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robertalllan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
xeni's review against another edition
1.0
This is the first light novel I've ever "read". I said "read", because I was offered a free audiobook to listen to from NetGalley, and it's a manga. So how do you listen to a manga? Well, it's certainly far easier for me to listen to it than to read one.
I'm not a fan of mangas, or anime, or light novels, it turns out. There's a lot of tropes here which are rooted in patriarchy and misogyny that irk me beyond what I can handle for a regular book.
And yet, within the first 10 min out soon-to-be-hero encounters the most gorgeous of women in a wasteland (sorry, we have to infantalize her, so she's a "girl" in the text), who proceeds to strip off her cape and challenge him to a duel (wearing nothing underneath of course). And then offer her body as payment for his service of hunting a vampire (later it's revealed she's a 17 year old virgin who hadn't even ever held hands before - Madonna-Whore complex much, Mr Author?). This is entirely the type of story I loathe. But I am clearly not the audience. The type of reader who enjoys light novels enjoys these tropes, from what I've gleaned of people who read them and discuss them online.
Add on top of that the completely impossible futuristic post-apocalyptic landscape that clearly has scarcity issues yet still manages to have cows, and I have to question just about everything. Also, "protein-rich vegetation"? This author has never actually looked up how much protein is in plants: spoiler, the rhino got that size from eating plants. The writing is amateurish, though the translator probably did a good job; something I can't judge. The writing style is at times 2nd person, and at other times like a narrator telling us what is going on and questioning the narrative. It jumps between the two without demarcation, and at other times it jumps between being in one characters head to another character. It's quite confusing.
Unfortunately this did not work for me at all. If you like light novels and supporting the patriarchy this book is probably for you. If you want more depth, logical consistency, and no sexism, I suggest moving on. There's better vampire hunter books out there.
As to the audiobook: well read, good voice on the narrator, and I give him props for not letting any of his own emotion cloud his voice while he had to read this book. And one extra point for actually howling like a werewolf. Hilarious.
I'm not a fan of mangas, or anime, or light novels, it turns out. There's a lot of tropes here which are rooted in patriarchy and misogyny that irk me beyond what I can handle for a regular book.
And yet, within the first 10 min out soon-to-be-hero encounters the most gorgeous of women in a wasteland (sorry, we have to infantalize her, so she's a "girl" in the text), who proceeds to strip off her cape and challenge him to a duel (wearing nothing underneath of course). And then offer her body as payment for his service of hunting a vampire (later it's revealed she's a 17 year old virgin who hadn't even ever held hands before - Madonna-Whore complex much, Mr Author?). This is entirely the type of story I loathe. But I am clearly not the audience. The type of reader who enjoys light novels enjoys these tropes, from what I've gleaned of people who read them and discuss them online.
Add on top of that the completely impossible futuristic post-apocalyptic landscape that clearly has scarcity issues yet still manages to have cows, and I have to question just about everything. Also, "protein-rich vegetation"? This author has never actually looked up how much protein is in plants: spoiler, the rhino got that size from eating plants. The writing is amateurish, though the translator probably did a good job; something I can't judge. The writing style is at times 2nd person, and at other times like a narrator telling us what is going on and questioning the narrative. It jumps between the two without demarcation, and at other times it jumps between being in one characters head to another character. It's quite confusing.
Unfortunately this did not work for me at all. If you like light novels and supporting the patriarchy this book is probably for you. If you want more depth, logical consistency, and no sexism, I suggest moving on. There's better vampire hunter books out there.
As to the audiobook: well read, good voice on the narrator, and I give him props for not letting any of his own emotion cloud his voice while he had to read this book. And one extra point for actually howling like a werewolf. Hilarious.
sageunique26's review against another edition
5.0
Just finished this book. I really enjoyed it. Definitely a page turner. Would recommend to anyone!
i_am_selinam's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Rape
tamandua's review against another edition
4.0
the sci-fi elements of what could be a typical paranormal fantasy novel are so, so cool. Essentially a post-apocalyptic dystopia with genetic engineering, cyborg horses, and spy satellites. Though im not a fan of some of Doris lang’s character interactions with D, she was a pretty strong character overall, and the plot was very engaging.
agramugl's review against another edition
3.0
There is a place for books like Vampire Hunter D. It's a page turner. The kind of thing you can read in a day and be done with it. As far as I understand, Hideyuki Kikuchi wrote this novel in the tradition of gothic horror novels and pulp fiction. Though the back of the book claims this is a sci-fi horror novel, this has more in common with westerns.
