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ellipsiscool's review against another edition
3.0
I really loved the Vampire Chronicles in high school. Around Memnoch the Devil, I found that Lestat was getting to be a bit wearisome so I quit.
Since then, I have attempted to read other works by Anne Rice to no avail. When I saw she had another Vampire Chronicles book coming out I found I was excited despite myself.
I did not expect great literature or even the quality she employed in the early books of the series (Interview and The Vampire Lestat), but I did enjoy this book.
Rice's style of writing tends to be flowery and a bit over the top in a lot of cases, but here she toned it down, while still capturing the intense emotions of her characters. Lestat will always be the Brat Prince, Armand will always be a stickler, and Marius will always be a pompous jerk. Rice managers to make them all somewhat likable despite these character flaws, which are amplified by their vampirism.
There were shocks and twists and turns that I thought were well played. The storyline did not lag at all, which is something she is often guilty of.
Now for some spoilers. In the past, I could wrap my head around the vampirism because it was not ever truly portrayed as "heroic." Lestat and the gang always considered themselves "evil" and "damned." Their very survival depends on the death of human beings. They may not have been bad people, but in order to live, they had to kill. So they were anti-heroes, which really are my favorite kind. Now in Prince Lestat, that gets turned on its head. These vampires learn to love themselves and what they do and they come together as a "tribe." Now there are rules about only feeding on the evil doer and not becoming too concentrated in one are lest they be noticed, etc.
Also, in a very Twilight-esque manner, we are introduced to humans that want to become vampires for, what else, love. The ending was a bit of a letdown as I was hoping for more of a climax.
Aside from the above complaints, I did like this book. It's been a long time since I felt compelled to finish a book so quickly. Lestat seemed like his old self through most of the book and it was neat that pretty much all the vampires ever introduced into the story line made an appearance and even sometimes narrated chapters.
Prince Lestat felt like Anne Rice's love letter to her book series. I felt that she was creating closure for herself more than anyone else. I have no idea if she plans on writing more of them, but I don't think I will read them if she does. I am satisfied.
Since then, I have attempted to read other works by Anne Rice to no avail. When I saw she had another Vampire Chronicles book coming out I found I was excited despite myself.
I did not expect great literature or even the quality she employed in the early books of the series (Interview and The Vampire Lestat), but I did enjoy this book.
Rice's style of writing tends to be flowery and a bit over the top in a lot of cases, but here she toned it down, while still capturing the intense emotions of her characters. Lestat will always be the Brat Prince, Armand will always be a stickler, and Marius will always be a pompous jerk. Rice managers to make them all somewhat likable despite these character flaws, which are amplified by their vampirism.
There were shocks and twists and turns that I thought were well played. The storyline did not lag at all, which is something she is often guilty of.
Now for some spoilers. In the past, I could wrap my head around the vampirism because it was not ever truly portrayed as "heroic." Lestat and the gang always considered themselves "evil" and "damned." Their very survival depends on the death of human beings. They may not have been bad people, but in order to live, they had to kill. So they were anti-heroes, which really are my favorite kind. Now in Prince Lestat, that gets turned on its head. These vampires learn to love themselves and what they do and they come together as a "tribe." Now there are rules about only feeding on the evil doer and not becoming too concentrated in one are lest they be noticed, etc.
Also, in a very Twilight-esque manner, we are introduced to humans that want to become vampires for, what else, love. The ending was a bit of a letdown as I was hoping for more of a climax.
Aside from the above complaints, I did like this book. It's been a long time since I felt compelled to finish a book so quickly. Lestat seemed like his old self through most of the book and it was neat that pretty much all the vampires ever introduced into the story line made an appearance and even sometimes narrated chapters.
Prince Lestat felt like Anne Rice's love letter to her book series. I felt that she was creating closure for herself more than anyone else. I have no idea if she plans on writing more of them, but I don't think I will read them if she does. I am satisfied.
sahdays's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mugwumpun's review against another edition
2.0
Ended up enjoying this a bit more than I expected. The first half felt very disjointed and extraneous, filling in blind spots and answering questions that may be raised from earlier books in the series (though the last book I read was Tale of the Body Thief many many years ago). The resolution seemed to appear suddenly, and I am not sure if I necessarily enjoy the character of Lestat or the POVs of the other older vampires. Is he a Gary Stu who somehow always wins and does right despite some apparently dismissable flaws? I'm not sure if there was much character development or growth, but maybe that's the point?
uutopicaa's review against another edition
2.0
Really? Is this the real end for such a good saga? I hated it. It was, by far, the most boring book I've ever read. The first 200 pages were just.... plain and boring and some chapters even irrelevant. After page 20 it got a bit better but not much (at least the main plot got developed a little). And the end was just.... the most stupid and simple thing ever. I can't believe it. I've never been so disappointed with a saga before.
Not worth reading.
Not worth reading.
zwinning's review against another edition
2.0
I couldn't wait to get to the end of this book. It was so slow and spent more time talking about the 1000 characters and their outfits and love of opera, than having any character development or real engaging plot.
tiffeightysix's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
mllejoyeuxnoel's review against another edition
5.0
If Queen of the Damned was Avengers (2012), then this book was the Avengers: Endgame of the Vampire Chronicles. And base, easily-satiated creature that I am, I ate it right the fuck up. Long live Prince Lestat, baby.
beatrice_apetrei's review against another edition
4.0
Firstly, I have to agree with fellow readers of Ms. Rice's newest Vampire Chronicles novel, all vampires love iphones. ALL of them. Like literally, every single vampire in this book owned an iphone. And I am here, the proud owner of a windows Nokia phone.
Secondly, all previous novels from the series were mentioned here; I wouldn't have minded it if it happened once or twice, but it was A LOT. It felt like she was advertising her own books through a new book. If that makes any sense. The good thing is that vampires like to read. About themselves. And Lestat. Everyone wants to meet Lestat.
Now, seriously, the book is good if you are looking for an easy read, if you have read the previous books, if you love Lestat and want to get more of him (even more than you would have expected; curious? it starts with a V.. ahem),if you like Anne's style aaand if you want to find out more about the Ancient Ones, and why were they all hiding.
I wished for more information about the Voice, maybe a background story or something, but... she ignored my desire and decided to let me wonder some more.
4 stars because I don't own an iphone (and wouldn't want to).
Secondly, all previous novels from the series were mentioned here; I wouldn't have minded it if it happened once or twice, but it was A LOT. It felt like she was advertising her own books through a new book. If that makes any sense. The good thing is that vampires like to read. About themselves. And Lestat. Everyone wants to meet Lestat.
Now, seriously, the book is good if you are looking for an easy read, if you have read the previous books, if you love Lestat and want to get more of him (even more than you would have expected; curious? it starts with a V.. ahem),if you like Anne's style aaand if you want to find out more about the Ancient Ones, and why were they all hiding.
I wished for more information about the Voice, maybe a background story or something, but... she ignored my desire and decided to let me wonder some more.
4 stars because I don't own an iphone (and wouldn't want to).
seanmaclair's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
m4riareads's review against another edition
5.0
Es tan Lestat este libro, me encantó!! Y fue genial conocer las historias de otros bebedores sangre y más sobre La Talamasca. Es gran libro, 5/5 merecidas a mi querida Anne.