After a decade away from the vampires that made her famous, author Anne Rice returned to Lestat and his vampiric cohorts in 2014’s novel Prince Lestat, kicking off a whole new run of her legendary Vampire Chronicles series. Now the second volume of this new iteration of the Vampire Chronicles has officially been announced, via Entertainment Weekly, and it’s called Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis. 

The new novel arrives on November 29th, and it is Anne Rice’s 36th book overall (14th in her vampire series). Entertainment Weekly has a preview of the novel’s cover—as seen above—and you can read an excerpt of the book as well by clicking here. You can read the full official synopsis from the publisher below:

“In my dreams, I saw a city fall into the sea. I heard the cries of thousands. I saw flames that outshone the lamps of heaven. And all the world was shaken…” –Anne Rice, Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis

At the novel’s center: the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, hero, leader, inspirer, irresistible force, irrepressible spirit, battling (and ultimately reconciling with) a strange otherworldly form that has somehow taken possession of Lestat’s undead body and soul. This ancient and mysterious power and unearthly spirit of vampire lore has all the force, history, and insidious reach of the unknowable Universe.

It is through this spirit, previously considered benign for thousands of vampire years and throughout The Vampire Chronicles, that we come to be told the hypnotic tale of a great sea power of ancient times; a mysterious heaven on earth situated on a boundless continent–and of how and why, and in what manner and with what far-reaching purpose, this force came to build and rule the great legendary empire of centuries ago that thrived in the Atlantic Ocean.

And as we learn of the mighty, far-reaching powers and perfections of this lost kingdom of Atalantaya, the lost realms of Atlantis, we come to understand its secrets and how and why the vampire Lestat, indeed all the vampires, must reckon so many millennia later with the terrifying force of this ageless, all-powerful Atalantaya spirit.

Several years ago, Rice revealed plans to produce a book based on the legends of Atlantis. She once mentioned plans for this Atlantean novel in an interview, saying “It’s a book about immortals that have been on this planet since ancient Atlantis. It’s really thrilling to be writing about immortals who are not vampires. You don’t have to kill anybody, you don’t have to drink any blood, but they’re immortal. I get to have all the fun of describing how they see us and how they see our culture and see our Christian faith and all of those things from their perspective.” That book never came out, but it seems she has fused those ideas to her vampire mythology (which contains several other supernatural creatures as well).

Plans continue for a Vampire Chronicles movie reboot from director Josh Boone, although its been quiet on that front lately. Hopefully Lestat’s return to novels will precipitate his return to the big screen as well.

What do you think of Rice tackling the mythology of Atlantis? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Image: Alfred A. Knopf