Pandora (novel)

Last updated
Pandora
PandoraNovel.jpg
First edition
Author Anne Rice
LanguageEnglish
Series New Tales of the Vampires
Genre Horror fiction
PublishedMarch 2, 1998
Publisher Knopf
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardcover, Paperback) & abridged audio book
Pages368
ISBN 0-375-40159-8 (hardcover edition)
OCLC 37966504
813/.54 21
LC Class PS3568.I265 P36 1998b
Followed by Vittorio the Vampire  

Pandora (1998) is a vampire novel by American writer Anne Rice. [1] It is one of two novels in the New Tales of the Vampires series, along with Vittorio the Vampire . [2]

Contents

Plot summary

Pandora was born with the name Lydia in the Roman Republic in the year 15 BC to a Senatorial family. She is tall, with rippling brown hair and gold-brown eyes. Like many Patrician Roman girls of the time Pandora was taught how to read and write and is well versed in epic poems, especially Ovid's works. She meets Marius for the first time when he is twenty-five and she is ten. Marius asks for Lydia's hand in marriage, but her father rejects Marius' offer. Five years later, Lydia sees Marius at a festival and begs her father to allow her to marry Marius. Her father again refuses.

Pandora's father holds a high rank as a Senator. But when a new emperor takes power, her family is betrayed by her own brother and killed. Only Pandora and her traitorous brother survive the massacre, and she is taken to Antioch (after changing her name) by a man who was very close to her father. There she meets Marius again, twenty years after their last encounter. Unbeknownst to her, Marius is now a vampire.

She eventually finds out what Marius has become, and also that he protects and hides the Queen and King of all Vampires. Another vampire, Akabar, wants to steal the Queen's powerful and ancient blood. Marius and Pandora try to prevent him from carrying out his plan. To gain access to the Queen, Akabar uses Marius's love for Pandora against him and drains Pandora to the point of death. In order to save her, Marius is forced to make Pandora into a vampire and forced to let Akabar see the Queen, who then destroys Akabar. The pair stay together for the next two hundred years, taking care of the King and Queen of all vampires, before arguing and separating. Marius later characterized the breakup (of which he left her and she spent six months or more waiting for him to return) as being entirely his fault: He considers himself a teacher who longs to impart what he knows upon his pupils, but Pandora—being as free-spirited and highly educated as she was—had no patience to be his student. During their time together, against his objection, she did turn one of her beloved slaves into a vampire. As soon as he was turned he left the pair and was not seen again.

The next time they meet again is in a Dresden ballroom in the early to late-17th century. Marius tries in vain to make Pandora leave her companion and fledgling, Arjun, and come back to him. Pandora's relationship with Arjun is of great concern to Marius, who fears Pandora is being held against her will. While she outwardly denies this, Pandora overcomes her embarrassment and admits to David in her writing that she could not bring herself to leave Arjun, citing that his stronger will propelled them both through time.

The next and last time that they meet is in 1985, when she is among thirteen vampires who survived Akasha's killing spree and gathered at Maharet's house in the Sonoma compound to battle against Akasha. Pandora remains quiet and withdrawn throughout the whole ordeal, staring out the windows and saying little, rousing herself only once to say that Akasha is trying to justify deplorable "reasons" for a holocaust.

Like many vampires, Pandora is a morose, despairing immortal who initially wanted immortality but soon regretted her choice and turns into a dark, indifferent cynic. Lestat thinks that Pandora was troubled in some deep, fundamental way even before she became a vampire, because she's the only vampire who does not receive visions of Maharet and Mekare in her dreams. During the confrontation in Sonoma, when Akasha directly asks Pandora to join with her or die, Pandora merely responds in a quiet, indifferent voice that she cannot do what Akasha is asking of her, and stoically accepts the idea of being killed.

Even after Akasha herself is destroyed and the thirteen vampires regroup in Armand's Night Island in Florida, Pandora still acts withdrawn from her fellow vampire kin, watching music videos all day long and completely ignoring Marius, who dotes on her lovingly. There is no sense of recovery or security in her as there is with the other vampires, and she departs from Night Island alone, still just as morose as ever.

