I've read all of the books in The Vampire Chronicles, so I had to finish this one. I enjoyed it up to Part II - Born In Atlantis, then I started skimming. I hate to do that but when Anne Rice starts getting into her description mode, it can be a bit much. Her idea of how the lost city of Atlantis was formed by Amel after being captured by aliens was as good a guess as anyone's, but not one to hold my attention. I did love the update on all my favorite vampires. Lestat, as Prince, is getting a little boring though. I think he needs to become the brat again. ( )

This could be a good place for the series to end ( )

This could be a good place for the series to end ( )

Anne Rice parvient dans ce roman, le douzième des Chroniques des vampires, à insuffler un renouveau bienvenu. En introduisant la planète Bravenna, les Parents qui y habitent et qui créent Amel puis les Réplimoïdes pour les envoyer sur la Terre, Anne Rice permet de renouveler le type d'intrigue en ajoutant de nouvelles menaces pour les vampires.En parallèle, elle fait apparaître quasiment tous les vampires connus (seuls Jessica Reeves, Daniel Malloy, Petronia, Manfred Blackwood et Eugénie de Landen semblent manquer à l'appel), continuant ainsi à mettre l'ensemble de la communauté au centre du roman et non plus seulement quelques uns comme elle a pu le faire dans les dix premiers tomes de sa série. Le roman est très agréable à lire et même si le suspense n'y est pas très présent, l'apparition des Réplimoïdes et leurs interactions avec les vampires et Amel rendent le tout très intéressant. ( )

Prince Lestat by Anne Rice was a disappointing read for me in 2017, which has made the next in The Vampire Chronicles series - Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis - a real worrisome presence on my TBR. Given to me for Christmas in 2016, it even made my Intimidating Books on My Bookshelf post for Boomerang Books back in May 2018.

Reviewing this post recently, I realised I was yet to tackle any of the books from the list and decided Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis was the easiest and most accessible. And I'm so glad I did. Anne Rice has returned to form and the storyline has moved quickly on from the stagnancy of the previous novel. What a relief.

The history behind Amel's beginnings were unexpected and the revelations about Atlantis were engaging. The overall message about the creation of mankind as we know it allowed Rice a particular slant on things which didn't involve religion and was therefore a refreshing take on humanity as we know it.

Our favourite vampires were present in the novel and once again we heard from some of them in alternating chapters. I don't mind admitting I found the complex relationships between fledglings and makers and their overlapping histories a little difficult to keep up with at times, but fortunately Rice continually reminds us of their connections to one another.

I enjoyed hearing about Marius's efforts to create a constitution to govern the blood drinkers and I hope to learn more about the rules established for the court in future books. Speaking of the court, classical music was played - and mentioned - every night at the Chateau and the observations about dress were present on every page. That said, there did appear to be a little less description in favour of a tad more action this time around which was welcomed.

Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis by Anne Rice cannot be read as a stand alone, but the good news is the next in this series was published in 2018 and is called Blood Communion (Book 13). I've decided to continue with the series and look forward to reading it. ( )