The Blood Canticle…

Last night I finished reading “The Blood Canticle”, book 10 of the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. There is a drastic change in the style of writing in this book. Most of the sentences are very clipped, unlike the flowing style of the previous books. Also, the lead character, Lestat, seems to come up to date in his language, saying “Pa-lease” and “Cool” a lot. It’s not exactly what I’ve come to expect from this character. It’s still a good story, but it’s difficult to get lost in it with such a staccato style of writing.

Anyway, that’s the last book in the series so I’m free for the moment. Ten vampire books in two months is enough for anyone! πŸ™‚
Cheers

Tim…

Blackwood Farm…

Blackwood Farm is book 9 in the “Vampire Chronicles” by Anne Rice. Like the last book (Merrick), there is far less talk of vampires than the earlier books. Instead, Rice writes an interesting story about a young man with a spirit companion and just bolts the vampire bits in to bring it into the series. I guess there is enough vampire stuff to keep the faithful happy.

Rice sticks to the formula that has worked well before, which although a little lazy, makes for a good read. If you liked any of the books beyond book 3 (Queen of the Damned), you will like this. If you felt confused and disappointed by them, you will get the same from this.

Interestingly, Rice continues to make links between the “Vampire Chronicles” series and the β€œLives of the Mayfair Witches” series, which is a very sensible business move. I’ve already been suckered in to buying that series, which was her intention, but that will have to wait until I’ve finished the final book in this series.

Cheers

Tim…

Merrick…

Last night I finished “Merrick”, book 8 of the “Vampire Chronicles”. Another good read, and a different angle to the previous books, as it is based around witchcraft more than Vampires, although most of the characters in the book happen to be vampires. It’s the beginnings of a tie in between the “Vampire Chronicles” and the “Lives of the Mayfair Witches”, another series of Anne Rice books. I’m hoping not to get caught up in those also. I could do without having to read her other 19 books when I’m finished with this series.

Only 2 more book to go. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel… πŸ™‚

Cheers

Tim…

The Vampire Armand & Blood and Gold…

During the long flights and airport delays, I was able to get through a couple more of the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice.

The Vampire Armand – As the name suggests, this fills out the life of the character Armand, introduced in the previous books. As always, it was written in a style that made it very readable, but there were two things that put me off this book. First, there is little new to this story, it just adds more detail to events told in the previous book. It’s not until you read the last 150 pages that you get some good additions to the previous book. Second, the life of Armand is essentially a story of paedophilia. It’s flowered up to make it seem less shocking, but all the same, it’s just plain wrong! I don’t think it would be a crime to ignore the twisted “Mills and Boon” begining and just read the last 150 pages.

Blood and Gold – This book was 746 pages, and the majority of that was re-telling previous stories from the viewpoint of the vampire Marius. There were times where I was sure I had picked up “The Vampire Armand” by accident, such was the similarity. As most of these characters are interwoven, especially Marius and Armand, you expect some crossover, but it just seemed a bit lazy in this case. So much had been said about Marius and Armand in the previous books, there seemed little to justify whole book here. That said, it was very readable and the few additions to the characters were interesting. I guess if you took a break between reading these two books it wouldn’t seem so bad, but reading them back-to-back makes this weakness glaringly obvious.

Cheers

Tim…

Memnoch The Devil…

I fear these posts are going to become a little repetitive. πŸ™‚

I’ve just finished reading “Memnoch The Devil”, the fifth book in the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. This book has loads of bad reviews and I was really hesitant about starting it, but I shouldn’t have been. It is brilliant!

It’s not really a vampire book. The whole vampire theme is kind of incidental. It’s more a book about God and the Devil and their relationship. It takes a Christian view of God and the Devil and gives it a twist. I guess views might vary depending on religious beliefs, but I thought it was totally cool.

I’m looking forward to the next book now. I’ll take a couple with me for the flight to the San Francisco.

