Prince Lestat

August 18, 2014
Compared to the poorly received Blood Canticle (2003), Rice’s newest Vampire Chronicles installment is triumphant. The Voice, a mysterious power, is compelling older vampires worldwide to annihilate the more newly made. Not since the massacre committed by Akasha, the original Queen of the Damned, have so many vampires been killed in one of Rice’s novels. The narrative is often nonlinear; in many chapters the elders reveal their backstories before heeding a young vampire’s frantic pleas for them to convene in Manhattan to uncover the Voice’s agenda and stop it. All wait for Lestat to lead them, but he remains reluctant until the last minute. Rice fills the dense story with plenty of deliciously gory mythology, but many of the info-dumps are bone-dry. Lestat’s journey from brat to prince fits his personality, but his attitude irritates even during the book’s fascinating climax.

March 23, 2015
Narrator Vance lends his voice to the exciting audio edition of the 11th book in Rice’s Vampire Chronicles series. The Voice, a mysterious power, is compelling older vampires worldwide to annihilate their younger peers. Not since the massacre committed by Akasha, the original Queen of the Damned, have so many vampires been killed in one of Rice’s novels. Through the perspective of Lestat we are reintroduced to favorite characters such as the witch twins, David, Jessie, Marius, Armand, and Louis, along with new characters—the ancient voice and Akasha’s son, Seth,. Vance does a terrific job of creating unique voices for the characters. His rendition of Lestat is spot-on, portraying him with a droll French accent that perfectly captures imperial, hypnotic arrogance of the character. The general pace of the narration is slow and steady. But the story line is nonlinear, and the time frame is not clear at points in the audio edition. A Knopf hardcover.