Other novels

David Talbot encounters her in Paris shortly after the events of Memnoch the Devil and before the story of The Vampire Armand . He asks her to write the story of her life, which she does in a cafe by writing in some notebooks he gave her. She recalls the details of her life before becoming a vampire and briefly discusses the period when she was with Marius. After she has finished, she writes that she plans to go to New Orleans to look for Marius and to look into the eyes of Lestat, and try to understand what it is he saw. She is last seen at the end of Blood and Gold , alongside Marius.

Pandora is again seen in the novel Prince Lestat when she comes to confront Arjun of his burning fledglings and old ones in Mumbai after being told by "The Voice". There she meets Gremt Stryker Knollys, who confides in her that he is also searching for "The Voice". He also claims to be the founder of the Talamasca in the year 748, along with the vampire who created Marius and the ghost of a vampire that was just killed named Hesketh. Gremt is the spirit Pandora meets towards the end of her novel when the writer Cassiodorus dies.

Related Research Articles

<i>The Queen of the Damned</i> 1988 novel by Anne Rice

The Queen of the Damned (1988) is a vampire novel by American writer Anne Rice, the third in her The Vampire Chronicles series. It follows Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat. This novel is a continuation of the story that ends in a cliffhanger in The Vampire Lestat and explores the rich history and mythology of the origin of the vampires, which dates back to Ancient Egypt.

<i>Interview with the Vampire</i> 1976 novel by Anne Rice

Interview with the Vampire is a gothic horror and vampire novel by American author Anne Rice, published in 1976. It was her debut novel. Based on a short story Rice wrote around 1968, the novel centers on vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac, who tells the story of his life to a reporter. Rice composed the novel shortly after the death of her young daughter Michelle, who served as an inspiration for the child-vampire character Claudia. Though initially the subject of mixed critical reception, the book was followed by many widely popular sequels, collectively known as The Vampire Chronicles. A film adaptation was released in 1994, starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, and a television series premiered in 2022. The novel has also been adapted as a comic three times.

<i>The Vampire Lestat</i> 1985 vampire novel by Anne Rice

The Vampire Lestat (1985) is a vampire novel by American writer Anne Rice, the second in her Vampire Chronicles, following Interview with the Vampire (1976). The story is told from the point of view of the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt as narrator, while Interview is narrated by Louis de Pointe du Lac. Several events in the two books appear to contradict each other, allowing the reader to decide which version of events they believe to be accurate.

<i>The Tale of the Body Thief</i> 1992 novel by Anne Rice

The Tale of the Body Thief is a vampire novel by American writer Anne Rice, the fourth in her The Vampire Chronicles series, following The Queen of the Damned (1988). Published in 1992, it continues the adventures of Lestat, specifically his efforts to regain his lost humanity during the late 20th century. Chapters from the book appeared in the October 1992 issue of Playboy.

<i>Memnoch the Devil</i> 1995 novel by Anne Rice

Memnoch the Devil (1995) is a vampire novel by American writer Anne Rice, the fifth in her Vampire Chronicles series, following The Tale of the Body Thief. In this story, Lestat is approached by the Devil and offered a job at his side.

<i>The Vampire Chronicles</i> Series of gothic horror novels by Anne Rice

The Vampire Chronicles is a series of gothic vampire novels and a media franchise, created by American writer Anne Rice, that revolves around the fictional character Lestat de Lioncourt, a French nobleman turned into a vampire in the 18th century.

<i>Blood Canticle</i> 2003 novel by Anne Rice

Blood Canticle is a 2003 vampire novel by American writer Anne Rice, the tenth book in her The Vampire Chronicles series. The novel includes some characters who cross over from Rice's Lives of the Mayfair Witches trilogy (1990–1994), concluding the unified story begun in Merrick (2000) and continued in Blackwood Farm (2002).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lestat de Lioncourt</span> Fictional character created by Anne Rice

Lestat de Lioncourt is a fictional character from Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles novel series. Born in the late 1700s, Lestat is an immortal vampire and the antihero of the franchise.

<i>Lives of the Mayfair Witches</i> Series of supernatural horror novels by Anne Rice

Lives of the Mayfair Witches is a trilogy of supernatural horror/fantasy novels by American novelist Anne Rice. It centers on a family of witches whose fortunes have been guided for generations by a spirit named Lasher. The series began in 1990 with The Witching Hour, which was followed by the sequels Lasher (1993) and Taltos (1994). All three novels debuted at No. 2 on The New York Times Best Seller list.

