Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra Paperback – November 21, 2017

"Hers might not be the haute literature of the age, but she moves her loyal readers, outselling a legion of other popular American writers". When Anne Rice wrote this about one of the leading characters of this novel, she might well have been speaking of herself. In fact, in the character of Sybil Parker, it's easy to see AR turning autobiographical. So who is Sybil Parker? The Passion of Cleopatra is a complicated novel, with a fast paced plot, that really picks up after the main characters, having been established during the first half of the book, all meet up at a British upper crust afternoon social. The novel starts where Ramses the Damned leaves off, published almost 28 years ago. Enough of the plot points and characters are explained inside, so you don't have to worry about getting caught up half way thru a duology. Basically, the novel concerns people transformed immortal from a secret elixir, discovered 6000 years ago, in some forgotten African Kingdom. Ramses steals the elixir during his conquest of the Hittite empire, and consumes it. Faking his death, he assumes the role of advisor to the pharaohs until he fell in love with Cleopatra VII. After Cleopatra commits suicide, Ramses immures himself in a sunless tomb. These immortals are like reverse vampires. Without the sunlight, they decline into a coma, and desiccate. Ramses' corpse was discovered, and his mummy transported to Edwardian England, where sunlight revives him. He then transforms two mortals using the elixir. one being the daughter of the mummy's discoverer, Julie Stratford, and her future father in law, Elliot. Ramses falls in love with Julie, but not before he finds an anonymous mummy in a museum to be the body of Cleopatra, whom he also attempts to resurrect. However, Cleopatra is not able to revive properly, and is a crazed, soulless being. Ultimately, she crashes a speeding car into two trains, and is consumed by flames. As this novel opens, we find Ramses and Julie traveling Europe, and that Cleopatra has not died, but miraculously healed without any scares in a Cairo hospital. She leaves the hospital with her new boyfriend, her attending physician Teddy. Additionally, you have two other immortals in the picture. One an ancient statesman from a forgotten empire, Saqnos, who wants to discover the secret of this elixir of immortality, in order to wield unimaginable power thru an unstoppable army of slaves. Opposing his plans are his Queen, Baktaten, the mysterious, enchanting healer who discovered the elixir's secret, millennia ago. The writer Sybil Parker shares a dark, unexplainable connection to Cleopatra. She leaves Chicago for England, in search of Cleopatra, in order to save herself from going mad, due to her visions of a life in Alexandria, from some distant past.

These are the elements swirled together, to form the novel's core. Rice breathes life into the characters, while weaving a plot that is always engaging. After all the main characters meet at the party hosted to honor the engagement of Julie and Ramses, the rest of the novel demands to be read as quickly as possible. In fact, I read the book in about 3 days. In some ways, I was reminded of "Interview with a Vampire". The immortals in this work, like her vampires, are not the bloodthirsty villains of old Black and White horror films. Instead, they are complicated, sensitive creatures who walk the earth, suffering from the existential ennui of a life without end. Or, they can be power hungry creeps, who only wish to use the gift of immortality for their own advancement. In fact, the only thing that differentiates these immortals from us, is their ravenous appetites for food and sex, along with their bright blue eyes. If you're in the mood for a good mix of interesting characters, fast paced plot, exotic locales and some philosophical musing along the way, this is the novel for you. Anne Rice fans will not be disappointed. Actually, if I'm correct in my assumption, AR is giving us a bit of autobiography with the character of Sybil Parker. That provides this work a little bit of personal insight to this artist, that I found especially charming.

I have been devouring Anne Rice Books since she first began writing! (And I'm not about to tell how old either of us are!) I have never been disappointed in one. They have ALL kept me on the edge of my seat, and afraid of the dark, since book one!

And I promise you, this book, too, will keep you on the edge of your seat! You'll not want to put this one down!

Ramses,  the former Pharoah of Egypt, is discovered in a tomb in 1914. Along with scrolls that he had written more than a thousand years earlier. Along with vials of potions, and poisons.

And old Ramses, isn't quite ready to give up the ghost. And he doesn't want to play alone. He calls upon Cleopatra, who also returns.

As with all Rice books, her characters come alive in her pages. And that's what makes them so horrifyingly real! You know they are, simply by their descriptions! And you know that they are out there in the dark, waiting for you!

BOO!

Seriously, get yourself a good bottle of vino, a long weekend, and plan on curling up with yet another great Anne Rice book.  I read it through in two days straight. Yep, couldn't put it down! I even carried it to the loo with me! Yep, it's that good!

You can purchase the book on Amazon by pre-ordering it now (it's due out November 21, 2017 (yeah, I know, it sucks that I got a preview copy and you have to wait!). Paperback is $12.19 and ebook is $11.99. You really don't want to miss this one so purchase early!

I give Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra by Anne Rick and Christopher Rice five stars,

and a big thumbs up!

I have waited for years for this sequel to Ramses the Damned or The Mummy. I adored the first novel passionately and have wondered if and when Anne would write a sequel and worried that it would not live up to my great expectations.

I read the first chapter or two and found myself clutching the book to my chest. It felt just the same, as if no time at all had passed. The characters were the same, the flow was the same. I found myself tearing through the book to find out what would happen to Ramses, Julie and the evil Cleopatra.

New characters were introduced that were a delight to read- Sybil. I fell in love with her character almost instantly. The new "baddies" are excellent as well.

If like me, you hoped to discover what would happen after the first book ended, this picks right up and swiftly carries the reader into Egypt, Italy and beyond.

As for my concerns about Anne collaborating with her son Christopher, I saw no evidence or hint that anyone but Anne wrote this book. The collaboration was an epic success. Well done to both Anne and Christopher! This book was everything and more that a reader could wish for in a sequel. I look forward to more collaborations between the two of them.

Overall, this book was worth the long wait and everything I wanted and hoped for. Ramses, Julie and Cleopatra have returned for another exciting adventure.