Merrick (2000) - Anne Rice - Book Review

Official Score = 3 Devils

Anne Rice's, 'Vampire Chronicles', have now taken us all over the world, and through out time, we have gotten to know characters from the two movies in a more deeper and personal level, and I don't know about you, but reading these novels, I have to say that I really enjoyed these novels a fair amount!

Now I hope that I have given you guys a fair and fun, and accurate depiction of what these books are all about, and I hope that at least with some of you, that you have been able to jump in to the series with as much interest as I had when I was still going through the novels... One of the reasons that I mention this is because this next review is for an installment in the series that is a little bit different, yet very fun!

I still don't get why this story was never turned in to a movie!

That is the crossover between, 'The Vampire Chronicles' and another of Anne Rice's famous novel series (a series that I am particularly surprised never made it to the big screen,) that being, 'The Mayfair Witches' series.

You see, this novel tells the story of how when Louis enlists the help of one of the Mayfair witches, (a family of witches, that have an old and illustrious history,) to try to resurrect his vampire daughter, 'Claudia', the novel dives in to the world of Merrick Mayfair (the witch that was summoned), but in the end, Merrick has an ulterior motive, and we will find out once and for all what happened to Louis's Vampire child!

Kirsten Dunst as, 'Claudia' and Brad Pitt as, 'Louis' in the movie that would make bring them together as vampiric father and daughter, as well as tear them apart!

In the end, this book is a lot of fun, and it does help arc Claudia's role in the series, but if you are looking for a strictly, 'Vampire Chronicles' novel... This one is not that... As a matter of fact, if you are strictly looking for a, 'Vampire Chronicles' novel, this is one that is only important in that context because it does finally allow us fans to put Claudia to rest... But if you are just looking for a fun story either way... This one is definitely one worth checking out!

The Vampire Armand (1998) - Anne Rice - Book Review

Official Score = 3 1/2 Devils[/caption]

Alright, so fortunately after the dud that was, 'The Tale Of The Body Thief', I imagine you guys probably were thinking that well this is it, right? Well fortunately Anne Rice came back with, 'Memnoch: The Devil' (1995), a book that brought, (in my opinion), the, 'Vampire Chronicles' back to prominence...  Well she didn't stop there!

She went ahead and did it... She actually made a book that even surpassed that one! She went and created: The Vampire Armand (1998)!

The Vampire Armand... A classic tale!

Now for those of you who don't remember the character, or have never heard of the character, Armand was a character that was first introduced in: Interview With The Vampire (1976), as a European Vampire, who is a potential would be new companion to the American Vampires, 'Louis', and, 'Claudia'... Of course like all great tragedies, this doesn't really occur...

Never the less, through the rest of the novels, he pops up from time to time, but other then that, he is not really seen... (I don't think he has a very sizable role in the second Vampire Chronicles movie...)

Either way, Anne Rice ended up doing a fascinating tale of the back story behind, 'Armand', that leads a rich tapestry of Armand's life, starting in Kiev, going through when he would meet, 'Marius' (One of the more powerful Vampires), and on up through out the ages!

"I wish mercy for any man."

- Marius, Quote from: The Vampire Armand.

In the end, I have found that when Anne Rice does these back story books of the various major players, they are very engrossing... So much so, that most of the time they are hard to put down... And this one is no different! If you are starting off the series with this book, then this one might not make a whole lot of sense... But if you have been following the series and are up to this one... Well I think you might find this one to be most fascinating!

Memnoch: The Devil (1995) - Anne Rice - Book Review

[caption id="attachment_325" align="alignright" width="263"] Official Score = 3 Devils[/caption]

You know over all I am going to say that Anne Rice's vampire novel series maybe one of the most prolific vampire novel series of all time... (That's right... I said, even more so then the god damn piece of shit, 'Twilight' series that helped destroy vampire movies for now!)

The reason why Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles are so good, is because even though each one has it's own individual and distinct story lines, they all paint an over all picture that spans centuries, that is enthralling, and will keep you on the edge of your seat, and your face stuck in a book for almost the entire time that you are reading the novels.

