The Reviews

To Hell and back
The latest Vampire Chronicle brings back Interview's energy
by John Hall

"Behold: your hero for the duration, a perfect imitation of a blond, blue-eyed, six-foot Anglo-Saxon male. A vampire, and one of the strongest you'll ever encounter."
-Lestat

Anne Rice's Memnoch the Devil is the latest chapter in her now famous Vampire Chronicles. Continuing where The Tale of the Body Thief left off, Memnoch picks up the vampire Lestat's trail in New York City, where Lestat has agreed to meet his friend David, a newly-converted vampire. From there, Lestat finds himself thrown into his greatest adventure yet, traveling literally from the heights of Heaven down into the depths of Hell.

Cover of Memnoch The Devil, by Anne Rice "David, I think the Devil's come for me. I think I'm going to Hell."

Lestat discovers that, to his misfortune, he is correct -- the Devil does indeed have an interest in him. Memnoch, as the Devil prefers to be called, wants Lestat as his lieutenant, and to convince Lestat to take the job, he proposes not only to give Lestat a grand tour of Heaven and Hell, but also to reveal to him the true history of Creation and the Devil's fall.

Mixed up in these events are Roger, whom Lestat has been stalking for weeks in preparation for the kill, and his daughter, Dora, a televangelist whose programs consist of "theology and ecstasy, perfectly blended." Lestat finds himself falling in love with Dora, and goes so far as to reveal himself to her and to confide in her the Devil's proposal to him, hoping that her faith will give her a clearer insight into the dangers ahead.

Needless to say, Lestat's journey takes many twists and turns, from the joyous halls of Heaven, back through time to the Crucifixion, and finally to the dark realm of Hell. Lestat at last chooses the direction of his fate, and in doing so, alters the vampire community, and possibly Western society, forever. In a few words

One striking element in the book is its strong religious theme. Whereas Body Thief addressed such issues rather poorly, in one concentrated (and interminable) section, Memnoch deals with them throughout, and to much greater effect. Granted, a novel in which the Devil is among the primary characters may not be able to escape certain religious issues. But Rice goes farther, intertwining the Hebrew tale of Lilith, the Prometheus myth, and contemporary theories of evolution and biology, with Christian theology and her own special twists. She arrives at a complex and coherent history of Creation and the Fall of Memnoch.

Memnoch is also remarkable in that, unlike Body Thief, its dialogue concerning morality is vivid and engaging. This novel is not about Lestat discussing the whole scheme of things with the Devil; it's about the whole scheme of things, period. And without Lestat hogging center stage, as he has in previous novels, the reader is free to ponder what Memnoch has to say. Actually, that space for reflection may just be a side effect of the Devil's presence as a principal character, rather than Rice's intention; even the engaging Lestat can't upstage the Devil himself.

The book reads at a furious pace; the end is fast and hits hard. Not since Interview with the Vampire has Rice written with such passion and energy. However, vampire fans will be heartbroken when they realize this is the last of the Vampire Chronicles.




home Back issues