: Lestat Forever!
Review: I was a bit nervous about reading "The Vampire Lestat" because I got bored in the middle of "Interview" I still love that book, but I was afraid that this novel would be like it, but it's not... I love "The Vampire Lestat" it was a novel that kept me reading for three days straight... It talks about his life before Louis and Claudia and he talks about the present about he becoming a rock star who is on Mtv and is about to perform in San Francisco... Another reason I loved this novel is because it explained things that weren't mentioned in "Interview" like the Children of The Damned, and The "Vampire Gods" and so forth... It's an excellent novel... if you liked this book, you'll love "The Queen of The Damned"....
Rating:
Summary: Fantasic!
Review: I admit that when I read that Lastat was going to be an 80's rock star in this one my expectaions for this novel weren't high, but in a vary strange way it makes sence. Once you start reading "The eirly years" it seems natural. It actually reads more like a prequal to Interveiw till the epilog which I LOVE In Interveiw we saw Lastat as the pushy villin. The trurcor of victims the killer of the inocent but in this one we see him as the restless mortal youth, looking despreatly for the meaning of everything. But my favorite part is the epilog where he corrects all of Louis mistakes! And the only reason he didn't tell Louis and Cladia where they all came from is because Marius told him "You tell any one I will smash you." in so many words. This is the best in the cronicals, Body Thief is a close second
Rating:
Summary: the best contemporary character
Review: This most wonderful of characters is well defined and excellent in his description. Anne Rice has a real talent for drawing in the reader with not only vivid description but the human and emotional aspects. In this book we learn of Lestat's rich past and mischievous present tales. A complicated character but certainly one that everyone loves to hate. Probably because he represents humanity in all its wonderful and dread realities. A must read for anyone.
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