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ashm21's review against another edition
3.0
This book was okay. I didn't really understand the point of it.
eli99's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
I belive a big issue with this book is that it's supposed to be a seperate series than her other novels but the lore ties so heavily and isn't explained that if you havent read enough of her other books you're like wtf to a few things. The first half was interesting. Finding out how this quirky woman Pandora became a vampire in the Roman empire. About her life before and after that. Then, it just becomes okay what did Pandora do between that point and now. Which was a lot more boring and had feelings of "why should I care"?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery, Death, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Transphobia
caustic_wonder's review against another edition
4.0
This was my favorite Anne Rice novel in high school and I definitely own a first edition hardback my mom bought me brand new when it came out. So that’s how my high school years were shaped. It stands up to the test of time. Not a super long novel, by any means. I would love to read another Pandora story.
abbiesla89's review against another edition
3.0
I loved Anne Rice and her vampire tales in my teens but I struggled with this book now I'm 33. Maybe because I don't read often anymore, maybe just the nature of the book
I wanted more vampire story, half the book is pre-turning so I struggled to keep interest. I also found the language difficult to understand, lots of metaphor and big words. That might be in part due to reading YA recently which is easier to grasp.
Some characters were mentioned then never talked about again. I wanted more Flavius! Marius referred to Lydia immediately as Pandora yet knew her as Lydia his whole life, a strange thing to do. And there's other bits I didn't love but I'm no book reviewer so ill leave it there
I wanted more vampire story, half the book is pre-turning so I struggled to keep interest. I also found the language difficult to understand, lots of metaphor and big words. That might be in part due to reading YA recently which is easier to grasp.
Some characters were mentioned then never talked about again. I wanted more Flavius! Marius referred to Lydia immediately as Pandora yet knew her as Lydia his whole life, a strange thing to do. And there's other bits I didn't love but I'm no book reviewer so ill leave it there
_pau_'s review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
vampirelake's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
xypatia's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sandraandthecity's review against another edition
3.0
This book is really 2.5 stars. I wish there was a 1/2 star system because it’s not horrible but it certainly isn’t a good book. I thought I would enjoy it more but it’s really such a rambling mess with bad history mixed in, that I couldn’t really get into it. It’s not as bad as Memnoch or Queen of the Damned, but it’s certainly not one of Rice’s better books in the Vampire Chronicles series. She needs an editor - period. I don’t get why that bothers her so much, given that every good writer has one. It’s not a show of weakness, nor should it be equated with being a bad writer, it actually means that your writing improves because another pair of eyes had a go of it. You have to have an exceptionally fragile ego if you can’t bear to submit your book to editing. She will keep getting reviews like this and worse until she gets an editor who can clean up her writing. This book could’ve been SO good if it had been tightened up. Instead, you have an interesting back story set in Roman times that is a hot mess. It’s a bad version of stream-of-consciousness religious rambling, history with glaring mistakes, and an abrupt ending that sweeps over a thousand years in 30 pages. It disjointed, poorly fact checked, and poorly written - which is such a shame because the meat of Pandora’s story is there and there were parts of it that were very interesting that could have been better developed if she had someone else guide her through it. I’m going to continue on reading the series because I want to finish it but I’m finding it a struggle because so many of the books now are mediocre to just plain bad. I can’t recommend this book, it’s ok in parts but ruined by the verbose writing. There are better books written by her and better fiction books set in this period that at least do the work of getting it historically accurate. 2.5/5 - and that is being kind because I love Interview, Lestat and Tale of the Body Thief.
vir_abelasan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery