Rating: 
Summary: Why?
Review: I don't understand why Anne Rice even bothered with this book. Who wants to read about some whining spoiled baby who doesn't compare to any of the characters in her other great novels. Vittorio is a character that is a waste of time and energy. You might as well skip the book because it has nothing to do with any of the other Vampire books. He knows none of the other cool characters and contributes nothing to the saga.
Rating: 
Summary: Where is this book going?
Review: I had only one word in mind when I finished this book. HUH?Book one of the 'New tales of the Vampires', Pandora, seemed to explore the very idea of what the books were to be, the desire of David Talbot to chronicle the tales of other vampires. But in the opening pages of this book Vittorio himself states that he has nothing to do with the coven of the articulate, and knows nothing of their world and their existance. Ok, then where the heck did he get the notion to write his tale? Anne Rice describes this as her "Vampire Romeo and Juliet." Again, HUH? Romeo and Juliet is about a boy and girl, star-crossed lovers torn apart by the feuding of their respective families. Vittorio and Ursula are about as star-crossed as a cloudy sky at night. Ursula is a member of a band of vampires that slaughters Vittorio's family. She takes pity on him, for some unknown reason that the reader is supposed to assume is 'love at first sight' and eventually makes him a vampire. He seeks to liberate her from the other vampires, also a befuddling 'act of love', and fights anyone who stands in his way. Once more, HUH? This is a very confusing book, and seemed to stray completely from the original concept of the 'New Tales'. Although I do love the creation of ancient worlds that Anne Rice can accomplish, I found this book to be, overall, a disappointment.
Rating: 
Summary: The Inevitable Loss of Innocence
Review: Once upon a time. Oh how the heart of every reader quickens with those simple words. Oh how the soul of every reader is touched by them. Now, see if you can resist the inexorable pull of the following words: "When I was a small boy I had a terrible dream. I dreamt I held in my arms the severed heads of my younger brother and sister. They were quick still, and mute, with big fluttering eyes and reddened cheeks, and so horrified was I that I could make no more of a sound than they could. The dream came true." Thus begins Vittorio, The Vampire, Anne Rice's second book in her wonderful New Tales Of The Vampires series. Vittorio di Raniari, as the title implies, is a vampire. He has, as he puts it, "...been in bed with the dead since 1450...," or, in other words, since the glory days of the Medici in Italy's aptly called Age of Gold. Vittorio became the creature he is today at the tender age of sixteen. He was still "...A beautiful boy for the time. I wouldn't be alive now if I hadn't been. That's the case with most vampires, no matter who says otherwise. Beauty carries us to our doom. Or, to put it more accurately, we are made immortal by those who cannot sever themselves from our charms..." In what has become a distinctive trademark style of narrative for Anne Rice, Vittorio writes for us the fable of his making from what is now the tallest tower of the ruined mountaintop castle where he was born well over five-hundred years ago. And what a mesmerizing fable it is! It begins with a nearly incomprehensible tragedy. In the latest, darkest hours of one fateful night, a band of evil demons invades the peaceful ancestral castle and its surroundings where Vittorio lives with his beloved family. All but Vittorio himself are mercilessly slaughtered, and the only reason he is spared is because he has caught the eye and the heart and the soul of the beautiful young demon, Ursula. The next day, a reeling Vittorio sets out with nothing but vengeance in his heart, and little thought for his own well-being, on a determined quest to track down the demons. Inevitably, perhaps, his quest lands him in the very mouth of hell, a horrific place with the oh-so fancy name of 'The Court Of The Ruby Grail,' where the demons rule as they have for centuries. There, in the dominion of the demons, Vittorio is made a witness as well as subjected to a mind numbing array of perversions, degradations and horrors that only the dark imagination of Anne Rice could envision let alone write about in such evocative and loving detail. Does Vittorio survive 'The Court Of The Ruby Grail'? Is he ever able to avenge his family? Suffice to say all is revealed as the fast-paced narrative unfolds in a way that would make Poe, Hawthorne, Shelley and all of the other long-dead masters of the macabre in Rice's literary lineage sit up and take careful notice from their very graves. The great William Shakespeare is also a presence in Vittorio, The Vampire, as he has been in many Anne Rice novels. Rice has stated that Vittorio, The Vampire, is, in fact, her vampire Romeo and Juliet. Whether this was a deliberate choice on her part, or if it grew organically out of the strength of story and character, I have, of course, no way of knowing. Regardless, she succeeds brilliantly with this affect because it is so subtle. Here's a hint: think of vampires as the Capulets, and think of human beings as the Montagues, and remember that these two families were at mortal war with each other in the tragic play; then think of Vittorio and Ursula as the doomed young lovers Romeo and Juliet, and the affect becomes clear. Setting literary influences aside, Rice has with Vittorio, The Vampire, written a powerful tale about the inevitable loss of innocence we all must go through on our way to becoming our adult selves. Not to mention the fact that Vittorio, The Vampire is, simply, a darn good read, first page to last. Don't be tempted to pass up Vittorio, The Vampire just because it doesn't deal with the more familiar characters from Rice's celebrated Vampire Chronicles. You'll really be missing out on something special if you do. Vittorio, The Vampire is most definitely an exceptional book in its own right and deserves a place on your bookshelf right next to Pandora, the elegant and beautifully written first volume of the New Tales Of The Vampires series.
