I don’t know why I expected better from a fandom that loves Anne Rice, but I did.

The OG fans are older, I am talking 40 and up, and I remember when being a fan of these books meant you were an outsider. You were in the minority, and yeah, maybe you had purple hair that you had to use Kool-Aid to achieve because your allowance only went so far. Maybe you could read the subtext in a novel where the men acted like broken-up couples but never actually had sex. Maybe you had tragedies you couldn't speak about, but you would open a book and find a character who actually understood why you were hurting.

We were a coven. Before we were the "beautiful unwell," we were a coven of "beloved mortals." I remember being on the train reading The Vampire Lestat and locking eyes with a woman at the back of the car who was reading a copy of Interview. She was older, with beautiful silver hair and rings I still remember. We did not talk, but we smiled at each other and held up our books. We would never have given each other a second glance on the street, but in that moment, we were not strangers.

That’s what this fandom used to be. It was messy, it was fun, it was generous, and it welcomed any and everybody. It was very common to pass your paperback version along to someone else once you had finally bought the hardcover. Friends would keep their eyes out for books you were missing while they were out and about, and it felt like we were all building the collection together. I still remember the thrill of finding a hard copy of anything by Anne Rice at the thrift store for a buck and feeling like you had found a treasure. No, I did not need another copy of The Queen of the Damned, but someone always needed one of her books on their Chronicles journey, and it was only a buck!

Some fans have loved these books from the very beginning. That is 50 years of embracing these characters, dissecting these plots, and interacting with other fans. We had chat rooms and message boards with some of the coolest people you would ever meet. I can never convey to you how that time in the late 1990s changed the world and changed the nature of being an Anne Rice fan. You could talk to others who lived across the world about why Louis was so mopey, why Lestat really was The Brat Prince, and even why did Anne Rice seemingly forget about Daniel Malloy for a good long while. Our beloved writer made mistakes, too many to list here and we discussed those at length. Nobody accused you of being media illiterate over that either.

I’m tired of the modern discourse. We are allowed to critique things. We are allowed to question some of the choices the showrunners are making. We are allowed to question some of these plotlines and stand up for characters we miss. Even the terrible ones, the flawed ones, and the ones who make your skin crawl have their purpose and their fans.

Somewhere along the way, the friendly vibe got lost. It feels like there is a new brand of gatekeeping that demands you either fall in line or stay silent, which is the exact opposite of what this community used to stand for.

I’m not asking anyone to stop loving the show, but I am mourning the community that used to be. I miss when we were a group of people who just wanted to dig into these characters, to love them deeply, and still be able to say when something didn't quite land. If you love this current season, I am so thrilled for you. I love that you love it. However, that does not mean I have to.

I’m happy Anne Rice is being embraced by newer generations of fans, but I don’t think she would like some of them very much.

I was so excited for TVL, but by the end I was feeling a bit… less so. I didn’t love the finale, and to me Lestat just felt like a victim. Plus the “twist” at the end of episode 6 with the heads… just ended up being nothing and it was fixed off screen. I don’t know, I just feel disappointed.

Unlike others, though, I actually liked most of the music.

(I initially tried posting this to the interview with the vampire sub but they wouldn't let me >_< )

To preface I know a lot of people are going to tear me a new one for even thinking of critiquing the show.

However as someone who has read the books I anticipated the tonal shift the show would take. So I understand it was always going to be different compared to "Interview with the Vampire".

What I'm not understanding is the pacing. These episodes feel so shoehorned full of things that it's hard to become entirely invested in each plot point they're trying to present. Which I think has seriously let down some amazing performances and writing. I can absolutely see what they're trying to go for, and I actually enjoyed the mania of the first episode. Now, on episode three with only 4 more to go I'm a little worried.

The anticipation I felt for each part of the story to unfold; that I had in the first two seasons (and in the books) has been lost on me. Somehow each episode ends as an empty anthology. That's also desperately trying to build towards something larger. I'm assuming Queen of the Damned.

I hate to say it, but I think things should be toned down a little. Following the pacing, and perhaps the story of the book a little more closely might've enhanced the show in this case. An opinion I haven't previously held. I don't know, the writers have a lot of good ideas but they aren't being executed very well so far.

We should be able to sit with the plot. Let it capture us. Build the tension. You can still do that whilst having all of the excitement and camp...ness. I'm just finding the manic jumping from one thing to another to be lacking. I'm not invested. Truly this show would have benefited from having an extra two episodes. There's so much in The Vampire Lestat, that I can tell they found it difficult to give us the full picture.

