The Vampire Armand

Rating:
Summary: Interminable!
Review: As a die-hard Anne Rice reader, I regret to say this book was interminable! Ms. Rice, a master at melding characterization with plot, drowns in the former while ignoring the latter. At least it is better than "Violin," which I could not even finish!

Rating:
Summary: This book wasn't just bad, it was horrendous!
Review: The only thing apparent with this book, is that you do go downhill with age. And as Anne Rice has demonstrated with The Vampire Armand, so does your knack for crafting an exceptional story. It just shows that in the 20 years since the inception of the Vampire Chronicles, all good things must come to an end; and The Vampire Armand was the final nail in the coffin for this venerable body of her work. Upon reading this book, it is obvious that the only reason it was ever written, was to appease irate fans upset over Armand's death in Memnoch the Devil. So what better way to capitalize on this, than to poorly and clumsily concoct a story of his complete and remarkable ressurection. Anne Rice has completely lost control over her "fledgelings", and it is sad to see such a concept of artful storytelling end up "going into the fire." If she wishes to save this series, she must simply stop trying to recapture the old glory of her first book. With both Pandora and "Armand", she is simply conducting more interviews with the vampires and failing miserably. Anne Rice is pulling a "David Caruso" with her individual vampire characters, when in fact, they work better as an ensemble. As in The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned, (which reads like a huge story arc), you see the charcters vibrancy as they play off eachother and, when placed into a sensible context of a working story. They don't work well on their own however, and that is apparent in The Vampire Armand.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, Glorious
Review: I have to admit that after Memnoch the Devil, i wasn't going to read any more Anne Rice's vampires chronicles. But I saw Pandora and liked the summary and read it. I liked it. Then came Armand. I devoured the novel. It is an excellent novel, the best since probably Lestat the Vampire. I hope you will enjoy it

Rating:
Summary: A step up from Memnoch, but....
Review: The Vampire Armand is a huge step up from Memnoch the Devil. However, compared to Anne Rice's other books, TVA is often dull, umimaginative, and unoriginal.

I should say that I'm a *big* Anne Rice fan. When I read Interview with the Vampire, I was amazed that vampire could be potrayed so beautifully. I then read newsgroups, message boards, and created a webpage about Anne Rice's books.

Ever since Memnoch, however, the books have been getting worse and worse. Armand has been one of my favorite characters, but as I read TVA, I found myself thinking "Who cares?"

Of course, TVA has it's good points. I liked reading about Armand's abduction, and his time with Marius. However, Anne Rice filled the book up with pointless characters, meaningless sex (which didn't offend me, but it added nothing to the book), and once again too much religion.

There's only so many times that I can read about the "lovely Sybelle" plunking the Appassionata, or descriptions of Russian religious icons.

So overall, TVA is a decent addition to the Chronicles, but can't even be compared to Anne Rice classics like Interview with the Vampire or The Vampire Lestat.

-Julia

Rating:
Summary: Almost reached the level of excitement found in "Pandora"
Review: Unlike Morgan from Long Island, I do not believe that the story felt rushed. The vampire armand carried as much suspense and excitement as many of Rice's previous books. The feelings invoked in this novel was not merely "filler", yet it was lacking a certain something. The something that kept me awake reading until I could no longer keep my eyes open. All in all, another remarkable novel in the chronicle series.

Alex Raul Irribarren

Rating:
Summary: Liked it better the second time I read it
Review: Why? Because it takes some time getting used to all the sex scenes. Personally I believe the book would have been better if some of the scenes had been omitted. Armad has always been my favourite vampire, but the book is not nearly as good as the others. If this had been a novel about any other than Armand I would have given the book 3 stars. It's worth a read if you want to know why Armand has become what he is.

Rating:
Summary: OY!
Review: I have read all of Anne Rice's books in print and this one, like Pandora, has truly fallen away into a made for movie (or worse T.V) snore session. She has removed the romance and poetry that use to caress away the misery of normal life.Did your stint with the HOLLYWIERD people chase your muse away? Im living in Heidelberg Germany and was so excited about this new venture. My favorite angry angel ARMAND what a dissapointment. Wait for paperback if you must read it, its cheaper.

Rating:
Summary: Longtime vampire lover finds this a mixed bag
Review: I was held in thrall by the entire book leading up to the making of Armand. The depiction of Venice, and the erotic tension, were marvellous, but I am very disappointed in the lack of depth in the character of Armand. Where Louis has the depth and dimension of Hamlet, Armand, in this book, is sadly two dimensional. As is Marius .It reads as if they are puppets on strings with no three dimensionality of their own. Marius supposedly agonizes over the decision to make Armand but his agonizing is not touching or convincing; he is just dragged along by the plot .Armand comes across as a spoiled brat with no character or personality to recommend him as a candidate for eternal life. Armand's near-death experiences could be so much more than they are... the depiction of the rest of the apprentices showed such promise yet fell so flat. I can't judge the rest of the book past the first night Armand spends as a vampire. I haven't read it yet; I can't bear to, since once it's finished it's over... Though I gave this book a middle rating, I must praise Anne for this: it is far far better than either Memnoch or Pandora, a tremendous improvement. And personally I would like to see the next book be "The Vampire David" as I feel that David has tremendous potential as a character that was only hinted at in Tale Of The Body Thief. With such a complex character as her subject such a book would surely be a hit.

Rating:
Summary: Exactly what Ive expected from Anne Rice!
Review: All of Anne Rices novels are great...and now The Vampire Armand! I couldnt put this book down...which is not unusual and as always...i cried at the end...because it was over. I have no other comments but it is an excellent addition to The Vampire Chronicles!

Rating:
Summary: interesting line of passion and betrayel
Review: the story was most interesting if you enjoyed the first you would enjoy this one. Times are hard on the imajination and this book breaks the thought and reverts you in the time of it's birth.