Pandora : New Tales of the Vampires (Cassette)

Rating:
Summary: Pandora Is A Nice Break
Review: Don't get me wrong. I love Anne Rice, and the Vampire Chronicles are among my favorite books ever. However, in reading the other vampire books, one is ever re-reading things we already knew. When you read Lestat, Armand, Marius, and Louis, the tales are so intertwined that sometimes, it gets a little redundant. Pandora is a nice change. We don't know much about Pandora from the other books aside from the fact that she is old, and she is Marius' fledgling. When she recounts her life story for David Talbot in this book, it is refreshing in that sense, because it is entirely new, but it is also refreshing in the sense that Pandora is not as wimpy as her male counterparts. No, no, not the homoerotic thing. The weeping thing. How often do the male vampires weep at the sight of a Botticelli, or at the sound of a musical piece? They cry and lament over everything! Not Pandora. Pandora is made of tougher stuff. She has a backbone. Sure, she has a sensitive side. A very sensitive side. However, we know that she is not going to stain her dress with blood tears because she is lost in artwork or music. As usual, Rice makes you feel as though you are living in Ancient Rome, and her grip on historical accuracy is forever impressive to me. The story is not focused on how Pandora became a vampire so much as the events leading up to it, which is also a nice change because that story has been told before a number of times. The only reason that Pandora gets a 4 in my review is because it just seems that more could have been said. This is rarely a complaint I have about Anne Rice, but I wanted to know more details about her life between Marius and the modern era.

Rating:
Summary: A New Beginning
Review: I remember the feeling I had seeing an advertisement for this book prior to the release date. It was pure excitement. I had just finished reading 'Violin' and 'Servant of the Bones', and was hungry for more Anne Rice.

Pandora came along, and although I was a bit disappointed at first to see that it was a 'smaller' novel, in reading it I found much more content that I had anticipated.

Pandora's tale, as told in journal form to David Talbot, the self-appointed 'chronicler' of the vampires, is far more romantic than Anne Rice's prior vampire works. Pandora's childhood infatuation with Marius, which grows into genuine love as Pandora becomes a young woman, is every bit as heartfelt as Armand's infatution with Marius in the following vampire chronicle, The Vampire Armand.

The historical realization of this novel, set in ancient Rome and Antioch, is a departure of sorts from the other vampire tales. While the novels based upon the tale of Lestat tend toward a more religious exploration, this 'new tale' reveals more of Marius, and entices Anne Rice fans to want more of him. Pandora receives the 'dark gift' from Marius, after an attack from another vampire, who seeks to kill Pandora as revenge on Marius, for keeping the King and Queen of the vampires hidden away from him. Through 'Pandora' it is clear that Marius is a force to be reckoned with, and hopefully the stage is set for a future novel of his own.

Although this novel is Pandora's tale, so much of it is wrapped up in the tale of Marius that it is easy to lose the focus. However, Pandora is a strong heroine for Anne Rice, developed from an 'in passing' character from Queen of the Damned, and a very entertaining read.

Rating:
Summary: From an Anne Rice fanatic......
Review: When someone coined the phrase "Get a life" they may have been referring to us Rice fans. Or, maybe it's an "afterlife"....At any rate, I started the series backwards, first off. I was recommended Blackwood Farm here, on AMAZON . That was great,so I moved to the others in the series, paying no mind to the order they were to be read in. Guess what ? It really didnt matter. Any one could could pick up anywhere in the series and still love these tales. Pandora, one of the few really strong women of the night, takes us from our modern times, to the love of her human life, Marius (of Blood and Gold) You get a history of an age long gone, of Romans, pagen beliefs, the constrictions placed and freedoms allowed women of that era. The imagery is wonderful, descriptions lush without becoming boring. Pandora looses all she loves to start all over again, in a strange city, followed by a strange male figure, who is both her protector and maker. We meet Flavius, her servant, love ,and future fledgling. This book, I had it read in 3 nights, did not want to put it down. Unlike Vittorio, this is a story worth telling.