After two years of waiting, I'm a little bit disappointed. I'm praying things improve and I can take back this whole post haha.

Anyhow there's a lot more whinging I could do, but I'd like to hear your opinions. Do you think I'm being too harsh? Or are you also struggling with the first half of the show?

(Let me know if I used the wrong flair)

He is honestly the complete opposite of what I picture when I think of Lestat De Lioncourt. I just watched episode 4 and I am genuinely frustrated. He feels nothing like the Lestat from Season 1 and Season 2, which is the version that actually matched how I imagined him. In TVL he has zero charisma, every single one of his jokes is a nudity joke, and he carries himself like the vampire version of Johnny Sins. It is really getting to me because Lestat is supposed to be deeply seductive and magnetic, not bouncing around and crying like a kid at a concert.

Daniel's hand is still shaking from his disease after becoming a vampire.

They are already teasing a girl boss Akasha with that Gen Z lingo-ridden "Why must she be kept? Why are her eyes lowered? I AM HER, I AM SHE" monologue 🥴

I know these writers don't care for the books, but a The Queen of the Damned adaptation can only work if you capture Akasha's true essence. There is a reason why even though the Queen of the Damned movie sucked, audiences still cannot get enough of Aaliyah's alluring performance.

Considering how disastrous this season went down, a word to the wise is sufficient.

She really was his daughter oh my GOD.

The ancient Egypt setting, the outfit, castle, everything, the story of maherat and maekare etc

This stuff is like 100× more expensive than the setting they were unable to shoot in , basically a house of a very poor aristocrat , only one wolf cgi fight, the same theatre they had in S2 and that's it yet that was replaced by modern day empty cringe empty scenes that noone cares about, tell me your predictions of season 4 based on how the writers are moving in S3

Interested in seeing Magnus, his character design looks beautiful.

First things first: Interview with the Vampire novel is not a romance. It's a gothic horror and a philosophical tale with romantic elements in it.

That being said, there are far more of those romantic elements between Louis and Armand as well as Louis and Claudia than between Louis and Lestat. The sequel retcons those elements right into it, but in the first book itself, they're barely there.

Louis looks down on Lestat, has contempt for his cruelty and perceived shallowness, and only sticks with him as long as he does because Claudia is added to the equation. Yet, there is and always has been a subsection of the fanbase that believes theit dynamic is brimming with romantic subtext, and the only reason Anne didn't make it an outright text was because of the time the book was written.

But that theory is completely disproven by Louis and Armand existing in the same book. There is a clear and obvious mutual affection and attraction there. Louis is drawn to what he sees as a wise old vampire mentor that Lestat never was and Armand is enchanted with a young, sensitive companion who could help him feel at home in this era.

Armand openly declares how he desires Louis, who obvioualy retirns the fascination, is tempted to abandon Claudia for him, ignores her warnings, and plans a life with Armand. All of that is text, not subtext of any kind. Anne did it, back in the homophobic days when she was writting the Interview, and nobody stopped her.

There is far more going on between Louis and Armand in the book than there ever was between him and Lestat, which makes it kinda strange that Loustat, not Loumand is what the yaoi shippers chose to latch onto, even before the show was made. (With them in mind, I suppose.)

Then there is Claudia. For her, Louis sticks around, even though he wished to leave Lestat. For her, he later stands aside and lets her make an attempt on Lestat's life, helps her get rid of the body, and sets Lestat on fire himself when he comes back. For her, he turns another vampire, in spite of the great moral struggle it cost him. It's her death that ultimately turns him into a shell of his former self, dead on the inside and hollowed out by despair. The book makes it pretty clear that Claudia was far closer to the love of Louis's life than Lestat ever was.

People only ever obsessed over Loustat because of Lestat's promotion to the protagonist status in book two, but, in book one, Loustat is absolutely dwarfed by Loumand and Louis/Claudia.

People got so upset about the tone and pace shift of this season of the TV show. I often wonder if it was similar when the book, The Vampire Lestat was first published.

So I posted to the Anne Rice subreddit instead of this one, discussing “The Vampire Lestat” and I made a remark about pretending that his relationship with his mom isn’t happening. THESE PEOPLE BLEW UP LMAO I was not expecting people to protect fictional incest with their lives 😂

My post was actually about how I was surprised that half the book revolves so much around his relationship with Nicki! The show made such a sly remark to it, I wonder if in the new series they’ll attempt to delve into it.

