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Pandora Audiobook
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(3.00) - 22,023 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Anne Rice, creator of the Vampire Lestat, the Mayfair witches and the amazing worlds they inhabit, now gives us the first in a new series of novels linked together by the fledgling vampire David Talbot, who has set out to become a chronicler of his fellow Undead. The novel opens in present-day Paris in a crowded café, where David meets Pandora. She is two thousand years old, a Child of the Millennia, the first vampire ever made by the great Marius. David persuades her to tell the story of her life. Pandora begins, reluctantly at first and then with increasing passion, to recount her mesmerizing tale, which takes us through the ages, from Imperial Rome to eighteenth-century France to twentieth-century Paris and New Orleans. She carries us back to her mortal girlhood in the world of Caesar Augustus, a world chronicled by Ovid and Petronius. This is where Pandora meets and falls in love with the handsome, charismatic, lighthearted, still-mortal Marius. This is the Rome she is forced to flee in fear of assassination by conspirators plotting to take over the city. And we follow her to the exotic port of Antioch, where she is destined to be reunited with Marius, now immortal and haunted by his vampire nature, who will bestow on her the Dark Gift as they set out on the fraught and fantastic adventure of their two turbulent centuries together. Look for Anne Rice’s new book, Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis, coming November 29, 2016.
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"This book is the backstory of one of the vampires in Anne Rice's "Vampire Chronicles". Actually, it is in a shorter group of books the refers to as "New Tales of the Vampires". I don't know why she placed there, because Pandora is a player in the Lestat books....Anne has written several books featuring Lestat as the main protagonist. After that she began to flesh out the stories of other major characters giving several their own books....This is an interesting story whose "big themes" are ancient Roman history, and the argument between the traditional male point-of-view residing Spock-like in only the realm of logic and reason vs the female position that includes empathy, feeling and the mystical...That argument extends to Woman constantly having to argue for the validity of her Way against the demeaning dismissal of anything feeling-based. Good feminist theme...Like I said earlier the other main theme is ancient Roman history and early Christian history. I love overviews given via personal accounts of one or two characters who actually live through all of the epochs. It's both "big picture" objective and personally intimate. It informs about historical occurrences, but also provides cultural context. Makes history come alive in a way textbooks can't. Fascinating....Also nice to here a narrative from a female "voice" since most of Anne's writings come through male protagonists....I recommend this book. It stands alone, but is fuller and richer if other of her books have been read first. The significance of the Mother and the Father (Those Who Must Be Kept) is deeper when one has read their history in the overall scheme of this vampire realm."
— Karen (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“A wealth of narrative twists and period detail…Rice’s morbid yet eerily vibrant fiction world still exerts its familiar power.”
— New York Times Book Review, editorial review -
“Dark, sensual, and mesmerizing…With her powerful imagery and rich prose, Anne Rice compels readers to come away into the shrouded, night world.”
