Queen of the Damned

By Anne Rice

Book Overview

In 1976, a uniquely seductive world of vampires was unveiled in the now-classic Interview with the Vampire ... in 1985, a wild and voluptous voice spoke to us, telling the story of The Vampire Lestat. Anne Rice continues her extraordinary Vampire Chronicles in a feat of mesmeric storytelling, a chillingly hypnotic entertainment in which the oldest and most powerful forces of the night are unleashed on an unsuspecting world.

Three brilliantly colored narrative threads intertwine as the story unfolds:

- The rock star known as Vampire Lestat, worshipped by millions of spellbound fans, prepares for a concert in San Francisco. Among the audience--pilgrims in a blind swoon of adoration--are hundreds of vampires, creatures who see Lestat as a greedy fiend risking the secret prosperity of all his kind just to be loved and seen by mortals, fiends themselves who hate Lestat's power and who are determined to destroy him . . .

- The sleep of certain men and women--vampires and mortals scattered around the world--is haunted by a vivid, mysterious dream: of twins with fiery red hair and piercing green eyes who suffer an unspeakable tragedy. It is a dream that slowly, tauntingly reveals its meaning to the dreamers as they make their way toward each other--some to be destroyed on the journey, some to face an even more terrifying fate at journey's end . . .

- Akasha--Queen of the Damned, mother of all vampires, rises after a 6,000 year sleep and puts into motion a heinous plan to save mankind from itself and make all myths of the world real by elevating herself and her chosen son/lover to the level of the gods: I am the fulfillment and I shall from this moment be the cause . . .

These narrative threads wind sinuously across a vast, richly detailed tapestry of the violent, sensual world of vampirism, taking us back 6,000 years to its beginnings. As the stories of the first brood of blood drinkers are revealed, we are swept across the ages, from Egypt to South America to the Himalayas to all the shrouded corners of the globe where vampires have left their mark. Vampires are created--mortals succumbing to the sensation of being enptied, of being devoured, of being nothing. Vampires are destroyed. Dark rituals are performed--the rituals of ancient creatures prowling the modern world. And, finally, we are brought to a moment in the twentieth century when, in an astonishing climax, the fate of the living dead--and perhaps of the living, all the living--will be decided.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394558235
• ISBN13: 9780394558233
• Release Date: September 1988
• Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 1.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.7" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

La pasión hecha letra...

Excelente libro, Anne Rice tiene un don para hacer que los escritos se conviertan en películas mentales, además de encantar y crear adicción en cada historia que narra. Recomendado completamente, no sólo este, sino toda la saga vampírica de su autoría.

Akasha has awoken after 6,000 years...watch out!

The Mother of all vampires, literally has been asleep for nearly 6,000 years, give or take a thousand. Akasha, Queen of the Damned and former Queen of the Nile in Ancient Egypt has woken from her slumber mysteriously after hearing the music from another vampire singing in a rock group calling themselves The Vampire Lestat.Lestat, or known among the vampire circle as 'the brat prince' has made it his mission to wake Akasha from her sleep and take on the world's vampires. Lestat is tired of this life and his neverending quest for good and redemption. What he doesn't know is that Akasha was better off asleep.What Lestat dreams of her being and what she truly is are two very different things.Evil in the purest word is what she is.Kept asleep with her husband and fellow vampire Enkil, King and Queen, or as all seem to know them as, Those Who Must Be Kept, the vampire Marius tells us how he came to get them and how he kept watch for nearly 2,000 years until Akasha awakens.Going back 6,000 years the story of Akasha and Enkil and how vampires began is told in detail. Along with the Legend of the Twins and how they seem to be forgotten after all these years.Fascinating work here. More fasinating than the previous books.Creepy and truly frightening at times, this one is a keeper.Will Lestat find Louis after nearly a hundred years? Will the older ones seek to destroy him? What does Akasha intend to do now that she is awake?I was torn at times on who I felt sorry for and in the end I was shocked. Unbelievable read. Tracy Talley~@

Wonderful

This novel is exhilirating. The complex narrative and histories detailed in it is a work of genius; the way the characters are all so inextricably intertwined is wonderful. The story behind Daniel, the interviewer in "Interview With the Vampire", and the allusions to ancient Egypt brought to this novel a mixture of gothic wonder and compex storytelling that Anne Rice excels in. As a closing point, can I also stipulate that I can't believe that some people have problems with the sexual content in the book-- I mean, come on! After 200 years and three novels, Louis and Lestat finally...kiss! Oh, the horror! That's one of the best parts in the book-- it sees a reconciliation of two of the most enduring characters in modern fiction. I strongly urge you to read this, what I feel to be the last of the truly great books in the Vampire Chronicles. Its surpassed only by 'Interview With the Vampire' and 'The Vampire Lestat'. It's all downhill from here, folks. But what a ride it was to start with!

The pinnacle of the Vampire Chronicles

I have to wonder if all the people who bash Anne Rice have read this novel. Far and away the best work in the entire Vampire Chronicles, Queen of the Damned left me hanging on the edge of my seat from cover to cover. Unlike the other books in the series, it picks up exactly where the previous book, The Vampire Lestat left off. Anne Rice has long been one of my favorite authors and this one does not disappoint. Told in Rice's glorious, sensuous style, readers are taken on quite a strange trip--from the ancient sands of pre-dynastic Egypt to a San Francisco rock concert. For the most part, the characters are rich and enthralling (however I found Eric and Santino to be little more than 2 dimensional cardboard cut-outs). I instantly fell in love with Maharet, that lovely red-haired enchantress, her beautiful mystique and the sorrow she carried for millenia. I even named a MUD character for her (LOL!). Truly a tour-de-force, and by far the best in the series (they started going a bit downhill from here IMHO). If you are new to this series, please *PLEASE* for the love of the gods read Interview With a Vampire first and do the books in order. Otherwise you will have no clue what's really going on, and you will definitely not be able to appreciate this book as much. Trust me on this, my friend made that mistake. Also, there were some parts of this book that squicked even me (particularly parts of Maharet's story) and I *DON'T* squick at all. I just have to congratulate Anne Rice on doing what I thought was impossible for an author :P BTW, don't bother with them after Tale of the Body Thief. Except for some precious few parts Memnoch was the absolute pits (no pun intended :P).

Este libro es la explicación de los inicios de los vampiros.

Este libro es exelente te explica la historia de como los vampiros llegaron a ser lo que son, ademas te muestra nuevos personajes muy interesantes y te envuelve mas en la trama vampirica. Para leerlo y entenderlo bien debes leer los dos anteriores (Entrevista con el Vampiro y Lestad el Vampiro). No dudes en comprarlo.