Prince Lestat: A Review (Spoiler Free)

Prince Lestat: The Vampire Chronicles

By Anne Rice

Release Date: October 28, 2014

Review by Sarabeth Pollock

Review Date:  November 1, 2014

 

The Vampire Lestat is back.

After eleven years, Anne Rice has returned to The Vampire Chronicles in a purely brilliant tour de force that’s sure to delight fans young and old.  Rice is a master at creating vibrant mythologies.  From her vampires to her witches and everything in between, she cultivates worlds that are rich with history and character.  It’s clear that everything in the book has been meticulously researched, and every detail cross referenced for accuracy.  Prince Lestat is no exception; this is an epic story that spans 8,000 years and brings together the familiar faces fans know and love as well as exciting newcomers who make a welcome addition to the mythos.

The story begins with a mysterious Voice that has been causing a stir among the world’s vampire population, speaking to the elders and telling them to exterminate the hordes of fledglings that have amassed over the years.  There’s a bit of an overpopulation problem facing the vampire world since The Burning that took place during Akasha’s reign of terror in Queen of the Damned.  Now, scores of vampires are dying around the world and there’s no telling who will be next.  That leaves the million dollar question: Who is behind this Voice and what does it want?

Lestat returns as our fearless narrator.  Lestat is as puzzled by the Voice as everyone else, and he’s determined (albeit reluctantly) to get to the bottom of it.  He weaves through time like a warm knife cuts through butter.  We move from present day to the time just after the events of The Tale of the Body Thief, and all parts in between.  Along the way we meet up with old friends who are equally concerned about this Voice and its motivations, and this quest for answers unearths many shocking truths that will impact the vampire world for years to come.

It’s not difficult to understand Lestat’s magnetism and how it has continued to grow over the years.  Lestat, as an archetype, is appealing to many people in the same way that Tom Hiddleston’s Loki appealed to so many in Thor and The Avengers.  They’re dark heroes, anti-heroes, and their charismatic personalities make them irresistible, even when they’re at their most exasperating.  Lestat has been on a quest for redemption for a long while, dating back to well-before 2003’s Blood Canticle.  Prince Lestat takes Lestat full circle on his quest, though he never stops being the Brat Prince his fans know and love.

Anne Rice books are like beautiful symphonies, and Prince Lestat is no different: It starts out slowly, allowing the drama and anticipation to build, until the story reaches a feverish crescendo.  The only issue I had with Prince Lestat is that it wasn’t long enough!  At 460 pages, the story felt a bit rushed toward the end, but this might be due to the numerous characters that show up to move the story along.  The book could have been a thousand pages and still felt rushed.  I wanted to hear more from the other characters to learn about where they have been over the years, but hopefully this will happen with future novels.  The world of Anne Rice’s vampires is ripe with possibility.

In an age where authors are granted movie rights before their novels hit bookstores, it’s refreshing that in spite of the eleven year gap since the last installment of The Vampire Chronicles, Lestat and his companions are back in even finer form, sporting their “flashing” silk ties, fine lace and velvet frock coats.  These details make Anne Rice novels what they are: modern literature at its finest.  I’m keenly aware that I’m reading an author whose writing will be considered a classic for generations to come.  Prince Lestat is a delightful read and will satisfy die-hard fans of The Vampire Chronicles and entice new blood to the fold.

 

Jumping Around the Vampire Chronicles

I bought The Vampire Chronicles Volume I for my Nook.  I already have the books, and in some cases I have more than one copy.  But I knew that if I had the books on my Nook I’d read them even more.  And it’s true.  This also means that I’ve been skipping around the Vampire Chronicles gleefully, revisiting passages that I haven’t seen in a while.  Jumping ahead to the Queen of the Damned has been a lot of fun.  Reading about Armand and Daniel has been the most enjoyable.  I’ve always enjoyed those two.

I’ve been insanely busy the past few weeks, but being able to catch up to my old friends has been great.  It’s always wonderful to be able to pick up a much-loved book and fall back into it as if reading it for the first time.  I feel like I’m falling in love with Anne Rice’s vampires all over again, and now that I’ve been to New Orleans, I’m finding a whole new connection to the books.

Project Vampire Chronicles: The Re-Read

In 1994 my friend took me to see Interview with the Vampire in the theater.  I was 14 and all I knew was that I was mesmerized.  I’d never heard of Anne Rice or Lestat or the books.  For me, it was just a movie. (And it’s crazy to think that the movie is celebrating its 20^th anniversary this year!)

At the time, I wasn’t concerned with symbolism or imagery.  I just liked the movie.  As a history lover (later I would graduate college with a double major, with one being History), I fell in love with the idea of watching a character move through so many time periods.  I never overlooked the part about what a vampire must do to survive; I liked that Anne Rice’s characters didn’t forget that either.  I thought it was a smart way to portray their eternal predilection: some vampires relished it, some abhorred it, some tolerated it, and some managed to survive by doing the least amount of damage possible.  The same can be said of conscience: some vampires are directed by an eternal crisis of conscience, while others choose to embrace the spirit of carpe diem.

A few weeks later my family went to the mountains for Christmas, and we stopped in a little market on the way to buy snacks.  There on the book rack was a copy of Interview with the Vampire.  I bought it, and I spent the rest of the trip enveloped in the world of Anne Rice and her vampires.  We returned home five days later, I rushed to the bookstore and bought the sequels: The Vampire Lestat, Queen of the Damned, and Tale of the Body Thief.  I read those in a matter of days.  I couldn’t get enough.

Memnoch the Devil was the first book that came out while I was a fan.  That was 1995 and I was 15, and while I found the book to be entertaining, I have to admit that it didn’t resonate with me.

Years have passed and now I’m 33.  A new book in the Vampire Chronicles is being released in October and it features the Vampire Lestat.  You might recall that Anne Rice said she would never bring Lestat back after his exodus in The Blood Canticle.  Interestingly, that was released back in 2003 when Anne Rice had been embracing Christianity.  In 2010 she famously split from Christianity and returned to her supernatural roots with The Wolf Gift.  That said, it will be interesting to see if Lestat is still pursuing sainthood.

I’ve decided to embark on a journey.  I’m going to re-read The Vampire Chronicles before the new book comes out, and I’m going to post my thoughts, reflections and comments on my blog.  I’m hoping to find things that I missed before.  I’m really looking forward to this little journey.  I hope you’ll join me along the way, and I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you!