On that score, things will be a little quiet until I return…

Cheers

Tim…

The Tale of the Body Thief…

I’ve recently finished reading “The Tale of the Body Thief”, the fourth book in the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. This is a rather unusual affair and there is little I can say without giving the game away. It’s very different to the other books. For a start, it seems that every character Lestat comes into contact with, regardless of age or gender, is a past, present or future sexual conquest. The previous books alluded to this, but it’s a little overplayed here. There were a couple of times in the book where I got a little bored, but for the most part I really enjoyed it. The story at the heart of the book is quite nifty, and for the most part it plays out very nicely. I don’t think it’s a strong as the first three books, but it’s not half bad.

My biggest problem now is, do I continue with the rest of the chronicles, another 5 or so books, or do I knock it on the head and get a life? The answer will come in this blog… πŸ™‚

By the way, I wrote an article on OS Authentication. I’ve been asked a number of questions on the matter over the last few weeks and it just seemed a sensible way to simplify my answers. I’ve purposely not discussed privileged connections, so it’s very basic.

Cheers

Tim…

The Queen of the Damned…

I’ve just finished reading “The Queen of the Damned”, the third book in the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. As a mentioned previously, the film of the same name takes much of its story from the second book, rather than this book, but that’s beside the point. This is a seriously cool book.

The first book was very much an autobiography of the vampire Louis. The second book was an autobiography of the vampire Lestat. This book continues from the second book, telling the story of Akasha, queen of the damned. Lestat talks of his own experiences and those of his friends, as told to him. As a result, you get multiple angles on the same story. Lots of minor variations, which all build up into the big picture. It’s kind of like a Quentin Tarantino film, the focus and timeline constantly shifts, but at the end is all comes into focus.

Anyway, it was a good investment of time. On to the fourth book…

Cheers

Tim…

PS. I’ve remembered again why I don’t read. First, I’m a really slow reader. Second, I give up practically everything in my life to get the book finished. I really should learn to do things in moderation… πŸ™‚

The Vampire Lestat…

I’ve just finished the second book (The Vampire Lestat) in the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. In the first book (Interview with the Vampire) the Lestat character seems cold and heartless, while in this book you discover his history and see the reasons behind this facade. It really turns the whole character around in a quite unexpected way. There were a couple of sections of the book that seemed to drag a little, but I guess that was because I was impatient to know the outcome of some events.

I’ve now started the third book (Queen of the Damned), which should prove rather interesting.

Regarding the films, I think Interview with the Vampire was quite true to the story in the book, but the Queen of the Damned film seems to take most of its story from the second book, The Vampire Lestat, rather than from the book of the same name. This is a little confusing, but I guess films often do that sort of thing. πŸ™‚

Cheers

Tim…

Interview with the Vampire…

I’ve never really enjoyed reading, so I rarely do it, except for technical stuff for work. Instead I spend hours in front of the TV, half watching things while I do other stuff. Recently I decided to try and reduce the number of hours I spend in front of the TV. I already do lots of physical stuff, so adding more of that seemed pointless, so I decided I would have a go at reading again…

I’ve always liked vampire movies, so vampire books seemed like the obvious first choice. I promptly sent off for the Complete Vampire Cronicles, which is actually just the first four of many vampire books by Anne Rice. I’ve just finished reading the first book, Interview with the Vampire. I’ve watched the film many times and I love it, so I was a little bit nervous about reading the book. I spent the first quarter of the book thinking, “that’s not how it was in the film”, or, “I wonder when such and such an event will happen”. By about half-way through I had forgotten about the film and was quite into it. Last night I finished it, and I must say it was one of the few times in my life I enjoyed reading a book.

In an attempt to keep my momentum I read the first paragraph of the second book, The Vampire Lestat. Hopefully, I won’t find it too hard to pick that up now…

I guess from my blog posts you will be able to judge how well I get on with the second book πŸ™‚

Cheers

Tim…