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Summary: will Lestat ever become human?
Review: Lestat, this charming and fascinating character, had a difficult, troubled development. In "Interview with the vampire", the story is very well constructed, the language is exceptionally beautiful, but the characters are not very well focused. Louis describes himself as a victim, but, as a matter of fact, he is selfish, calculator and hypocrite. On the other hand, Lestat appears to be the "villain", but Louis should be grateful to him for saving so many times his life. And what is the return? Death, of course.
But Lestat cannot really die: he is too steadily alive in the author's mind (and heart). In the second book, however, Anne Rice had to change a lot of details. At the beginning, Lestat was the son of a countryman: now he becomes a French nobleman, very disappointed for Louis' misunderstandings. The young Lestat is very devoted to his mother, the Marquise Gabrielle de lioncourt, so much that he changes her into a vampire when he sses her in the throes of death. So we learn something unexpected: vampires are able to love. Killing is only a cruel necessity, and in any case Lestat imposes himself to kill only evildoers.
Will Lestat ever become human? Probably not, spite of "The tale of the Body Thief".But a human counterpart of Lestat exists, at least in Italy. His name is Ephraim Levi, a Jewish, blond-haired piano player, and he is the hero of the novel "Storie segrete" by Eleonora Cavallini, published in 1998 by Edizioni del Girasole, Ravenna. He is loved by men and women indiscriminately. He appears to have no scruples, but shows a very deep respect towards his father's religion.
On the other hand, Anne Rice's vampires are rigorously Christian (let us remember that the author is of Irish origin, just like Bram Stoker). But I suppose that vampires can be nothing but Christian, excepting Chagall, the famous Jewish vampire of Roman Polanski's "Those brave vampire killers".
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Summary: The Vampire Lestat
Review: In the magical of Anne Rice's "The Vampire Lestat" she makes the reader feel aas if they have found a book of secrets. The novel os about Vampire Lestats enchanting life when he became a vampire. The story takes you to exotic places like France and Egypt. The story starts in modern day New York. As soon as you open the first page you are drawn in to his incredible life. Lestat's mission is to let the world know who he is. He is willing to go against all he's been taught. The cover of the book makes you feel as if Lestat is sharing his adventures while sitting in his own wise chair. One of the lines that captured me was "The feeling of eternity is far to broad for one's mind, what is eternity? What is forever?" This is so true. No one can grasp the meaning of eternity. I would definitly reccomend this book for someone who likes to think beyond their imagination.
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Summary: Hooray for realistic fantasy!
Review: It is an excellent story. Gripping from beginning to end. Fills in a lot of holes from Interview and promotes further understanding of the vampire's of Anne Rice. Much better than the first and set to change your mind about Lestat forever. It is fantasy that is very closely rlated to the real world. Reading this book could change your mind about the existence of vampires on this planet forever. Extraordinary!
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Summary: Everything you ever wanted to know about Lestat
Review: In this sequel to "Interview with the Vampire," the reader learns all about Anne Rice's most complex character in The Vampire Chrnicles, Lestat. All those things that Louis wanted to know, but never learned are here in this book. Furthermore, Anne Rice turns "Interview's" already complex tale into the beginnings of a new vampire mythology.First, we find out Lestat's origins. Forced into the dark gift by the maddened Vampire Magnus, Lestat must discover the secrets of vampirism on his own. We begin to understand Lestat's bitterness towards Loius's constant questioning of their history. Lestat finds it difficult leaving his friends and family, his very humanity behind, and we find that he was not always the playfully evil vampire he was in "Interview." Over the course of the novel, the reader learns just how much Lestat does indeed know by the time the events of "Interview" take place. By then, he has become more powerful than "Interview" could have possibly let on. Lestat as a character becomes very complex, with a long history of intense pain, and shocking discovery. Others (not me particularly) will be happy to learn more about Armand in this book as well. Overall, this was an excellent sequel because it fills the reader in on Lestat's past, and answers many of the questions "Interview" left you with. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed Lestat's character in "Interview." Further, if you enjoyed the mythology of the vampires introduced in "Lestat," then by all means read the next installment "Queen of the Damned."
