"One of America's most read and celebrated authors, Anne Rice is known for weaving the visible and supernatural worlds together in epic stories that both entertain and challenge readers. Her books are rich tapestries of history, belief, philosophy, religion, and compelling characters that examine and extend our physical world beyond the limits we perceive.
Anne lives and works in California. Anne's life experiences and intellectual inquisitiveness provide her with constant inspiration for her work."
Source: AnneRice.com
I am currently reading the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, so I thought it would be fitting to write about her now. (I’m only up to Queen of the Damned yet, but I own all the books.) She has made a lot of different books, but I thought I would just write a bit about the Vampire Chronicles. Especially since vampires are so popular now a days. Don’t get me wrong, I like some vampire books and movies and TV-series. Just not most of them, because they are so sucky made (pun unintentional but after discovered intended). I like the TV-series True Blood, but I hate Twilight and its vampires and everything it stands for. But the only vampires in popular culture I find “believable” is Ann Rice’s vampires. Bear with me, because I’m going to generalize here.
First of all, they are dead. That means no sex, because those body parts do not work…because they are dead. This is also why all of her vampires are bisexual, if you want to put a name on it. They have no sexual drive, so they, in lack of a better expression, fall in love with other vampires and sometimes people’s minds. They need to be fascinated with someone so they can stand to live as long as they do. And often they need young vampires or people to help them adjust to new times. I mean, if you are a 2000 year old vampire the world has changed quite a bit since you were turned.
Second, they are dangerous. They have no empathy of conscience. They like to think that they have it, but they don’t really. They might feel attached to some human beings, and think that they love them. And they do in their minds, but these are exceptions, the rest of human kinds are considered food. I will make up an expression right now; they have a “love-food” relationship with humans. They love them in general, but when it comes down to it individuals they meet are considered food. And even if a vampire loves you, you can never be 100% sure he or she won’t get carried away some day by the smell of you or your heartbeat, killing you almost unintentionally. That’s why most of the people who are “human pets” are ones that want to be turned, which they have no guarantee that the vampire will ever do.
Very few vampires can stand living in our world for 100’s of years. Most of them need to take a break. This is done by burying themselves down in to the ground, where they slip in to a sort of trance or sleep. They do this to keep sane I think. A vampire who has not done this from time to time (like Maharet in the books) is considered to be very strong indeed.
I could go on and on about why Anne Rice’s vampires are the only ones I feel are made “right”. And don’t get me started on why Twilight is an abomination. But I think you get the point. Maybe I will make a part two of this post, or a separate post about the book series itself when I finish it. I don’t know yet. But if you want a fast way to get updated on the Anne Rice world you should watch the movie “Interview with a Vampire”. Anne Rice made the script herself, and the acting was superb. And do NOT see the movie “Queen of the Damned”. It was so bad I wanted to cry, probably because Anne Rice had nothing to do with this one. The acting sucked and I don’t like to think about its existence.
I will leave you with this picture:
