At about a third of the way through this book comes an uncomfortable realization that Anne Rice has made Jesus, whom she calls Yeshua, a rather flimsy adult character. He seems more like one of the doubt-filled vampires who populated the books that made Rice famous rather than one who inspired people to leave their work and families to follow him in life, the one to eventually change kingdoms, save souls, and influence the course of history for the past 2,000 years. It is frustrating given Rice’s dynamic portrayal of Christ as a young boy in “Out of Egypt,” the first novel in her “Christ the Lord” series. Yet, about halfway through this novel, she shows the changes in Yeshua. He comes into his own. He saves a friend, saves Nazareth, stands up to family and neighbors. He meets John the Baptist and wanders into the wilderness to return home in time to turn water into wine. It is a gratifying and exciting change, which underscores what appears to be the dramatic changes within Anne Rice. She rose to fame writing about her popular Vampire Lestat in books such as “Interview with the Vampire.” In the vampire book, “Memnoch the Devil,” Rice even scoffed at the concept of God becoming a human. She was a self-proclaimed atheist, who renounced her Catholic upbringing. As Rice noted in a foreword for “Out of Egypt,” she discovered her religion again upon the death of her husband several years ago. She wanted to trade her supernatural tales of vampires for a more religious story. In some ways, her storytelling style and themes have not changed. She uses a first-person narrative told by a person with immense supernatural powers. In the past those narrators have been the vampires and witches of her successful series of books. Now that narrator is Jesus as Yeshua. There will likely be another “Christ the Lord” book, at least one more depending on how she handles a novelization of the Gospels. But she is also considering writing at least one more book about Lestat. Something she had promised never to do again. Rice told Time magazine that she is considering a Lestat book about redemption.