My only experience of Anne Rice before this was Interview with the Vampire... the movie. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and had heard many great things about Anne Rice, but never picked up one of her books. I regret this decision immensely. While Blood Communion is the latest in The Vampire Chronicles, I enjoyed the book quite a bit. I loved the characters and the world created by Rice. Her descriptions of everything were beautifully vivid and I just wanted more and more. There were a lot of characters who popped up throughout the book that had apparently appeared in previous books, but Rice did a great job with keeping newer readers like myself in the loop with short descriptions of these characters. This book has definitely convinced me to take the time to go back to the beginning and explore this rich story from the start.

I think if you’re a Lestat fanatic you’re either going to love or hate this book. Personally I found it an entertaining read, happy to just let the narrative happen and switch off my inner critic in a way that so rarely happens for me anymore. That said I’ve always been far more interested in the Witches and the Talemasca than in the (let’s face it) pretty damn emo vampires. There was a bit of a rehash over stuff that had happened in previous books and I don’t think this ever really quite got back to the heights of the previous vampire chronicles. That said it was a marked improvement on the previous book. Lestat is his usual brilliant, flawed, brash and self-involved self. Three centuries has not given him time to develop into anything more than a spoiled princeling and some of it is a bit wearing. However if you let it go over your head, he’s an excellently entertaining companion. Think of him like one of those people you only associate with at parties – fun for a few hours of sparkling repartee but obviously don’t take them home. So I enjoyed it and if you are a fan of the Chronicles then you don’t need me to recommend it – I imagine you’ll read it anyway. If you’re a newbie, start with The Vampire Lestat and work up to this one, back tracking to Interview for completeness.

I was so happy when this ARC was approved and loved the book. It was really better than the previous one, more vampire centered and more similar to the old Vampire Chronicle instalments.
It's a fast and enjoyable read with some great horror&gore moments and the basis for new developments.
Lestat is at his usual narcissistic and boisterous self, full of love and good intentions. I'd have preferred some more Louis, my favourite characters, but I had a lot of fun so I cannot complain.
The canon is getting more complex, new concept and new characters are introduced and some old are removed.
The books is shorter than usual, a bit slow at the beginning.
I think this book is for fun of Rice's books and would not be the best one to start the series.
I recommend to people who already read the rest of the series.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Random House UK, Vintage Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC