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MEMNOCH THE DEVIL

PostPosted: October 27th, 2011, 6:08 pm
by Memnoch26
This is the 5th book in the VAMPIRE Chronicles by Anne Rice. The first of the series is the movie made by Tom Cruise – Interview with the Vampire.

This book presented another challenging opponent for Lestat. The devil himself , Memnoch (Satan), is recruiting Lestat to be his lieutenant.

In order to convince Lestat, Memnoch brings Lestat to Heaven and Hell. He also shows/retells the whole history of man from creation in his own point of view.

I love these kind of stuffs. A spin-off of Bible Stories. The creation story will be retold here along with the downfall of the angels. Another interesting part explained is why Jesus was brought to the earth.

According to the story, Memnoch (Satan) the archangel was angry at God because so many people on earth is suffering while God makes no action and just says “All is well.” One time, Memnoch challenged God to take on the human form so he can experience the suffering and passion of man. Memnoch was punished for this but still, God went down to earth as Jesus and died on the cross. However, Memnoch thought that what God made is just to make suffering and sacrifice as a way to heaven. Memnoch also thought that God’s death experience isn’t the same as man’s death as God knows that He will not die since He is God, while man will loose everything.

The book also told why there is Purgatory. Why souls have to stay there? Why it takes so many many years (maybe thousands) before man can go up to heaven.

The book also told the Devil (Memnoch/Satan) is working for God. His main task is to find all the souls that will be worthy of heaven. He goes searching souls in purgatory for those ready to go up to heaven.

Well, I find this stuff interesting as it challenges some concepts of our faith. Its quite an eye opener for some concepts that I have "missed" or didn't learn about before. So, while reading this book, I had to go back to the bible and make sure that I still know the real story behind.

I agree with the wiki article that : “once you have read this you will question whether there is good and evil, or whether there are two versions of good.”

I wouldn't let kids touch this book.


WIKIPEDIA
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After stalking and killing Roger, a ruthless but enthrallingly passionate mobster, Lestat is approached by Roger's ghost. Roger's ghost asks him to take care of his daughter Dora, a devout and popular television evangelist, whom he wants to spare from embarrassment. At the same time, Lestat has become increasingly paranoid that he's being stalked by a powerful force.
Eventually, Lestat meets the Devil, who calls himself Memnoch. He takes Lestat on a whirlwind tour of Heaven, Hell and retells of the entirety of history from his own point of view in an effort to convince Lestat to join him as God's adversary. In his journey, Memnoch claims he is not evil, but merely working for God by ushering lost souls into Heaven. Lestat is left in confusion, unable to decide whether or not to cast his lot with the Devil.
After the tour, Lestat believes himself to have had a major revelation. Among other things, he believes that he has seen Christ's crucifixion and that he has received Saint Veronica's Veil. He has also lost an eye in Hell. He tells his story to Armand, David Talbot and Dora, who have joined him in New York. Dora and Armand are deeply moved upon seeing the veil. Dora takes it and reveals it to the world, triggering a religious movement. Armand goes into the sunlight and immolates himself in order to convince people that a miracle has occurred.
At the end of the novel, Lestat and David go to New Orleans. There, Maharet returns Lestat's eye to him, along with a note from Memnoch that reveals Memnoch may have been manipulating Lestat to serve his own agenda. Lestat then loses control of himself and Maharet is forced to chain him in the basement of the St. Elizabeth's convent, which is owned by the vampires, so that he will not hurt himself or others.
Although the novel fits into the storyline of The Vampire Chronicles, the vast majority of it consists of Memnoch's account of cosmology and theology.
The novel follows up on claims made by David Talbot in The Tale of the Body Thief that God and the Devil are on better terms than most Christians believe. It also reinterprets biblical stories to create a complete history of Earth, Heaven and Hell that fit neatly with the history of vampires given in The Queen of the Damned.

Re: MEMNOCH THE DEVIL

PostPosted: October 28th, 2011, 8:34 am
by deathwalker
The mythology and belief regarding Angels, including the fallen ones are very interesting. I love the biblical story of METATRON--the angel that stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son Isaac. I'm looking for a Halloween read and your suggestion above might be one of the options. Thanks!

Re: MEMNOCH THE DEVIL

PostPosted: October 28th, 2011, 1:27 pm
by Memnoch26
...i agree... angel myth is very interesting....been looking for a nice angel mythology book for a long time... all searches ended up with the Book of ENOCH.....

this is why i got hooked with the TV series Supernatural... they included angel myth and the Armageddon in a couple of their seasons... they made the apocalypse happen, the four horsemen, and even the final battle between lucifer and michael....

... do you know a good angel myth book?


deathwalker wrote:The mythology and belief regarding Angels, including the fallen ones are very interesting. I love the biblical story of METATRON--the angel that stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son Isaac. I'm looking for a Halloween read and your suggestion above might be one of the options. Thanks!

