The Vampire Armand : The Vampire Chronicles (Rice, Anne, Vampire Chronicles (New York, N.Y.)

4 cassettes / 4 hours
Read by Alfred Molina
Also available on CD and unabridged on cassette

In the latest installment of The Vampire Chronicles, Anne Rice summons up dazzling worlds to bring us the story of Armand - eternally young, with the face of a Botticelli angel. Armand, who first appeared in all his dark glory more than twenty years ago in the now-classic Interview with the Vampire, the first of The Vampire Chronicles, the novel that established its author worldwide as a magnificent storyteller and creator of magical realms.

Now, we go with Armand across the centuries to the Kiev Rus of his boyhood - a ruined city under Mongol dominion - and to ancient Constantinople, where Tartar raiders sell him into slavery. And in a magnificent palazzo in the Venice of the Renaissance we see him emotionally and intellectually in thrall to the great vampire Marius, who masquerades among humankind as a mysterious, reclusive painter and who will bestow upon Armand the gift of vampiric blood.

As the novel races to its climax, moving through scenes of luxury and elegance, of ambush, fire, and devil worship to nineteenth-century Paris and today's New Orleans, we see its eternally vulnerable and romantic hero forced to choose between his twilight immortality and the salvation of his immortal soul.

In the familiar style of vampire as seducer, narrator Alfred Molina ( Boogie Nights) uses his smooth, tranquil voice to excellent effect, luring listeners ever deeper into the dark, mysterious, and blood-soaked world of The Vampire Armand. Rice has crafted an intriguing plot, one that expands on events from her earlier books, yet stands alone as a compelling exploration of the Cimmerian secrets that have shaded one of her most fascinating characters. Molina is a talented reader, and he revels here in the expertly crafted story line, lush language, and tortured emotions of a haunted soul caught in the eternal darkness that lurks between the living and the dead. (Running time: four hours, four cassettes) --George Laney

Anne Rice gives us now, in rich detail, the full story of Armand--eternally young, with the face of a Botticelli angel and a questing spirit. His adventures over the centuries--carrying him from the Kiev Rus of his boyhood to ancient Constantinople to the Venice of the Renaissance to 19th-century Paris and today's New Orleans--and his strange and brilliant education at the hands of the great vampire, Marius, are told in a novel hailed by reviewers as

"A fascinating and dazzling historical tapestry, a beautifully written, incredibly absorbing tale. [It documents] the eternal struggle between man and God, and faith and despair."
--Booklist

"Absorbing" says the New York Times Book Review
"Anne Rice first sketched out Armand's story in Interview With the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat, but here she colors it in using a vibrant palette suitable to its initial 16th-century setting."
--Michael Porter

"A sumptuous addition to the series...the most satisfying in years"
--Library Journal

"A rich and fantastic tale of loss and redemption"
--Pam Keesey, Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Rice offers exquisite details of erotic romps and political intrigues...a lavishly poetic recital...The final scene is a stunner"
--Publishers Weekly