New Tales of the Vampires : includes Pandora and Vittorio the Vampire

Rating:
Summary: New yet old
Review: Anne Rice started off with the tales of Louis and Lestat, but eventually branched out to include the "New Tales of the Vampires," stories about minor vampires who have their own stories to tell. Sadly, while "Pandora" is a decent vampire tale, "Vittorio" is an unfortunate stumble.

"Pandora" is given a journal to tell her story in -- and it's a wild tale. Reluctantly telling her story to new vampire David Talbot (a "chronicler" of vampire tales), Pandora describes her early life: a pampered Roman girl, who fled the destruction of her family. In Antioch she is saved by the ancient vampire Marius, who turns her into a vampire.

"Vittorio" is a heretofore unknown vampire: a beautiful, wealthy teenager living in Renaissance Italy, the middle of art and beauty in the 15th century. But when Vittorio's family is murdered by vampires, he alone is spared to become one of the undead, and the lover of beautiful vamp (in more than one sense) Ursula. But he tears away from her, and finds that vampires are not the only ones who can create horrors...

Anne Rice's more recent works suffer in comparison to her early Vampire Chronicles, and the "New Tales of the Vampires" fall victim to that. Taken alone, they're not half bad. "Pandora" is undoubtedly the stronger tale, with its more intelligent storyline and lesser focus on angst and religion (religion in books can be a good thing, but Rice smothers "Vittorio" in it). And at the end of the day, the books feel... like filler, something to hold over the fans.

Her writing is unquestionably beautiful -- Rice's prose is as rich and deep as fine velvet. And "Pandora" moves along at a slow but steady clip, well-written and apparently well-thought out; the only problem is that Rice could have expanded the book into a sprawling horror/historical drama... and didn't. "Vittorio" makes up for its lack of plot by being almost absurdly overwrought at times.

Anne Rice's books tend to focus more on men than on women, which makes Pandora all the more appealing -- she's strong, witty and intelligent. That also makes Vittorio all the more wimpy. Old characters like Marius pop up in "Pandora," making welcome appearances. But "Vittorio" has... nobody we already know. It's not a flaw in itself, but it may be a bit disorienting for fans.

"The New Tales of the Vampires" are not the best that Anne Rice has written, and far from the worst. The prettily written "Pandora" and overworked "Vittorio" are an interesting diversion, but they still feel like filler.