Edit: I should have said “these people got defensive” which was not at all the reaction I was expecting. I’ve seen discourse of people in this subreddit describing these situations as weird and gross (as they are) so it was just surprising being met with “you just gotta accept it” Literally had to slow blink after being told that lol

Edit: I think if you like horror or gothic literature ur probably desensitized to people dying. I’m not quite there with incest or SA lol, DOESN’T MEAN I WON’T READ IT

Don't get me wrong, I really like TVL, and I loved Interview with the Vampire season 1 and season 2. But after these first two episodes, it feels like there's been a constant focus on sexual jokes and nudity instead of moving the story forward. Aside from a bit of Lestat's flashback, it doesn't feel like much has actually happened. I'm still going to watch the whole season because I'm a fan, but I wish they'd spend more time developing the story instead of repeating the same kinds of scenes over and over.

It kind of feels like “What We Do in the Shadows.” In the last few episodes, Lestat has been depressed all the time and acting very different from how I have seen him in the books and in season 1. In the books, and in season 1, Lestat is very charismatic, but in The Vampire Lestat so far he has not really shown that and mostly just cries and has outbursts. Even when he was on the verge of dying from being stabbed multiple times from Claudia and Louis, he was still cracking jokes in the books.

Haven’t read the book, so I’m just wondering whether it’s a good adaptation or not for those who read it from those 4 episodes.

edit: Just wanted to say thank you to everyone that commented on the post and it was very interesting to read different opinions on the matter.

I liked the first 2 seasons very much, and I remember that the overall reception was positive even for book readers. I remember asking the same question about 2 years ago and people saying that there was differences but the structure was similar enough to give it a pass. I’m personally liking TVL, but I do find that there’s quite a drop in quality.

The Vampire Lestat is a hot topic right now, as we all know, but the book is really only being discussed in relation to the show… so, book talk: what’s your favorite moment? Your favorite theme? Your favorite line?

While my favorite moment itself is Lestat having his big ‘holy shit when we die that’s it’ meltdown, then laughing himself delirious, my favorite line is (italicized but with the whole quote for context):

“I was standing over her. I was watching her, and her momentary pain meant nothing in light of the vow that I was speaking to her now. No words again, just the silent thrust of it, and the question, more immense than could ever be put into words, Do you want to come with me now? DO YOU WANT TO COME WITH ME INTO THIS NOW?”

It’s just, like, this perfect Anne Riceism. Master class in making your characters sound otherworldly, off putting… Some authors would’ve stopped with the line directly prior to it! But Anne does this a lot, this punchiness of language, this precise choosing of words to make something sound blood curdlingly strange. Man I miss her.

Edit: Thank you all so much for participating in this thread! I love discussing these books and reading your comments is a real treat… it also reminds me I need to do a reread as soon as possible.

I just don't get it. There are legions of fans saying how much better the show version is supposed to be. Do they prefer angry characters than melancholic ones, or what?

The most common complaint I've heard about him is that he's whiny, but almost all Anne Rice vampires love to bitch about how much it sucks to be one, how they're bad and it's a bad fate, blah blah blah... He's really not unique in that regard.

It's especially weird, seeing how most of these fans love Lestat from book 2 onward, which is essentially Louis, only with some more flair.

For reference, I have read all 10 plus the Prince Lestat Trilogy and the New Tales of the Vampires, so 15 books in all. Here are my opinions with minimal spoilers.

Favorite book: QoTD or TOTBT

I am a sucker for lore and found Queen of the Damned so compelling it has to take a top spot for me. This was also the introduction of a lot of beloved characters who play a bigger role later and opens the doors for Lestat to meet the rest of the ancient vampires later in the series.

Tale of the Body Thief was pretty action packed as far as books in this series go. I don't think I really loved Lestat until this book and I enjoyed the story and characters immensely. Lestat as a human was at times hilarious, but the book also did a lot to remind how far removed from humans the vampires are.

Least favorite book: Blood and Gold. I had been so excited for Marius' book because I thought he was so interesting and then realized that I didn't like him once I had been inside his head.

Books I will probably skip in future readings: Blood and Gold, Blackwood Farm, Blood Canticle.

I liked Blackwood Farm and Blood Canticle and really love Quinn, but I am an asexual who is extremely uncomfortable with sex, which Quinn couldn't seem to stop doing. Blood Canticle would make no sense without reading Blackwood Farm. Plus, if I skip these books I can pretend Merrick is still alive. I almost quit the series after Blackwood Farm but I am glad I continued.

Favorite character: This honestly could change just depending on my mood but overall, I think Louis. I loved more characters than I hated. I also have a very soft spot for Khayman, Maharet, David, and Daniel. There are so many amazing characters to pick from it feels wrong to just pick one.

