Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice
Paperback, 448 pages
1997, Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0345409671
Series: Book 5 in The Vampire Chronicles
Synopsis
Having survived his near-fatal reacquaintance with human mortality in The Tale of the Body Thief (1992), the world-weary vampire Lestat is recruited by the biblical Devil, Memnoch, to help fight a cruel and negligent God. The bulk of the novel is a retelling of the Creation story from the point of view of the fallen angel, who blames his damnation on his refusal to accept human suffering as part of God's divine plan.
Review
Memnoch the Devil was nothing like what I was expecting as the next installment of The Vampire Chronicles. Absolutely drenched in theological argument, Memonch the Devil is not for anyone who dislikes religion in their fiction.
Only two things happened in this entire book. Lestat stalked a victim for the first third of the book. He then spent the last two thirds of the book talking to the devil (and occasionally God). It was written as what appeared to be an extremely long-winded interview (think Interview with the Vampire with Lestat as the interviewer).
The basic premise of the novel and especially the detail with which Memnoch described the creation of Earth could have been enjoyable if Lestat didn't interrupt constantly with annoying and mostly pointless questions, as though reminding readers he was still there. Memnoch the Devil was dry reading and dragged along slowly. It was imaginative, but the way the story was told was extremely dull.
Rating
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I think I may have bought this book fir my mom a long time ago. I hope she enjoyed it a little bit more. I never git into Anne Ruce but I liked her son Christopher's first book, A Density of Souls.
ReplyDeleteI finally just bought a few Anne Rice books. She isnt my fav but I figured to give her a another shot
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that this was my least favorite of the vampire chronicles. However, it features one of my favorite characters, Lestat, so I still didn't totally hate it. I'm getting ready to listen to it on audio soon, as I've been rereading the chronicles (via audio) in preparation for picking back up on the series with The Vampire Armand. I'm curious to see if I will feel the same about Memnoch or like it better the second time. Good honest review Jennifer!
ReplyDeleteBTW, I received Eat your way to Happiness yesterday. Thanks again!
I enjoyed this book. It wasn't my favorite of the vampire chronicles but I did enjoy it and would read it again. My least favorite was The Vampire Armand.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this book alot, it seemed to drag for me at first because I dont think I applied myself fully however when I got into it I found it to be an incredible story. I was fascinated by Memnoch's tale and consider it to be an important part of Lestat's tale also.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it is not my favourite I still feel that it is a gripping story and really not as bad as you make it out to be :/ ofcourse everyone is entitled to their opinion I suppose, however harsh it may be.