Customer Reviews

The Tale of the Body Thief

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I thought "Queen of the Damned" was a little boring, but I liked this next novel in the vampire chronicles. Good story. Especially the last part of this book was very suspenseful and fast-paced. Sophisticated readers will enjoy some intellectual dialogues in the story too. A keeper.

p.s. I much prefer Anne Rice's vampires to her witches and erotic fairytales.

David Rehak
author of "Love and Madness"

I've been reading a lot of Anne Rice lately. And while I can't say I haven't been moved at some points, generally speaking, my experience has been one of frustrating disappointment. Anne has come up with these fascinating and alluring CONCEPTS--these vampires who travel through centuries, across myriad lands and a panoply of cultures, forging and breaking relationships with one another--and with mortals all the while--sounds like a great idea for a series of books, and it IS, that's what's sad.

Somehow she fails when it comes to actually writing about these characters. Something's lacking. I think it's her main character and narrator, The Vampire Lestat. In my opinion he's too whiney and weak to be the hero of the chronicles. He goes on and on at the end of "Body Thief" about how he simply cannot help but be gleefully happy--that it's in his nature and he cannot be depressed for long. This was flabbergasting because Lestat--mischievous though he might be, is ALWAYS upset about something. Rice seems to want Lestat to be viewed in a certain light, so she tells the reader what to feel, but Lestat's actions throughout the book do not SHOW this at all.

In the other books of the chronicles, such as in QUEEN OF THE DAMNED, when she deals with the relationship between Armand and Daniel, THEN it becomes hard to put the book down. But the rest of time, when we are going round and round in circles with Lestat, rather than feeling absorbed and entertained, I find myself hoping she'll write more about those OTHER things.

I haven't read MEMNOCH THE DEVIL, and to be honest, I am afraid to because I hear it's quite dreadful. What I can say is that I think QUEEN OF THE DAMNED was the best book of the chronicles so far, and I recommend it highly.

Rice is a master when it comes to descriptive language, that is for certain, and I agree with all the literary critics who have ever labeled her writing as being "lush" but unfortunately that doesn't make up for the feeling I get when I read Anne Rice, that she is WASTING these wonderful concepts, and that in someone else's hands they could truly come alive.

It is important to note that while this book is mighty interesting, it's much different then the first three. The first three seem like these big epic histories, but this is more of a melodrama. It's as if the vampire chronicles become a tv show and this is an episode.
It is, however, easier to get into. The plot is much quicker in this book then QotD, and because there is more action and less descriptive prose. Although, since it is Anne Rice, there is still a good amount of prose! It is definitely worth your time if you are able to overlook some especially sexual scenes!

After Queen of the Damned, philosophical discussions have a tendency to wane on some people. I can defintely understand why, but give it a chance!!!!!!!!

In The Tale of the Body Thief, Rice has a more light and humorous tone--a relaxing break from the deep intensity of QotD. From the title, one can gather that a body switching incident happens. All I'll say is that Lestat's intrigues of being human again are hilarious!! I couldn't stop laughing throughout the book!

Rice still maintians that chilling way of incorporating thought-provoking issues of the mind and spirit, religion and reality. She pulls all those elements beautifully.

Some have found this 4th book boring or repetitive. I almost consider this one as a Book 1 in Part two of the Chronicles rather that ongoing. In other words, I encourage you to read it on its own merit rather than comparing it to the other 3; you'll enjoy that much more. ALTHOUGH..., Lestat wouldn't be Lestat if he wasn't tormented still by all these heady ideas of faith, religion, etc. Please keep in mind that these deep themes she weaves will always be the biggest and main points of this series and it is what makes the series truly magical.

And it is true; Rice does seem to jump around a bit, as if a little unsure or something. It's not as fluid as the others in the serious; but, it STILL ia an amazing, awesome tale. It's still GENUINELY written and beautifully told in the classic style that no other writer can even remotely match. You definitely won't regret it.

i love all of the books by Anne Rice that i have read so far and this one is my favorite yet. this books isn't full of action but it does have lots of suprises and very good dialogue. the conversations that Lestat has are what makes this such a good book. again, its not full of action if thats your thing but the best stories dont. Anne Rice also has an incredible talent of making the unbelievable believable. not many writters would be able to pull of this plot but she does without you ever questioning it. i recommend this to any reader that is big on long conversations in thier books or a love for angsty vampires. i love it couldn't see how any one else couldn't.

