Anne Rice - Angel Time

(Chatto & Windus)

Occasionally a book comes along that is so mind-bogglingly dreadful that it’s hard to find the words to describe the depths of its naff, cliché-ridden banality. But let’s give it a go. This is the start of a new fictional series from Anne Interview with a Vampire Rice, about a deadly hitman who is redeemed while trotting around on time-travelling adventures courtesy of an angel. Quantum Leap for fans of tasteless, laughable cod-Gothic historical fiction, in other words.

This outing sees our American assassin Lucky the Fox (yes, really) pointlessly plunged into the body of a monk in a hilariously corny 13th century Norwich to save some Jews from persecution. Rice’s style throughout is a mix of horribly over-egged melodrama and pseudo-spiritual existentialism which constantly grates. Her prose is unbelievably clunky and clumsy and her collection of cardboard characters would each benefit from a solid punch to the face. Simply appalling.