Rating:
Summary: She's done it yet again
Review: I love the book, Vittorio the Vampire! He's yet another favorite character that I have fell in love with. The book was refreshing and very satisfying, although I was a tad bit disappointed that Vittorio didn't have anything to do with the "romantic New Orleans vampires". He's seen angels from his most beloved painting and has to deal with a battle inside himself somewhat, between good and evil, religious and sinful. All that he believed in took a toll when he fell for Ursula who somewhat deceive him, giving him the Dark Gift. Hopefully Anne Rice will make another great book, connecting him with the other favored vampires in New Orleans. I would love to read that. It seems like I find another fave vampire in every story Anne Rice writes. From Lestat, to Maruis, to Pandora, to Armand, and now to Vittorio. He is definately on of my top faves.
Rating:
Summary: A new vampire hero.
Review: Anne Rice has created a character in Vittorio the Vampire that I hope to read more of. Frankly, though I love Lestat, I am getting tired of him and feel like he has gone about as far as he can go, what with that boring Memnoch fiasco and all that. Vittorio could easily become a new vampire hero. He is what we expect of Anne Rice vampires, beautiful and brooding. Vittorio is strong and daring like Lestat, but is more like Louis in his sensitivity and introspection. I liked how the story was told from the mortal Vittorio's point of view. It is more effectively chilling to read of a mortal's dealings with the undead. Vittorio the Vampire is a wonderful, but short story. The end of the book came too soon. I was left wanting more, and I hope that was the book's intent. Hopefully this is not the last we read of Vittorio and his beautiful sire Ursula.
Rating:
Summary: Who is the author?
Review: This book is hugely infuriating. I finally finished it on the 3rd try. I keep asking myself is this the same Anne Rice who wrote "Interview" and "The Witching Hour?" I think she has become so successful--making so much money for her publishers--that they're afraid to edit her anymore. Lately she has become so self-indulgent as to be virtually unreadable. I struggled with "Armand" and simply could not read "Violin" even after 4 tries. "Vittorio" is hardly better. It is so maddeningly amateurish that it probably couldn't be published if it had been written by a first-time author. I told myself that it wasn't really Rice's voice that I found so annoying, but was the persona she'd adopted for writing as Vittorio. But then I remembered that I'd had the same problems with "Violin" and "Armand" and have to conclude that Anne Rice is simply getting lazy. And that saddens me because I used to like her work so much.
Rating: 
Summary: Auch!
Review: Usually Anne Rice writes pretty decent books but this must be her worst. The book raves as she tries to describe hallucinations. This makes it tough to follow. The ending is also a complete reversal the direction which the book took. And the logic and justification for that reversal lacks merit.
Rating: 
Summary: Vittorio the Vampire
Review: I loved this book so much I did not want it to end. Vittorio and Ursula were so good together. I was hoping for a miraculous ending. Please write another book about them and The Court of the Ruby Grail and there journeys in the beautiful Renaissance Italy. I can not help but to imagine how they would look if they were brought to life in a Motion Picture. This book let my imagination run WILD. Please continue there saga and life together.
Rating:
Summary: A jumbled mess
Review: I was hugely dissapointed after reading this book. However, it was not really the book itself that bothered me so much, but the fact that it was by Anne Rice and she can do so much better. I had thought that she had made a triumphant return to her glorious writing style of yore when I read Armand, especially after being so dissapointed by Pandora. This is along the same vein as Pandora though. The entire book is like the first chapter of one of her better novels. You have only just started to get to know Vittorio when the story abrubtly ends. The relationships are never made clear, nor Ursula's motivation for being so loyal to a mere mortal. The religious imagery also left me feeling cold. Anne seems to more and more focus on Christianity in her books, and that is well and good when it has a point in moving the plot along or creating an atmosphere, but I could see no reason for all the references , especially the angels. I was also disappointed by Anne's descriptive narrative. Normally, her sensuous descriptions of time and place are the most rich and enjoyable part of her books, but I never really felt truth behind the narrative in Vittorio. I can only hope that Anne once again veers away from these short story type novels and into richer, deeper territory - Surely the reason her books are so loved?
Rating:
Summary: The latest but not the greatest
Review: I don't know about you, but I'm one of those readers who have read Interveiw with the Vampire (the book that started it all) and have been hooked on vampire chronicles ever since. Some were good, some were bad, but I always had to know what would happen next, what new vampire would turn up - after all, these guys are immortal, nothing can stop them from decimating a city or breeding new vampires until eternity. In Vittorio, Rice rehashes an old plot - the naive fledging vampire falling for the professional older vampire's dirty tricks, the 'good' (i.e. beautiful) vampire wiping out the 'bad' (i.e.ugly and abhorrent) vampires as well as some trademark Rice erotica. As always Rice excels in atmosphere and setting, and when I say excel, I mean in every detail - historical personage, item of furniture, texture of fabric, nuance of architecture....and here it almost takes over the entire novel. Rice dwells lovingly on period detail, then rushes us forward into the present day (to conveniently show how long-lived these vampires are) in a matter of pages. Therin lies the puzzle. What happened during those hundreds of years somehow escaped Rice's notice?? Art history conoisseurs will lap this up, seasoned vampire readers will yawn. (Or skim). That said, it is a notch or two above Rice's previous effort, Pandora, but nowhere near as riveting or profound as the original.
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