Rice's book is still the gold standard of vampire fiction. She created not just a cast of characters, not just a series, but a whole sub-genre and even a sub-culture. One could argue that Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake series, and Stephanie Meyers' Bella and Edward novels could not exist without Lestat, Armand and the rest of the Vampire Chronicles crew. Judging from the continued demand for all the books in the Vampire Chronicles series, Rice is still attracting new readers, as well as holding on to die-hard fans. Though the author herself has moved away from writing about supernatural subjects, the enticing demi-monde of the undead that she created with this tale has taken on a life of its own. Sometimes, it's impossible to improve on the original. It's just regrettable that "Interview" doesn't get more credit for inspiring movies like cult-classic Underworld and television series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

-- Epsie F.
patron of Bennett Martin Public Library.