— RT Book Reviews (4 stars)
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
Pandora Listener Reviews
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" I adore Anne Rice and am listening to all of her vampire novels in chronological order. She has a multi-book series "The Chronicles" and a shorter series "New Tales". The former is the extended world of Lestat. The latter includes stories of "stand-alone" vampires (i.e. characters who are not part of Lestat's world). This book is one of those...The narration is EXCELLENT. I love the narrator's voice. If it was the first book of hers you had ever read it would probably be fine. However, compared to books in the Lestat series, it fell a little flat. It bored me a bit....Anne always explores "big themes" via her vampires. I like that. The big theme of this book was "at what cost does a society create Utopia". Vampires need victims. A mountain town needs to be rid of its burdens on society--the sick, elderly, demented, disabled and mentally-slow. A bargain is struck. Vittorio is appalled. His umbrage has personal roots (not simply philosophical ones) and the book is off and running....Like I said, as a first book it would be fine, but I found its metaphysical musings and the entwined love story a bit trite and boring compared to her other works. Hence, the 3-star review. "
— Karen , 6/6/2016 -
" It's said that books can allow us to be an "armchair tourist" so that we can travel the world without ever leaving our home. It's not even humanly possible, I suppose, to visit 3rd century Antioch, for example... Rice's signature richness and detail, coupled with her meticulous research, vivid imagination, and (in my view) unparalleled talent at world-building actually takes us there through the eyes of Pandora, the first, and I think foremost, character in her New Tales of the Vampires series. "
— Nik, 2/14/2014 -
" Smaller book, but to the point. After reading Armand's story, I was ready to continue with Pandora his "Sister" and liked it as well. "
— Chris, 2/11/2014 -
" Very sensual and also a fun trip into history "
— Paul, 2/6/2014 -
" I'm not exactly sure why this isn't one of the Vampire Chronicles - it has all of the same characters and picks up nicely where Blood and Gold leaves off - but it works as a standalone piece too, and is an enjoyable read. "
— Melissa, 2/5/2014 -
" Increible la desvordante imaginacion de anne al transcribir su punto de vista de la antigua roma desde el punto de vista de uno de sus ficticios vampiros "Pandora" "
— Julian, 1/27/2014 -
" I love the vampire chronicles but this one is too short and sweet for my taste. "
— Ashley, 1/21/2014 -
" A slim volume that doesn't add much of anything to the mythology and pretty much serves as a masturbatory exercise in regurgitating the historical research Rice has done. She loves her some history and isn't afraid to use it! "
— M, 1/10/2014 -
" I have not read other ones of Anne Rice's books. I found this deprressing and bleak but well written. "
— Skeptigirl, 1/5/2014 -
" I loved Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, which is why I bought this book about 11 years ago. This is one of my top 3 Anne Rice novels. "
— Summer, 12/13/2013 -
" Pandora gave you the epic womans side of immortality and being a child of Marius gave you the artistic and feminine look into their love / hate, admiration and devotion relationship . my grandmother gave me this copy so i do hold it close to my heart and always reach for it when it snows. "
— Lexy, 10/26/2013 -
" I was blown away with this book because of all the real historical content that Anne Rice researched and put into the book. This gave the book a very realistic aspect to the characters in that time frame. "
— Louis, 10/18/2013 -
" Another good book by Rice. Now that I look at probably when I read them, I should find where they are packed & re-read all of them again! "
— Val, 9/22/2013 -
" Pandora is one of my favorites in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. "
— Shawna, 9/22/2013 -
" A trip back to Ancient Rome where cruelty reigns, Pandora is the daughter of a senator who lives the normal Roman Matron life. Highly intelligent, she is blase about her life until Imperial Tyranny sets her on an immortal course. "
— Russamun82, 9/22/2013 -
" Great book; though I always wonder why this is classified as a 'new' tale when Pandora is in the VC series, and the (then) present day begining and ending clearly put it between Memnoch and Armand's books. "
— Primula, 7/8/2013 -
" This is a VERY good book. I was fascinated the whole way through. The Egyptian mythology really captured my attention. ANN RICE IS AWESOME! "
— Vivian, 1/9/2013 -
" It moved so slowly for me. Not a typical Anne Rice read. Found myself wanting to see what David would say after Pandora was done writing. "
— Veronica, 8/29/2012 -
