Review

The Vampire Lestat is the second book in The Vampire Chronicles which was first published in 1986, almost ten years after Interview With The Vampire, and this time we are getting the story from Lestat’s point of view.

The premise of the second book is Lestat addressing the inaccuracies in Louis’s book by publishing his own memoirs while at the same time revealing the secrets of vampire mythology through his songs and videos. The book opens in the 1980s with Lestat awakening from a decades long sleep and decides to join a band called Satans Night Out which he promptly renames after himself. As Lestat pours considerable money into his new venture, he begins to remember his life as a mortal in the 18th century and his various attempts to leave his impoverished family who kept dragging him back home. When Lestat is about twenty, he kills a pack of wolves and gains respect from the local villagers who begin to treat him like a hero, however Lestat also learns his mother is terminally ill which leaves him with the prospect of being left alone with his odious father and brothers.

Lestat befriends Nicholas de Lenfent, the son of the local tailor, and they eventually run away to Paris where they find jobs in a theatre. When Lestat is finally allowed to perform on stage, he gains moderate success but attracts the attention of a centuries old vampire called Magnus who is searching for a suitable heir. Magnus abducts Lestat, transforms him into a vampire against his will, while giving Lestat instructions on how to scatter his ashes after he immolates himself. Alone and ignorant to the ways of a vampire, Lestat eventually transforms his dying mother into his companion and Gabrielle thrives as a vampire. Lestat and Gabrielle eventually come across the Children of Darkness, a devil-loving coven led by Armand, an old vampire with the angelic features of a seventeen year old. Armand disapproves of how Lestat and Gabrielle live amongst humans and he kidnaps Nicholas to lure them to him.

Lestat and Gabrielle prevail easily against the coven but Armand reveals he has grown tired of being their leader and is seeking their companionship. Armand tells Lestat that he was made by Marius de Romanus, an ancient from the Roman era, and Lestat becomes obsessed at the thought of finding Marius to have his questions finally answered. Lestat founds The Theatre of the Vampires and gives it to Armand so he can care for Nicholas who is not doing well after being transformed. Afterwards, Lestat and Gabrielle leave France to travel but a restless Gabrielle soon leaves Lestat alone. A depressed Lestat buries himself underground in Egypt but is found by Marius who introduces Lestat to Akasha and Enkil, the progenitors of all vampires, who are must be kept safe or they will all perish.

Lestat is almost crushed to death by Enkil who becomes jealous of him after Akasha briefly awakens enough to share her blood with Lestat, so Marius sends him away and urges him to live out one lifetime to ensure he has the strength to endure immortality. Lestat makes his way to New Orleans where he recounts meeting Louis and his regret over Claudia before we jump ahead to the 1980 and Lestat’s preparations for his forthcoming live concert. Louis arrives to urge him not to perform as the city is filling with vampires, some of whom revere Lestat but others who want him punished for revealing their secrets. Lestat is sure he can handle everything but soon realises he has made a serious mistake when things turn violent and they are attacked. The attacking vampires are immolated in an astonishing display of power which Lestat initially assumes to be Marius’s doing but soon learns that his music has awakened Akasha. As Lestat retreats to his lair to sleep, he realises he is not alone and that Akasha has come for him.

The Vampire Lestat was my introduction to The Vampire Chronicles as it was the first book I read and I fell completely in love with Lestat who is gloriously unapologetic as he breaks all the laws and invokes the wrath of the ancients who can’t help loving him anyway. The largest part of the book deals with Lestat’s life as a young mortal living with his oppressive family before finally escaping to Paris, and then his transformation into a vampire and his search for answers. The pace of the book is fairly slow until Lestat and Gabrielle leave France to wander throughout the world after which time flies as they flit from place to place. All of which is leading up to Lestat finally meeting up with Marius and learning more about vampire mythology.

A large chunk of the later chapters deal with Marius recounting his story to Lestat and then he delves into how he became the custodian of Those Who Must Be Kept. Marius then recounts the history of Akasha and Enkil so we get a story within a story. I’m not sure if Anne Rice knew she was going be giving Marius his own novel later on so this part does get tedious as it goes on for a long time. The story of Akasha and Enkil is also told in more depth in The Queen of the Damned so it feels superfluous. The modern story of Lestat being a rock star bookends the novel so it is a fairly short exploration which leads to catastrophic events which will be explored further in the next novel.

I love the idea of Lestat enticing other vampires to come out of the shadows and to live openly amongst mortals as he does, even if said mortals think he is a human pretending to be a vampire. Lestat is such a vibrant character that you can really understand why so many vampires want him as their leader, even if he is reluctant to take on that role. Of course, there are other vampires who think Lestat is a traitor for revealing their secrets and want him punished. All of which seems to be building up to a civl war within the vampire ranks but the events of The Queen of the Damned put paid to that. Anne Rice said she never intended writing a book about Lestat but his voice was so strong she was compelled to continue his adventures and he became the main focus of most of the early vampire novels.