The Queen of the Damned (Vampire Chronicles)

Book 3/13 of the vampire chronicles. The vampire Lestat basically cosplays Trent Reznor for 8 chapters, gets abducted, falls in love with this sexy Egyptian vampire who wants to kill all men, is rescued from said sexy Egyptian vampire, and makes out with his lame boyfriend Louis in Miami at the end. Anne Rice you're a genius.

Ok, so you've read Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat and are now wondering, is Queen of the Damned worth reading? After all, it's book 3 of the 13 books in Vampire Chronicles.

In short, yes, I recommend it.

What you may not like:

1. Lots of descriptions, so the action moves slowly in the 450-page book.

2. I found parts of it a tad boring, particularly in the first half. I wasn't very interesting in what was slowly unfolding.

3. While I appreciate the philosophical aspects of her writing, there were times in which I felt like "ok cool, I get it, let's move on".

BUT... the good is that:

1. The characters remain as interesting as ever, very flawed yet enchanting, no one simply good or evil.

2. The book reveals a lot, particularly in the second half. The origin story of all vampires!

3. It's the kind of fiction that's nuanced and keeps you thinking.

So while I moved slowly through the first half/middle of the book, and was wondering whether I'd be interested in the ending, it turned out very pleasant and I'm looking forward to the next book.

The very first opening to this entire novel gives you a very brief summary of the book before it, especially the ending before jumping and letting the reader know that this will not be a story told in a singular narrative.
 We get to read the official declaration against Lestat and any that he is allied with.
 We get this continuing theme of these two twins. Mortal and vampire alike dreaming about them and something that happened.
 We see a bit of a difference in vampires. The newer ones being much more punk and rouges and whatnot compared to the older ones who try to blend in with society.
 I like that we see a return of the young man who interviewed Louis in the first book in this series. Getting to see what has gone on with him since the book.
 Each chapter we seem to get a bit more insight and information to this legend of the twins. More is revealed.
 I like that we get a bit of universe building as the Talamasca is mentioned. I remember them most from the Mayfair witches trilogy. I like that we get so many different points of view in the days before the live performance of The Vampire Lestat. 
 All the people we have gotten to read from in part 1; their stories start to intermingle in this second part, the day of the concert.
 Now we meet back up with Lestat, having just been taken by Akasha. He knows and sort of sees all the deaths that have taken place from Akasha.
 As he drinks more of her blood he becomes more than just a mere vampire, acquiring powers he didn't have before.
 I really like the inside look and musings in spirits. It seems like it could truly pertain to things in the real world.
 You get a full look at the legend of the twins, if the dreams everyone was receiving. Getting to hear from one of them yourself.
 And then we find out it was that wicked spirit Amel who gave the gift of vampirism to the Queen and King of Egypt and started this whole huge domino affect that has taken place over these three books so far .
 Lestat is becoming wise to what Akasha wants to do and he doesn't fully agree with it. There is a bit of dissention between the two of them.
 Things seem to be a bit tense with Lestat and Akasha having arrived at the place our group has been at as they listened to the story. The reader sitting here wondering who will Lestat ultimately side with and how things will turn out. 
 Akasha still very adamant about wanting to sort of cleanse the world. Give the human race a reset and see if things can be done differently... but she is going about it in the wrong way as the other vampires try desperately to tell her.
 The final battle happened rather quickly. I wish it had been a bit more drawn out though. However I did like the tie in back to the twins and that was the way the vampire race was able to continue to live 
 I like the extended look we get at the end of this book. From Lestat and how he is coping with everything. How him and Louis are together again, and even the bit of mischief he causes with the Talamasca.