Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Atlantida Editorial S.A. (2002), 288 pages
Description
With Pandora, Anne Rice began a magnificent new series of vampire novels. Now, in the second of her New Tales of the Vampires, she tells the mesmerizing story of Vittorio, a vampire in the Italian Age of Gold. Educated in the Florence of Cosimo de' Medici, trained in knighthood at his father's mountaintop castle, Vittorio inhabits a world of courtly splendor and country pleasures--a world suddenly threatened when his entire family is confronted by an unholy power. In the midst of this upheaval, Vittorio is seduced by the vampire Ursula, the most beautiful of his supernatural enemies. As he sets out in pursuit of vengeance, entering the nightmarish Court of the Ruby Grail, increasingly more enchanted (and confused) by his love for the mysterious Ursula, he finds himself facing demonic adversaries, war and political intrigue. Against a backdrop of the wonders--both sacred and profane--and the beauty and ferocity of Renaissance Italy, Anne Rice creates a passionate and tragic legend of doomed young love and lost innocence.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Aloel
Educated in the Florence of Cosimo de' Medici, trained in knighthood at his father's mountaintop castle, Vittorio inhabits a world of courtly splendor and country pleasures -- a world suddenly threatened when his entire family is confronted by an unholy power.
In the midst of this upheaval, Vittorio
Against a backdrop of the wonders -- both sacred and profane -- and the beauty and ferocity of Renaissance Italy, Anne Rice creates a passionate and tragic legend of doomed young love and lost innocence.
In the midst of this upheaval, Vittorio
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is seduced by the vampire Ursula, the most beautiful of his supernatural enemies. As he sets out in pursuit of vengenace, entering the nightmarish Court of the Ruby Grail, increasingly more enchanted (and confused) by his love for the mysterious Ursula, he finds himself facing demonic adversaries, war and political intrigue.Against a backdrop of the wonders -- both sacred and profane -- and the beauty and ferocity of Renaissance Italy, Anne Rice creates a passionate and tragic legend of doomed young love and lost innocence.
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LibraryThing member LibraryCin
Vittorio is telling a tale of his life 450ish years ago, in the mid-15th century in Italy, before he was turned into a vampire. His family was slain, but he was left to live by a beautiful vampire, Ursula.
Not great. Initially I thought it might be ok, but with the angels and such, boring. In fact,
Not great. Initially I thought it might be ok, but with the angels and such, boring. In fact,
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I kind of missed when he became a vampire (that is, I thought he had before he actually did). Between this and Memnoch the Devil, I think I'm finished with Anne Rice. At least it was quick and I can get the book out of my house. Show Less
LibraryThing member surreality
Plot: A weak and very constructed plot with occasionally gaping holes. Most of the story simply isn't believable, in particular the relationship of Ursula and Vittorio that is expected to carry most of the plot. The book feels very unfinished and does not reach a true ending.
Characters: A
Style: The plot is too weak to carry the story, and the descriptions weigh it down further. The setting in Renaissance Italy could have been so much more interesting than it is if it had been fleshed out a little more. The religious aspect is not as heavily enforced as in later books, but it is enough to suffocate the writing.
Plus: Occasional nice writing. No re-telling of past books.
Minus: The book fails to generate any interest whatsoever. Turning the last page is done with a faint feeling of relief that the boredom is finally over.
Summary: It's not really part of the Vampire Chronicles, and needs to be read only for completion's sake.
Characters: A
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completely new cast of vampires, but none of them are interesting in any way. Characterization is skipped over whenever it doesn't concern religious or sexual issues, and even there it is done crudely. No love was involved when these characters were created. Style: The plot is too weak to carry the story, and the descriptions weigh it down further. The setting in Renaissance Italy could have been so much more interesting than it is if it had been fleshed out a little more. The religious aspect is not as heavily enforced as in later books, but it is enough to suffocate the writing.
Plus: Occasional nice writing. No re-telling of past books.
Minus: The book fails to generate any interest whatsoever. Turning the last page is done with a faint feeling of relief that the boredom is finally over.
Summary: It's not really part of the Vampire Chronicles, and needs to be read only for completion's sake.
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LibraryThing member ragwaine
Too short, not enough characters, not enough plot. Good writing.
