The Tale of the Body Thief - Anne Rice

The Tale of the Body Thief is a brilliant story by Anne Rice based on her 'Vampire Chronicles' series. This is the fourth book in the collection and though it doesn't need to be read in any particular order, I think it won't make sense unless you've read at least one other book in the series before you read this one. This book takes us on a journey with Lestat who has unfortunately lost his immortal body! Again we get to see Lestat's human side in this book as he foolishly follows his desires to attempt a mortal life. Unfortunately though, he quickly realises it's not for him and wants his body back - but can he get it back? This is a ...  Read the complete review

"The Tale of the Body Thief" is the fourth book in Anne Rice's vampire chronicals, and although it probably would stand on its own, it won't make as much sense unless you have read the others. If you haven't read any vampire books from this series, I strongly recomend that you go and read the other three and come back to this one. For reasons of sanity, I shall write this opinion based on the understanding that all those who have yet to sample to delights of these books have now gone away. If you haven't, I make no apologies! (Ok, if you insist on trying to read this, its about a 200 year old vampire called Lestat who has about as much common ...  Read the complete review

I managed to finish this book by the weekend. And what a Chronicle it was. Anne Rice has truly exceeded her writing abilities in this tale of cunning and despair. Firstly, let me give you a bit of background on Lestat, the 200 year old vampire that this story is all about. Some of it is covered in my previous opinions on the Vampire Chronicles, but for those of you that have not read them yet, here is a quick update on him. He was the son of a French Marquis in the 1700’s, living in France. He was taken by a vampire called Magnus, who immediately threw himself onto a fire after the deed was done. He was left to learn the vampire ways on his ...  Read the complete review

I did not enjoy this book as much as the previous volumes of the vampire chronicles (this is book four). Like the previous two books the main character is Lestat (which as far as I'm concerned is always a good thing) but this time he spends most of the story trapped in a mortal body. I found this ever so slighlty boring and tiresome although Lestat's panic at being imprisoned in such a weak and vulnerable form is infectious and his mounting horror at how disgusting the human body can be is entertaining enough to make this book worth reading. This book is actually an essential read for anyone who has followed the vampire chronicles up to this point as some life ...  Read the complete review

The Tale of the Body Thief is the fourth of Rice's 'Vampire Chronicles'. For anyone expecting the decadence and pace of the previous three it simply isn't there. This book is easy reading and doesn't share the depth of history that the previous chronicles have. Yet that's as far as my criticism goes, approach this book with an open mind and you should enjoy it. The Tale of the Body Thief is set in modern times; as such it is inevitable to Rice moves away from the style of her previous vampire novels. Yet Lestat is still present in all his flamboyant glory. As a teenager I fell madly in love with Rice's exotic world but I believe it was this novel that led me ...  Read the complete review