Vampire Wars?

Oh sure, Robert Pattinson is one gorgeous guy. But I don't like him as a vampire. And he will never be as gorgeous as my Lestat.

In Twilight, Edward is a 79 years old vampire who has fallen in love with the 17 year old Isabella Swann. A modern day Romeo and Juliet with a twist. Of course, as a vampire, he is pretty poetic in his dialogues and so is Lestat. In fact, Lestat is more poetic than he is.

So who is Lestat? Well, he is the 200 year old vampire, forever trapped inside the body of his 21 year-old mortal self, in Ann Rice's Vampire Chronicle series (Interview with a Vampire, Vampire Lestat, Queen of the Damned, etc.). He is rogue and elegant, powerful, cunning, and eccentric. And he is definitely more intelligent than Edward Cullen.

Definitely more handsome too (he was portrayed by Tom Cruise in the movie "Intrerview with the vampire" and Stuart Townsend in "Queen of the Damned"). And talking about handsome, well, the vampire Louis is even more handsome than Edward. (in the photo) (left Tom Cruise as Lestat and Brad Pitt-right, as Louis)

When it comes to depth, the Vampire Chronicles is more philosophical. A battle, not between the good and the evil, but between a man and himself. A man torn between his nature as a vampire and his conscience. A man who is evil because he has to kill to live but also a man whose only dream is to become a saint.

Imagine that? A vampire who want to be a saint. Lestat maybe vain, egocentric, materialistic, fiend but he surely one charming and lovable brat-prince. Because that is what exactly he is, a brat prince of the vampires. He is too powerful that even he, could not kill himself. (Photo: Stuart Townsend as Lestat in Queen of the Damned)

Lestat is more intriguing. He speaks like a philosopher, acts like a child who has to get whatever he needs, and sometimes behaves like the fiend that he is.

Of course, in the movies, its a battle between who is the most handsome vampire. But in the world of literature? I find the Vampire Chronicles deeper and thought-provoking than the Twilight Series.

It is not a story of two lovestruck teenagers who happens to be as compatible as the spider and the fly, the vampire chronicles talks more of the complexity of the human spirit, the struggle between being evil and being good, and the complexity of the idea of heaven and hell.

The story in Twilight is a story that has been told a thousand times already. It is the story of the frog prince and the princess, the story of beauty and the beast, and so on. It is a story of two people from different worlds (and yes, different species also) who falls in love and conquers the odds. Told in different ways but ends up all the same.

But how are you going to conquer yourself? How are you going to be good when you are made to be evil? When you live in evil? When you are the literal personification of evil? How can you dream of saving the world when you have to kill to live? How can you justify heaven and God when you are seen as the minion of Satan? How can you dream to be mortal when ordinary people would kill just to be immortal?

Intriguing, funny, thought provoking, a piece of literature that is meant to conquer the years and proliferate regardless of generation. Lestat is one character who is as enigmatic as the Quantum, as mysterious as the stonehenge and will probably live through time like the legends of Hercules and the Atlantis.

He is one monster I would very much love to keep under my bed. He is one devil I would never mind meeting. A vampire I would gladly offer my blood to. He is mine, and I am his.