LibraryThing member MoiraStirling
THIS novel is a commercial. A very gruesome, silly, why-didn't-I-turn-the-channel, commercial. I found myself deconstructing the plot and unraveling the characters, which is NOT something you want to be doing when reading...you want to be caught up in the world portrayed. This is actually on level
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with Pandora, I think. (Please note: that is not a compliment.) Show Less
LibraryThing member dakobstah
Although it will never hold the same place in my heart that "Interview with the Vampire" does this book is the best written of all of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. It is shorter but more carefully edited and tightly plotted. This book restored my faith in the Vampire Chronicles in the wake of
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"The Vampire Armand." A must-read for all Anne Rice fans, especially those who feel that some of her later works are a bit too sprawling and tired. Show Less
LibraryThing member PigOfHappiness
A bit strange as Vittorio is a somewhat new character to the series, however, enjoyable nonetheless. Appropriate for high school and beyond.
LibraryThing member dehbiisu
Hook, line, and sinker. This book was the beginning of my journey thru the mind of Anne Rice's vampires. I have since then, get this incredible and inconsolable urge to pick up another of her novels, and read till fully consumed.
LibraryThing member thioviolight
It was nice revisiting the vampires of Anne Rice, and though Vittorio is not as good as the earlier Vampire Chronicles, I still enjoyed it more than later books like Merrick. I enjoyed reading Rice's lush descriptions and loved the Italian setting of the novel. It was great for a little escape.
LibraryThing member sdtaylor555
Not my favorite in the series, but a good read.
LibraryThing member tanisha364
Such a disappointment. Anne Rice is usually so clever. This book is not memorable at all. I can't believe that Anne Rice wrote such a dull and boring story. It wasn't creative at all and I kept waiting for the plot and the characters to get better, but sadly they never did. Upon finishing the last
I know Anne Rice to be better than this and I'm convinced that she wasn't 100% into this story or idea, otherwise it would have been much better. Try any other book by her and I'm sure you'll be pleased, but I wouldn't waste my time with this one.
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page, I found myself saying "That's it?? What crap!"I know Anne Rice to be better than this and I'm convinced that she wasn't 100% into this story or idea, otherwise it would have been much better. Try any other book by her and I'm sure you'll be pleased, but I wouldn't waste my time with this one.
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LibraryThing member vampyredhead
New tales of the vampires series. This book proves again no one writes vampire stories like Anne Rice. A soulful, sensual book. A very entertaining read.
LibraryThing member johnmischief
I really got into this novel. It has all of Anne Rice's trademark prose,whilst keeping her descriptive tendancies in check.
Also i found it refreshing to read a totally new vampires tale,without referencing her characters from the chronicles.
As in Memnoch the devil, Rice explores the dynamics
Also i found it refreshing to read a totally new vampires tale,without referencing her characters from the chronicles.
As in Memnoch the devil, Rice explores the dynamics
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between heaven and hell to wonderful effect. Throw in the conflicts between love and hate,honour and betrayal and good and evil that Vittorio finds himself throughout this book,and you have the best Rice novel for a number of years. Show Less
LibraryThing member Aerow
I didn't know if I'd like this one since all of the characters were new, but it turned out to be a refreshingly new book in Anne's series. Definitely not one you want to pass up.
LibraryThing member Pabkins
I barely got through this one - I'd really give it like a 1.5 only because I actually finished it. That is all I've got to say.
LibraryThing member AliceAnna
Terrible book. Boring, tedious -- she got religion and seems to have lost her talent. I think she was trying to reconcile her earlier writings with her new-found religious fervor. The result was a boring preachy mess.
LibraryThing member Feleciak
Uninspiring and disappointing
2 stars
This was my first Anne Rice novel. The story follows Vittorio in his quest to avenge his family, murdered at the hands of vampires. The start looked promising but took a nosedive. It lacked action. Two kids kicking a ball back and forth to each other could
2 stars
This was my first Anne Rice novel. The story follows Vittorio in his quest to avenge his family, murdered at the hands of vampires. The start looked promising but took a nosedive. It lacked action. Two kids kicking a ball back and forth to each other could
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provide more action than what I read. A little past midway, I wanted scream. How could a book about vampires have been this dry? Vitorrio's undying love for Ursula, the vampire who made him unwillingly become a blood thirsty vamp, was unbelievably ridiculous. I didn't see how it happened. It was these variants (she) who help murder his family. What??? I think I'm done with Anne Rice, for now. Show Less
LibraryThing member williemeikle
That it I'm afraid. I'm finished with Anne Rice after following her since the first - there's only so much angst you can take before depression sets in.
