cover image Prince Lestat: The Vampire Chronicles

Prince Lestat: The Vampire Chronicles

Anne Rice, read by Simon Vance. Random House Audio, , unabridged, 15 CDs, 19 hrs., $45 ISBN 978-0-385-36178-1

Narrator Vance lends his voice to the exciting audio edition of the 11th book in Rice’s Vampire Chronicles series. The Voice, a mysterious power, is compelling older vampires worldwide to annihilate their younger peers. Not since the massacre committed by Akasha, the original Queen of the Damned, have so many vampires been killed in one of Rice’s novels. Through the perspective of Lestat we are reintroduced to favorite characters such as the witch twins, David, Jessie, Marius, Armand, and Louis, along with new characters—the ancient voice and Akasha’s son, Seth,. Vance does a terrific job of creating unique voices for the characters. His rendition of Lestat is spot-on, portraying him with a droll French accent that perfectly captures imperial, hypnotic arrogance of the character. The general pace of the narration is slow and steady. But the story line is nonlinear, and the time frame is not clear at points in the audio edition. A Knopf hardcover. (Dec.)