'Memnoch: The Devil' (1995) is definitely one of them!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="153"] A truly awesome novel![/caption]

This book I would say was almost directly inspired by Dante's legendary poem, 'The Divine Comedy', you see this novel tells of how Lestat is essentially taken off of Earth and offered a job by the devil who is calling himself, 'Memnoch'.

Now during this story it takes place as Memnoch is leading Lestat through the history of the war between heaven and hell (based on the warped perspective of Memnoch...)

During this time, Lestat, (who is watching with an observers eye), has to make his way out of the clutches of, 'Memnoch', and when he does so, he comes out of it feeling completely different, having witnessed certain religiously significant moments in history!

And when he finds out the truth of it all, this will drive Lestat in a direction in which he may never make it out of!

In the end, this book is freaking unbelievably awesome... A true comeback after the debacle of, 'The Tale Of The Body Thief'!

Tale Of The Body Thief (1992) - Anne Rice - Book Review

[caption id="attachment_322" align="alignright" width="258"] Official Score = 1 1/2 Devils[/caption]

Now I am forced to admit that there were a few duds in the, 'Vampire Chronicles'... Don't get me wrong, overall this series was a lot of fun... And if you are going through this series for the first time, then I think that if you like Vampire novels, then I think that you might really like this these...

Never the less, the latest one in the series that I thought that I would write here is probably about the lowest point in the series... That is, 'Tale Of The Body Thief'...

Don't get me wrong, I think the premise about a body thief that ends up stealing, 'Lestat's' body is an interesting premise, and in all truth, it was written well enough, I just found that I really could not get in to it.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="122"] A bland book for a great series![/caption]

Through most of the time that I was reading this novel, I was waiting for that moment where the hook grabs you and you kind of sink in to the world that Anne Rice has crafted so expertly... The problem is, is that I never did find it!

In the end, this may not be the best of the series... But stay with it, it gets good again!

Young Adult Horror Novels... Why They Are Fun For Adults As Well

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="604"] A great example of a fun young adult, 'horror' novel![/caption]

Young adult novels, rather they be the, 'Sweet Valley High' novels, some of the 'Star Trek' novels, or even the, 'Goosebumps' series of novels... These novels generally are written with the idea of teenagers in mind, (i,e... Leaving out a lot of the adult themes that come with novels from such authors as, 'Anne Rice' & 'Stephen King'...)

Well I am here to say that these young adult novels... Despite the fact that they generally tend not to have the size-able portions of adult themes that authors put in to their more adult novels... There are definitely a decent sized portion of young adult, 'Science Fiction' novels, and young adult, 'Horror' novels that are definitely fun!

Now don't get me wrong, Like any category, there are some good and there are some bad... And in the case of young adult novels, you will have to discover for yourself which ones you are either going to like or dislike... But there are some truly fun ones out there!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="260"] A fun example of a young adult, 'Science Fiction' novel![/caption]

A great example of a novelized series that I found to be an awful lot of fun is the, 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' novels... There are a couple reasons for this:

A: Despite the fact that these novels were generally written with the idea of teenagers in mind, most of the stories that I have read thus far from this series of novels, has kept to the core values of what made, 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' a truly amazing TV series, including: genuinely cruel big bad guys, that the authors oft times go in to fun detail as Buffy and the Scooby Gang have to fight off the monsters.

B: They also have the relatively easy to kill vampire.

C: Last but not least they go in to the legitimate drama and tackle as many of the issues that they can, that people the age of Buffy and her team would normally face...

And Buffy is just one example of some of the great horror novels for young adults that are out there!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="118"] Christopher Pike... A great author who has produced some awesome, 'young adult' horror novels![/caption]

A great example of young adult Science Fiction novels happens to be the, 'Star Wars' & 'Star Trek' series!

A couple of examples of this are:

A: In both series, the author generally does good by these 2 series by maintaining the basic overall stories of these series, really quite nicely!

B: Reading these novels and going through as we continue on with the saga of these characters in my opinion is like imagining an episode of, 'Star Trek' or a new, 'Star Wars' movie in your head as you are reading one or the other!

