Pandora

By: Anne Rice

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

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 Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis.

©1998 by Anne O'Brien Rice (P)1998 by Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"TANTALIZING."--Library Journal

"SEDUCTIVE . . . [RICE] HAS RETURNED TO THE SOURCE OF HER BEST WORK, her sexy and invincible vampires. . . . Pandora is a superheroine: beautiful, of course, but also smart, fearless, independent, lusty, resourceful, and so pumped up at the end of her breathless narrative, she takes off for New Orleans, hot on the trail of Lestat and Marius."--Booklist

"EERILY VIBRANT . . . The title character is a highborn woman of Augustan Rome who later names herself after the Pandora of mythology, opening her own box of surprises. Sitting in a modern-day Paris café in the aftermath of a fresh kill, the vampire Pandora accepts the challenge of recounting her history and immediately sets to work, filling the blank pages of an elegant leatherbound notebook. . . . A wealth of narrative twists and period detail."--The New York Times Book Review

Fantastic female Character

What did you love best about Pandora?

I loved how strong Anne Rice made Pandora. She's by far the strongest female character, she's got whit and intelligance.

What other book might you compare Pandora to and why?

None

What about Kate Reading’s performance did you like?

Her performance was great. She wasn't a dry listen

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I've read this book atleast 6 times scense high school. Love it

A bit disappointed

I love the Vampire Chronicles and was always intrigued by Pandora but to make her this “independent and strong” yet she later becomes a obsessively dependent on her fledgling and cannot escape seems a bit off. Rollercoaster of a character. Performance though was excellent! Even though I did not like the story personally the reader kept me engaged and made it a significantly more enjoyable. If I would’ve read this myself I know I would never had finished it.

interesting

as usual rice has a beautiful language and a severity of personality, especially when it comes to female characters. Pandora is amazing and fickle and I love her

Loved

Awesome story. I have been a fan of Anne Rice since Interview with a Vampire. I am excited to come across more by her. I want to read the whole Vampire Chronicles series. Anne Rice will continue to live on in my memory always

good but unnecessary

it was good but and rice goes on and on and on with all these weird names and places which had nothing to do with the story. I mean for like a half hour at a time! when the story was about Pandora and Marius it was really good but, way too much history about crap that did not matter at all.

A wonderful Tale

This is a wonderful tale that brings you through the 'life' of Pandora. Anne Rice has given us a series of tales from Pandora's life that is written with insight, drama, and emotion. It fills in some more history of the Vampires that continually brings her world depth and interest.
The Reader was exceptional. So pleasant to listen to. She added life and spirit to this tale of the 'undead'.
I was sorry that her story had to end so...on to Armand.
I Loved It!

too short

should be a bit longer, what happened from 200 CE to present? entire book and all we really got is those first couple or centuries.. disappointed. still, a good story. just not enough.

Great book Great Voice!

It was truly amazing! Her voice sold the character. Period. I love this series so much.

Exceptional!

I loved every minute of it. am looking forward to the next one!!!
I enjoy listening to and from work and at any time!

Writing and reading

I will , forever, love Anne Rice for her wonderful writing style and story’s. I also love the choice of Kate Reading for bringing to life another wonderful book. I read a lot but am a crane operator, so I choose audiobooks as I can listen as I work. I so much love the history added to a story to make it more real as Anne Rice so masterfully does and her descriptions of a place brings it to life.