News

Book Review: Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis (Spoiler Free)

Published

7 years ago

November 29, 2016

Every author extends an invitation to their readers. They beckon to us from from shelves in bookstores or, perhaps more often today, from online listings with titles and cover art that promise adventure, discovery of truths, and a new understanding of the world around us. The promises are always there, but only the best follow through completely. Such is the case with Anne Rice’s newest novel Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis.

When last we left Rice’s singular hero, Lestat had taken the spirit Amel, the very core and life force of the vampiric tribe, into his being and was proclaimed the Prince of Vampires. Amel has been one of the central mysteries of the author’s Vampire Chronicles.since we first learned of him in the fantastic Queen of the Damned. This powerful spirit once sought the favor of Maharet and Mekare, the powerful witches brought to Queen Akasha’s court when she learned of their abilities.

The twin witches offend Akasha and she orders her husband King Enkil to have them punished. He instructs his steward to rape the women in front of the entire court to prove that they have no real power and banish them from court. As they wander the desert toward home, Maharet discovers she is pregnant and Mekare, in a fit of rage, instructs Amel to fly back to the court to torment the King and Queen and he takes to the task with relish.

A group of conspirators corner and repeatedly stab Enkil and Akasha until they lie dying in pools of their own blood. Only then does Amel make his ultimate move. He fuses himself to the blood and flesh of King Enkil and Queen Akasha creating the very first vampires in all the world. From that moment on, whatever happens to the vampire who holds the core, can affect the entire tribe.

Now, you’re probably asking yourselves why I’m spending so much time talking about Amel, and the answer couldn’t be more simple. After 40 years of novels and a sprawling dynasty of vampires, Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis is ultimately Amel’s story.

And it is a story for the ages. Rice offers her readers a bombshell wrapped in splendor that we never saw coming, and perhaps never even knew we wanted.

Everything that we have known of the vampires and of Amel up to this point, no matter how beautifully crafted and solidly formed, gives way to depths that this reader never thought possible. In fact, in Rice’s capable hands, I was almost left with the feeling that I should have thought of this before myself. The story grows organically from the themes Rice has infused in the Chronicles from the beginning.

Companionship, family, longing, crushing loneliness, a desperate need for love, a search for meaning in the chaos of the Savage Garden. In short, the things that we all search for are the very same that her vampires desire, and as it turns out, they are the things that Amel once sought himself.

As I promised in the title, there will be no spoilers here. What I will tell you is that as a longtime fan of Anne Rice’s vampires, witches, taltos, castrati, djinn, mummies,spirits, and even more recently werewolves, I was not let down in the least by this book. Rice is at her storytelling best when she allows her characters to reveal their origins in their own voices, and that’s exactly what we get in this book.

With each twist and turn in the story, a new truth is revealed about Rice’s beautiful world, a new layer is peeled back to reveal a new answer that immediately asks another question. In one swift movement in the last thirty pages of the novel, the world and undead life the vampires have known for millenia is completely and irrevocably changed. And the final question is simple.

“What now?”

The author is a tireless researcher and she delves deeply into the lore and legend of Atlantis in a way that expands the mythology of her vampires while honoring Plato and others who first wrote of the island that fell into the sea.

Rice has done what few writers could successfully pull off in Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis. After 40 years and fifteen novels, she completely changed the immortal game, and I, for one, am waiting to see just where the next game piece lands. I was exhausted in the best possible way as I closed the cover and sat back to ponder this powerful journey.

You can order Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or head to your local bookstore on November 29. You don’t want to miss this amazing story.

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Editorial

Yay or Nay: What’s Good and Bad in Horror This Week

Published

4 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Welcome to Yay or Nay a weekly mini post about what I think is good and bad news in the horror community written in bite-sized chunks.

Yay:

Mike Flanagan talking about directing the next chapter in the Exorcist trilogy. That might mean he saw the last one and realized there were two left and if he does anything well it’s draw out a story.

Yay:

To the announcement of a new IP-based film Mickey Vs Winnie. It’s fun to read comical hot takes from people who haven’t even seen the movie yet.

