Fantasy and Vampire Book Club discussion

January's BOM is a book that seemed to be popular, and has some Fantasy and Vampires. I chose it because it has been nominated in the past and is still listed as one of the top 10 Vampire novels in 2018, and ever. I have seen the movie, but never read it and in honor of 42 years of publication, popularity, and heightened interest with a new generation, I chose it to ring in the New Year.

I have attached the synopsis below the questions, but feel free to give your opinion if you have read it, or why you would not.

Below will be a set of questions to help you along with what to talk about the book. Please feel free to complete the questionnaire, or just post what you did or did not like about the book.


Discussion questions you might want to answer... if not just post up your review!

1. What did you like best about this book?

2. What did you like least about this book?

3. What other books did this remind you of?

4. Which characters in the book did you like best?

5. Which characters did you like least?

6. How does this book compare to the movie and would you cast anyone different for the movie, or keep the same?

Synopsis:
This is the story of Louis, as told in his own words, of his journey through mortal and immortal life. Louis recounts how he became a vampire at the hands of the radiant and sinister Lestat and how he became indoctrinated, unwillingly, into the vampire way of life. His story ebbs and flows through the streets of New Orleans, defining crucial moments such as his discovery of the exquisite lost young child Claudia, wanting not to hurt but to comfort her with the last breaths of humanity he has inside. Yet, he makes Claudia a vampire, trapping her womanly passion, will, and intelligence inside the body of a small child. Louis and Claudia form a seemingly unbreakable alliance and even "settle down" for a while in the opulent French Quarter. Louis remembers Claudia's struggle to understand herself and the hatred they both have for Lestat that sends them halfway across the world to seek others of their kind. Louis and Claudia are desperate to find somewhere they belong, to find others who understand, and someone who knows what and why they are.

Louis and Claudia travel Europe, eventually coming to Paris and the ragingly successful Theatre des Vampires - a theatre of vampires pretending to be mortals pretending to be vampires. Here they meet the magnetic and ethereal Armand, who brings them into a whole society of vampires. But Louis and Claudia find that finding others like themselves provides no easy answers and in fact presents dangers they scarcely imagined.

Question 6 should be how does the book compare to the movie?
Or maybe would you cast anyone different for the movie or keep it the same?

Adele wrote: "Question 6 should be how does the book compare to the movie?
Or maybe would you cast anyone different for the movie or keep it the same?"

Editted :)

I just finished reading the book. The differences aren't so bad. Id keep the casting of the original movie.... yes even keep tom cruise.
Considering a lot of books have been written due to authors being inspired by this book. I cant name a single book off the top of my head to compare this book to. How crazy is that. You know what that means... "research", commonly known as reading more books .

I am getting it from the library today. I need to finish my other book first. I like the movie and cannot see anyone else playing Lestat in this movie. I personally felt that Stuart Townsend did a good job in QotD, but Tom Cruise did a good job in this movie too.

Ok, so I just started it and I am the point Louis becomes a vampire. How very different the beginning is. The movie changes the reason for Louis to not want to live! Odd... I like the idea of the wife/child deaths over what is in the book.

I'd love to read this but I don't think I'll be able to get to it this month. I'll try and see. I've been wanting to read The Witching Hour too.

I've seen this movie. Usually I really like when they change things up as they never can do a book justice in 2 hours else wise. They changed up Ready Player One enough yet stayed true to the over all storyline, that I liked the movie. That was a book first movie though.

I am the point of meeting Claudia and so far... I like the movie better. I, in my opinion, think Louis blathers on, nonstop, about junk that has no purpose. I think the book makes Lestat sound way more whine bag than he is portrayed in the movie, and I am sad that the father was not part of the movie.

See i loved the book, and i love the movie. Yes its sad that the movie did not contain a lot of stuff, but i don't think i would have changed the movie to add them.
I also found the extra added bits made the book more entertaining and makes you look at thimgs ( especially lestat ) a little differently. Such as the looking after his father, its almost tender but he is fickle. Just another side of him. And yes louis is talking a lot but he is the kinda narrator to this story. I dunno i just found it easier to forgive the differences in this book. But in another book and movie i wouldn't be so forgiving!

Has anyone else read the book, seen the movie, or both and want to give an opinion?

Ok, I am about 75% done and I defiantly like the movie more. I wonder if I would have felt that way if I read the book before I saw the movie. My mother did that and thought both were good, but did not like Brad Pitt.

Anyone else? Opinions?

See i like both. I love the movie so much. Im willing to overlook the gaps in the story that the movie misses and the book shows.
I was like that with jurassic park too.
I used to have the mindset of read the book after seeing the movie. Now i try to stay away from anything made into a movie. Eragon... or shall we call it the dragon movie that must not be named... was what made me give up of movie versions of good books.
The only exceptions have been harry potter series and twilight for me. I refused to watch true blood after season 1 due to book differences. (I thought a tv series might be better than a movie).
Boy was i wrong!

The book and the movie are both so, so. Each about a 3 star rating. There is not enough romance for me (I have to have an outright love story. It doesn't have to be heterosexual or central to the story but it still must be there). The possible gayness of the male vampires and the relationship with the child vampire are only vaguely alluded to. Too much is left up to the imagination. I would have like to know exactly to what extent the relationships were sexual or not.
Lestat was great. I did not resinated with Louis at all. He was no hero even though he was the 'main character'. He was a wussy who would not stand up to Lestat (or anyone) until they kill the girl (possibly his girlfriend) then it was too late.
I learned from Ann Rice what I like in vampire novels and what I don't. She was a pioneer for women writing in this genre. Yet she has taught me what was missing (in her writing) and what mistakes not to make in my own writing/story telling.

I have to agree, movies are rarely worth it after the book. The biggest exception (for me) is the Hobbit. The book is lacking a lot. Tolkien had plans to expand it into a trilogy. (Epic is always better). However, the movies used Tolkien's idea to enhance the rather short book. Peter Jackson went above and beyond, as always, with the movies. He developed the characters much better than the book, especially Thorin's character. In the movie we actually care that he dies but in the book he was always a jerk to Bilbo, so when he dies it is no big deal. I didn't even cry when reading the book. Yet the movie brings alligator tears.

I recently reread the Hobbit and although I loved it as a young adult (loved LOR more), I really wasn't impressed with the guys going to war vibe. There are no women, which I hadn't got on my first 2 reads as a YA/teen. I agree that Thorin was a jerk, so were some others, toward Bilbo. In the end they give him respect but it is more for his ring than his self. I enjoyed it on reread... just.

Now for Interview with a Vampire, I have been so swamped with life that I am just not up to my reading speed. I've always wanted to read this but just haven't got to it. Probably part of that is because I HAVE seen the movie. I have rarely read a book after seeing a movie, vise versa sure. So I didn't get to this and am trying to finish up a bunch of others so not likely to read it either, sorry. I did really like the movie, not love. (Another reason I just didn't push myself for the book. :-(

When it comes to the movie, I give the movie a good 4.5 out of 5. I gave the booked 2 out of 5. I found myself comparing Ton Cruise and Stuart Townsend to the Lestat portrayed in the book and I think I prefer Stuart Townsend. Lestat felt more like the needy rebel than the sophisticated aristocrat. I feel Tom Cruise was too old for the part, having heard the ages of the characters.

I defiantly prefer the movie to the book. I felt myself zoning out repeatedly, since I did an audiobook, and Louis just blah blah blah all day long. He talked WAY too much. Such a whine bag.

That being said, I will wait a while before reading/listening to The Vampire Lestat simply because I need a break from anything Anne Rice.