For fans of Anne Rice and her overwhelmingly popular Vampire Chronicles series, the wait is over. With the release of her latest effort, PRINCE LESTAT, we are treated to the 13th installment of her saga.

Those who are not well versed in these books will find PRINCE LESTAT a daunting task because Rice deftly touches on every single novel in the series, and includes both well-known and peripheral characters within the plot. The anointed fans of the Vampire Chronicles are well rewarded as her latest is a gift that allows you to spend some time with a few dozen “old friends.”

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 11 years since BLOOD CANTICLE was released. That novel, not to mention the entire series, falls squarely in the realm of gothic horror and finds itself as bound by history and deep character development as it does in supernatural elements. Its follow-up, PRINCE LESTAT, is the thinking-person's vampire story and the polar opposite of the Twilight era of teen vamps.

"The book reads like a house on fire, and fans of the series and the many beloved characters will find themselves grinning evilly throughout as they relish time spent with these long-absent fictional friends."

The first 100 pages jumps between many different characters, eras and plotlines. However, the central point is that blood drinkers, or “vampires,” are in serious trouble. Someone or something is encouraging ancient vampires to rise up and burn down legions of the undead around the globe. This “burning” is reminiscent of the actions of the 6,000-year-old Queen of the Vampires, Akasha. Her history and faceoff with Lestat was depicted in THE QUEEN OF THE DAMNED, the third novel in the series.

A disembodied “Voice” has been haunting many of the older vampires and impelling them to rise up and strike down their own kind on a global scale. As groups of frightened undead get together to come up with a game plan on how to deal with this threat, they all wonder where their savior, Prince Lestat, has gone to. Lestat grew to notoriety as the focal point of the first novel, INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. He also rose to fame worldwide for his depictions of the vampire legend spread through both literature and rock music.

Lestat is nowhere to be found --- or at least he does not wish to be found. He is also haunted by the Voice and realizes he must once again take up the mantle of vampire leadership in order to gather the troops and battle this threat to his kind. As this lengthy novel spans the globe and includes dozens of different vampire tales from across the centuries, it all boils down to one big showdown.

Hunkered down at a mansion in New York City called Trinity Gate, Prince Lestat and the other Children of the Millennia gather (Louis, Armand, Pandora, Marius, etc.). We are also treated to Lestat's mortal charges --- Rose and his son, Viktor --- both of whom are directly targeted by the ancient Voice. Once Lestat and company discover what the Voice truly desires, things really begin to heat up.

The book reads like a house on fire, and fans of the series and the many beloved characters will find themselves grinning evilly throughout as they relish time spent with these long-absent fictional friends. Including a prologue and two appendices, PRINCE LESTAT is a textbook of vampire history, and I could not be more pleased that Anne Rice has returned to this world and allowed us to spend time with her immortal creations once again.