The Talamasca, sometimes known as the Order of the Talamasca, is a fictional secret society featured in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and Lives of the Mayfair Witches supernatural horror novel series.

<i>Blood and Gold</i> 2001 novel by Anne Rice

Blood and Gold (2001) is a vampire novel by American writer Anne Rice, the eighth book in her Vampire Chronicles series.

Armand (<i>The Vampire Chronicles</i>) Fictional character

Armand is a fictional character in The Vampire Chronicles novels written by Anne Rice. At the end of the series, he is approximately 500 years of age. His outward appearance is that of a beautiful adolescent boy, 5’6, with curly auburn hair, large brown eyes and slender fingers. His features are at times compared figuratively to those of Cupid or a Botticelli angel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis de Pointe du Lac</span> Fictional character created by Anne Rice

Louis de Pointe du Lac is a fictional character in Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series. He begins his life as a mortal man and later becomes a vampire. He is the protagonist who tells his story in Interview with the Vampire. He also features in The Vampire Lestat, The Queen of the Damned, The Tale of the Body Thief, Memnoch the Devil, The Vampire Armand, Merrick, Prince Lestat, Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis and Blood Communion: A Tale of Prince Lestat

<i>Interview with the Vampire</i> (film) 1994 film directed by Neil Jordan

Interview with the Vampire is a 1994 American gothic horror film directed by Neil Jordan, based on Anne Rice's 1976 novel of the same name, and starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. It focuses on Lestat (Cruise) and Louis (Pitt), beginning with Louis's transformation into a vampire by Lestat in 1791. The film chronicles their time together, and their turning of young Claudia into a vampire. The narrative is framed by a present-day interview, in which Louis tells his story to a San Francisco reporter. The supporting cast features Antonio Banderas and Stephen Rea.

<i>Lestat</i> (musical) 2005 Broadway musical based on the novels by Anne Rice

Lestat is a Broadway musical inspired by Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles. The score is by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, with the book by Linda Woolverton. The musical had a brief run on Broadway in 2006.

<i>Queen of the Damned</i> 2002 film by Michael Rymer

Queen of the Damned is a 2002 horror film directed by Michael Rymer from a screenplay by Scott Abbott and Michael Petroni, and based on the 1988 novel The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice, the third novel of the book series The Vampire Chronicles, although the film contains many plot elements from the novel's 1985 predecessor, The Vampire Lestat. A stand-alone sequel to Interview with the Vampire (1994), the film stars Stuart Townsend, Aaliyah in her final film, Marguerite Moreau, Vincent Pérez and Lena Olin. Townsend and Matthew Newton replaced Tom Cruise and Antonio Banderas in the roles of Lestat and Armand, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Rice</span> American author (1941–2021)

Anne Rice was an American author of gothic fiction, erotic literature, and bible fiction. She is best known for writing The Vampire Chronicles. She later adapted the first novel of the series into a commercially successful eponymous film, Interview with the Vampire (1994).

<i>Prince Lestat</i> Novel by Anne Rice

Prince Lestat is a novel by American writer Anne Rice, the eleventh in The Vampire Chronicles series, published on October 28, 2014. Rice had originally stated the novel Blood Canticle was meant to conclude the series, but in March 2014 she had announced a forthcoming novel that would be a sequel to the first five books and the start of a new series. She also announced via her personal Facebook that she had begun writing a follow-up novel to Prince Lestat, tentatively titled Blood Paradise, then retitled Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis.

<i>Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra</i> 2017 novel by Anne Rice and Christopher Rice

Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra is a historical horror novel by American writers Anne Rice and her son Christopher Rice, published by Anchor Books on November 21, 2017. It a sequel to Anne Rice's 1989 novel The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned. A jointly-authored third novel in this series, Ramses the Damned: The Reign of Osiris, was released on February 1, 2022, two months after Anne Rice's death.

References

  1. "Books: Reviews: Pandora by Anne Rice". CNN . March 20, 1998. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  2. "Pandora by Anne Rice". Kirkus Reviews . Retrieved December 5, 2022.