Book Reviews of Blood and Gold (Vampire Chronicles, Bk 8)

Ah, to be sucked into the world of Marius, and to listen to his tale of woe and suffering, of obsession and loss. I enjoyed every moment of his wanderings through the centuries. I felt pain with him every time he remembered his beloved Pandora and his horrible mistake of leaving her. I fell at the feet of Botticelli every time Marius described the beauty of his paintings. I wished that this story had no ending, for I could have listened to Marius talk for centuries about all he knew and saw. One of the greatest Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles.

I absolutely love Marius so this book is possibly my favorite next to 'The Vampire Armand' You get his story and all the pain he's had to go through as the keeper of Akasha and just all the things he's lived. Marius definetaly makes history interesting.

I was always curious about Marius and Armand. This book was a great read!

Imperial Roman Times and the vampire Marius in Anne Rice's hands really takes a story and interested me in it!

If you are interested in the supernatural, this book was well written and very imaginative. Rice takes you back through time and the book is captivating.

awesome series can't wait to read more.

Once a proud Senator in Imperial Rome, Marius is kidnapped and forced into that dark realm of blood, where he is made a protector of the Queen and King of the vampires, in whom the core of the supernatural race resides. Through his eyes we see the fall of pagan Rome to the Emperor Constantine, the horrific sack of the Eternal City at the hands of the Visigoths, and the vile aftermath of the Black Death. Ultimately restored by the beauty of the Renaissance, Marius becomes a painter, living dangerously yet happily among mortals, and giving his heart tot he great master Botticelli, to the bewitching courtesan Bianca, and to the mysterious young apprentice Armand. But it in the present day, deep in the jungle, when Marius will meet his fate seeking justice fromt he oldest vampires in the world....

another in the series of vampyre stories filled with sexual inuendo and oppulance.

I've read this book.

Another winner from Rice-a must for her fans.

Amazon.com
Time heals all wounds, unless, of course, you're a vampire. Cuts may heal, burns vanish, limbs reattach, but for the "blood god," the wounds of the heart sometimes stay open and raw for centuries. So it is for Marius, Anne Rice's oft-mentioned and beloved scholar. We've heard parts of his tale in past volumes of the Vampire Chronicles, but never so completely and never from his own lips. In Blood and Gold, Rice mostly (but not entirely) avoids the danger of treading worn ground as she fills out the life and character of Marius the Lonely, the Disenchanted, the Heartsick--a 2,000-year-old vampire "with all the conviction of a mortal man."

Plucked from his beloved Rome in the prime of his life and forced into solitude as keeper of the vampire queen and king, Marius has never forgiven the injustice of his mortal death. Thousands of years later, he still seethes over his losses. Immortality for Marius is both a blessing and a curse--he bears "witness to all splendid and beautiful things human," yet is unable to engage in relationships for fear of revealing his burden.

New readers to the Chronicles may wish for a more fleshed-out, less introspective hero, but Rice's legions of devoted fans will recognize Blood and Gold for what it is: a love song to Marius the Wanderer, whose story reveals the complexities and limitations of eternal existence. --Daphne Durham

From School Library Journal
What we've all been waiting for: the 2000-year history of Marius, mentor to the Vampire Lestat. At 750,000 copies, the first printing measures up to Marius's long reign. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Another awesome vampire chronicle book.

Made into an immortal by a band of Druids during the time of Caesar Augustus, Marius, once a Roman senator, spent centuries living an opulently idle life. His primary task throughout the years was to guard the unmoving forms of Akasha and Enkil, the queen and king of the vampires, who caused such a ruckus in Rice's earlier novels. Marius has always been one of the author's more fascinating characters. His florid, foppish recollections of Rome and Venice, run-ins with people like Botticelli, battles with hordes of Satan-worshiping vampires and the never-ending search for his true love, Pandora, make for a satisfying read.

This is the story of Marius, the ancient vampire that you read about in The Vampire Lestat. Marius is a wonderful character and makes the book worth the read.

If you like Anne Rice, this is the usual brain candy. Vampires. The sacking of Rome. Famous artists. Etcetera. A fun read.