C: The adventures that the characters have in their respective series, are both entertaining, and remain true to the forms upon which they were originally made, (Being the various TV series of, 'Star Trek' and the various movies of, 'Star Wars'.)

So the next time you are in the book store or looking for something to read on your, 'e-Reader', don't skip past the, 'young adult books' you might find one that will keep you both entertained, and maybe even at the edge of your seat as you read through it!

Queen Of The Damned (1988) - Anne Rice - Book Review

[caption id="attachment_322" align="alignright" width="258"] Official Score = 1 1/2 Devils[/caption]

The truth is, is as a series, 'The Vampire Chronicles' is probably the most well rounded, thought up, entertaining and engrossing series I have seen to date that has been produced in the literary world, ever!

Almost one for one, just about every one of the novels that I have read from this series are not just entertaining, but engrossing and gave me the rare opportunity to actually root for the bad guy... (Because let's be honest, but a person, supernatural or not, who kills people, have always been or will always to some degree, an evil person!)

Unfortunately though, there is only one or two novels that are in this series that albeit were not bad... They were just boring as hell!

Unfortunately, 'Queen Of The Damned' (1988) is one of them!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="314"] Sad to report that this isn't one of the better books that Anne Rice has done...[/caption]

You see, this novel takes place not long after, 'The Vampire Lestat' and how these vampiric friends (the various loved ones, that have been introduced over the first 2 novels,)  and how after Lestat is taken by, 'Queem Akasha' to be her new consort, end up working to stop Akasha before she is able to kind of turn the world in to her own image of a sort of pseudo-sexual bizarre utopia!

In the end, where as this book is kind of dull (The concept of the story at first grabbed me, but the problem was, is that the story for this novel just was uninspiring to me!) One thing about this book that I did like is, how it explores the origins of vampirism in the world of, 'The Vampire Chronicles'.

So in the end, if you have been following this series, I would say read this one as well... It may not be the best of the series, but if you miss this one, then I truly think you will be missing a truly important piece of the overall story!

One Vs. The Other: Anne Rice Vs. Bram Stoker

So welcome back to an all new installment of the series that got started in the earliest days of Hellinspace, the who is better segment... Or at this point, just One Vs. The Other to find out which one you think is better...

[caption id="attachment_2127" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Bram Stoker and Anne Rice, both genre defining prolific artists that helped craft the modern vampire novel![/caption]

And in this latest round it is, Bram Stoker Vs. Anne Rice, both writers, both writers of prolific, genre defining Vampire novels, and both have had their Vampire novels made in to movies... So the question is, Anne Rice Vs. Bram Stoker...

As for Bram Stoker, I will say this, his work on, 'Dracula' truly blazed a trail that has lead to not just the modern vampire novel, but also set the stage for what the Vampire fiction world in just about all it's forms still follow today, and the novel it's self was an amazing read that for me personally took the novel in a different direction... One that I truly believe may have inspired, 'Stephen King' when he was writing, 'Carrie' (1976)!

Now as for really the primary bad points, and one of them really doesn't involve him, but more his work... And these are 2 fold... 1. Even though he wrote other works of fiction in his day, they were all eclipsed by, 'Dracula' and have lost their importance in literary history... And 2: When the first adaptation of Dracula was in the beginning stages of being made, Stoker's widow fought so vehemently against the movie being made, that F.W. Murnau tried to get around it, and the world almost lost a true classic in the movie, Nosferatu (1922)... Fortunately it turns out a print was found decades later and the movie now enjoys international celebrity!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="325"] Bram Stoker, a man who live on through, 'Dracula' forever![/caption]

And now for, Anne Rice... Well the truth is, is her work on, 'The Vampire Chronicles' went on for many decades, and all in all, mostly great novels, the truth is, is her works beyond, 'The Vampire Chronicles' will live on pretty nicely in the other novels that she has written, including: Exit To Eden (a novel that was also made in to a movie,), the, 'Lives Of The Mayfair Witches' series, etc... And the fact that there has been rumors that one of the characters from, 'The Vampire Chronicles' may make a modern day appearance... (That series ended about a decade ago, with the release of the novel, 'Blood Canticle'.) Also her novels are so popular that at least one point, fans from all over the world would flock to her place in New Orleans decked out to look like Vampires from her novels!