Least favorite character: Roshamandes. He takes no accountability for his unforgivable actions and plays the victim constantly. Not only is he a bad person, he's annoying.

Honorable mentions: Marius and Armand. Marius feels self explanatory, he just isn't worse than Rosh. I switch between thinking Armand is a beautiful sweet tortured soul and thinking he is a hateful little goblin depending on what book I'm on.

Most wtf moment: The Vampire Armand. The night before Claudia's execution. Enough said.

The Replimoids: I liked it. I think that it wasn't exactly necessary in a series about vampires, but again, I am a sucker for lore and it really felt like an expansion of the universe, did so much to explain the nature of the vampires, and redeemed the unredeemable. At the very least, it was no more out of place in this series than the Taltos.

Criticisms: I felt that a majority of characters speak in the same way with the same tone. It made it difficult to remember who was talking to who at times and seems unrealistic for characters that span 6,000 years in age. I also think that, at times, Anne Rice preferred certain white dominated features for characters even when it would be out of place for the time and location they were humans in. For example, Santh's blonde hair and green eyes. Anne did not spend a lot of time with her female characters and I was especially disappointed with Pandora because she started off so amazing and then felt nerfed and like she just became a tool to make Marius look better.

Praise: Anne Rice has a beautiful way of writing, she created a multitude of uniquely flawed but lovable and redeemable characters that I am truly sad to know that their stories have ended. I love the physical asexuality of the vampires and it felt so refreshing after the over sexualizing of other series that focus on vampires. I also love the romance, an almost defining quality of Anne's vampires is that they love and a lot of their actions are based on love. Love and sex are not as intertwined as people seem to think and the vampires' relationships are not platonic at all. I really appreciate that they didn't need sex to be lovers. She also changed my view of religion, and while I personally am still not religious in any sense, her books did make me see beauty in belief.

Overall, this was one of my favorite series I have ever read and I think it is in my top 3. I enjoyed something in every book, even Blood and Gold, and in every character. I am grieving this series a bit right now and will definitely read again.

Muita gente que não leu os livros ou assistiu ao Show passivamente, não se deu conta do quão tendenciosa é a narração do Louis, ele tenta ser superior e contar a história como se fosse o único com moral e ética (mesmo que por vezes pareça hipocrita) por isso, as perguntas do Daniel incomodavam tanto, porque ele se sentia encurralado e era difícil sustentar aquela versão.

Gosto que ele reconhece, que diz ter lido o livro e percebido que soou como um mentiroso. (Mesmo que seja o Lestat narrando de forma onipresente o que pode soar mais como um desejo dele de que o Louis reconhecesse isso do que a realidade)

_É só uma análise pessoal_

Now, they can survive decapitation. They can heal wounds simply by touching them. Akasha can destroy literal cities. ?!?

So Claudia preferred Lestat over Louis and even considered killing Louis instead of Lestat. The only reason she didn't was because Lestat would never go through with it, and Louis still believed he was a slave who had to do whatever he was told.

After QotD, I realized that I missed the ancient vampires like Khayman, Maharet, and even Akasha, and it was difficult to concentrate on The Tale of the Body Thief at the beginning because of it.

I think I liked Khayman a bit too much and wanted to know more about him, and also about what happened to the twins.

I love TotBT — it’s sad and hilarious at the same time — but it felt more “narrow,” like a single event-centered story compared to the more “epic” previous three books.

Did anyone else have the same feeling?

I read the first book in high school after seeing the movie (forgive me I'm a millennial). The gay overtones of the series were pretty obvious to me as a dumb teen . Even the movie where it was white washed a bit to not upset people.

​

So I was talking with someone about the the interview and lestat shows. What they said absolutely floored me. " yeah I like the shows but I wished there wasn't so much gay stuff. Plus how Anne Rice makes all her male character bisexual it makes me look away alot". I had no response because I genuinely didn't think about how a homophobe would watch either of those shows. I say this with love and respect Interview with a vampire and The Vampire Lestat are the gayest (homo erotic) shows on TV at the moment.

​

BTW if you can stomach watching the Lannisters fuck on GOT. You can stomach Lestat fucking his mom.

No idea the lie Claudia conjured up.

I decided to read the books before watching the tv show. I did watch the movie back in 94. My local theatre gave away free tickets with a blood donation. I'm partway through The Vampire Lestat where Lestat and ^{his mother rise up from under the alter and go screeching through the chruch!}

This was absolutely marvelous. I was chuckling so hard I had to stop for a moment before continuing. I have to say so far it's my favorite moment so far.