The Queen of the Damned (Vampire Chronicles)
by Anne Rice

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Book Reviews of The Queen of the Damned (Vampire Chronicles)

Book Review: One of Rice's best books. Amazing.
Summary: 5 Stars

It continues the story started in "The Vampire Lestat" (rather awkwardly, but more skillfully as the novel gains momentum.)

Dozens of stories are interwoven, characters from previous novels are players as well as some new characters. At the heart of the novel is the rising of two ancient female vampires Akasha, the Queen, and Maharet one of a set of twin vampires opposed to the Queen and her plan for humanity.

Okay, it sounds pretty silly but Rice uses what is basically a comic book plot and makes a fascinating story out of it. Another writer would shy away from the possibly "camp" elements of the story but Rice writes it with great fidelity to her characters and basically writes a great story that is not afraid of going over-the-top. She writes with a great fearlessness and almost an abandon. She's absolutely set on writing whatever the hell she wants.

Here she muses on the nature of evil. She is not just writing about some kind of abstract comicbooks evil but she targets a very real and immediate kind of evil that is all about us. The evil of ideas out of control. The evil of disregard of human life. Anne Rice is definitely our greatest Romantic Writer, but here she reveals her gifts as one of our strongest humanistic voices. This from a "comic booky" set up. This is a surprisingly potent novel.

Summary of The Queen of the Damned (Vampire Chronicles)

Akasha was once the queen of the Nile (she has a bit in common with the Egyptian goddess Isis), and it's unwise to rile her now that she's had 60 centuries of practice being undead. She is so peeved about male violence that she might just have to kill most of them. And she has her eye on handsome Lestat with other ideas as well.

If you felt that the previous books in the series weren't gory and erotic enough, this one should quench your thirst (though it may cause you to omit organ meats from your diet). It also boasts God's plenty of absorbing lore that enriches the tale that went before, including the back-story of the boy in Interview with the Vampire and the ancient fellowship of the Talamasca, which snoops on paranormal phenomena. Mostly, the book spins the complex yarn of Akasha's eerie, brooding brood and her nemeses, the terrifying sisters Maharet and Mekare. In one sense, Queen of the Damned is the ultimate multigenerational saga. --Tim Appelo

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