Really the main problem that I have with her and her work, is that some how the studios just butchered 2 of her novels when they tried to make an amalgamation of the 2 novels for the movie, Queen Of The Damned (2002)!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Anne Rice, a truly brilliant writer![/caption]

In the end, I am going to have to give the title to Anne Rice... In the end Bram Stoker started the trend, but in the end I think Anne Rice modernized it.... What do you think?

A Couple Of Reasons Why, 'The Book Is Always Better Than The Movie'

[caption id="attachment_1803" align="aligncenter" width="407"] Game Of Thrones... This may be a TV Show based on a novel... but trust me when I say that the rule still applies![/caption]

I was talking with a buddy of mine recently about, 'Game Of Thrones' in both the book and TV series... And I got to telling him basically about the fact that, 'The book is almost always better than the movie...' (Before I go on, I should say that this metaphor is applicable to TV as well,) either way I really got to thinking... Well why is that? And this is what I could come up with:

1. In movies oft times filmmakers tend to take creative liberties with the the casting for a specific role, (an example is that in the original novel, 'Psycho' which was written by, 'Robert Bloch', Norman Bates is a bald pudgy guy... In the movie he was played by Anthony Perkins (Edge Of Sanity) who as it turns out was a tall skinny guy with a full head of hair... Another example of this is that in the original novel, 'The Stand' by: Stephen King, one of the prominent characters by the name of, 'Harold Lauder' is a fat pimply faced kid that is infatuated with, 'Franne Goldsmith', in the movie, 'Harold Lauder' is played by: Corin Nemic (Sand Sharks), who is thin... (although in the movie he is still pimply faced...)

2. Another thing is the time frame that most filmmakers have to work with in regards to the story... What I mean by this is  that most novels tend to take place over days, months, or even years (although in, 'Gerald's Game' the story is a detailed example of a women who is held after a particularly rough sexual event kills her husband, while she is handcuffed to the bed...) And so I got to imagine that, that has to be at least one of the reasons why they take certain creative liberties with the story line... A great example of this is the movie, Queen Of The Damned (2002)....

[caption id="attachment_1804" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Queen Of The Damned... A great movie, but an even better book![/caption]

Now Queen Of The Damned, took other creative liberties between the movie and the book (considering the fact that this movie is based on the book, 'Queen Of the Damned' and, 'The Vampire Lestat'), but the book itself takes place over centuries, and so while they heavily accented certain elements of the present day as seen from the original novels, they seemed to primarily focus on, 'Lestat' and how he became introduced to, 'Enkil' and, 'Akasha'...

All of that is good, the problem is, is if they had done it right, that particular movie would never have had to gloss over a lot of the rich tapestry that Anne Rice painted in the books for what would have been considered to be the present... And I think that because of the timeline for trying to fit 2 particularly meaty books in to an 1:40 minute movie was just plainly impossible!

And then last but certainly not least, there is another reason that I think that the book is better then the movie... And that is when certain movies try to take artistic liberties with the big screen adaption that they are trying to do... I mean Hollywood was a little bit more like that in the 90s and beyond but it is still happening all of the time! Now I don't mean taking artistic liberties with a novel to make the story fit in to a 2 hour movie...

No I am talking about when they just start cutting out, or adding in elements to the movie that had never been part of the original novel!

I found that when this is done, not only does it change the vision of what the author had originally intended, but I also have found that when I have later started reading the novel, that the way the author had written the novel the way it had originally been intended was actually better!