Re: MEMNOCH THE DEVIL

PostPosted: October 28th, 2011, 2:37 pm
by deathwalker
There are varied sources of the Angel story since Christians are not the only group of people who believe in their existence and their history. The story of Metatron is from the First Testament and is also connected with Islam and Jewish beliefs. Just looking at the Christian Angelic Order or Hierarchy (look it up @ wiki) is very cool. Lots of interesting characters and representation.

I own a torn copy of The Apocrypha by Vintage but I havent read it yet just scanned and saw there's the Book of Enoch, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, etc. It consists of the Septuagint--the earliest complete version of the Bible but was not inlcuded in the final, canonical version.

The Millennium tv series by Chris Carter (X Files) is one of my favorite series that tackles on armageddon, demons, and fallen angels. Seeing that episode about a group of demons in a coffee shop talking about their misery is very creepy. If you're looking for a story made by modern authors I think Neil Gaiman wrote a short story about the first fallen angel. It was Murder Mysteries and was adapted into a graphic novel.

Since it's the trend, ther'es a lot of Angel-themed YA reads, just go to the nearest book shop.

Re: MEMNOCH THE DEVIL

PostPosted: October 28th, 2011, 4:36 pm
by Memnoch26
...thanks..

will definitely check out Metatron and Apocrypha... and also Neil Gaiman and Chris Carter...

Re: MEMNOCH THE DEVIL

PostPosted: October 29th, 2011, 12:46 pm
by jquin3
Interesting. Watch the movie "Dogma". In it, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck play two fallen angels who finds a loophole in the Catholic dogma that will allow them to get back to heaven. Its a star-studded fantasy-comedy directed by Kevin Smith. Alan Rickman (Snapes) plays the Metatron (voice of God). Alanis Morisette plays God. Jay and Silent Bob are also there. Medyo irreverent but funny if you dont take it too seriously.

If interested in angel-demon themed fiction, I recommend "This Present Darkness" and "Piercing the Darkness" by Frank Peretti. Excellent read. Its Christian fiction. Not Young Adult lit.

Re: MEMNOCH THE DEVIL

PostPosted: October 29th, 2011, 1:55 pm
by Memnoch26
.. have seen Dogma..

.. will check out the Frank Peretti works...

thanks..


jquin3 wrote:Interesting. Watch the movie "Dogma". In it, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck play two fallen angels who finds a loophole in the Catholic dogma that will allow them to get back to heaven. Its a star-studded fantasy-comedy directed by Kevin Smith. Alan Rickman (Snapes) plays the Metatron (voice of God). Alanis Morisette plays God. Jay and Silent Bob are also there. Medyo irreverent but funny if you dont take it too seriously.

If interested in angel-demon themed fiction, I recommend "This Present Darkness" and "Piercing the Darkness" by Frank Peretti. Excellent read. Its Christian fiction. Not Young Adult lit.

Re: MEMNOCH THE DEVIL

PostPosted: January 24th, 2012, 2:44 pm
by zyrandiel
Loved this book. Left my copy at home. Only read 5 of the VAMPIRE CHRONICLES. I'm hoping there are still copies of THE TALE OF THE BODY THIEF when I get back. Also gotta read MARIUS' story. But "SERVANT OF THE BONES" takes the cake, had a huge impact on me when I was in college ( in fact AZRIEL is still in my name =D ). Sad to say my copy of that book got passed on and on and got lost in the process. =(

Re: MEMNOCH THE DEVIL

PostPosted: January 24th, 2012, 3:25 pm
by Memnoch26
cool.... i also read the first 5...

is there a book for Marius? Is SERVANT of the Bones part of the vampire chronicles? who is the main character ?...


zyrandiel wrote:Loved this book. Left my copy at home. Only read 5 of the VAMPIRE CHRONICLES. I'm hoping there are still copies of THE TALE OF THE BODY THIEF when I get back. Also gotta read MARIUS' story. But "SERVANT OF THE BONES" takes the cake, had a huge impact on me when I was in college ( in fact AZRIEL is still in my name =D ). Sad to say my copy of that book got passed on and on and got lost in the process. =(

Re: MEMNOCH THE DEVIL

PostPosted: January 24th, 2012, 3:36 pm
by zyrandiel
Memnoch26 wrote:cool.... i also read the first 5...

is there a book for Marius? Is SERVANT of the Bones part of the vampire chronicles? who is the main character ?... =(
[/quote]

I think MARIUS' book is titled BLOOD & GOLD. I'm not sure though.

SERVANT OF THE BONES is not a part of THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES. I Recommend this book Memnoch. I hope you'll find it as good as I did.

This is how AZRIEL is described in AnneRice.com:

He is ghost, genii, demon, angel--pure spirit made visible. He pours
his heart out to us as he journeys from an ancient Babylon of royal
plottings and religious upheavals to Europe of the Black Death and on
to the modern world. There he finds himself, amidst the towers of
Manhattan, in confrontation with his own human origins and the dark
forces that have sought to condemn him to a life of evil and
destruction.