I loved Interview with the Vampire and liked the second and third books in this series, but this one was a disappointment. It's not an awful book. It was entertaining enough to where I never wanted to toss it aside and not finish it. But there were just a few things about it that prevented me from enjoying it nearly as much as I enjoyed the previous books in the series.

First, the plot was too unoriginal. Lestat wants to be human again so he trades bodies with a mortal and naturally the mortal doesn't want to trade back. While Lestat being human again was mildly entertaining, it was also very predictable. I was rarely bored with the book, but it didn't exactly keep me on the edge of my seat either because I usually knew what was going to happen next or at least had a pretty good idea.

Secondly, it was too repetitive. This book added almost nothing at all to the series. It did add to Lestat's character but it was mainly just the last chapter that added to his character and the rest of the book was just the same old stuff.

But I think what hurt the book for me the most was the absence of all the other vampires from the previous books. Rice introduced several new characters in Queen of the Damned and I was hoping to learn more about them but they were nowhere to be found and instead Rice spent nearly the whole book telling me stuff about Lestat that I've heard before. Louis did make a few short appearances but other than that, Lestat was the only vampire from the previous books that was in this one. Now, I love Lestat as much as anyone. Don't get me wrong about that. But Lestat by himself just gets boring after a while especially when very little is being added to his character. Also, having Lestat by himself so much eliminates a lot of the character interaction that I loved in the previous books.

So my advice is that if you've read the previous books in the series and want more then go ahead and read this one too. But I'd recommend borrowing it from your library to read it and make sure it's something that you want to own before you pay money for it. To tell the truth, I bought it but I ended up returning it to the bookstore and getting my money back. It was okay to read once but it's not a book that I'd ever want to read again.

Let me make clear, _Tale of the Body Thief_ is much superior to _Queen of the Damned_. But it doesn't come close to the heights that Rice reached in her most fun novel _The Vampire Lestat_. And let's face it, if these books are not fun to read, there is not much left. The philsophy is overstated and un-subtle and the prose can be achingly difficult to slog through. So if the fun factor is gone, so should go the readership.

Still, the series had nowhere to go but up after _Queen_, and that is where this novel goes. Just not far enough to be ultimately redeemable. Lestat's little adventure is, I suppose, meant to take us closer to his inner thoughts and motivations, but we emerge from the novel knowing almost nothing about him that wasn't already apparent. This is a character study that does precious little studying. As for the thriller/mystery aspect of the book, each step is obvious well in advance and little or no surprise when it happens, with one notable exception that occurs at the very end of the novel. From this reader's point of view, it's not worth the effort that is needed and frustration that is caused. Lestat comes away from his human experience having learned nothing about himself, having no insight into his nature. Apparently the only emotion he could feel was disgust at himself, and an intense desire to be a killer vampire again. It doesn't do much to make him sympathetic. Of course, if Rice let Lestat remain a human, then she couldn't keep writing more asinine novels about him that sell like hotcakes. Don't encourage her. The series is dead.

Now, there are very clear words that will tell you whether you'll like it or not. Read the introduction it's all there. Simply, it's unlike the past three. Interview with the Vampire working well as an intro. The Vampire Lestat extending the vampire folklore with many facts. Queen of the Damned introduced us to many character, making it work to follow, still very great.
The new tale was much quicker, it wasn't such a heavy story to handle.
I read a review, mentioning that this book had sections that were boring. I don't agree. The only thing i could imagine being boring to a person was the religious talks between lestat and David, and I, an aetheist, was very into those parts, the beliefs were very interesting, based on christianity.
those parts really open way to Memnoch the Devil. It would be obsurd to read Memnoch without this tale.
Alot happens in this book, I went to merrick first and was completely angry i had missed so much so i didn't proceed until i continued with the order.

This book was definitely a little different from the previous three. But it was still charming in its own way. Lestat's experiences in the human body alone are worth reading it, I found them hilarious. If you are a Vampire Chronicles fan, and you read the first three books, read it, you won't be dissapointed. The only thing I didn't like was that homosexuality level went way up in this one. I didn't mind the innocent kisses between Lestat and Louis or Nikki in the previous books, but what is up with Lestat trying to get into David's pants while he is in a human body?! I think I could have done without that. Overall it was good though.

While "Tale of the Body Thief" pales in the light of "The Vampire Lestat" and "Queen of the Damned" it still more than delivers the goods. Lestat finds himself in a pickle (what a surprize) and his journey to get out is very intriguing, and of course speckled with religious overtones that add to the story's charm and beauty.