In the end, I am not saying that all big screen adaptions suck, as a matter of fact, I have that I have really liked a lot of them... But in the end, what I mentioned above is: 'A Couple Of Reasons Why, 'The Book Is Always Better Than The Movie'!

http://youtu.be/y9klJA1JMbM

http://youtu.be/qsMp2pZK-Cw

http://youtu.be/2Gu9HtN05sc

The Vampire Lestat (1985) - Anne Rice - Book Review

[caption id="attachment_385" align="alignright" width="353"] Official Score = 2 Devils[/caption]

You ever hear the old term, 'The Book is always better then the movie?' well for the most part I have always found that to be true, I mean I have found a few exceptions to this, but for the most part I have found this to be quite true....

I mean I don't particularly blame Hollywood for that... In all honesty, for Hollywood to truly recapture the brilliance that an author puts in to a 500 or even thousand page novel, you would need a movie that is several hours long (which I think maybe part of the reason why, 'The Stand' is such an awesome movie... But even that movie barely scratches the surface of what made Stephen King's original novel so awesome...)

You might be wondering why I mention this, well before Aaliyah (Romeo Must Die) passed away she did the movie, Queen Of The Damned (2002), a movie which is loosely based on the book of the same name by, 'Anne Rice'... Well the truth is, is that I think at least part of the reason why this movie did not do as well as it should have is because rather the writers of the movie know it or not, I suspect that they took certain liberties with the movie and used at least some of this book as an inspiration for the movie!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] In the movie, 'Queen Of The Damned' (which takes elements from the book, 'The Vampire Lestat'), Lestat is played by, 'Stewart Townsend', and, 'Akasha' is played by: 'Aaliyah'![/caption]

You see, in, 'Interview With The Vampire' the story was told from the point of view of, 'Louis' as he relates to a writer about his history and the history of those he loved the most... Well this novel essentially relates Lestat's past (Lestat being the maker of, 'Louis') and how Lestat starts off as the son of an impoverished aristocrat in 17th Century France, all the way to his own attempt to let the rest of the world know about Vampire's, and the Vampire he would become in modern day New Orleans!

Now in all truth I am a huge fan of this series, and am sorry to have to give this book 2 Devils, because in all truth, this novel is a lot of fun, but in  the end it just lacked that way that, 'Interview With The Vampire' as well as the rest of the novels had of sucking you in and keeping you motivated!

But it is most assuredly worth a read, and if you get a chance you might find the same thing as well!

 

Some Awesome Horror Writers And A Novel They Wrote For Halloween 2013

Horror movies are always a staple of the Halloween tradition for those who have finally gotten to the age where trick or treating has lost the merriment that it had when you were a kid... But I thought what with having done a top 5 movie list last year for some great horror movies, I thought that I would take a different turn and take the tradition back to it's roots and do a list of some great classics to read by the fire this year!

So here is my list of the, 'Some Amazing Horror Writers And A Novel They Wrote For Halloween 2013'.

Number 5: Various Writers. Star Trek: Invasion Series...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="315"] A fun read for the trekkie in your life this Halloween![/caption]

The truth is, is I found this entire series of novels to be extremely engrossing and a hell of a lot of fun... I like how the story involves and takes place over the 4 main generations of star trek (at that time, 'Enterprise' hadn't been released yet). and involved all of them directly! The are not particularly scary... (although I imagine in the right setting, and with the right person they can be...)

Now the only problem I imagine with this series is the fact that unless you are a Star Trek fan, or are expecting a chiller, this probably is not it, but they are a hell of a lot of fun, and are definitely worth reading if you are a trek fan and happen to be home this Halloween!

Number 4: Robert Louis Stevenson for, 'The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (1886),

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="435"] Robert Louis Stevenson - Author.[/caption]

This book... This book was truly something for me... As a matter of fact I think this maybe the story that helped re-ignite my love of the horror genre... I mean this story is the truly classic tale of a kindly scientist who takes his potion and transforms in to a monster!

The truth is, is this tale was told in different variations a lot in the 19th century, but I have to admit that this one was particularly awesome and a classic story that lives on forever. The problem with this novel is the fact that it is also very old and if your not in to that, then you might find this one to be dated and pointless.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="264"] A great novel for the classics fan in all of us![/caption]

The next one that I am mentioning here is one that is a little unorthodox, but it does have it's merit  believe it or not is actually a surprisingly fun novel, which involves Buffy The Vampire Slayer, both in the TV show and the original movie... But in written form, and I personally think that if you are home this Halloween evening, and you are a, 'Buffy' fan, then this is a must...

