Darrow would have lived in peace, but his enemies brought him war. The Gold overlords demanded his obedience, hanged his wife, and enslaved his people. But Darrow is determined to fight back. Risking everything to transform himself and breach Gold society, Darrow has battled to survive the cutthroat rivalries that breed Society’s mightiest warriors, climbed the ranks, and waited patiently to unleash the revolution that will tear the hierarchy apart from within. Finally, the time has come. But devotion to honor and hunger for vengeance run deep on both sides. Darrow and his comrades-in-arms face powerful enemies without scruple or mercy. Among them are some Darrow once considered friends. To win, Darrow will need to inspire those shackled in darkness to break their chains, unmake the world their cruel masters have built, and claim a destiny too long denied—and too glorious to surrender.

Darrow would have lived in peace, but his enemies brought him war. The Gold overlords demanded his obedience, hanged his wife, and enslaved his people. But Darrow is determined to fight back. Risking everything to transform himself and breach Gold society, Darrow has battled to survive the cutthroat rivalries that breed Society’s mightiest warriors, climbed the ranks, and waited patiently to unleash the revolution that will tear the hierarchy apart from within. Finally, the time has come. But devotion to honor and hunger for vengeance run deep on both sides. Darrow and his comrades-in-arms face powerful enemies without scruple or mercy. Among them are some Darrow once considered friends. To win, Darrow will need to inspire those shackled in darkness to break their chains, unmake the world their cruel masters have built, and claim a destiny too long denied—and too glorious to surrender.

This is the story of Louis, as told in his own words, of his journey through mortal and immortal life. Louis recounts how he became a vampire at the hands of the radiant and sinister Lestat and how he became indoctrinated, unwillingly, into the vampire way of life. His story ebbs and flows through the streets of New Orleans, defining crucial moments such as his discovery of the exquisite lost young child Claudia, wanting not to hurt but to comfort her with the last breaths of humanity he has inside. Yet, he makes Claudia a vampire, trapping her womanly passion, will, and intelligence inside the body of a small child. Louis and Claudia form a seemingly unbreakable alliance and even "settle down" for a while in the opulent French Quarter. Louis remembers Claudia's struggle to understand herself and the hatred they both have for Lestat that sends them halfway across the world to seek others of their kind. Louis and Claudia are desperate to find somewhere they belong, to find others who understand, and someone who knows what and why they are. Louis and Claudia travel Europe, eventually coming to Paris and the ragingly successful Theatre des Vampires--a theatre of vampires pretending to be mortals pretending to be vampires. Here they meet the magnetic and ethereal Armand, who brings them into a whole society of vampires. But Louis and Claudia find that finding others like themselves provides no easy answers and in fact presents dangers they scarcely imagined. Originally begun as a short story, the book took off as Anne wrote it, spinning the tragic and triumphant life experiences of a soul. As well as the struggles of its characters, Interview captures the political and social changes of two continents. The novel also introduces Lestat, Anne's most enduring character, a heady mixture of attraction and revulsion. The book, full of lush description, centers on the themes of immortality, change, loss, sexuality, and power. source: annerice.com

* Mrs. Todds Abkürzung * Der Hochzeitsempfang * Travel * Kains Aufbegehren * Das Floß * Der Gesang der Toten * Der Sensenmann * Nona * Onkel Ottos Lastwagen

* Trucks. Alle Fahrzeuge sind verrückt geworden und unterwerfen die Menschheit. Wird sie lange genug überleben, bis alle Maschinen von selbst verrosten? * Kinder des Zorns. Das Ehepaar Vicky und Burt Robeson begegnen in der Geisterstadt Gatlin eine Gruppe von Kindern, die eine fürchertliche Gottheit im Mais anbeten. * Quitters, Inc. Richard Morrison will sich das Rauchen abgewöhnen. Die Nonfumo-Gesellschaft hat allerdings seltsame Methoden Morrison die Glimmstängel unschmackhaft zu machen. * Der Mauervorsprung. Der Ganove Cressner stellt der Affäre seiner Frau, Stan Norris, eine Aufgabe, durch die er vieles gewinnen, aber auch alles verlieren kann: Er soll auf dem Mauervorsprung einmal das Appartment im 43. Stock umrunden.

