Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Vampire Armand by Anne Rice

9 reviews

gayliott's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Anne Rice definitly has some of her more problematic moments in that one. But if you like her writing style and dramatics it's good for that. The horror also peeks in this one for the series so far. Very dark, very dramatic, gore and existencial. I love it but i would strongly advise checking the Trigger Warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Drug use, Incest, and Abandonment

peggy_racham's review against another edition

4.75

To keep your belief after forgeting your childhood and your parents. And it then almost destroying you. 
Armands story is heartbreaking but I understand him so much better now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

boywonder's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

A lot of this book doesn't really hold up. It's still my favourite in the series because I love Armand, but some of this has weird racism in it that was extremely unnecessary? Also the second half is so sped up because it assumes you remember everything that happened in two or three other books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Sexual content, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Kidnapping and Abandonment

bunnypearl's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Even with all the content warnings, I found this book much more enjoyable than the last couple volumes in the Vampire Chronicles. I always loved the character of Armand and delving further into his backstory was incredibly interesting, his demeanor and actions further explained by the past. 
I thought his relationship with Marius, both mentally and physically, was well-written. Though the reality of it is far from beautiful, the way Rice writes it draws the reader into Armand's mind, making them believe (to an extent) that this love is something that can be perfectly attained--even if it takes a long while. Seeing him go from student to lover to hunter to something impossible to label...it's a long, strange process and Armand's development throughout the story makes this book one of my favorites in the Chronicles.
This story is definitely not for everyone and the content warnings should be checked before reading it, but I enjoyed The Vampire Armand much more than I anticipated.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Torture

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

One note, though: The way Anne Rice writes women feels...very sexist. Every time they're brought up, there's something about their pale skin or their thinness or (God forbid) how large/small their breasts are. I think my least favorite thing about the whole series is how she describes the women in her books. It comes across as extremely weird and objectifying.

bordino's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Murder

reclusivebookslug's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

My favorite of the Vampire Chronicles to date. Also made me cry the most. I've always been eager to learn more about Armand and this fulfilled all my hopes for his story. The ending reads to me as cautiously hopeful, which is an unusual but appreciated turn for Rice (maybe the ending to QOTD could be categorized similarly).

I love how Louis, Lestat, and Armand's different voices are so clearly distinctive in the books they narrate. I had gotten used to reading from Lestat's POV, but I was really put into the headspace of Armand here. Similarly, I found it clever how Rice distinguished the three different iterations of Armand with his names -- Andrei, Amadeo, and Armand. You get a real sense of his desperation for purpose and guidance, which is so strong he is able to adapt to strikingly different ways of life and codes of morality to best suit the situation he finds himself in.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, Rape, Slavery, Blood, Trafficking, and Stalking

usually_sleep_deprived's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

carrionkid's review against another edition

4.0

Overall, I think the last 2/3rds of this book really make it worth the read. The first third is ROUGH, filled to the brim with gratuitous CSA that the author doesn't seem to have an issue with. But from there on, I think it's a strong addition to the series even if some of the events actively contradict past books in the series. It's visceral and raw and a very good change of pace from the other books in the series. However, the CSA definitely knocks it down a star.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

parttimerarebookdealer's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Grief