Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis

October 31, 2016
Rice teases readers with questions—what is the place called Atalantaya, and what does Amel, the Core that connects all vampires and currently resides in vampire prince Lestat, have to do with it?—for fully half of her 12th Vampire Chronicles novel (after 2014’s Prince Lestat), which spans our entire world and beyond, before a cohesive narrative coalesces around the answers. When any of the 12,000-year-old self-cloning aliens called Replimoids take center stage, there are interesting sparks. They soon fade, though, as Lestat and his confidants (and the reader) wait for anything to happen. But when Kapetria, who speaks for the Replimoids, begins to give real information to Lestat and members of his court about Amel and the Replimoids’ origins, the book finally catches fire. Initially, the concept of adding aliens to vampires, spirits, and witches is an eye roller, but Rice exhibits tremendous skill in making the impossible seem not only possible but logical. She sets up a nail-biting dilemma involving the continued existence of vampires, and the second half of the book roars satisfyingly past. Agent: Lynn Nesbit, Janklow & Nesbit.

November 1, 2016
Having perhaps bled all the possibilities out of earthly children of the night, Rice (Prince Lestat, 2014, etc.) takes a bite out of two big bodies of myth.Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. Pity poor Prince Lestat; he was once able to roam the world without a care, nipping and frolicking, but now he has administrative duties and, with them, fresh enemies seeking a shot at power. One constant source of irritation is the stately Rhoshamandes who has suddenly come into an all-day sucker of a captive whose ever flowing juice has "nutrients that human blood does not have." A fine thing for a vampire's inventory, to be sure, but a portal as well into a world whose technology, as so often happens, has outpaced its morals. Down in that watery realm, the denizens scorn the place where "a dreadful thing had happened in that mammals had gained self-awareness and intelligence and now ruled the planet." The better to provide vampire chow, one might say. But the Atalantayans have their hungers, too, and the hungriest of them seems to have latched on to poor Lestat. Inner voice, nothing: Amel is much more than a haunting spirit, "as different from ghosts," another superevolved being tells us, "as angels are from humans." Who will prevail? Well, if Amel sometimes conjures Charlie Manson, Lestat sounds like Twiggy once the fussing and feuding between immortal domains is settled: "This is our universe," he says, "We too are made of stardust as are all things on this planet; we too belong." Yeah, well. Fans of Rice's vampire fiction will feast on whatever they can of hers, but Ignatius Donnelly/Edgar Cayce aficionados may twitch at all the "kindred in the Blood" stuff uneasily mixed in with the old lost continent mythos. Rice's latest excursion into otherly realms may leave some readers feeling overstuffed--but others, to be sure, will be hungry for more.

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November 1, 2016
Lestat is changing the lives of vampires worldwide. As Rice continues the new sequence in her Vampire Chronicles, following Prince Lestat (2014), Lestat is the host for Amel, the spirit who allows all vampires to exist. Lestat's court is developing into a strong, governing force that is uniting the undead. But with the resurgence of vampire culture comes a new creature, one even the oldest vampires have never seen. These four beings are immortal, intelligent, and hold the key to the mystery Lestat and his followers have been desperately trying to crack: Who exactly is Amel, and where did he come from? And why do Amel's consorts dream of a beautiful oceanic city burning? Lestat and his four new acquaintances find themselves intertwined together in a way they never anticipated, with Amel and the city of Atalantaya at the center of it all. Rice is the great and enduring chronicler of vampires, ghosts, and witches, and these new creatures fit seamlessly into her imaginative world as she offers fans a new perspective on the mythical origin of her beloved Lestat and his vampires.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The appetite for Rice increases as her newest spin-off takes hold, backed by a monster print run and promotional campaign.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)