The Vampire Chronicles - a Review (Bloodstone issue 2)

The Vampire Chronicles - a review
So why do these immortals appeal to us?
Taken from Issue 2 of Bloodstone, written by Beverly Lee in 1999

Anne Rice has sold millions of books worldwide, translated into many languages, and each new book in the series develops her characters further. Beverly Lee looks at the serialisation of the history of Rice's vampires, and examines the extraordinary appeal they have for fans young and old across the globe.

So why do these immortals appeal to us?

Lestat's will to survive, his refusal to conform, his ability to break every rule ever made and win: these characteristics would be the ideal for many of us. Maybe we love them because we know that we shouldn't love them, they are the forbidden fruit.

Lestat is determined to be the best vampire that he can. He never asked for the Dark Gift so the next best thing is to accept it and get on with eternity. He has an underlying sensitivity, is an endless romantic, he needs to be wanted and fears rejection, much like a petulant child: if vampires could pout Lestat would take the prize. He has an inner strength, a lack of regret and a refusal to lose; I rest my case as to why he is my favourite.

Lestat's character changes as the books progress. In 'Interview...', Louis' view of him is of a shallow, calculating and petty being, although Louis is inexplicably drawn to him. When Lestat tells his story in the second book, we see the fighter and the passion that is Lestat, the one constantly searching for answers.

By the time 'Queen of the Damned' came to light Lestat was a lot more cynical, he is more aware of his true vampire self but the human in him is also fighting for survival. He does not know if he is the hero or the victim; the events of the book were caused by him and he was swept along in tbeir wake.

This theme is carried through into 'Tale of the Body Thief'. Lestat is the victim of his own desire to be mortal, an experience that taught him that he actually liked being a vampire, something he would never admit to in the past.

And in 'Memnoch...' Lestat is the devil's pawn, drawn into a deadly game between good and evil, but which is evil? Lestat did not know and it finally drove him almost insane, lying cold on the floor of St Elizabeth's, a broken and disillusioned creature.

Louis is the opposite of Lestat in so many ways. He carries guilt and passivity that draw people to him like a magnet, so very human is our Monsieur de Pointe Du Lac. He thinks about the consequences of his actions before he does them. He is sentimental but not overly so. He keeps in step with the times and deals with any crisis that comes his way in his own quiet manner. Yet he still carries guilt like a lead blanket around his shoulders. Do we like him because we as humans feel that we should have guilt when we destroy life: think about it? He is the most human of the vampires and the deadliest killer.

Armand is a totally different character, all that vampiric knowledge and wisdom wrapped up in the shell of the ultimate teenager from hell. Most of my friends are Armandians; I can understand the attraction. He seems to project a promise of love and intimacy: Lestat is taken in by this in 'The Vampire Lestat'. Armand betrays him, sinking his fangs into Lestat and trying to drain him. Lestat decribes Armand as 'the embodiment of thirst', he is the ultimate control or destroy freak, so frightened of rejection he never gives in to the inner love within him, until the end of 'The Vampire Armand' and his chance meeting with Sybelle and Benji. Armand develops a new maturity in this latest novel; you can understand why he tried to kill himself over the veil in 'Memnoch...', when all his suppressed childhood ideals were suddenly bathed in light when he heard Lestat's tale.

Is the allure of Daniel Molloy the fact that we would take his place? This very 20th century boy is captivated by Louis' tale, not horrified, as Louis hoped he would be. Daniel runs from Armand constantly, only returning when the need for Armand's company and blood become unbearable. The running away is his human side, our side: we should run from monsters, shouldn't we? But the surrender to Armand, that is our dark side, the most delicious portion of our mind that society forbids us to use. Anyone that has an interest in vampires is seen as an outsider, vampires are outsiders, and that is why we are drawn to these demons of the night.

Opposites are evident as the books progress, vampires as things to be worshipped, female as male, androgyny is a deep theme that swims fluidly through the saga. Male vampires bond easily, they form attractions to each other, which in any other genre would be considered sexual, but alas, the Ricean vampire cannot perform the sexual act, for them, the kill is everything. Lestat weeps on many occasions, not a typical anti hero thing to do but perfectly acceptable. Gabrielle prefers to dress as a man and cut her hair short, she wants to be free to live her own life, to be strong and unfettered, so stereotypically male. Anne twists these things around.

I'll leave you with a quote from 'The Vampire Armand', Armand talking to David. 'Look,' I whispered quickly. 'I'm deranged,' I whispered. 'My sense cross, like so many threads to make a knot: taste, see, smell, feel, I'm rampant.'

What a perfect description of the Ricean vampire, beauty and the beast in one creature. Who amongst you now would not want to be immortal?

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