Rating: 
Summary: Don't believe any review over three stars
Review: If, like me, after finishing 'Interview with the Vampire' you are looking forward to reading more about the indiscriminate killing monster known as Lestat then forget it. In an abrupt change of style, Anne Rice portrays him as a big softy, who loves his mummy and cries alot. So, any memories you have from the the last book, for example of when he killed the child slave or danced with Claudias' rotting carcass of a mother, you can forget them right now. From page one he's set up as a goody-goody vampire who only chooses nasty people as victims. And as if this is not enough, the Author goes further in her hatchet job of destroying the imagery of the previous book, with her portrayal of Armand. Forget Antonio Banderas, or anything you read before, he's a child, and he's got an angel face. Can you believe this? Its almost like the book was written by someone else who had forgotten to read the first book, and the difference in writing style between the two books certainly shows. No, Vampire Lestat is a big disappointment. It steals classic characters from a previous book, then makes you lose all respect for them with page upon page of silly nonsense.
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Summary: Fall From Grace... sort of
Review: As far as book sequels go, this one is quite readable. I enjoyed the charcter of Lestat. However, the pace went slow in some parts and some characters were so dull. A worthy sequel, but far from great.
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Summary: very good
Review: I thought The Vampire Lestat was a wonderful, beautifully written book
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Summary: Must read page turner until the very end!
Review: I have read almost all the books in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles, but this one is by far my favorite. In this book me learn about Lestat's past and how he came to be what he is. In Interview, Lestat was so dark and mysterious, it made you wonder if he cared about anything at all. In this book you really get to know that dark, golden haired vampire Lestat and i LOVE him even more now. Lestat is definetly my favorite character and in this book you get to meet some other interesting members of the un-dead as well. I could not put this book down. I finished this book and I simply couldn't wait to get to the store to get the next book in the chronicle. This is probably one of the best books I have ever read. I highly suggest it for anyone who read Interview with the Vampire and loved it like me.
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Summary: A wonderfully enchanting book.
Review: Travel though the mytical times with Lestat. Journey though old France and encounter many immortal beings.This book was simply wonderful. Lestat is an enchanting character, with emotions, even though he is a vampire. This book is for anyone who loves history, fiction, mystery, and fantasy all rolled into one. This book is in a series so it won't end here. But before you read this book you should read the first book in the vampire chronicles, Interveiw with the Vampire. This was a great book, but very hard material to read. You can't put this book down. Lestat will keep you on guessing on what he is going to do next. You never know what wiil happen to him or what he will do. Even though this book was fiction , it also had historical facts in it too. This book was great I strongly suggest you read it.
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Summary: very enjoyable, thoughtful writing
Review: I agree with some of the reviews where it's said that Lestat is like 'Louis rehashed', it's true! But I don't care, this book is BRILLIANT, I love the writing of Anne Rice, she's incredibly talented. There is beauty, melancholia, greed , lust, philosophy EVERYTHING in this book. I have just finished 'Queen of the Damned' but I enjoyed '..Lestat' more. I just don't understand why there is no continuity in Lestat's character. OK, at first he wasn't even the main character [obviously, because it was Louis' story] and he was a complete bastard [according to Louis, but the facts are there] he acted like he never thought about anything, didn't care about being 'good' didn't care about the philosophy behind being a vampire [in 'Interview...'} now suddenly he changed and he became like Louis. Maybe he grew spiritually if that's possible for vampires. but it's like Rice wrote the first novel and then decided to make a continuation out of that and she grabbed Lestat and developed him but, well maybe it doesn't work really but I don't mind. I enjoyed this one better than 'Interview...' I really like Armand in this one, but again there are discrepancies between what Louis said about Armand's character and what Lestat says...aaaaaahhh it's getting a bit confusing.
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