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When I heard that Anne Rice had written another book in her Vampire Chronicles Series, “Prince Lestat”, I was eager to read it. I had read all the earlier books and found them inventive and entertaining. But to be honest, the last book of hers I read was probably twenty years ago. It’s been a long time between books. One of the hallmarks of a good series book is that the story can stand alone. The reader shouldn't need any special knowledge of the previous books in order to understand what is happening in the latest offering. But as I began to read “Prince Lestat”, I found I couldn't follow the story at all! It was beyond frustrating to have a half-memory of a character, but not be able to place them. This made the story very tedious for me as I struggled to find my bearings in Anne Rice’s vampire world.
I believe that the author realized that she needed to include some back story to jog the reader’s memory. But the plots of all the books are so intricate, that it seemed to me that all I was reading was back story. And I still wasn't getting up to speed on the plot of the current book! I am not one to abandon a book lightly, but I finally had to end my attempt after about 60 pages.
Anne Rice is a wonderful storyteller, and I am sure that “Prince Lestat”, will be a joy to read in the future. I think, however, I need to start at the beginning and read all of the previous Vampire Chronicles books in order to get full enjoyment out of “Prince Lestat”. Perhaps this is the author’s true objective. If so, well played, Anne Rice, well, played!