So with out further adieu, and coming in at number 3 we have: Christopher Golden for, 'Sins Of The Father' (1999).

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="180"] A true classic for the Buffy fan this Halloween![/caption]

This one is a fun tale that tells of how Buffy's old flame ends up popping back in to the Slayer's life for one more mission when a rock Demon ends up going after the Slayer, and while a major group of Vampires is chasing down Giles!

And at number 2 we have: Stephen King for, 'Christine' (1983).

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Stephen King - Author[/caption]

Now I will admit that I am a little biased when it comes to Stephen King novels... I mean his books are just an amazing fun time, and since I figure y'all already know how much of a fan I am of his work that I would put this novel in a number 1... (This time I thought that I would give the torch to another amazing works of fiction, and give this one the number 2 spot...)

In all fairness though, Christine, a novel which tells the story of a possessed '58 Plymouth Fury ends up in the hands of a high school kid, and after that, his whole out look begins to change, and it will be up to those friends the car hasn't already killed to save the kid, before the car and the kid become to inseparable!

In truth, maybe not in this category will this book be giving the one the number #1 spot, but it does deserve it! I mean this book is so good, that when I was in Boarding School I ended up reading about half of it in 2 days, and when I was sent home to live with my family again, I went straight out and bought it, and finished the other half within 24 hours!

In the end, this is another truly awesome novel that would be fun to read if you happen to be home alone for this Halloween!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="197"] A truly awesome novel... Something great for this Halloween![/caption]

Anne Rice for, 'Interview With The Vampire' (1976).

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="297"] Anne Rice - Author[/caption]

If you haven't read this novel, then let me say that for a horror fan, this book will start you on a series that truly kicks ass!  The style in which Anne Rice introduces her characters, and paints a picture of their lives before they were turned, and after, is nothing short of absolutely one of the better times I had reading!

And Interview With The Vampire, a novel which tells the story of a tortured Vampire who decides to spill the beans to a writer about his personal history is a truly emotional ride, that I think you might both love and hate... And trust me when I say that I rarely find myself getting emotional about books, but this one is just truly awesome!

In the end, if you haven't read this book yet, and happen to be home this Halloween, then check this one out, you might end up really liking it!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="305"] Interview With The Vampire... A great read this Halloween![/caption]

Well Fright fans, that's all I got for the time being, but I hope you enjoyed this list, and if you do happen to be home alone this Halloween, then I hope this list helps!

The Myth... The Man... The Pseudonym?

That's right folks, believe it or not, one of the things that writers some times like to do is to write under a different name and even use a different picture for the photo... For various reasons... But in the case of Richard Bachman... (A.K.A. Stephen King), here is what the master had to say about his, 'nom de plume'...

[caption id="attachment_1575" align="aligncenter" width="491"] Author, 'Stephen King' in the early days of his successful career as writer used to some times write novels under the name, 'Richard Bachman'[/caption]

Stephen King stated in the series, 'The Bachman Books' that adapting this name was a way to, 'make sense of his work' and to try to answer the question of rather or not his success was due to luck or talent...

In the end it doesn't appear as though king was able to get the answer he was looking for due to the fact that after the release of his novel, 'Thinner' and despite the fact that he had put the novels that he wrote under a different lamp and tried to egg the potential for failure on, 'Thinner' was still fairly successful for the author... What with selling over 27,000 copies before he was outed as Bachman and sales improved drastically once readers found out that, 'Thinner' was actually the work of Stephen King...

But you know what, that is just one example of the many great authors out there over the years that have ended up writing under a Pseudonym over the years... Included in this list are:

1. Dean Koontz (As Aaron Wolf)... And that is just one of his names!

2.  Ann Landers apparently is a pseudonym!

3. Anne Rice... Now she is an interesting one... You see, it turns out that she has a couple of pen names, but for herself, her real name is Howard Allen Francis O'Brien!

