wakwak007

I've been a fan of Anne Rice's Vampire chronicles for awhile and just want to know if anyone else is looking forward to her new book, "Blood and Gold" which is coming out in a month. Anyone waiting for it??

RichardW

I haven't read the last few books of hers, but this one sounds pretty good, so I might have to pick it up.

Josh-da-man

I'm still reading her books, though I should probably know better.

"Interview" was great. One of the all-time best vampire books.
"Lestat" was a worthy follow-up.
"Queen of the Damned" was somewhat inconsistent, though enjoyable.
"Body Thief" was very good, though I may be in the minority here.
"Memnoch" was a mess. A platform for Rice to expound her take on theology. I'd rather this wasn't a "Vampire Chronicle."
"Pandora" could have been good, but read like a rough draft.
"Armand" was forgettable. I can't remember a thing about it.
"Vittorio" was awful.
"Merrick" wasn't bad. Quite liked it, actually. I certainly hope she follows up on the plotline she opened up in the closing pages of that book.

That said, I will be picking up "Blood and Gold" when it comes out. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like the book will pick up where "Merrick" left off.

hotaru_san

oh cool, I'm always surprised when the new books come out- I never pay attention
I've read all the vampire books
is the new one a vampire story?

I got to get her to sign my copy of Merrick- she was so nice- she even asked me what my fav book of hers was- I said QotD

Josh-

Giantrobo

I really tried to get into her stuff with "INTERVIEW" but I had a hard time staying interested and in fact ended up not finishing the book.

But I would love to give her stuff another chance. Although, I'm not sure where to start.

wakwak007

Giantrobo-
I actually know how you feel. There have been some books by Rice which are written very formulated ( let me tell you my story but before I can, I need to explain this, but first explain this...Ahhh, just get to the point!) I found this mainly in her other books (Servant of the Bones, Violin etc.) I however, liked "Interview," and have liked the characters enough to keep buying them. In my opinion, if you wanted to try her books again, try "Tales of the Body Thief," that had a nice pace to it. A book to stay away from and I know several people who do not again with me is "the Vampire Lestat," she got too winded for me and in fact, I still haven't read the last 26 pages of it. Well, good luck if you decided to try them again.
WakWak007

GeoffK

If you're looking for good vampire books and are burned out on Anne Rice try Laurell K. Hamilton and the Anita Blake Vampire Series.

First book is Guilty Pleasures.

A very enoyable series.

Josh-da-man

"Blood and Gold" is another entry in "The Vampire Chronicles." It's the story of Marius. I was actually hoping she was going to follow up on the cliffhanger at the end of "Merrick," and the from what I've read of the plot to "Blood and Gold," it doesn't sound like it's going to go that way. Maybe in the next one...

hotaru_san

thanks,
it would have been nice if she had followed up Merrick but I really Marius, so it's good enough (for now)

benedict

<small></small> renaldow, I hope you are paying attention to all this!

wakwak007

Thanks gkleinman!
I'll have to check these other books out. I read one series that follows the Stroker Dracula in Transylvania, which wasn't bad..

Xander

I totally agree, Geoff! Those are some great books! The only thing I don't like about them is the fact that there is more and more sex in each one. Not that I dislike sex, but I'm reading them for the supernatural stuff, vamps and things. I don't care about the sex! But maybe that's just me.

X

jfoobar

Not really but I did get a chance to meet her a few years ago in New Orleans.

Zodiac_Speaking

I just finished The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned, so what should I read next? Blood and Gold? Merrick? Tale of the Body Theif? Vampire Armand?

Darren Garrison

Why not start the first book in the series, Interview With The Vampire? And then read the rest of them in chronological order?

Toxygen

yeah, chronological order is good.. IwtV, TVL, QotD, TotBT, MtD..
after that i think it's pandora, armand, merrick and blood and gold

not too sure on the last two..
also the other books she wrote are pretty good, like the witchin hour trilogy and ramses the damned (my favorite)

Groucho

Tail of the Body Thief is the best, but I agree that you should read them in order.

gdjohnson

I have agree with many of the comments posted here. I've read all of her books including the Taltos series and I've even meet her years ago. The recent books on the individual lifes of the main vampires just haven't gripped me as the earlier books did. In a term these later books seemed smaller like chapters or parts of a larger book. Merrick holds out promise as a new story line that could be interesting, I'll have to wait and see.
Greg

wakwak007

Maybe your on to something...The earlier books were actually adventures that the vampire experienced with the main characters, while the later were after the fact. The upcoming book seems to be about a vampire in search of Lestat, so maybe it will be better...You'll have to excuse me I've been painting all day...

Tom Banjo

I'm a big fan of the first three books. I just started re-reading book 2 this weekend and plan on following with QotD. My question is- is it worth it to read all the new ones? I've heard there's not that great at times, but I'm still curious to see if there are maybe certain books that would be worth reading.
I think I tried to read Tale of the Body Thief once and couldn't really get into it.

Bean-si

And now there's 'Blackwood Farm'. I loved 'The Vampire Lestat'. But I stopped after Memnoch. Indeed finishing Memnoch was quite a struggle. Attempts to read the subsequent 'Vampire Chronicles' stuff ended in disaster as they were (are?) a turgid mess. (As a vampiric aside - what about the Sonja Blue stuff from Nancy Collins?)

Giantrobo

I tried to read "INTERVIEW" and I never finished it because it just bored me. I may try again one day....

Steve Phillips

I think the first two entries are the best, those kept me captivated throughout. The rest are enjoyable, but not up to par.. I think MEMNOCH was the least interesting.

I haven't read PANDORA and VITTORIO. I know they are related, but not directly, right?

I just picked up BLOOD AND GOLD, and then I'll move on to the latest.

Josh-da-man

PANDORA and VITTORIO are parts of the Vampire Chronicles.

The premise was that Anne was going to write shorter novels based on some of her minor vampire characters between her larger novels. The linking theme was that David was soliciting these vampires to tell their life stories. So far, there have only been these two.

PANDORA deals with Marius' ex-lover Pandora. It's not a bad book, but it feels under-written, more like a first draft than a finished work. There's some marginally interesting stuff regarding mystery cults in the ancient world, but that's really about the only thing I found interesting.

VITTORIO is pretty disposable. It's about two vampires -- sort of a Romeo and Juliet take on the undead -- that have never appeared in her chronicles before or since. Someone told me it read like Anne had watched "Titanic" and then written a vampire book with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslett in the leads. And I also seem to recall some nonsense about angels in it too. This is probably the least essential entry in her VC.

blakader

I really enjoyed the Anita Blake series. Yes it chaged to hard care pron so slowly I didn't even notice.
Isn't there an Ann Rice Novel where Lous tries to raise the ghost of Claudia? Or is that Blood and Gold?