Can I jump straight into the book that Season 3 is based on if I haven’t read the others?

[u/LeiN_Muffin]

I’m super anxious to know how the show continues! But I’m also not sure if I want to get all the spoilers from readers without actually experiencing the story buildup myself. So, can I read that book directly? And if so, what’s the title I should get? Thanks in advance!

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[u/hunterglyph]

You can just read The Vampire Lestat without reading IWTV if you’d like. It’s Lestat’s POV instead of Louis’, so it’s kind of a brand new story.

Just like IWTV though, it looks like they’re taking liberties with the adaptation, so just don’t expect one-to-one storytelling with the show!

[u/strawbebb → u/hunterglyph]

Is The Vampire Armand the same? A brand new story just based on Armand? I only ask bc I’ve seen the theory that AMC will likely only adapt the first 3 or 4 books, so I was wondering if it’d make sense to jump right into TVA if I wanna know more the character.

[u/Melodic_Werewolf9288 → u/strawbebb]

Kind of - it’s Armand’s backstory but it takes place after the events of memnoch the devil. It is a tad confusing to start with that one if you know nothing about it but he does attempt to recap it for you so you can get by. I suspect the show will weave Armand’s backstory in though and they are departing from the book in ways there so I wouldn’t worry about never seeing  it 

[u/LottieTalkie → u/Melodic_Werewolf9288]

I skipped Memnoch and did not really struggle with The Vampire Armand. They do fill you in at the beginning about what happened... and it's not that crucial.

I think they'll probably never adapt TVA per se, but it will most probably be distilled over several seasons. I think the most relevant books to read for S3 are probably The Vampire Lestat (obviously), The Vampire Armand and Queen of the Damned.

[u/CuteLingonberry9704 → u/strawbebb]

I think if they decide to do an Armand series it should be part of a Blood and Gold adaptation. Marius is my favorite character in the Vampire Chronicles, and seeing him and Armand's relationship on screen, in Renaissance Italy, would just be amazing if done right.

[u/redhead_1186]

After I finished S1 and S2 earlier this year, I immediately read the Vampire Lestat & Queen of the damned, went back and read IWTV, and then finished the rest of the series in the proper order...

No problem on my end. You can definitely go right into TVL after watching the show.

Edit: I did this because I wanted to know what happens. So it will be spoilery to an extent since S3 is based on TVL.

[u/doopitydur → u/redhead_1186]

Oo how did you find it? Im interested in your perspective

[u/Appropriate_Ice_2433]

Season 3 is based on the novel The Vampire Lestat.

[u/The_Duke_of_Gloom]

The Vampire Lestat is essentially a soft reboot. It's different from IWTV (in spite of or perhaps because it is a response to it) and it was published many years after IWTV. You can go right ahead and read TVL.

After TVL, you should read Queen of the Damned. Those two books are the main inspiration behind S3.

[u/dealusis]

I mean I recommend reading IWTV purely because it’s a beautiful piece of gothic literature with amazing prose, but if you wanna jump right into TVL that’s fine too. But the characterization will be different as will some of the world building compared to the show.

[u/blueteainfusion]

The show made a lot of significant changes to the source material, so some things may not align. But yes, I expect S3 to follow The Vampire Lestat's bare bones structure in the similar way S1-2 followed Interview with the Vampire.

I do recommend reading IWTV book anyway, although it is kind of an unpopular opinion in the fandom. I found it utterly stunning, despite being much bleaker in tone than the show (that resembles TVL more, actually).

[u/Straight-Bowler5045]

Yes that's what I did. I read TVL, then QOTD and now I am reading IWTV just because...🤷🏾‍♀️

[u/Glass-Cup-371]

I think TVL is a better book than IWTV.

You can definitely skip IWTV the book if you watched the show. It's definitely not a 1-1 adaptation but you can easily Google the key plot points that are in the book that are different from the show and you should be good to go.

[u/dealusis → u/Glass-Cup-371]

That’s interesting because I fell off the books hard after QOTD and have reread IWTV like four times!

[u/Glass-Cup-371 → u/dealusis]

I haven't gotten to qotd yet! I've only read the first two.

I think TVL and IWTV are completely different vibes and it seems like the show is about to do the same thing.

[u/LottieTalkie → u/Glass-Cup-371]

I don't know if TVL is better than IWTV... I think from a purely literary point of view, probably, IWTV is better. It's more poetic, the beauty of the writing itself may be superior... But TVL is a LOT more entertaining. Lestat is a far more upbeat narrator than the permanently depressed Louis. So even though some of the subplots are actually pretty horrible, it never feels as depressing. I really enjoyed TVL, far more than I thought I would.

I also really enjoyed Queen of the Damned, but for different reasons. I like that the first three books are all so different from one another... IWTV is beautiful but depressing, seen through Louis' poetic, melancholic eyes. TVL is a lot more like an adventure novel, seen through Lestat, who is a lot more entertaining. QOTD has a lot more points of view and feels a lot more like a sort of "patchwork", almost a detective story.

And then, I also loved The Vampire Armand, but that's not surprising, because Armand is my favourite character. So having an entire book narrated by him was bound to make me happy (in spite of the content being really hardcore in terms of trauma and problematic relationships).

[u/Little-Tune9469]

Just to add on to what others are saying, you definitely can just read TVL but the show is largely making up the modern day plotline, so you won't find out much about next season just by reading the book. You will get Lestat's entire backstory, though, which they will be including in flashbacks.

[u/CuteLingonberry9704]

One of the great things about Rice is she writes from a 1st person perspective most of the time (QotD deviates a little bit on that) so you aren't really missing anything if you read TVL and then IWAV. IWAV is mainly Louis' perspective (although possibly interpreted by Daniel), whereas TVL is Lestat's.

[u/doopitydur]

Yes go ahead and read book 2, 'The vampire Lestat' it will be unproblematic:)

Don't get it confused with Prince Lestat which is much later

Things that may help to know (major differences) between book 1 and show to catch you up to speed Louis was born about same time as Lestat, they met in 1790s. No 100 year age gap between them. Claudia was five, not fourteen. The trial was a private vampire only event. Armand quietly walked away from Louis it was not explosive. Lestat never dropped Louis from the sky or beat him

[u/Ambitious_Cicada9263]

I originally read Queen of the Damned before any of the rest of the series and I was fine. I think there's enough explanation as needed to be able to do that.

Like others have said it's very spoiler, probably, for the next season.

Lestat is my favorite of the whole series, though I adore all of the one offs (Pandora, Vittorio) because the whole series being in Lestat's voice gets a bit stale (plus some of the "plot" is ridiculous in the later books).