I just had to excerpt this from i-want-my-iwtv‘s post yesterday, because it is a great truth and worthy of our study. Also look at my fucking brilliant underlining.
Awww! I actually got that particular turn of phrase from that Amazon review of Prince Lestat and I will never be able to unread it:
“…THIS is who every last Vampire is trusting their very existence to, this suicidal hamburger brained moron called Lestat.”
Well. This isn’t Lestat and Louis at all.
^Totally Lestat, look, he’s even wearing his Princely tiara crown!
Me and i-want-my-iwtv were just talking about how Rose’s story is like a limp retread of Jesse’s. I never hated her the way a lot of people did when the book came out, but it is incredibly striking on re-read, and I keep wondering if that was a conscious decision; was AR thinking, “Well, we need something structurally similar to Jesse’s origin story in there…”
As to Lestat taking on the Sacred Core, though, it wasn’t a supported decision – it was a fait accompli with which Lestat presented the others. The suggestions beforehand boiled down to “leave Amel with Mekare” or “make a new weak fledgling as a vessel to force Amel into”, but they’d intended to discuss it, and then of course Mekare came to Lestat and wanted to give him Amel anyway, and Lestat went with the moment, as he does… I don’t entirely blame the rest of them for rolling with it; the alternative would be to kill Lestat and transfer Amel to another host, and I don’t think any of them really wants to do either.
What I’m most curious about now are the implications of Lestat’s life not really being his own – he’s already tetchy when one of the others points out that he can’t just disappear and go into radio silence anymore… he says that this responsibility for everyone else’s existence is what he needs to keep him going, but it’ll be interesting to see how that works in practice!
^ALL OF THIS. Strenuously agree. Also a problematic and intense David/Lestat scene that is not to be missed. Can’t throw the whole thing out.
And I can’t put any of that under any cuts bc of formatting, sorry for spoilers.
Rose’s whole story felt very Mary Sue. That’s not to say that Rose is a Mary Sue, and I’d bet money we get to see her again in Blood Paradise, but her backstory felt very much like something you’d read on a fanfic on Fanfiction.net in 2002.
Yes, it majorly did, (her shitty ex is named GARDNER like a gardener, and her name is ROSE like a pwetty flower, omg does it get any Mary Sueier?) I’m hoping fanfic and nodominion can make Rose more likable. NO PRESSURE of course.
ooc; I’m assuming this is an OOC question.
I wrote a review for Prince Lestat right after reading it, and I think my opinions may have actually changed a bit since then.
Do I think it’s the worst VC? No. Not at all. Far from it. That said, I generally describe things better in bullet point lists.
Things I liked:
- We got to see Lestat as Lestat. He was so much more in character in this book than he’s been in a long while, in my personal opinion.
- Louis’ epilogue was my absolute favorite part of the book. I actually adored it.
- Gabrielle was very on-point and her bits with Lestat were amazing.
- I think learning about what Bianca was up to was really cool, whether people accept it into their headcanons or not.
- Marius was actually enjoyable for me to read in Prince Lestat. Being completely honest, I have not enjoyed his character much since his appearance in The Vampire Lestat, so that was pleasant.
- We got an explanation for that “unnamed musician” that Lestat made a vampire in Interview with the Vampire. Pretty neat, although again, some people have very big headcanons on this that they’ve developed in the years that VC was “ended,” so I completely get why a lot of people won’t entirely accept Antoine.
- Speaking of Antoine, I loved the subtle shade from Louis towards Antoine. I don’t even know if it was intentional that Armand listed everyone at Trinity Gate as loving Antoine with the exception of Louis or if it was just a slip up from Anne, but it cracked me up. Damn straight, Louis doesn’t like Antoine.
- Louis and Lestat had a canon kiss scene and were all lovey-dovey and professed their love for each other, so idk, there is absolutely nothing to hate about that.
- Jesse and David were generally entertaining.
Things I did not like:
- All.of.the.new.characters. It’s hard to sift through them all. I have no problem with new characters being introduced, but it felt like we had SO MUCH thrown at us at once in PL.
- A million retellings of a story we already know. The book felt very slow to get going. I didn’t feel like the plot was really moving until I was over halfway through it.
- There was some retcon that bothered me. Well, a lot of retcon that bothered me.
- Rose’s whole story felt very Mary Sue. That’s not to say that Rose is a Mary Sue, and I’d bet money we get to see her again in Blood Paradise, but her backstory felt very much like something you’d read on a fanfic on Fanfiction.net in 2002.
- Viktor’s whole existence makes no sense based on prior canon, but that goes back to my whole “all the retcon” point.
- It made no sense to me why anyone would think that putting the entire lifeline of the vampire race into a guy who has made so many stupid decisions. Like, why was this a supported decision by the vast majority of vampires. Why.
