The Mortal in the Immortal: My Thoughts on Anne Rice's, "The Queen of the Damned"

Here I am again to give you guys a glimpse into my head. A daunting idea, isn't it? I realize life's many intricacies have kept me from writing regularly, but alas, it has not all been unpleasant. Lately, I read "The Queen of the Damned", book three in the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice. As I have been more and more fascinated with her inclusive, intimate, and thought-provoking style, this book did not disappoint me. On the contrary, the further I read her work, the hungrier I become!

This is due, in large part, to her very human characters. While the Brat Prince Lestat, Armand, Louis, Marius, and all the rest may be vampires -- a classic archetype of the "horror" genre -- I do not consider this cast unapproachable. Ms. Rice asks tough questions about the nature of man, the spiritual, the secular, and the biggest inquiry of all: Why are we here? Forgive me, I know that is a broad statement, raising more questions in its wake. What I mean to say is, Lestat and the others are as much concerned with each other's well being as they are the search for passion, purpose. That thing which gives their existence meaning. They do this through love for one another. And through the adamant belief that they are not monsters. They seek the divine and the secular, true scholars of all, not unlike the most fervent, dedicated student.

But I digress a little. It is passion, a thirst to know the Queen and understand her greater power, that drives Lestat to take her blood. As the Mother of all vampires, hers is the most potent, full of raw strength, ability, and understanding. Too raw for Lestat to digest. Ravenous for more attention, more glory, a way to make sense of it all to his love of the limelight, his musical ambitions serve to awaken her. Akasha... Sultry, bold, and terrifying. She stirs with a hunger she has not felt in 6,000 years -- and as she pursues her Prince relentlessly, the world will forever change.

There is love in many forms in this book. The bloodlust Akasha and Lestat share is rivaled only by the sisterly bond of the Twins, Maharet and Mekare. Theirs is a story full of heartache and struggle, yet they are inexorably linked to Akasha. Two paths, equally horrifying, but vastly different. Akasha denies the possibility of a world, a life force, outside her worship of the old gods. Her religious fervor is so concrete, she refuses to open herself to the sister-witches' alternative explanation for her suffering. That if this Queen denies her own imperfections and the way the world is changing, she will ruin herself. Such is applicable to the real world, as those with minds closed to differences in opinion cannot hope to help themselves. Additionally, with Akasha's bold declaration that as Mother she is divine, religious fanaticism makes an appearance. Again, this idea of changing the world through rigid belief in annihilating all that is "evil" in the name of peace, blinds her to the "goodness" taking further root as time goes on. In many ways, I saw her point: She wanted to bring an end to violence through control. It would not hurt to do away with war and hunger and strife. But it was the way in which she wished to bring this about, through genocide of any who refused to see her vision, that proved her idea would not be successful.

All in all, I give "The Queen of the Damned" 5 out 5 stars. Its blend of the emotional and the rational, the secular and the divine, and the idea that we -- humanity -- may find the spiritual within ourselves (a theme in all the Chronicles so far, I've found) create a gripping read. Though some have considered Ms. Rice's vampires "horror" novels, I like to think of them as psychological, historical "thrillers". I recommend "The Queen of the Damned", as well as its two predecessors "Interview with the Vampire"; "The Vampire Lestat", to anyone wanting to make sense of their troubles. To anyone who may need an escape, while able to confront those basic human impulses that make us who we are meant to be.