Early Anne Rice novels, the first Lestat books in particular, carried you along in wonderment at a new view of the world, but that wonder has
Wondering about your place in the world is all very well, but most of us grow out of it in our teens. Maybe that's why these Vampires do little more than gaze at their own navels - they are emotionally stunted.
Too much new-gothic lounging and not enough plot.
Early Anne Rice novels, the first Lestat books in particular, carried you along in wonderment at a new view of the world, but that wonder has
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grown stale and stagnant, and lanquid posing while waiting for the next sexual frisson does not, for me anyway, make for interesting reading.Wondering about your place in the world is all very well, but most of us grow out of it in our teens. Maybe that's why these Vampires do little more than gaze at their own navels - they are emotionally stunted.
Too much new-gothic lounging and not enough plot.
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LibraryThing member PaulaGalvan
There was a story in there somewhere, but I really had a hard time finding it. The book was just too much. Too much description about paintings and art. Too much about religion and angels...and devils. Instead of a good, scary vampire tale, it read more like a travel memoir of Tuscany and the
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Italian countryside in the old days. The only interesting part was the blood-sucking vampires! Show Less
LibraryThing member Anagarika-Sean
Not bad. Mrs. Rice is a wonderful writer.
LibraryThing member wb4ever1
VITTORIO THE VAMPIRE could be described as Anne Rice light, but for me that is not a necessarily a bad thing. After reading the saga of the Mayfair Witches, and the follow up, MERRICK, where she crosses over the Mayfairs with the Vampire Chronicles, I was in the mood for something different, and in
But clearly she was not finished with the creatures of the night. Told in the first person, we meet Vittorio on the first page, and he proceeds to recount how he came to receive the Dark Gift. Born to a noble family in the country side of Renaissance Italy, he is one of those incredibly handsome youths Rice loves to describe in detail. And put through hell, which occurs when young Vittorio’s family is massacred in the night by an army of “demons” who stalk the countryside, demanding a payment in flesh from the nobility and commoners alike in order to be left in peace. Of course these monsters turn out to be vampires, and only Vittorio survives because one their number, a female, takes yen to him. The young man vows revenge, and sets out to make it happen, but it is a journey which takes some interesting twists and turns. A journey that includes a prosperous town with no sick, feeble, beggars, or criminals; the Court of the Ruby Grail, where scores of vampires worship Lucifer, and feed upon captive humans kept in a “coop;” Renaissance Florence, where guardian angels walk the streets, and do their best to keep foolish mortals, including Fra Filippo Lippi, an artist whose work Vittorio particularly admires, from their worst instincts. Along the way, Vittorio encounters the vampire Lord Florian, whose offer of immortality he contemptuously rejects; the armor wearing angel Mastrema, who ultimately aides him in his quest for vengeance; and Ursula, the centuries old vampire child bride. It is love at first sight for Vittorio and Ursula, and his weakness for her proves to be his undoing.
A lot of Rice fans gave this book a negative review; especially when it was first published. It seems they wanted more Lestat, and Louis, and Armand, and the Talemasca, and would settle for nothing less. But I enjoyed it if for no other reason than that she reigned in her penchant for long passages of prose stuffed with adjectives and minute details, though she did her homework when it came to Renaissance Italy, and imparts plenty of knowledge on the reader – it never overwhelms the story. There are also no flashbacks within flashbacks that have become a Rice trope, as at no point in the book do two characters sit down and have a very long conversation where one goes on for 500 pages regaling the other with back story. In her depiction of the town of Santa Maddalana, Rice is saying something about prosperity and the price those deemed of no value pay for it. This book is also blessedly free of the kinky or off putting sexual elements that too often turned up in the Mayfair books. I thought her depictions of the Court of the Ruby Grail, and the cavorting vampires there to be some of Rice’s best work; so too the sections where Vittorio returns there to get his revenge. And in Vittorio and Ursula, Rice has created two of her more likable lead characters.