- Armand seemed non-existent in this book. I have to read all of his parts as extreme sarcasm to be able to handle it.
- Speaking of which, there were a lot of reactions I felt characters should have had where they instead just sat there and said nothing. Like, Armand reuniting with Daniel. Or even more so, Armand reuniting with Bianca, who he had not seen in centuries.
- Some characters still felt OOC.
- DANIEL MALLOY.
In general, the book had some strong points and low points. Yes, I did like some of Prince Lestat, but in general, if I were to read it again, I’d probably start half way through the book because the first half was really, really boring to me.
These are all just my personal opinions. I encourage everyone to read Prince Lestat and make your own decisions about the book. Some people will love it! Some people will absolutely hate it. I feel very neutral at this point.
As to Lestat taking on the Sacred Core, though, it wasn’t a supported decision – it was a fait accompli with which Lestat presented the others.
I feel like they were all sort of gearing up to volunteer him for the position, partly out of selfishness (who would want that irritating backseat driver in their body for eternity?) and partly out of this general feeling among them that as hamburger-brained as Lestat can be, his intentions are usually good, clearly more so than others Marius! looking at you, so he seemed to be a good choice for Next Top Queen King of the Damned. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, hence, “Prince.”
Well.
What a journey. I have finally finished Prince Lestat and I am pleasantly surprised. Fully intending to hate every moment of it, I have to say, it was a heck of a lot better than I was expecting.
Lestat was his true self on so many occasions which made me incredibly happy. Granted, there were many times when he was not and that did irritate me but the moments where he was himself were a real delight. There were parts that definitely could have been better, but I was quietly surprised by how emotional I became at times.
Very well-put! I totally agree, and that’s why I can’t simply toss the whole book out for its ooc moments/plot/etc.. There were some gems in there for sure, and I like following the fanworks, RP, discussion, etc., it continues to generate.
[Read More is spoilery]
The loss of Maharet and Khayman hit me hard and in fact I almost stopped reading altogether at that point. (thanks to antoineandthepiano for encouraging me to continue!) I will freely admit that I cried at that unexpected loss and though I am not exactly sure yet how I am going to treat this. I am interested in roleplaying the events of Prince Lestat and after, so I am going to have to decide on this. If anyone would like to come and speak with me about it, that would be wonderful!
And I have to speak on the final chapter; Louis’ chapter. I loved this part and, despite the frustration I often experience with Anne’s writing, I really thought this was a master stroke. It was the perfect way to end this book and it left me so pleased, knowing that he was finally happy in himself.
So, with that done, I am now very keen to roleplay anything and everything from these books and rather excited for the coming release of the next one in the series. I can only hope that it is as good as this one has been.
Short answer: S A M E here.
Long answer: SAAAAAAAAME HEEEEEEERE. It wasn’t always this way. I had a mother once wtf self? I still do. And movie!Louis, he had a wife. He was mortal, the same as she, and SO WAS I.
AR made us what we are, didn’t she? *sobs*
I digress… lol…
I answered this a little differently awhile back, when sonicdreamworld asked me who my fave was in IWTV alone. I think Claudia drew me into the whole series, I identified with her first bc I was 11, and felt mature for my age, and wanted to be taken seriously, and all that frustration that goes along with that. I was obsessed with antagonists at that point in my reading life, so I of course loved the friction between Lestat and everyone Claudia.
In TVL Lestat had me at Hello, the little bastard. So many of his character traits were in line with mine (tactlessness, infallible optimism, hawtness, etc.), I felt I’d found my spirit animal. So much the better that other people feel this way about him, too! I feel a definite connection with others who have, for better or worse, laid their affections with him ❤
Like Louis, for example, you know Lestat is his fave, too!
yES of course I would! But if it’s not in league with Anne Rice, you have the possibility of getting slapped with a copyright infringement suit 😛
Now, I reblog tons of VC fanart, and fanworks, bc I love it, and there is some difference between the artists sharing it for free vs. charging money for it, but it seems that AR must be aware of fanart made for commission (paintings, prints, etc.) and she hasn’t made any negative statements about it. In fact, she’s complimented more than one fanartist (for example, garama) and at least one cosplayer (for example sheepskeleton)(it’s a form of art so it totally counts)… so I think we’re somewhat safe so long as we keep it small-scale and don’t poke the bear by throwing it directly in her face.
I actually do intend to commission some VC fanartists at some point, just need a good enough idea to ask for.
Prince Lestat spoiler below…
Then there’s also the t-shirts one can have printed for oneself:
I just thought of something painful involving Prince Lestat.
So he had his father’s old castle refurbished…imagine one day he gets a call from the people who were adding some modern plumbing, and electrical lines, digging around parts of the property and they came across a collection of bones.
