Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis

Rice teases readers with questions—what is the place called Atalantaya, and what does Amel, the Core that connects all vampires and currently resides in vampire prince Lestat, have to do with it?—for fully half of her 12th Vampire Chronicles novel (after 2014’s Prince Lestat), which spans our entire world and beyond, before a cohesive narrative coalesces around the answers. When any of the 12,000-year-old self-cloning aliens called Replimoids take center stage, there are interesting sparks. They soon fade, though, as Lestat and his confidants (and the reader) wait for anything to happen. But when Kapetria, who speaks for the Replimoids, begins to give real information to Lestat and members of his court about Amel and the Replimoids’ origins, the book finally catches fire. Initially, the concept of adding aliens to vampires, spirits, and witches is an eye roller, but Rice exhibits tremendous skill in making the impossible seem not only possible but logical. She sets up a nail-biting dilemma involving the continued existence of vampires, and the second half of the book roars satisfyingly past. Agent: Lynn Nesbit, Janklow & Nesbit. (Dec.)