Nay:

The new Faces of Death reboot gets an R rating. It’s not really fair — Gen-Z should get an unrated version like past generations so they can question their mortality the same as the rest of us did.

Yay:

Russell Crowe is doing another possession movie. He’s quickly becoming another Nic Cage by saying yes to every script, bringing the magic back to B-movies, and more money into VOD.

Nay:

Putting The Crow back in theaters for its 30th anniversary. Re-releasing classic movies at the cinema to celebrate a milestone is perfectly fine, but doing so when the lead actor in that film was killed on set due to neglect is a cash grab of the worst kind.

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Lists

The Top-Searched Free Horror/Action Movies on Tubi This Week

Published

20 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The free streaming service Tubi is a great place to scroll when you’re unsure what to watch. They are not sponsored or affiliated with iHorror. Still, we really appreciate their library because it’s so robust and has many obscure horror movies so rare you can’t find them anywhere in the wild except, if you’re lucky, in a moist cardboard box at a yard sale. Other than Tubi, where else are you going to find Nightwish (1990), Spookies (1986), or The Power (1984)?

We take a look at the most searched horror titles on the platform this week, hopefully, to save you some time in your endeavor to find something free to watch on Tubi.

Interestingly at the top of the list is one of the most polarizing sequels ever made, the female-led Ghostbusters reboot from 2016. Perhaps viewers have seen the latest sequel Frozen Empire and are curious about this franchise anomaly. They will be happy to know it’s not as bad as some think and is genuinely funny in spots.

So take a look at the list below and tell us if you are interested in any of them this weekend.

1. Ghostbusters (2016)

Ghostbusters (2016)

An otherworldly invasion of New York City assembles a pair of proton-packed paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker for battle.An otherworldly invasion of New York City assembles a pair of proton-packed paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker for battle.

2. Rampage

When a group of animals becomes vicious after a genetic experiment goes awry, a primatologist must find an antidote to avert a global catastrophe.

3. The Conjuring The Devil Made Me Do It

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren uncover an occult conspiracy as they help a defendant argue that a demon forced him to commit murder.

4. Terrifier 2

After being resurrected by a sinister entity, Art the Clown returns to Miles County, where his next victims, a teenage girl and her brother, await.

5. Don’t Breathe

A group of teens breaks into a blind man’s home, thinking they’ll get away with the perfect crime but get more than they bargained for once inside.

6. The Conjuring 2

In one of their most terrifying paranormal investigations, Lorraine and Ed Warren help a single mother of four in a house plagued by sinister spirits.

7. Child’s Play (1988)

A dying serial killer uses voodoo to transfer his soul into a Chucky doll which winds up in the hands of a boy who may be the doll’s next victim.

8. Jeepers Creepers 2

When their bus breaks down on a deserted road, a team of high school athletes discovers an opponent they cannot defeat and may not survive.

9. Jeepers Creepers

After making a horrific discovery in the basement of an old church, a pair of siblings find themselves the chosen prey of an indestructible force.

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News

Morticia & Wednesday Addams Join Monster High Skullector Series

Published

24 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Believe it or not, Mattel’s Monster High doll brand has an immense following with both young and not-so-young collectors.

In that same vein, the fan base for The Addams Family is also very large. Now, the two are collaborating to create a line of collectible dolls that celebrate both worlds and what they have created is a combination of fashion dolls and goth fantasy. Forget Barbie, these ladies know who they are.

The dolls are based on Morticia and Wednesday Addams from the 2019 Addams Family animated movie.

As with any niche collectibles these aren’t cheap they bring with them a $90 price tag, but it’s an investment as a lot of these toys become more valuable over time.

“There goes the neighborhood. Meet the Addams Family’s ghoulishly glamorous mother-daughter duo with a Monster High twist. Inspired by the animated movie and clad in spiderweb lace and skull prints, the Morticia and Wednesday Addams Skullector doll two-pack makes for a gift that’s so macabre, it’s downright pathological.”

If you want to pre-purchase this set check out The Monster High website.