Memnoch the Devil (Vampire Chronicles, Book 5)

by Anne Rice

Book Overview

"STARTLING . . . FIENDISH . . . MEMNOCH'S TALE IS COMPELLING." --New York Daily News "Like Interview with the Vampire, Memnoch has a half-maddened, fever-pitch intensity. . . . Narrated by Rice's most... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679441018
• Release Date: July 1995
• Publisher: Knopf
• Length: 353 Pages
• Weight: 1.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.6" x 1.4" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Good condition BUT

It came in great condition except the fact that Todd B wrote some ridiculous religious bs in the front on top of 3 pages complaining about the book.

Not in "good" condition

more like okay condition. It's completely missing the dust cover and did not indicate anywhere that it was missing. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal but considering it's the only one of my collection that will not have a cover is very irritating.

Memnoch the Devil

This is by far my favorite in the Vampire Chronicles series. Anne Rice never ceases to amaze with her writing.

the davinci code ain't got nothing on this book

i would give this book an A+++ if i had to give it a grade (but we work with stars here.) after reading the Queen of the Damned i thought i'd seen Anne rice's best work. apparently, i was wrong. though being registered under th vampire chronicles, Memnoch the devil is not as vampiric as it's predecessors...but it's oh so good. Lestat goes up against the two entities he has big agendas with, God and the Devil. and in here lies the most wonderful tale of Creation and reflections of good and evil. undeniably, this book is controvertial, in my opinion closer to profane than the Davinci code. Anne Rice holds nothing back on this story and for anyone who approaches the text with an open mind, anne rice has created a truly unforgettable story. sensual, romantic, gothic, erotic and bordering profane Rice has created what should be a modern day classic.

Can't put it down, page turner delight!

I have not yet finished this book but my neck hurts and my shoulder from not being able to put this book down. I have never had a book take me away into the other realms and have creation theorized in a different outlook, via Memnoch the former angel. It reminded me that nobody has questioned the bible as literature and history enough. Maybe this is a fable from Anne Rice, but it stops to make anyone think that there are many ways of viewing creation, evolution, and what could have happened afterwards to the spiritual war going on when humans keep evolving. I hope her other novels are as good as this one, I intend to keep reading after finishing the first 4 in the Vampire Chronicles series. One starts to believe these creatures really do exist.

RICE'S OWN 'WHAT DREAMS MAY COME'

Here, Rice wanders off the well-beaten path of archetypical story-telling intermingling philosophy, psychology and history. The author explores the themes of Judeo-Christianity, life after death, purgatory, deities, angels, etc. In the end, I concluded that her theories (told through Lestat's journey into both the past and the afterlife) are remarkably insightful. When compared to the Christian ritual of communion (pretending to eat Christ's body and drink his blood), I hardly think that Lestat's actions in the novel can be deemed controversial for religious folks...

The Author Makes a Brief Statement

Be assured, for what it's worth, that this book was written with considerable spiritual ambitions. Lestat is my soul. For me and for him, this quest was inevitable. The Vampire Chronicles are meant to entertain, yes, but they are meant to do a great deal more than that. Does no one want to remark on the fact that in this book Lestat turned his back on a cosmos obsessed with crime and punishment for an experience with the character Dora which affirmed what is often called "the eternal feminine?" Does no one want to connect that experience, in which Lestat drinks the blood of Dora's menses, with the legends surrounding Veronica's veil which figures so prominantly in the novel? I appreciate the thoughtful comments, but wonder if we can raise the level of discourse here for some of the other readers. Let me repeat my assurance: If you took this book seriously, trust me that it was meant seriously. Enough said. Anne Rice, New Orleans, La.

i think everyone missed the point

while reading the various reviews of this book I realized that everyone, whether they hated or loved it, may have missed the point. this book is pure genius but not for the reasons many stated. anne rice is not trying to let us in on her personal religious beliefs or use the vampire chronicles as her personal soapbox as one review would suggest. The point isn't that god is bad or memnoch is bad or god is good. She does not contradict anything set forth in interview. she is not attempting to shock us with her visions of heaven and hell. not to say that the visions of these places were not magnificent and perfectly written, which they were and any intelligent and unbiased reader would have to admit that the visions of these places were at least intriguing. the purpose of this book was to show that it is impossible to ever know the real truth about these things (god, creation, the devil, etc.). lestat himself was there firsthand and presented directly with all the answers, all the visions, and then had them yanked out from under him and left to wonder if this was real or that was real or if the whole story was just a flat-out lie and some game the devil was playing to amuse himself or toy with what may be his only worthy adversary (did anybody realize that memnoch did not like the title "devil" yet he signed the note "memnoch the devil"). the purpose of this book was to show how eager we all are to believe in something, as was lestat, even if it's coming from the devils mouth. I'm sure I'm not the only one who found himself riveted by memnoch's story and believing in his words (even though I generally do not believe in religion and god). then at the end we are left wondering what is real and what is lies. the best line of the book is when maharet says "its not all lies, not all of it, that's the age old dilemma". In other words, even ones as old as these ancient vampires will never know the truth, rice is just reminding us. either way, the reader was presented with a tale of creation, god, and the devil, one that was presented as truth, and then was left at the end (by something as cheap and inarticulate as that note) saying to himself, "wait a second, this is a novel, this is anne rice, this isn't the truth, memnoch doesn't exist, this is fiction." that is the true genius of the book. at the end you feel betrayed by memnoch, you feel lied to and tricked, you feel stupid for almost believing his story. in other words, you feel exactly how lestat feels. you are the main character and your memnoch is anne rice and she tricked us all. I understand how some may be put off by that but I have never read a book where I knew exactly how the main character felt, exactly how he felt. that is the genius of the book, the emotion that it stirs, not all the religion. if you want religion read the bible, if you want an amazing story read memnoch the devil. im eager to hear what you think of this.