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jessicajessica's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
trey9802's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
karaconi12's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
trin's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
Genuinely what was she on here. This is...so bad.
Do you want to hear the Bible retold, but worse? Do you want a cameo by Jesus, but he's an asshole? Do you want to hear the Devil/Satan with a Dumber Name monologue for hundreds of pages while Lestat does a subpar version of baby Daniel's "And then what?" which is mostly him gasping melodramatically? Do you want Lestat lapping up menstrual blood in a deeply unsexy manner?
Well you're getting them!
And then, <i>American Psycho</i>-style, the whole narrative loops around and means nothing.
1.5, because at least this did bring us:
--An extremely funny opening line ("Lestat here.")
--Lestat ruffling Armand's hair
--Lestat drinking from Jesus being a thing that happened
--The ending where Lestat sees his reflection in the window of a closed car dealership, aka the passage that sparked the feud between Anne Rice and the founder of Popeye's chicken. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/19/us/where-a-vampire-walked-tastes-clash.html">Please do yourself a favor and read about this</a>.
Do you want to hear the Bible retold, but worse? Do you want a cameo by Jesus, but he's an asshole? Do you want to hear the Devil/Satan with a Dumber Name monologue for hundreds of pages while Lestat does a subpar version of baby Daniel's "And then what?" which is mostly him gasping melodramatically? Do you want Lestat lapping up menstrual blood in a deeply unsexy manner?
Well you're getting them!
And then, <i>American Psycho</i>-style, the whole narrative loops around and means nothing.
1.5, because at least this did bring us:
--An extremely funny opening line ("Lestat here.")
--Lestat ruffling Armand's hair
--Lestat drinking from Jesus being a thing that happened
--The ending where Lestat sees his reflection in the window of a closed car dealership, aka the passage that sparked the feud between Anne Rice and the founder of Popeye's chicken. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/19/us/where-a-vampire-walked-tastes-clash.html">Please do yourself a favor and read about this</a>.
emeraldwhatnot's review against another edition
2.0
I actually found the philosophical/theological discussions to be the only redeeming quality of this book. I think I'm giving up on the rest of the Vampire Chronicles.
jasonlee77's review against another edition
5.0
Just when I thought that this series couldn’t get any deeper, MEMNOCH THE DEVIL became the next book to read in this incredibly deep, rich and complex vampire mythology. I had previously heard from some reviewers that the previous book in this series, THE TALE OF THE BODY THEIF, is where the series begins to take a turn for the worse and that this book is where it all bottomed out and became virtually unreadable and to those reviewers I ask: ‘Did we read the same books??’
If those reviewers were looking for a straight up vampire novel, then yes, they were most likely disappointed then for that aspect. If the highly religious read this book and are the type that can’t separate their personal beliefs from reading a work of fiction, then yes, they were also probably highly offended by this book and would in turn not find any kind of enjoyment out of it either.
MEMNOCH THE DEVIL is a controversial work, without question, as it takes us on an examination of the Christian religion, with Lestat being the central character that is faced with his grandest moment yet of self reflection and questioning of everything he ever thought true in his 200+ years of existence as the Devil himself takes him through the story of God, Jesus, Heaven, Hell and creation.
Do I agree with the views in this book? Do I think this book is a revelation of what is REALLY going on in the spiritual world? The answer to both of those questions would be no. I do however think that Anne Rice wrote an extraordinarily deep work of fiction, so deep that if one finds themselves open-minded enough, it may in fact place some imaginative wonder into your thinking about just how little we really know of the afterlife, creation, how we got here etc; the likes of which you may have never pondered before. And to me, stories like that, are the very best written works you can possibly read!
To those doubting this book….just read it! You may find yourself being very impressed like I was. I enjoyed this book immensely, so much in fact that it may be my favorite one of the series so far!
lea_mchd's review against another edition
2.0
one star for armand my shining star, one star for louis at the end. the rest is forgettable and borderline painful to read. her worst book in the series so far.
lennyjamin's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Felt very different from the prior books of the series. Lestat as a character fell to the wayside, with the book feeling more like the author's personal reflection on christianity. I enjoyed it, but probably wouldn't recommend it.