As interesting as it is that Anne Rice has re-accepted the Catholic Church and has since written a fictional biography of the youth of Christ (which I haven’t read. Could somebody tell me if its worth the effort?), I find that her original popular works, the Vampire Chronicles and The Mayfair Witch Chronicles in particular, are worthy of note here.
I personally adored Interview With the Vampire. Yes, Louis is a wishy-washy whiner, but the fabric of history she weaves is absolutely fascinating. And, of course, who couldn’t fall in love with Lestat? Oh, I haven’t written that name in a VERY long time. It makes me so nostalgic for those books. I loved them when I was in HS. I believe I began with a hard-cover copy of Interview I picked up at a garage sale for 50 cents. And from there I got my hands on all the other Chronicles in paperback from Borders, I believe. I remember distinctly buying the large-format paperback from Barnes and Noble for Memnoch the Devil.
Interestingly, the Mayfair Witch Chronicles overlap the Vampire Chronicles in one very interesting way. The man who researches the Witches also makes an appearance in Tale of the Body Thief. That is by far the most bizarre of the Vampire Chronicles I’ve read. After The Vampire Armand, it was getting a little redundant. I may go back and read Violin, however.
Her style is very rich in detail and texture. Each scene is rendered as though you were sitting in the room with these extraordinary creatures. My only beef might be that she uses the word ‘preternatural’ an awful lot. But, aside from that, the books are marvelous and definitely worth a look-see if you have the time.
