Review and thoughts about the book Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis
Light spoilers below:
So, as I said before, I am now making my way through the Prince Lestat Trilogy of The Vampire Chronicles books, the only VC books I have never read before now. (Again, excluding Blood Canticle, because no.)
And I have now finished reading the book with not only the craziest of titles, but also with one of the craziest of plots.
And 👏🏾 I 👏🏾 Loved 👏🏾 It! 👏🏾
I loved (almost) everything about this book. Yes, the whole premise is wild and out there, but I still found myself fully engaged at almost every turn.
See, things that take me out of stories -- whether it's books, TV, or films -- have more to do with things like lapses in logic. Or plot holes you can drive a truck through.
Or the thing that raises my anger the most is if I've wasted my time on a story that just descends into clearly lazy writing.
But batshit craziness in a story? And the story still makes sense? Oh yeah, then I'm here for it all day.
And I was totally here for Realms of Atlantis' craziness.
First of all, the lore. Because, oh my god, am I a sucker for some good lore and worldbuilding.
And look, I know damn well Anne Rice did not have this all planned out ahead of time, of course. But it (almost) all still worked for me, particularly when it came to the things about Amel and what makes up the immortal nature of the vampires in the VC world.
And look, I did like the Replimoids, the aliens. Did they feel a bit out of place? Yes, but not enough that it took me completely out of the story or anything. And there was one scene involving one of them with body horror so creepy I actually physically recoiled when reading it. (With a very loudly spoken "EW EW EW EW EEWW!" along with it.)
But the plot they were a part of made everything move fast and had some great twists that kept me fully engaged . . . at least right up until Chapter 19.
Because, oh boy, Chapter 19. Six parts, a little over 100 pages.
And, while the story doesn't technically grind to a halt during it, we are, once again, faced with something I freely admit I was growing so tired of with the Vampire Chronicles when I decided to stop reading them so many years ago, which is -- people sitting around a table listening to a backstory being told.
And look. It was new, unique, and clever when the first book in the series did it. But by book #9? I was very tired of it.
And yep, once again, we get that set up here, in this chapter.
But at least it was just one chapter and not the whole book.
Still, when I figured out, right before that chapter, what was coming up in it, my fast-paced, edge-of-my-seat reading stopped. And I basically had to pace myself more when I got to that chapter.
I'd heard before now that this book basically took the premise of another story Anne Rice was trying to write about Atlantis -- but couldn't make work -- and so just mixed it into the Vampire Chronicles instead. And Chapter 19 is where that really becomes apparent IMO.
But it wasn't all bad for that. Though yes, it pretty much does upend the lore of the VC and gives an even crazier explanation as to why the vampires in this universe are what they are. But I can't say I didn't like it.
Because, again, I do think it almost all works, though it did leave the question as to why it all ended up being human blood they crave as sustenance. (As well as the sharp cravings of innocent blood that Lestat specifically was having via Amel himself.)
But that question aside, everything else completely worked and fit for me. And it also worked to lead into so much else -- both in the past books as well as the rest of the story in this one.
And I did get a real kick out of the real -- as well as theoretical -- extinction event history on Earth that was woven into it all as well.
And hey, the quick pace very much picked up again after Chapter 19. And I was once again on an edge-of-my-seat reading pace again, right up until the end.
Now, a word on some of the characters:
I have to say right out, I think this book had one of the best depictions of Lestat, along with the other books in the series like The Vampire Lestat and Tale of the Body Thief, for me. Honestly, I think the last book where I felt so much for Lestat and what he was going through was in Tale of the Body Thief. (And just a note: I really liked Memnoch the Devil, and I liked Lestat in that book too. I just think Lestat, as he is in PLatRoA, tops it.)
I freely admit, I cried at the end of the final chapter of this book. What Lestat said about love during that whole ending part -- with Amel and then Louis -- was really touching and heartfelt.
Next up, hey look, a more active Louis! His and Lestat's reunion was really sweet (you could feel Lestat trying not to be giddy about it, hehe), and he was actually the one to figure out the answer to a critical problem that The Tribe (as the vampire collective calls themselves) was facing. Which linked back to something he'd gone through in a previous book in the VC, and didn't feel shoehorned in either, just to give Louis more to do. Very well done for something that was not planned ahead of time. He very much does become the consort to Lestat's Prince here, and it was a welcome move for his character IMO.
