The Vampire Armand

Armand's life spans centuries and continents, from a childhood in Kiev Rus under Mongol occupation to slavery in Constantinople, to the gilded world of Renaissance Venice where he falls under the influence of the master vampire Marius. Anne Rice traces Armand's formation across time, following the beautiful, eternally youthful vampire through fire and worship and loss, all the way to nineteenth-century Paris and the New Orleans of the present day. At its core the novel is a meditation on the cost of immortality and the persistence of the soul.

Jonathan Marosz handles Rice's elaborate, sensuous prose with genuine care, giving Armand's voice a lyrical melancholy that suits the character. The centuries-spanning structure is challenging material for any narrator, but Marosz manages the tonal shifts between historical periods without jarring transitions. At nearly sixteen hours, this is a substantial listen, one that rewards listeners who enjoy language as much as plot.