Scan barcode
cecilyroseceillam's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The first half of vittorio is amazing and extremely engaging, the descriptions of Italy are beautiful once again and the way the art is described along with the clothes and architecture is beautiful too. The mystery of the red court was fun and reminded me a lot of the children of darkness which we saw in the previous books. And then this weird pacing issue comes in where the last half of the book feels like unfinished drafts from the vampire armand and Memnoch the devil, and it’s very disorienting. We’re suddenly on a quest with angels to kill vampires when it’s written like vittorio is going to be turned into one. And then we go back to how it was paced and written in the first half, and it feels like you’re reading another book at the same time. The writing is still good but the pacing was pretty bad here and not much really sense, overall this book really felt like a bunch of drafts from her other books that she just threw into one book and it really feels like she was meeting a publishing deadline with this book. The only other interesting thing that hooked me was the ancient Italian and Roman politics which she clearly knew a lot about and it very much reminded me of Dante’s work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Blood
arnrockwell's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This was the first Anne Rice book I ever read, back when I was teenager. It was in my high school library, and I devoured it in record time. It sparked my fascination with Rice's vampire novels. And so, going back to re-read this book, I was hoping to enjoy it.
Not so much, but I'll get back to that.
Vittorio recalls the tale of his upbringing as a noble in Renaissance Italy, and the tragedy that befell his whole family. A clan of vampires brutally attacked and killed those who resided in the castle and surrounding village, leaving him the only survivor. What follows is his quest for revenge and redemption, which isn't fully fulfilled due to his trauma.
As what seems to be a result of his PTSD from the incident, he ends up misconstruing his assault at the hands of the vampire Ursula as love and becomes obsessed with her. He only realizes his mistake after he is transformed into a vampire himself, when it's far too late to do much about it. This is the thing that bothered me the most about this book. That men are not treated as being victims of sexual assault because "they are men so of course they want it," which as far as I'm concerned is bullshit.
I also wasn't too fond of the angels either. I thought at first that seemed to appear to him only because of his trauma. However, they actually used their powers to assist him with the expectation that he fulfill his mission of killing every vampire who wronged him, Ursula included. Now, it didn't seem quite so out of place as what happened to Lastat in <i>Memnoch the Devil</i> because it was already established early on the book that Vittorio came from a family that was devoutly Catholic. Still, it seemed a bit much.
That being said, I still believe that it can be a good entry point to Anne Rice's novels for some people. It is a very short book and I feel it does give readers a good idea of what to expect with her stories. It's also the only vampire novel Rice has written that stands alone from the rest. It takes place in the same world, but has no connection to any of the characters or plot points from the rest of the Vampire Chronicles.
It disappoints me that this book isn't actually as good as it seemed when I was younger. A little too problematic for my liking. A shame, really.
Not so much, but I'll get back to that.
Vittorio recalls the tale of his upbringing as a noble in Renaissance Italy, and the tragedy that befell his whole family. A clan of vampires brutally attacked and killed those who resided in the castle and surrounding village, leaving him the only survivor. What follows is his quest for revenge and redemption, which isn't fully fulfilled due to his trauma.
As what seems to be a result of his PTSD from the incident, he ends up misconstruing his assault at the hands of the vampire Ursula as love and becomes obsessed with her. He only realizes his mistake after he is transformed into a vampire himself, when it's far too late to do much about it. This is the thing that bothered me the most about this book. That men are not treated as being victims of sexual assault because "they are men so of course they want it," which as far as I'm concerned is bullshit.
I also wasn't too fond of the angels either. I thought at first that seemed to appear to him only because of his trauma. However, they actually used their powers to assist him with the expectation that he fulfill his mission of killing every vampire who wronged him, Ursula included. Now, it didn't seem quite so out of place as what happened to Lastat in <i>Memnoch the Devil</i> because it was already established early on the book that Vittorio came from a family that was devoutly Catholic. Still, it seemed a bit much.
That being said, I still believe that it can be a good entry point to Anne Rice's novels for some people. It is a very short book and I feel it does give readers a good idea of what to expect with her stories. It's also the only vampire novel Rice has written that stands alone from the rest. It takes place in the same world, but has no connection to any of the characters or plot points from the rest of the Vampire Chronicles.
It disappoints me that this book isn't actually as good as it seemed when I was younger. A little too problematic for my liking. A shame, really.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
More...