Genre: horror, fiction

Of the numerous books by Anne Rice which revolve around vampires, ‘Vittorio The Vampire’ is perhaps the worst in terms of content. Part of this can be attributed to the face that this is merely a narration of the makings and beginnings of this enigmatic vampire and not so much about his adventures. Then again, Vittorio, isn’t among the adventurous ones, unlike Armand, one of the ‘Children of Darkness’ and Lestat, the outcast. However, the book contains beautifully written passages, demonstrating Rice’s literary prowess.
The novel is dominated by the theme of love and of angels. In all her books about vampires, Anne Rice strives to show love among these frequently-termed ‘bloodless monsters’, fiends whom no one thinks are capable of love. The theory is that vampires are more sensitive and passionate about love. However, this is purely fiction, a truth created by words of a powerful imagination. Will anyone ever know?
In this story, I feel that Vittorio has in a way, betrayed Mastula and the other angels who helped him surmount obstacles in order to massacre the members of the ‘Court of the Ruby Grail’ by killing all but one of perpetuators of the hideous crimes in the ‘court’ – Ursula.
Ursula, in comparison to all other female vampires in her other novels, is rather pale and two-dimensional. Her character lacks development and depth. Similar to Vittorio, she can be selfish and deceitful to fulfil her desire for love. Although the theme of love is much glorified in this novel, it is tainted by the deceit – Vittorio’s breaking of his vow and duty to the angels to rid this earth of the vampires and Ursula’s lies to Vittorio. She beseeched him to draw blood from her on the pretext of ridding her of the evilness within, when in actual fact, drinking from her would complete his transformation, turning him into the very thing that he had pledged to kill. I can envision the two of them, living quietly in Florence for years to come, enjoying each other’s companionship.
However, the penning down of his thoughts and story while leading the quiet life he claims he wants is an indication that perhaps Vittorio is curious about his counterparts in New Orleans and in the future, he might seek to join them. I feel that it is only a matter of time before he ventures into the world.
Interestingly, if one looks beyond the contradiction of loving and deceiving in this novel (as in people who love each other deceive each other), one might feel that sometimes, it is better or even necessary to lie to your loved ones instead so as to protect them. Therefore, is it really true that one has to be absolutely truthful, as a means of showing one’s love?