Reviews

Anno Dracula 1999: Daikaiju by Kim Newman

tickettbror's review

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.75

latterature's review

4.0

Another fantastic, blood-soaked entry in the series, though by localizing the story entirely in one geographical space, Daikaju forgoes some of the geopolitical, world-spanning events that marked earlier novels in favor of, to borrow a phrase utilized frequently in other reviews of the novel, "Die Hard with vampires". Newman is clearly having fun incorporating 90's Japanese cyber-culture into his vampire-ascendant alternate reality, but doubtless many references will be lost on readers unfamiliar with Japanese popular culture. Nevertheless, there are enough (litigiously-sound) references to and characters from other franchises the reader will find no small satisfaction in identifying; any novel that utilizes Sprunt, the German soft-drink spruiked by Alan Partridge, as an important plot device, is worthy of praise. Far too much for a standalone read, but a delight to those that have followed the series.

emsley7's review

adventurous challenging funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

toloveisdestroy's review

4.0

Okay, I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. I bought this book from Dollar Tree, and delved shortly thereafter into it's tale. It's a mish-mash of a lot of plot ideas and points, but the writing is solid. I definitely think I would like to read the prior novels and delve more into the world of Anno Dracula.

photonqyv's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing tense medium-paced

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

5.0

flying_monkey's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Daikaiju, the sixth in the Anno Dracula seqeunce, is set at the turn of the millenium in Tokyo. We see most of our favourite characters come together as the walls around Tokyo's monster ghetto, Yokai Town, are due to come down, and the ghosts, demons and vampires allowed to reintegrate with the rest of society again. But of course, some people have other plans, notably the most powerful of the British vampires, who only briefly appeared in the first book in the sequence. Everything concludes in the most satisfyingly gargantuan way of all monster movies... 

brian's review

4.0

An interesting mix of genres, taking in pop culture, vampires (and other non-human types), Japanese Kaiju, Die Hard and a dose of steam & cyber-punk.
Apparently part of a series, but you don't need to have read others as it works well as a standalone novel.

An end of century party is being held in a walled off section of Tokyo (an enclave for vampires, due to be handed back at the start of the new year). Various factions appear to cause mayhem and disrupt events, while an old fashioned English intelligence officer and his bodyguard try to figure things out.

Lots of interesting characters, a good premise and a dry sense of humour make this a decent read.

nigellicus's review

5.0

Daikaiju mean giant monster, and and in this book it also means Die Hard in a building shaped like a giant monster full of all sorts of other monsters, mostly vampires of various sorts. It's a tightly-written high octane widescreen action thriller with vampires and spies and cyborgs and a whole bunch of other stuff. Excellent.