OuO thanks for this ask! *u*
(ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ *~TVL~* is my favorite bc of reasons:
- it’s undiluted Lestat,
- from his POV,
- his backstory,
- his midstory,
- his modus operandi…
- it answers alot of the questions and corrects the record somewhat from IWTV (both have unreliable narrators but STILL)
- …while bringing in a wholly new vampire origin mythology!!
- and sets us up for more stories.
Listing the rest from most to least fave under the cut.
I’ll try not to spoil but consider yourself WARNED. ＼(^ω^＼)
You know this fluctuates ok? Sometimes I’m in the mood for crackiness, but the top 5 are generally constants.
SPOILER ALERT MAYBE
- TVL – bc of reasons
- IWTV – bc it was the gateway drug to all this, and bc of Louis’ voice being so strong, very classical gothic novel. There was alot of existential crisis here, and mixed right in were some of the best insults and humor I’d ever read up until that time. (Louis: “There’s nothing left for you to tell me about life. I haveno need of you and no use for you. It’s you who need me, and if you
touch but one of the Freniere slaves, I’ll get rid of you. It will be a
battle between us, and I needn’t point out to you I have more wit to
fare better in my little finger than you in your entire frame. Do as I
say.‘” OH SNAP. - ToBT – Truly a “Lestat Don’t Do the Thing” “I Did the Thing” “GDI Lestat” book, in which he gets the chance to be mortal again, and this sums up his opinion of that experience: “I’ve watched two-year-old humans with interest for centuries. They’re miserable. They rush about, fall down, and scream almost constantly. They hate being human! They know already that it’s some sort of dirty trick.” I feel ya.
- MtD – Yes okay I love Memnoch the Devil bc of alot of reasons, but mostly for the ideas it presents about why God created man and the world and what the deal was with sending Jesus down to mingle among people, and of course Lestat is asked to be the Prince of Hell, bc why not? It’s got alot going for it, the settings are amazing, the amount of Lestat being overwhelmed by his sensory input is like a rollercoaster ride, it’s some intense stuff.
- QotD – there are alot more characters in here and it’s fun to jump around among the different POVs as the story progresses. The Queen herself has a wildly innovative concept for bringing Peace on Earth and it has a major flaw in that it does not include Bette Midler singing “From a Distance.”
- Merrick – Louis returns as a more central character in several books, and it’s not for the faint of heart. It rekindles the L/L intimacy in a whole new way.
- TVA – I am not a huge lover of Armand but in this book I feel like I got to know him better, it’s sumptuous, I would like a graphic novel plzkthanx, and it has an edginess as he is telling his story to someone who hasn’t yet earned his full trust and respect.
- BaG – Marius’ story, follows Armand’s in my list bc I like Armand just 12% more than Marius. Partially bc of what Marius does in the later canon ugh. He lost alot of points for me. I can explain his reasons but I don’t have to LIKE THE OUTCOME all the same.
- PL – Not sure if canon but… there are a few scenes in here that could stand alone and are worth reading the book for, plus I definitely approve of the last few major plot points. I think those were handled very well and would reread them. Yes I can start at 25% from the end of a book and reread from there WHY NOT?
- BW – Quinn has grown more tolerable to me over time, and his story is very rural NOLA IIRC, with alot of spiritual stuff happening.
- Pandora – I never really “got” her when I tried to read this when I was 15, probably bc her ship with Marius was so impossible for both of them, and her sadness was too much but I should give this book another try alllllll these
number ofyears later. - BC – one of the crackiest for sure. I can’t remember most of it but it was intended to be the last VC, so it has a bunch of things happening as if it were the last opportunity to have them happen. Also the crossover… um… yeah, no.
I-want-my-IWTV 