Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #282370 in Books
• Published on: 1993-10-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 448 pages

Customer Reviews

Well worth the wait!
After reading the first 3 books in Anne Rice's vampire chronicles,I had such a job finding a copy of the Tale of the Body Thief, but it was well worth the wait. I had to read later chronicles to keep me going, as anyone enjoying Anne Rice's vampires will tell you their world becomes addictive, but there was always a missing link.I found that missing link when I read the body thief, alot became so clear. So, as a fan of the vampire chronicles I would urge anyone thinking of reading them to try and read them in order. This an excellent book highly recommended!!

Lestat's interminable angst
THE TALE OF THE BODY THIEF is one of those books I normally wouldn't pick up unless stranded alone on a deserted island with no other diversions. However, a dear friend of mine, who idolizes Anne Rice and has a warm and fuzzy preoccupation with vampires, sent me this book trusting that our friendship would compel me to read it. Yeah, well, I'm a soft touch - but just this once, mind you.

The protagonist of this dark fantasy is the Vampire Lestat, a recurring figure in Rice's series "The Vampire Chronicles". To make a 435-page epic short, Lestat wants to be mortal again after centuries of being Undead. The old adage is "Be careful what you wish for." It's not surprising, then, that Lestat soon regrets a too hasty career move that he's talked into making by the Body Thief. And, in a subplot, his life is complicated by a relationship with a nun that would likely cause the Pope to issue an edict or two. As the frenetic storyline unfolds, Lestat is helped out of a desperate situation by his long-time human friend, David Talbot, the Superior General of the Talamasca, a semi-secret order of scholars dedicated to the study of the occult. (And what good pot-boiler doesn't benefit from an inscrutable organization?) In any case, after a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth, our anti-hero discovers perhaps a universal truth - that a man's and vampire's best friend is a big, shaggy dog. As a general rule, I prefer cats.

I'll never be one to appreciate blood-sucking demons or Anne Rice. Therefore, my three-star rating of THE TALE OF THE BODY THIEF is severely skewed and will undoubtedly cause fans to howl. Rice's prose is richly descriptive and a magnificent achievement. Lestat's first person testimony of his re-acquisition of human frailties was understatedly comic. ("But, if you eat, you know what will happen? You'll have to go back in that bathroom again ... The thought almost made me gag.") Unfortunately, that doesn't make up for a story that was, for me, excessively long and tortuous to the point that I just wanted to get to the end and move on. As a matter of fact, I wished Lestat would just move on. His angst and loneliness was tiresomely endless from start to finish no matter what form he took. And he's not the sort of character that inspires my sympathy or admiration - he's basically vicious, selfish and confused. (Where are a good, fire-sharpened stake and a sledgehammer when you need them?)

While I thank my friend for the opportunity to expand my pulp fiction horizon, I also hope she forgives me.

A MUST!!
During the past few months i have been simply enchanted by reading Rice's works! In the Tale of the Body Thief, Ann Rice left me stunned and emotionally moved. The way she can makes you glued to a book is utterly amazing! I literally could not put it down!
This book is another erotic and sensual book which i suggest any real Ann Rice fan should read! Many reviews i have read comment on what Lestat does to David Talbot at the end. I however i'm attracted to Lestat's evil and wicked character!
A must!!