Mögen die letzten Romane des erfolgreichsten Horrorautors der Welt nicht immer den Erwartungen seiner Leser entsprochen haben, lässt sich für den vorliegenden Sammelband mit Erzählungen und Novellen das Gegenteil voraussagen: Im Kabinett des Todes wird nicht nur die Erwartungen vieler Stephen-King-Fans übertreffen, sondern auch so manche Skeptiker bekehren, die King gerne in der Schmuddelecke sehen würden. Allerdings hat der deutsche Verlag Buch wie Autor mit dem ausgesprochen einfallslosen Titel einen Bärendienst erwiesen. Im Original lautet er -- eher literarisch und ambivalent -- Everything's Eventual. Und wenn man etwas über diesen Sammelband sagen kann, dann ist es dies: Er ist vielseitig. Erwartungsgemäß werden uns einige Gruselstoffe geboten -- "Autopsieraum vier" und "Die Kleinen Schwestern von Eluria" entsprechen jeglichen Vorurteilen, die man über King haben mag. "Der Straßenvirus zieht nach Norden" erinnert dagegen schon eher an Oscar Wildes Bildnis des Dorian Gray und "1408" wie auch "Achterbahn" zeigen, wie klassischen Themen neues Leben eingehaucht werden kann; im einen Fall geht es um ein Hotelzimmer, in dem es spukt, im anderen um einen Tramper, der von einem Toten mitgenommen wird. Absoluter Höhepunkt des Buches ist "Der Mann im schwarzen Anzug". Durch die konservative Literaturszene der USA ging ein Raunen, als ausgerechnet der vornehme New Yorker diese Geschichte 1995 veröffentlichte. Einerseits war man pikiert, andererseits waren die Qualitäten dieser Story nur schwer zu leugnen. Immerhin brachte sie King eine Auszeichnung mit dem rennomierten O.-Henry-Preis ein. Zwei weitere Highlights handeln von Kleingeld: In "Alles endgültig" wirft ein junger Mann jede Woche Wechselgeld in die Kanalisation, in "Der Glüggsbringer" muss sich ein Zimmermädchen mit einem äußerst bescheidenen Trinkgeld zufrieden geben. Im Kabinett des Todes ist der erste Storyband von Stephen King seit Alpträume. Das Warten hat sich gelohnt: King ist stilistisch geschliffener geworden und auch thematisch bissiger. Auch wer von seinen letzten Romanen eher enttäuscht war, sollte sich diese 14 Juwelen -- sowie das großartige Vorwort -- nicht entgehen lassen. King in Hochform ist noch immer eine singuläre Erscheinung. --Felix Darwin

This is the story of Louis, as told in his own words, of his journey through mortal and immortal life. Louis recounts how he became a vampire at the hands of the radiant and sinister Lestat and how he became indoctrinated, unwillingly, into the vampire way of life. His story ebbs and flows through the streets of New Orleans, defining crucial moments such as his discovery of the exquisite lost young child Claudia, wanting not to hurt but to comfort her with the last breaths of humanity he has inside. Yet, he makes Claudia a vampire, trapping her womanly passion, will, and intelligence inside the body of a small child. Louis and Claudia form a seemingly unbreakable alliance and even "settle down" for a while in the opulent French Quarter. Louis remembers Claudia's struggle to understand herself and the hatred they both have for Lestat that sends them halfway across the world to seek others of their kind. Louis and Claudia are desperate to find somewhere they belong, to find others who understand, and someone who knows what and why they are. Louis and Claudia travel Europe, eventually coming to Paris and the ragingly successful Theatre des Vampires--a theatre of vampires pretending to be mortals pretending to be vampires. Here they meet the magnetic and ethereal Armand, who brings them into a whole society of vampires. But Louis and Claudia find that finding others like themselves provides no easy answers and in fact presents dangers they scarcely imagined. Originally begun as a short story, the book took off as Anne wrote it, spinning the tragic and triumphant life experiences of a soul. As well as the struggles of its characters, Interview captures the political and social changes of two continents. The novel also introduces Lestat, Anne's most enduring character, a heady mixture of attraction and revulsion. The book, full of lush description, centers on the themes of immortality, change, loss, sexuality, and power. source: annerice.com