" Parts of this were really good, but they were offset by sections that were not so good. As is typical in her books, the main character was very arrogant and waxed on a little too much about philosophy. I think I am finished with this series. "
— Emaly, 6/14/2012 -
" I find that the one-offs Rice has written about the vampires not central to the Vampire Chronicles, are my favorites. "
— Monica, 5/14/2012 -
" Pandora is only interesting because she was married to Marius. There's one quote about the beauty of a flower compared to....a building. Other than that, the book could be skipped completely. "
— Ashley, 5/14/2012 -
" Really well written glad I finally got the nerve to finish. Some parts didn't love others I adored. "
— Maddy, 3/31/2012 -
" What an amazing tale! She is a brilliant character! "
— Marene, 1/21/2012 -
" Meh. Way to much talk and not enough show. It read like a history paper. "
— Laura, 12/19/2011 -
" SO far this book is incredibly captivating. I cannot put it down! Ann Rice does a wonderful job developing characters. "
— Susan, 9/7/2011 -
" Weak compared to the original vampire chronicles novels. This one was not nearly as interesting. Still, if you are a hardcore Anne Rice fan, you should definitely read it. "
— Lindsey, 8/22/2011 -
" My favorite by Anne Rice "
— Leena, 7/23/2011 -
" My favourite Anne Rice Vampires, novel, I think. The other stories are more entertaining in many ways, but the exploration of feminism through Pandora (the myth who is also a vampire) has stuck with me for years and years since. "
— Amanda, 6/30/2011 -
" This was an amazing way to be brought back into the world that Rice created! Now even deeper into the history of her amazing cast. "
— Joshua, 6/25/2011 -
" Loved it! the story was captavating and the romance was lovely, my favorite story ever. "
— Angelica, 6/20/2011 -
" I love this book I wish there was more <br/>stories with Pandora in them because I would read them all. "
— Tara, 6/15/2011 -
" This is the first book in Anne's second series of Vampire Chronicles and actually the first one of her books I ever read. Loved the perspective of the female vampire. After reading Pandora I was hooked on Anne's work :) "
— Dawn, 6/5/2011 -
" My favourite book in the series! "
— Steven, 4/24/2011 -
" Me gustó conocer la historia de Lydia :)<br/>Es bastante interesante! "
— Erika, 4/7/2011 -
" This was the first of many that were just called in. I cannot tell you why I kept reading them but was glad I did when I got to Merrick. I fact you could skip this, Armand, Vitorio, and Blood and Gold and not miss anything. "
— April, 4/3/2011 -
" A fun addition The Vampire Chronicles. Its a lighthearted character history that neither adds or distracts from the series. "
— Novella, 4/2/2011 -
" This is in no way the best book in the series, but is an interesting look at a side character's story. Pandora was never explained in the "core" of the series, but here we look at her human life, how she was turned, and what happened afterwards. Not the best of Anne Rice but still good. "
— Caitlin, 3/22/2011 -
" and exelent story .. of couse you would expect that coming from a great author as anne rice "
— Isabel, 3/16/2011 -
" A trip back to Ancient Rome where cruelty reigns, Pandora is the daughter of a senator who lives the normal Roman Matron life. Highly intelligent, she is blase about her life until Imperial Tyranny sets her on an immortal course. "
— Russamun82, 3/15/2011 -
" I am in no way a fan of vampire tales; I find them awfully overrated, but Pandora was such a great novel, it impressed even me. There were no slow points anywhere to be found and Pandora remains one of my favorites even after years. "
— Luna, 3/13/2011 -
" Just when you think their are not enough Vampires in Anne Rice's life she brings you even more to feel for to desire, and yet to feel even more for their deaths. "
— Elektra, 3/2/2011
About Anne Rice
Anne Rice was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. She holds a Master of Arts degree in English and creative writing from San Francisco State University, as well as a bachelor’s degree in political science. She is the author of over thirty books, including tales of the Mayfair Witches. Her first novel, Interview with the Vampire, was published in 1976 and has gone on to become part of one of the bestselling series of all time. She continued her saga of the Vampire Lestat in a series of books, collectively known as the Vampire Chronicles, which have had both great mainstream and cult followings. She lives in Palm Desert, California.
About Kate Reading
Kate Reading, named an AudioFile Golden Voice, has recorded hundreds of audiobooks across many genres, over a thirty–year plus career and won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. Among other awards, she has been recognized as an AudioFile Magazine Voice of the Century, Narrator of the Year, Best Voice in Science Fiction and Fantasy, and winner of an Publisher’s Weekly’s Listen-Up Award. She records at her home studio, Madison Productions, Inc., in Maryland.