4. Ray Bradbury... Mr. Sci-fi himself also wrote under different pen names

5. And guess who Theodor Seuss Geisel wrote under for a pen name... You guessed it, the writer who wrote one of the world's most beloved children stories... You guessed it, Dr. Suess!

6. Emily Brontë who happens to be a member of the world famous, 'Brontë sisters' wrote under the pen name, 'Ellis Bell'!

[caption id="attachment_1576" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Emily Bronte wrote what could be one of the top 10 best works of fiction that she ever produced under the Pseudonym, 'Ellis Bell'![/caption]

And that is just to name a few! So you might be asking yourself, why are these famous authors from all walks of life, who have been known to write in various genre's end up using pseudonyms... Well there are many reasons why people ultimately use pen names... In the case of Emily Brontë it was to hide her gender... In the case of Stephen King it was to increase the number of books he had published... But when you get down to the heart of it, why did these, and other truly amazing authors who produced some of the best works of fiction end up at one time or another using a pseudonym?

Well honestly folks I couldn't give you just one reason, there are many, some times it is to hide something (as is the case with a woman in the 19th century who is trying become a famous author), some times the real name is found to be unsuitable, and heck, some times they are done on the behalf of the author but not actually done by the author!

But lets be honest here folks, rather you are reading the work of Richard Bachman, or Stephen King... Or if you are reading an Dean Koontz novel or if it is a novel that had originally been written under the name, 'Aaron Wolf'... In the end the story is what matters, not what the name of the author is... It is just kind of fun to wonder why these titans of the written word ended up writing some great works of fiction under a different name, don't you think?

Interview With The Vampire (1976) Anne Rice - Book Review

[caption id="attachment_325" align="alignright" width="263"] Official Score = 3 Devils[/caption]

Now here is another terrific writer of horror, Anne Rice!  I mean this woman is just a truly terrific writer that has painted a world of horrors, myth and wonder the likes of which I would honestly say that haven't been seen (with her brand of horror writing) since H.P. Lovecraft!

Now the first time I had actually heard of this amazing writer's work was actually not in the books that she had written, but in the fact that when I was just barely out of the single digits that I had gone to see the movie, Interview With The Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994), (which as it turns out was a pretty awesome movie that starred, Tom Cruise (Mission Impossible), Brad Pitt (World War Z) and a young Kirsten Dunst (Spider-Man) to name a few of the truly awesome actors and actresses from this movie!)

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] This movie was truly amazing... But no where near as good as the book![/caption]

Well you know what? This movie was a truly amazing masterpiece of horrific drama, that hearkened back I feel to the concepts that Bram Stoker tried to instill when he wrote, Dracula (1897)! But in all truth, as good as this movie was, the book was even better! You see this book is based on a narrative as being told to a writer, by an actual Vampire  by the name of, 'Louis de Pointe du Lac', and how Louis takes the reader through his life, from when he was still alive and a wealthy but bitter and depressed man, through being changed in to a Vampire by, 'Lestat de Lioncourt', and the rest of his journey through out his immortality!

 This book is truly awesome, and as a matter of fact was so well written that I couldn't put it down... As a matter of fact, after reading this novel not long afterward I spent a couple of months collecting up the whole series... (which are all, also really cool, but we will get to those in later reviews...)

You might be wondering why these books are so good... Well simply speaking, I think the truest sign of a great author is their capacity to keep the reader engaged and interested through out the story... And not only does Anne Rice do that through out, 'Interview With The Vampire' but she keeps you enthralled! I mean you almost kind of follow the story as if Louis is really reciting his life to you!

[caption id="attachment_759" align="aligncenter" width="199"] A truly amazing book![/caption]

The only other thing that I would say about this novel is that this novel has a fair amount of strong sexual overtones, and if you find that to be offensive, then this may not be the series for you, but if you can either get passed it, or don't have a problem with it, then I think that you might find that this one is a pretty solid novel, and is a strong backing for a great series to follow!