Interview With The Vampire: Claudia’s Story by Anne Rice and Ashley Marie Witter
Anne Rice is no stranger to vampire-themed books, with a number of novels including The Wolf Gift and Interview With the Vampire under her belt. Her latest creation is the graphic novel Interview With The Vampire: Claudia’s Story.
The story begins with Claudia opening her eyes to her new life for the very first time. She has been bitten and is forced to feed to control her illness and with that first drink, she becomes a true vampire. The two men that took her from her mother and turned her are called Lestat and Louis and they take her on as their own daughter. Lestat is the true vampire of the pair and teaches Claudia to hunt, to use her form to seduce her prey and feed safely, whereas Louis shies away from his darker side and instead teaches her of art, music and the beauty of the world.
Lifetimes pass and Claudia doesn’t age physically but learns and changes mentally just as anyone else would. She craves more knowledge about where she came from, how she was changed and what other vampires are out there in the wider world. Trapped by her child’s body, she can achieve nothing without one of her fathers by her side but as she battles to learn more, her love for Lestat slowly turns to hate and soon she’ll do anything to escape his clutches.
Open this book to any page and you’ll have your breath taken away by just how beautiful it is. The aged colouration to the pages and the occasional splash of red for blood and fire creates a stunning visual effect. The actual story of Claudia is a sad one and you do really feel for her up until the point she crosses a line and becomes a different kind of monster altogether. Her battle with love and her physical form is an interesting push of the boundaries and her transition from the controlled to controller also makes interesting reading. Overall, this is a beautiful and thoroughly enjoyable graphic novel and if Anne Rice continues to write in the format, then I will definitely continue to read it.
Buy Interview With The Vampire: Claudia’s Story by Anne Rice