Today, we’re thrilled to have writer/director Josh Boone join us for our final 31 Days of Horror guest post. Boone is the director of Stuck In Love (2012), The Fault In Our Stars (2014), The New Mutants (2020), and Regretting You, currently in theatres. He also directed the first and final episodes of the Paramount+ adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand (2020-2021).
Interview with the Vampire (1976)
The Vampire Lestat (1985)
The Queen of the Damned (1988)
Above are the first three books in Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. The original trilogy is essential reading. Interview with the Vampire is one of the great debut novels and stands as the most influential vampire novel written post-Dracula. Rice took the pain of losing her daughter, Michelle, at the age of five to leukemia (she is the basis for the character Claudia) and wrote an anguished and deeply philosophical novel about the creation and dissolution of a family of tortured vampires. The villain of Interview, Rice’s most beloved creation, the brat prince Lestat, would return to tell his own side of the story in the hugely imaginative sequels and became the antihero of the Chronicles, which encompasses 13 novels (15 if you include Rice’s New Tales of the Vampires).
Should you read the rest of the series? Ones mileage will vary, but if you fall in love with Anne Rice’s recurring cast of bloodsuckers, the slick, high concept The Tale of the Body Thief, (#4, 1992) and the wildest swing of her career, the batshit crazy Memnoch the Devil (#5, 1995), are worthy of consideration, as are The Vampire Armand (#6, 1998) and Blood and Gold (#8, 2001) which showcase Rice’s gift for historical fiction and expands on the backstories of beloved characters.
As for the rest, opinions vary, with Rice’s post-1990s work seeing her merge her Lives of the Mayfair Witches into The Vampire Chronicles and her return to the Catholic Church of her childhood, which had a decidedly divisive impact on her Chronicles (see her widely derided 10th entry, Blood Canticle). Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis (#12, 2016) followed the trend, bringing aliens called Replimoids into the mix.
At the end of the day, one needs only read Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, and The Queen of the Damned, and you will have experienced the high-water mark of vampire fiction. Toss in The Tale of the Body Thief as a post-trilogy chaser, and you’ll leave a satisfied customer. Anne Rice’s Gothic horror saga spans centuries, shifts points-of-view to Rashomon-like effect, births head-spinning mythologies and cosmologies, along with a sprawling cast of immortals who grapple with morality, grief, anguish, love, art, depression, God, and so much more in a way that was unheard of before Rice put herself in their shoes, bestowing upon them an inner life and humanity that makes her a true visionary in my book.
Anne Rice remains one of the key authors of my teenage years. I got to spend some time with her near the end of her life when I briefly worked on The Vampire Chronicles for Universal. She was an incredible woman.
It does my heart well to see her universe taking over AMC with multiple shows and a growing fan base. Long live the Queen of the Damned!
Also recommended…
Cry To Heaven (1982)
Part of the appeal of The Vampire Chronicles is Rice’s incredible talent at bringing the past to life. Her epic melodrama about castrato opera singers in 18th century Italy is as evocative and anguished as her supernatural fiction.
The Witching Hour (1990):
Rice’s 1000 page Gothic epic, which introduced readers to the Mayfair Witches and the spirit named Lasher that has haunted their family for generations is Rice working at the height of her powers. Frequently challenged and banned for Rice’s very provocative content, The Witching Hour spawned two sequels, Lasher and Taltos, which also reach full batshit level insanity before folding into The Vampire Chronicles.
Josh Boone’s Favourite Vampire Novels
1. Interview with the Vampire / The Vampire Lestat / Queen of the Damned – Anne Rice
2. ‘Salem’s Lot – Stephen King
3. Dracula – Bram Stoker
4. They Thirst – Robert R. McCammon
5. The Traveling Vampire Show – Richard Laymon
6. Necroscope – Brian Lumley
7. The Hunger – Whitley Strieber
8. I Am Legend – Richard Matheson
9. Empire of the Vampire – Jay Kristoff
10. Live Girls – Ray Garton
11. Less Than Human – Gary Raisor
12. The Vampyricon Trilogy – Douglas Clegg
One Reply to “31 Days of Horror 2025: Guest Writer Josh Boone on Anne Rice’s Impact on Modern Vampire Fiction”