The best compliment I could pay VITTORIO THE VAMPIRE is that it could have been the basis for a great film directed by Mario Bava. Sadly, he was long dead by the time this book was published, but if anyone does not understand, or doubt what I am talking about, check out Bava’s classic Italian horror films, BLACK SUNDAY and BLACK SABBATH, and you’ll see what I mean. It is my hope that if we ever get that TV adaptation of The Vampire Chronicles, then we’ll get to see Vittorio and Urusla.
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this slight – 284 pages in my paperback – book she delivers. Written at the end of the ‘90s, VITTORIO THE VAMPIRE is exactly what the title implies: a vampire’s story. It is subtitled The New Tales of the Vampire as a way to set it apart from The Chronicles, which is fair, as Lestat and his crew from The Big Easy are referred to once, and make no appearances here. It seems that at this point, Rice had run out of stories to tell with Lestat; I remember hearing her say in an interview that she literally saw him walk away in her imagination, and that she was finished with the character (though he would return years later). But clearly she was not finished with the creatures of the night. Told in the first person, we meet Vittorio on the first page, and he proceeds to recount how he came to receive the Dark Gift. Born to a noble family in the country side of Renaissance Italy, he is one of those incredibly handsome youths Rice loves to describe in detail. And put through hell, which occurs when young Vittorio’s family is massacred in the night by an army of “demons” who stalk the countryside, demanding a payment in flesh from the nobility and commoners alike in order to be left in peace. Of course these monsters turn out to be vampires, and only Vittorio survives because one their number, a female, takes yen to him. The young man vows revenge, and sets out to make it happen, but it is a journey which takes some interesting twists and turns. A journey that includes a prosperous town with no sick, feeble, beggars, or criminals; the Court of the Ruby Grail, where scores of vampires worship Lucifer, and feed upon captive humans kept in a “coop;” Renaissance Florence, where guardian angels walk the streets, and do their best to keep foolish mortals, including Fra Filippo Lippi, an artist whose work Vittorio particularly admires, from their worst instincts. Along the way, Vittorio encounters the vampire Lord Florian, whose offer of immortality he contemptuously rejects; the armor wearing angel Mastrema, who ultimately aides him in his quest for vengeance; and Ursula, the centuries old vampire child bride. It is love at first sight for Vittorio and Ursula, and his weakness for her proves to be his undoing.
A lot of Rice fans gave this book a negative review; especially when it was first published. It seems they wanted more Lestat, and Louis, and Armand, and the Talemasca, and would settle for nothing less. But I enjoyed it if for no other reason than that she reigned in her penchant for long passages of prose stuffed with adjectives and minute details, though she did her homework when it came to Renaissance Italy, and imparts plenty of knowledge on the reader – it never overwhelms the story. There are also no flashbacks within flashbacks that have become a Rice trope, as at no point in the book do two characters sit down and have a very long conversation where one goes on for 500 pages regaling the other with back story. In her depiction of the town of Santa Maddalana, Rice is saying something about prosperity and the price those deemed of no value pay for it. This book is also blessedly free of the kinky or off putting sexual elements that too often turned up in the Mayfair books. I thought her depictions of the Court of the Ruby Grail, and the cavorting vampires there to be some of Rice’s best work; so too the sections where Vittorio returns there to get his revenge. And in Vittorio and Ursula, Rice has created two of her more likable lead characters.
The best compliment I could pay VITTORIO THE VAMPIRE is that it could have been the basis for a great film directed by Mario Bava. Sadly, he was long dead by the time this book was published, but if anyone does not understand, or doubt what I am talking about, check out Bava’s classic Italian horror films, BLACK SUNDAY and BLACK SABBATH, and you’ll see what I mean. It is my hope that if we ever get that TV adaptation of The Vampire Chronicles, then we’ll get to see Vittorio and Urusla.
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Subjects
Language
Original language
Spanish
Original publication date
1999
Physical description
9 inches
ISBN
950082597X / 9789500825979