Ah yes, the final Vampire Cronicles novel, well not really, however it is in my eyes. The Queen of the Damned is essentially the end to the story that began in Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat. If you read those books then you know that the latter was left open ended with the Queen of the vampires awake and thoroughly disgruntled.

            Okay well maybe I should go a little deeper. In the end of The Vampire Lestat we see that at Lestat’s concert all hell broke loose with deaths, and exploding vampires everywhere you turned, and yet no one is quite sure what happened. This is the book were we find out and the first half of the book is sort of a recap, though we see the concert through the eyes of many other vampires and quickly learn that the Queen of the vampires is punishing all her unworthy children; and by punishing I mean incinerating.

            This book also finishes Anne Rice’s own history of vampires, going as far back as to describe how they were created and why. I probably mentioned this in my review of Interview with the Vampire but I will say it again; Anne Rice’s tale of the vampires is truly one of the best ever told. She creates that depth and emotion that you wouldn’t normally think of when picturing a vampire.

            Yeah the gay stuff is back, though I don’t remember it being very prominent here. I didn’t enjoy this book as much as The Vampire Lestat but that is not to say it is bad. In fact these first three books are a real masterpiece of writing and vampire history that no Goth should be without; though it is enjoyable to a large audience outside of vampire lovers. As a matter of fact, I had no interest in vampires at all when I picked up the first book, but I sure do now.