Vittorio, the Vampire (New tales of the vampires) (Hardcover)

Pandora: New Tales of the Vampires by Anne Rice 3.5 out of 5 stars (29)  £5.99

Blackwood Farm (Vampire Chronicles) by Anne Rice 4.0 out of 5 stars (29)  £5.99

Blood Canticle (Vampire chronicles) by Anne Rice 2.5 out of 5 stars (34)  £5.99

Merrick by Anne Rice 3.5 out of 5 stars (24)  £5.99

The Vampire Armand (Vampire Chronicles) by Anne Rice 3.5 out of 5 stars (266)  £5.99

› Explore similar items

Review
Perhaps most famous for her six-volume Vampire Chronicles, Rice has now written a new series of short vampire novels, beautifully produced by her publishers in a stylish small-format design. Set amid the splendours - and political intrigues - of the Italian Renaissance, Vittorio follows the fortunes of a 16-year-old survivor of a violent massacre at his father's Tuscan palazzo. A passionate tale of doomed love and lost innocence, which vividly evokes this extraordinary period in history while the drama unfolds, this is a hugely enjoyable read by a true mistress of her craft. (Kirkus UK)

The second entry in a new series of short vampire fabulisms began with Rice's well-received Pandora (1998), set in ancient Rome. Now Rice's charm-weaving about bloodsuckers moves up to Italy's Age of Gold. As ever with her historicals, including Servant of the Bones (1996), Rice seems at her most thoughtful when blending research into neatly melodic paragraphs. Here, the action debuts five hundred years ago in the Florence of the Medicis. Young Vittorio, son of an incalculably wealthy father, lives in a mountaintop castle built on formerly Etruscan land (its graves predate Christ) and is trained for the knighthood at age 13. When demons invade the castle and kill all the adults (and steal all the children), Vittorio fights the demon Ursula and cuts off her arm, which she sticks fight back on, while another demon beheads Vittorio's younger brother and sister before his eyes. With no one left alive in the castle, Vittorio vows vengeance on the demons, arranges his family's bodies in a crypt, then takes all the money and jewelry he can rustle up and sets out for Florence. But as night falls, Ursula reappears and ravishes the 16-year-old in his bed, insisting that she's saved his life. Soon he finds himself adrift in a town that's under a strange spell - it's a sort of Pleasantville without any known illnesses, any need for nuns, or any hospitals. Another donnybrook with demons, though, lands Vittorio in the court of the Ruby Grail, whose kitchen serves as a holding cell for all the sick people who've been missing from the village below. Vengeance redux, though his feelings for Ursula take an odd upsurge. The story then mires down joyously in the blissful vigors of demonic blood, with blood flowing everywhichway, and in the horrid hungers it brings. Love blooms in blood. Drink up, Riceans! (Kirkus Reviews)

Product Description
Sixteen-year-old Vittorio, sole survivor of a 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.

