Customer Reviews

Vampire Companion

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this book having already read each of the vampire chronicles, as well as several of the "New Tales of the Vampires". It was probably a good thing too, as it's quite possible that if you haven't read all the books, the Companion will give away some very important plot twists.

However, the book is obviously meant as a guide and reference point for people who are already very familiar with Rice's vampires, and not for people who are too lazy to read the books. A mind-bendingly comprehensive "encyclopedia" of everything you could possibly want to know about anything to do with the first 5 vampire chronicles.

This book is made even stronger by the fact that it was written in conjunction with Anne Rice, and as such contains many asides and comments from her on the development of her characters, how she feels about them, and of course, the much-publicised parallels between the child vampire Claudia and her own daughter, who died of leukaemia at the age of 5.

While there are many people who think Rice is extremely long-winded and a trifle strange to boot, those of us who thoroughly enjoy her fantastic novels and seductive characters will wonder how we ever made do without the excellent Vampire Companion.

"The Vampire Companion" is a very exhaustive encyclopedia of most of the terms, characters, locations, and events in the Vampire Chronicles series. It only covers the first five books in this series, though ("Interview With the Vampire", "The Vampire Lestat", "The Queen of the Damned", "The Tale of the Body Thief", and "Memnoch the Devil"), which may bother more die hard Vampire fans. Information on the other four books ("The Vampire Armand", "Merrick", "Blood and Gold", and "Blackwood Farm") is obviously missing since they were published after this book.

Just about everything's included in this mammoth 500+-paged book: maps, illustrations and photos, bits of Anne Rice information, a time line, in-depth character biographies, etc. Even the unpublished short story of "Interview With the Vampire" is included, which originated the novel one year later.

If you're an Anne Rice fan--and especially if you enjoyed the Vampire Chronicles--then I highly recommend this official reference guide to her popular vampire series, even though it only covers half the books in the series. (Hopefully, there will be another revised edition published soon.) But for what it does cover, "The Vampire Companion" is very thorough and worthwhile to Vampire fans. This is certainly a book worth owning, since it answers just about every question you've ever had about this series and then some.

Also recommended: Katherine Ramsland's "The Witches' Companion."

If you have read the first four books in the Vampire Chronicles and enjoyed them, then this book is for you. It cross-references characters, plots and themes from each of those books, plus contains exhaustive research. It should be on the shelf next to the books, almost as a study guide, certainly as a welcome addition.

This book has everything that a lover of Lestat and the other vampires could ever want. The facts are so great to know! If you ever wonder about something within the book, you can always check back to the companion. A constant information source for loyal and interested fans of Rice and Lestat.

i am very pleased with this tome. at first, i bought it with the intent of looking up a few words and thinking i was going to return it in a week. after all, why the hell do i need a freaking 'dictionary' after all? but then i realized what a gem and jewel i have in my hands. this is the perfect tome for the Vampire Chronicles world. the only downside of it is that it's up to 'Memnoch the Devil' but then again, what am i expecting? for Ramsland to re-release a new edition everytime Anne Rice adds a new testament to her collection? aside from that, this is a very fulfilling book. it doesn't stray into pop-culture vampirism too much, there is the occasional mention of films for influence and inspiration purposes, but it doesn't try to list every single film for no significant reason respectively to the Chronicles world. this book is simply that, it's for those who live in The Vampire Chronicles to have something to call a 'god-book', to know everything and nothing of the world Anne Rice creates. it's the A-Z of Armand to Lestat to Marius to Mael. a beautiful reference to the world we thrive in.

When I found this book on holiday I almost jumped for joy ,it was the answer to my prayers. It was great to read the real reasons why Anne write the things she does and . Also it was through this book that I learned that Armand died at the end of the 5th Chronicle before I had read the book itself, imagine my surprise and relief when The Vampire Armand came out. Great book, Kathryn did a great and no doubt lengthy job.

This book tells you everything you could ever ask about The Vampire Chronicles.The character descriptions are great. A great book for any Anne Rice lover.

"The Vampire Companion" is an excellent reference book for the "Vampire Chronicles". Katherine Ramsland's definitions are complete and very informative, and the pictures are superb. The time line and maps are essential, since there is a long history of these vampires and they traveled quite a bit. The original short story of "Interview with the Vampire" in the back of the book was a delightful bonus. Those who are reading the Chronicles for the first time, or reading them again for fun, this book is for you. Pick it up today!

It's a great book to have for us Anne Rice Vampires, but it's sooo drawn out and it gets to the point where it's repeating itself. I had to skip 40 pages because I had already read it in the beginning a hundred times! But Anne Rices Vampire novels are the best, do read those, you won't be dissapointed.

This book is indispensible if you want to read just one of the chronicles & want information. This is the "Family Tree" of Anne's vampires with explanations given so that with this book, each chronicle can be read and understood separately. I love to refer to this as I'm rereading the series & need a reminder of someone or something.