REVIEW: Blood Communion by Anne Rice
Blood Communion
by Anne Rice
Thank you Knopf for this gorgeous copy! SO excited to be back in Anne Rice's world.
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
Publish Date: October 2, 2018
Hardcover
272 Pages
Series: The Vampire Chronicles #13
Genres: Paranormal, Horror
The Vampire Chronicles continue with a riveting, rich saga--part adventure, part suspense--of Prince Lestat and the story of the Blood Communion as he tells the tale of his coming to rule the vampire world and the eternal struggle to find belonging, a place in the universe for the undead, and how, against his will, he must battle the menacing, seemingly unstoppable force determined to thwart his vision and destroy the entire vampire netherworld.
In this spellbinding novel, Lestat, rebel outlaw, addresses the tribe of vampires, directly, intimately, passionately, and tells the mesmerizing story of the formation of the Blood Communion and how he became Prince of the vampire world, the true ruler of this vast realm, and how his vision for all the Children of the Universe to thrive as one, came to be.
The tale spills from Lestat's heart, as he speaks first of his new existence as reigning monarch--and then of his fierce battle of wits and words with the mysterious Rhoshamandes, proud Child of the Millennia, reviled outcast for his senseless slaughter of the legendary ancient vampire Maharet, avowed enemy of Queen Akasha; Rhoshamandes, a demon spirit who refuses to live in harmony at the Court of Prince Lestat and threatens all that Lestat has dreamt of.
As the tale unfolds, Lestat takes us from the towers and battlements of his ancestral castle in the snow-covered mountains of France to the verdant wilds of lush Louisiana with its lingering fragrances of magnolias and night jasmine; from the far reaches of the Pacific's untouched islands to the 18th-century city of St. Petersburg and the court of the Empress Catherine . . .
My Review:
It's been a LONG time since I've read Anne Rice. Years... decades even! I've always been a fan so was excited to get my hands on her latest, Blood Communion. At less than 300 pages, this is considerably shorter than most of her books so was a quick read. The first few chapters summarizes what you may have missed up to this point (this is book 13 in the Vampire Chronicles after all). I did enjoy this since, as I said, it's been really long since I've been in this world.
What I found interesting with this story was that there was more dialogue and less vivid descriptions as I'm used to getting from Rice. There is still that standard luscious violence that happens and the kinship between the majority of the vampires to survive while still having to manage and almost police their own kind. So many questions as to why some things were happening in this book and good lord, if we didn't have enough vampires to try and remember, here's a hundred more! However, I did notice at the back of the ARC that there is an appendix to list the vampires and places so that would've been helpful I think (though to be quite honest, I'm one of the people that rarely reference these types of things in books).
The Blood Communion - the community of vampires that deal with their uniqueness but still have the "human" tendencies of loyalty, love and camaraderie and all the issues pertained to these fallible qualities.
It was definitely nice to be back with Lestat and in this vampiric world. It didn't quite hit me with sharp enough fangs as I would have liked... but with the new Lestat tv series coming up, I'm glad I was able to read about his journey and growth... although, I do think my time reading these chronicles just may be up. EEP! Devoted fans will power through and love this one.
★★★
What I found interesting with this story was that there was more dialogue and less vivid descriptions as I'm used to getting from Rice. There is still that standard luscious violence that happens and the kinship between the majority of the vampires to survive while still having to manage and almost police their own kind. So many questions as to why some things were happening in this book and good lord, if we didn't have enough vampires to try and remember, here's a hundred more! However, I did notice at the back of the ARC that there is an appendix to list the vampires and places so that would've been helpful I think (though to be quite honest, I'm one of the people that rarely reference these types of things in books).
The Blood Communion - the community of vampires that deal with their uniqueness but still have the "human" tendencies of loyalty, love and camaraderie and all the issues pertained to these fallible qualities.
It was definitely nice to be back with Lestat and in this vampiric world. It didn't quite hit me with sharp enough fangs as I would have liked... but with the new Lestat tv series coming up, I'm glad I was able to read about his journey and growth... although, I do think my time reading these chronicles just may be up. EEP! Devoted fans will power through and love this one.
★★★
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