27 Reviews 5 star:  (11) 4 star:  (6) 3 star:  (3) 2 star:  (6) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review 3.7 out of 5 stars (27 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   4 of 4 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read, but by no means the best!, 31 Dec 2001 By  ph11gd@surrey.ac.uk - See all my reviews This review is from: Vittorio, the Vampire (New Tales of the Vampires) (Paperback) As with all Anne Rice novels you expect a certain quality about the story and it was there, though that was about all you got. The story begins with good intentions, the majority of the story is written about Vittorio before he was given the dark gift. It may sound bad, but it was quite refreshing for Rice to create a story away from all the vampires in the other stories, hence when Lestat mentions about the presents of others in Queen of the Damned we finally find out one of these, though the door is still open for more. I, and most other readers would agree, that this is by no means Rice's best work, yet, a good story nonetheless. A worthwhile read for any that are interested in vampires, even if no other stories from the chronicles have been read as no prior knowledge is required to fully understand and appreciaite the story. A Good Read, but by no means the best! Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   11 of 13 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A very individual book., 28 April 2001 By A Customer This review is from: Vittorio, the Vampire (New Tales of the Vampires) (Paperback) The problem I find with Anne Rice's work is that much of it refers to other novels, which does give the Vampire Chronicles depth and continuity, but can be bewildering. This particular book is an entirely independent vampire novel, which is one of it's strongest points. It has ideas not covered in Rice's other works but more importantly it contains one of her strongest invocations of a time period. If you want a book that is descriptive, with a dynamic righteous hero (in the end you'll wish he hadn't been turned) then Vittorio is the Vampire for you. Basically a great stand-alone novel by Rice, with one of the best good vs evil themes she has written. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   7 of 8 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Reniassance Italy...given new life by a vampire., 25 April 2000 By A Customer This review is from: Vittorio, the Vampire (New Tales of the Vampires) (Paperback) As with all Rice's novels, once begun, it's impossible to put down. Vittorio is more a recollection of the classical wonder of Renaissance Florence than simply the tale of a vampire. Rice captures the beauty of an age through the life of the vampire with astounding detail. As with "Pandora", we are entranced and transported into the history of the character, and with beautiful prose and factual evidence, the book - as with all her novels - is simply a joy to read. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 27 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 1.0 out of 5 stars Cure for insomnia I have read a few of anne rice's books and this is by far the worst. Like many of her books it is bogged down by over flowery prose describing artistic detail ad nauseum... Read more Published on 7 Oct 2005 by genejoke 5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, compelling and simply wonderful It took me many months to pluck this book from my bookshelf. Admittedly I am an ardent fan of Anne Rice and it sat there merely because I had other books that I wanted to read... Read more Published on 5 Sep 2005 by jonpapa_uk 4.0 out of 5 stars Vittorio I found this to be an excellent and enjoyable read, the characters where solid, and the descriptions of the building and the time where portray in pure descriptive beauty... Read more Published on 18 May 2005 5.0 out of 5 stars Vittorio - slightly different - but all the better for it! As engaging as the rest of Ms. Rice's vampiric oeuvre (all of which I have read;) the only slight disappointment was the lack of a sequel. Read more Published on 2 Sep 2004 by damnationali 4.0 out of 5 stars A bit different from the usual Anne Rice fare I've read all of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles in sequence and was dreading this, as I'd heard it concerned totally new characters - and it does, which is a good thing. Read more Published on 20 Aug 2004 by os7210 5.0 out of 5 stars Dull as dishwater with no blood in it 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. Read more Published on 24 Feb 2003 by Willie Meikle 2.0 out of 5 stars Angels&demons&mortals, oh no! The first half was soooo good! A vow of revenge, a strange town hiding a horrible secret, a decadent group of vampires. great! Read more Published on 28 Dec 2001 by Ella 2.0 out of 5 stars Well, Well, Well ! Probably the shortest of all the chronicles but man o man it felt like the longest! I put my faith in Rice and kept turning the pages but the "harvest was left... Read more Published on 20 Jul 2001 5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant,couldn't put it down! after reading some of the above reviews i just had to write!i found Vittorio a brilliant piece of work,it was so moving and i was transported back in time to the florence of the... Read more Published on 16 April 2001 by mad_efi_chick@hotmail.com 2.0 out of 5 stars Time to let the Vampire Chronicles alone Oh dear........oh dear oh dear......I think there comes a time in every authors career when they have flogged to death a particular character or subject. Read more Published on 3 April 2001 by mt3@staffs.ac.uk Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 27 customer reviews...

The best modern Vampire films (No order): A list by Jadie C   Vampire Chronicles: A list by Kitty   Suck on This! - Vampire Fiction [incomplete list]: A list by Nancy Carter "Nan" Create a Listmania! list

Search Listmania!

• Books > Fiction > By Period
• Books > Horror > Authors > Authors, A-Z > R > Rice, Anne
• Books > Horror > Contemporary Horror

• Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
• I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
• I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.