Sixteen-year-old Vittorio, sole survivor of a bizarre and violent massacre at his father's Tuscan hilltop palazzo, escapes to the Florence of Cosimo de Medici seeking vengeance. He has been saved from death by a mysterious woman, only to find himself at the mercy of demonic and bloody nightmares, war and political intrigue, and torn apart by a dangerous love.
...... Inner front cover.
FIRST SENTENCE: When I was a small boy I had a terrible dream.
MEMORABLE MOMENT: But I think we all - human, vampire, all of us who are sentient and can weep - we all suffer under a curse, the curse that we know more than we can endure, and there is nothing, absolutely nothing, we can do about the force and the lure of this knowledge.
KEEP IT OR NOT?: A charity shop buy this shall either be returned for others to purchase or taken to the book exchange.
Having read and reviewed my first Anne Rice novel (VIOLIN) last year and being very disappointed with it I was persuaded by several people to give the author another try.
A great start, atmospheric, sensual (but not graphically so) and moody, I could hardly believe this was the same author. And then, just short of half way through, it changed and, for a while I was lost, wondering just what exactly had happened and how. Thankfully this was explained further on but I have to admit this period of events not making sense did mar my enjoyment somewhat. Still, on the whole, I did find this an enjoyable read and must confess that I prefer the 'old school' vampire (think Dracula, think Vittorio) as opposed to their new counterpart, Twilight's Edward.
Basically, a good old-fashioned romance (without too much 'mush') the story of Vittorio and Ursula melted my heart. And yet at the same time there were other aspects of the story - the town of Santa Maddalana for example where there were next to no children/young people nor 'cripples' nor 'ruffians' - that completely chilled me to the bone as did the very gory scenes of the Court of the Ruby Grail.
The 29th book read in the 100+ Reading Challenge.
19 comments:
Can you believe I have not read anything by Anne Rice?! I like the old school vampires and non-mushy romances, so I will be adding this to my TBR.
Your review has me intrigued. I'll look for this book!
Ooooh....Ann Rice; nice choice! Great share on the memorable moment, very moving. Still...there's room in the world of supernatural critters for both the "old school" and "sparkling newbies". Thanks for sharing!
Looks and sounds very spooky and interesting! After reading your review, I think I will love this one!
Have a lovely week ahead:-)
Sounds better than the Anne Rice book I read!I am glad you liked it.
Hi friend..sorry I was away from blog for long..thanks for staying connected..am happy to have good blog friends like you..keep the cheers n best wishes always
I've never read Rice, but thanks for review--putting new stuff on my radar.
Brandi from Blkosiner’s Book Blog
Some of my blog friends have also told me I should try Anne Rice or some of the other latter-day vampires, but I don´t know really.
I dont quite fancy this book. Love her other books though
I've never read anything by Anne Rice--I keep seeing her compared to Stephenie Meyer and vice versa, which kind of puts me off reading her books. :P
So I'm guessing this is not a part of her earlier vampire series with Lestat, et al? I read several of those then got tired of them. This one sounds interesting, though. Maybe it's time for another vampire book!
:)
Do you know what, I've never read an Anne Rice book!
Anne Rice's Interview With A Vampire was the very first Vampire book I read. I had never heard of this one. I got turned off by a lot of her later books in the vampire series so I stopped reading.
P.S. Re your comment on my blog - have you played Angry Birds? Those pigs are eeeevil!
Sounds very good, I like that there is a love story in there. I do enjoy Rice's writing and prefer her vampires to today's more modern take on them.
It's been such a long time since I've read this book, I think I need to read it again. Thanks for the reminder. Oh and the first one I read of her's was The Mummy. I think you might like her vampire tales more. Start those in order. Makes more sense. Interview with a Vampire is the first. Don't judge it by the movie, it's much better.
A better choice for giving her another try would have been Interview With A Vampire...I thought it was her strongest. not sure you will give her a third chance though.
Glad you enjoyed this, Petty! I've only read one Anne Rice Book, Cry to Heaven, many years ago. Very nice review of VTV.
Thanks for all your comments.
Golden Eagle. Though I have only read two of Rice's book, I have read all the Twilight books and do not think they are in anyway similar - apart from the vampires of course. Rice's characters I found to be more traditional and more grown-up.
Karen, Melissa, and Jenners. Several people have suggested interview With A Vampire but the film has put me off as I found it way, way too scary. Oh and Karen I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure of playing Angry birds.
loved the vampire chronicles (the first 3, interview with the vampire, vampire lestat and the queen of the damned) and friends are telling me to continue reading her books but havent done so since 2005. hmmm romance... aw might wanna try this one.
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