Tag: Books

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… 🙂

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… 🙂

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. 🙂

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 🙂

Cheers

Tim…