Tale Of The Body Thief Essay Research

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Tale of the Body Thief is Anne Rice?s fourth book in the vampire series. Tale of

the Body Thief is the story of the dumbest decision Lestat ever made. A strange man,

named Raglan James, makes Lestat an offer that he cannot refuse. Raglan offers Lestat

the chance to become human again by switching bodies with himself by switching their

spiritual bodies into the other?s physical body. Even though two of his close friends,

Louis (a vampire whom he created) and David Talbot (his human friend who is a member

of an organization similar to the FBI known as the Telemasca), warn him that this man

may be out to steal Lestat?s preternatural body.

Lestat is intrigued by the offer and sees James again about what he wanted in

exchange for giving Lestat the chance to be human again. James merely wished to have

ten million dollars for a one day and two night switch. Lestat tells Raglan he will consider

the deal and they set up a meeting place if Lestat decides to go through with it. After this

meeting Lestat visits with both David and Louis who once again insist that it is to

dangerous to leave his body in the hands of someone he knows nothing about. Lestat

promises both of them that he will not go through with it, but his urge to see the sunrise

again and just to be human again is to much for him to pass up.

After the switch Raglan takes off with his body and Lestat is stuck with the weak

human body which he does not remember how to maintain. After a near death experience

with pneumonia Lestat turns to Louis for help. Louis refuses to help and Lestat?s creator,

Marius, also refuses to help. At this point Lestat turns to his last friend and last hope,

David Talbot. David agrees to help Lestat because he loves him and does not trust

Lestat?s body in Raglan?s hands. They figure out that Raglan is on a cruise ship in the

Caribbean. After David teaches Lestat how to spiritually jolt James out of the body and

take it back over himself they board the boat. After a confrontation with James, Lestat

recovers his body, while Raglan and David disappear.

After Lestat searches for David for a few days he finds him back at the Telemasca

Headquarters. David tells Lestat that he wants to be changed into a vampire and Lestat,

who loves David is more than willing to comply. After Lestat bites David he realizes that

its actually Raglan inside of David?s body. At this point Lestat throws Raglan head first

into the wall without thinking that the body is David?s, killing it. David then arrives in

Raglan?s body and Lestat does not know what to do. After realizing how much he loves

David, Lestat cannot bear to think about David really dying so he changes David into a

vampire against David?s will. Eventually David forgives Lestat for changing him and they

go to Rio together.