They’re too close together to be an old cemetery, even a private one—besides, there’s still some old mossy headstones with barely legible carvings of “Lioncourt” on them in the village nearby, signaling that even the lords were buried in it. No, no, this speaks more of a post-battle burial, hasty, but there’s no metal, no remains of anything of value, and digging farther down, pulling out and separating the fragile old bones and eventually finding ones belonging to children.
“French Revolution, probably,” says the man on the phone, “Funny to think it, they might even be some ancestors of yours,”
“Of course…they’re probably my family.”
I do not hate Prince lestat.
Sure, I may not like all of it, but honestly I love all of Anne rices work and could not , with conviction, tell someone not to read it.
So all of you peeps who are afraid to read it or put off because of the fandoms feelings in the book, just ignore all that and work to craft an opinion of your own on the book by bravely reading it yourself.
~T~h~i~s~/
TL;DR WARNING.
Before I launch into this, the title itself felt like a joke: "Oh gdi Lestat you are so obsessed with your stupid nickname, you hamburger-brained moron" but really he did not coin that phrase, and in fact he resisted it for most of the book. So let’s not blame Lestat for that bit. In fact, it is meant to follow Queen of the Damned in a very big plot point kinda way, and so the title makes perfect sense once you know that plot point.
I finally finished it after picking it up, setting it down, and repeating that procedure a number of times. There were sections that made me lose total interest for weeks. Then I’d grumble and trudge through. I knew some spoilers (bc I had asked for them!), just plot points, but I wanted to experience it as it deserved to be experienced. Even the parts that made me invent a wholly new WTF facial expression. But I laughed more than cried of second-hand embarrassment at those scenes.
I finally closed that book with the feeling that I opened it with: cautious optimism, and glad for having given it the chance. It’s revived our fandom for sure. I might even reread it soon. Is any of it really canon? Maybe. Not sure. I think some good RP and fanfic will revise some of it, fill in the missing parts, and glue it all together.
Oh, you want more? Well I’ll give you more…
Let me just say that there are several canon/fanon-worthy scenes in this book, that are not to be missed. There’s a lot of good character work with several of the characters (not ALL of them, but hey, it’s something).
There’s an intensity to the last 25% that’s worth the anguish of the parts that lost my interest. You have to slog through to get to that, though. It makes it more worthwhile, a creeping sort of anxiety in the story until that last 25% sweet spot.
There’s also a lot of good exploration of the PTSD in Lestat himself. There are times when it really feels like the Lestat from TVL or even IWTV! His brutality is still there. His gentleness is different now, worn sort of thin by too many people abusing it (*cough cough* Mona! Though she was in the right in several instances back in Blackwood Farm), but still there.
There’s a great, short, powerplay with David. There’s some great mother & son bonding (lol) with Gabrielle. Louis has a sort of change of heart. Armand is so chill you might think he’s being sarcastic. New characters are brought in (this includes old ones that we thought were long gone and are now brought back and dusted off), and lined up, they’ll surely be more developed and have roles in the next installment.
The entire vampire tribe has turned a new corner at the end.
Why, that is an interesting question.
I cannot say it is impossible as for I have never tried to do such a thing – and I find it hard to believe one would as I cannot see a purpose on doing so. However, I personally find highly unlikely for such an attempt to be successful.
♛ Hope you don’t mind my adding to this, Marius. Our physiology has always intrigued me, too much to be tactful and pass up a chance to discuss it *winks*
Technically Louis and I both made our daughter together. In that sense, one can be made by more than one sire. It just usually happens that it’s a single one of us claiming a single mortal to bring over for love, or on orders of a higher ranking member, or as an heir (in my case)…
It’s not an exact science, it can go horridly wrong even if performed correctly. My darling Nicolas seemed, at first, to have been committed to a fate worse than death. I would not recommend the further complication of two (or more) makers.
However… in my latest novel…
ooc; So I finally finished Prince Lestat!!! Took me awhile. ANYWAY.
I won’t spoil anything here, but let’s just say that the idea of 2 makers at the same time is addressed. Sort of. It’s not directly answered but it’s addressed.
I think it could be done. Why not? Lestat has admitted that Marius’ multiple transfer procedure is a better one than Lestat’s usual method of blood taken from the mortal and transferred back only once. The fledgling is a vessel for blood that must be emptied and replenished a few times.
Rose de Lioncourt | No Dominion | Indie Vampire Chronicles RP
- Mun 21+ and will not RP with anyone under 18
- Open to asks/memes/threads
- Prefers to use words instead of images
- Open to canon and OCs
- Mun has 13 years of RP experience
- Multiship with chemistry
- Canon to Prince Lestat, but more than willing to AU
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