Blood Communion

Every time, finishing an Anne Rice vampire book, I vow it will be the last one. I will read no more. 

No more interior, existential struggles of Lestat. No more vampire soul searching. No more loving relationships between the vampires. No more descriptions of velvet and lace vampire wardrobes. No more paying for a new book filled with long-winded passages recapping past stories in “The Vampire Chronicles.”

Almost every time, for more than 30 years, I make the vow. No more Lestat. No more “Vampire Chronicles.” No more Anne Rice.

Then, every time a new Lestat book is published, the vow is broken. The book is purchased. And the vicious love-hate struggle begins again.

But not this time.

Rice’s latest “Vampire Chronicles” is “Blood Communion: A Tale of Prince Lestat.”

It is the the third book since Lestat has become the ruling prince of the vampires.

Here, he faces old enemies. Allies want him to rule more harshly, to kill enemies. They whisper in his ear to remember, remember, vampires don’t want love; they want to kill. It’s in their nature.

Lestat makes compromises but still rules the court in his own way. In a way that consolidates the vampires of the world in a welcoming fashion. In a way that the once arrogant Lestat rules as a first among equals.

“Blood Communion” is only about 250 pages. Much shorter than most “Vampire Chronicles” novels. But the book is better for the fewer pages. There’s a mix of adventure, of suspense and horror, without shortchanging the personalities of any of the long-running characters.

This is a Lestat, I would be happy to see and read about again. Just like my experience reading “The Vampire Lestat,” the second book in “The Vampire Chronicles,” more than 30 years ago.

But “Blood Communion” reads like a final volume. The book has a happily ever after vibe. Like it could well be the last chapter of “The Vampire Chronicles.” 

Perhaps, Anne Rice is done. Perhaps, she’s taking a break from Lestat as she did for several years until the publication of “Prince Lestat” a handful of years ago.

“Blood Communion” is not the place for new readers to start with Lestat. A new reader should arguably start with the first book “Interview with the Vampire” but a reader could just as well start with “The Vampire Lestat.”

Then decide book by book if it’s worth continuing. There are some gems in the series. There are plenty of lesser works, too.

But long-time readers should find “Blood Communion” a reminder why thousands have returned to the series again and again.