Amel. I think I went through the most rollercoaster of emotions when it came to Amel's character. I wouldn't say I ever outright hated him, but I did think Lestat at times had the patience of Job when having to put up with him at times, because he was annoying me to death at almost every turn.
But then, Lestat didn't really have a choice in having to put up with him, so he kind of had to have that level of patience about it all.
And look, there were some things regarding Amel's character, specifically his situation with and in Atlantis, that did give off some "white savior" context and visuals, and I would be remiss in not mentioning it, and that it did put me off as well. Maybe unavoidable, given that this part of the story took place (from what I could tell) during the Late Stone Age, meaning sometime between 50,000 to 12,000 years ago, when all of humanity was still very much hunter-gatherers, and this all took place around North Africa/the Mediterranean, from what clues I could figure out. (And maybe somewhere more between 15,000 to 12,000 years ago specifically.)
And then, on top of that, Amel was specifically said to have been taken (by the aliens) from a northern tribe of people, who viewed him as evil/unlucky specifically because he was born with red hair and green eyes. And then, after being sent back to Earth, he specifically doesn't try to destroy humanity, as he'd been instructed to, but tries to save and protect it instead.
So yeah, the white savior trope is there wrt the Atlantis part of Amel's story. Which I freely admit is probably another reason I was likely put off by him, along with some other things regarding him both before and after that.
However, in the end, his saviorism did fail, which was acknowledged and pointed out by the end of the book -- that humanity did find a way to learn and advance on its own without his help or protection.
But honestly, when Kapetria's operation was set to happen, I admit I was more worried about Lestat than Amel -- even if Amel's demise could mean the end of all the vampires in the world.
And look, just thinking about his talk with Lestat in that final chapter makes me smile. But that has much more to do with Lestat -- and Lestat's love for Amel -- than Amel himself, I'd say.
Now, on to my favorite of the new characters in this trilogy, Rhoshamandes. And oh boy, Rhosh -- and what is happening with him -- is one of the reasons why I was so annoyed at Amel at times. (And I've already started reading the next -- and final -- book in the trilogy, Blood Communion, and I'm annoyed by Amel wrt Rhosh in that book as well.)
Rhosh made some poor choices in Prince Lestat, and he continued to make poor choices here as well. But dammit, I still feel for him and feel bad for him. I do believe that all he's ever really wanted at this point is the peaceful life he was living with Benedict. But he's at a point of pride where he can't have that because of what Amel influenced him to do. He is weak, in mind if not in strength, but that weakness also comes from his pride as well.
I do wish we could have seen him and Lestat actually interact more, instead of just the brief summary we got about it from Fareed. Because I do think one of the things Rhosh hates -- and envies -- Lestat about is Lestat's mental strength and fortitude. Because I do think their ability to love -- and love so fearcely -- is something they very much have in common.
But, in contrast, Lestat would have never allowed for the Children of Satan to take his fledglings away, as Rhosh did. Hell, we have proof of that with Lestat going after Nicki when the COS took him. That is one of the major mental fortitude differences between them, and one of the reasons I think Rhosh hates Lestat so. Because it's all more rooted in envy than just simple hate.
That's my read of it all, anyway.
Rhosh and Lestat are mirrors, IMO -- Rhosh being the darker mirror -- and if not for how things unfolded . . . are unfolding . . . I do think they could have had a real kinship and friendship between them.
And now, finally, on to Derek and the rest of the Replimoids. While I didn't find him the most interesting of the Replimoids (for me, that would be Kapetria), he is the one you spend the most time with and feel the most for, given what he goes through. And he very much deserves his anger at Roland and Rhosh for what they did to him.
That said, I really don't have much else to say about him or the other Replimoids. I thought they worked well in this story, but -- having already started the next book, Blood Communion -- questions about them that I had at the end of this one are already starting to be addressed in that book. So I'll hold off on making any declarations about how they will continue to be integrated into the world of the VC for now.
Final Thoughts:
So, all in all, crazy premise and crazy book, but as I said, I loved it. I think the last time I was this engaged and entertained by a VC book was Memnoch the Devil. (Because while I did like books like The Vampire Armand, I can't say I was entertained by it, you know?) And despite its few flaws -- specifically where you can see the seams of two different stories/premises being meshed together -- I think, on the whole, it all still works, and adds on some very interesting new lore that works in the VC world too.
And as said above, I've already started Blood Communion because I so enjoyed this book. And, even with its flaws, I for sure see myself picking up reading this book again, happily.
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 1/2 out of 4