This novel is the basic plot of Dracula meets Shane. Innocent virginal woman is preyed on by an ancient vampire, so an able bodied vampire hunter comes along to protect her. Turns out, however, that said vampire hunter, D, is a half-vampire with unspeakable power and skill. So much so that the author keeps D on the sidelines, focusing instead on the tertiary characters who might not live to see the end of the book.
D is the most memorable character in the novel, yet the most enigmatic. He rarely fails, and, when he does fail, he pushes himself right back up to keep on fighting. His personality is ill-defined, ultimate motivations are vague, and he does little else than kill monsters and stand around, yet something is inherently so cool about it that reading him is a joy.
The tertiary characters are not all-powerful. The main "heroine," Doris, is presented as a capable, strong woman who, over the course of the novel, becomes a helpless damsel who can't so much as manage the farm she had been running just fine for years prior to the novel without the help of her eight-year-old brother...or D, who she is madly in love with. There's a female vampire who, despite having wants and needs, ends up putting all that aside to help D accomplish his dreams. It becomes apparent that all these female characters are defined by a character of the opposite sex, but Kikuchi, perhaps foreseeing this flaw, decides to define all his major male characters by their relationships with their "love interests." The main villain, Magnus Lee, is obsessed with making Doris his wife. Greco, a chauvinist, is obsession with Doris. Rei, the second-coolest character in the book, is obsessed with sticking D.
Characters--plot--none of these are this book's strong suit.
But action is.
There are monsters of all shapes present, each more nightmarish than the last. Action scenes are incredibly over-the-top. The surreal and bizarre are common place throughout this novel. Even the events that transpired thousands of years before the novel come hard and fast, with an incredibly rich universe that, at times, makes me wish I was reading about that (unsurprisingly, there are spin-off novels detailing this past).
I cannot speak for the original Japanese, but the translation of this book feels sloppy. The prose is very weak, written in an odd way that makes the action hard to follow. It will describe a quick blow-by-blow of the action on page, only to explain what just happened right after showing it happen. This is the only thing that impedes the action.
Still, this is a fun ride. It's silly, poorly thought out, and dumb....but fun. I hear the series gets better down the road, but, so far, this book reminds me of RA Salvatore's Drizzt series. Cool main character, awesome fights, but derivative of far better works.
This novel is the basic plot of Dracula meets Shane. Innocent virginal woman is preyed on by an ancient vampire, so an able bodied vampire hunter comes along to protect her. Turns out, however, that said vampire hunter, D, is a half-vampire with unspeakable power and skill. So much so that the author keeps D on the sidelines, focusing instead on the tertiary characters who might not live to see the end of the book.
D is the most memorable character in the novel, yet the most enigmatic. He rarely fails, and, when he does fail, he pushes himself right back up to keep on fighting. His personality is ill-defined, ultimate motivations are vague, and he does little else than kill monsters and stand around, yet something is inherently so cool about it that reading him is a joy.
The tertiary characters are not all-powerful. The main "heroine," Doris, is presented as a capable, strong woman who, over the course of the novel, becomes a helpless damsel who can't so much as manage the farm she had been running just fine for years prior to the novel without the help of her eight-year-old brother...or D, who she is madly in love with. There's a female vampire who, despite having wants and needs, ends up putting all that aside to help D accomplish his dreams. It becomes apparent that all these female characters are defined by a character of the opposite sex, but Kikuchi, perhaps foreseeing this flaw, decides to define all his major male characters by their relationships with their "love interests." The main villain, Magnus Lee, is obsessed with making Doris his wife. Greco, a chauvinist, is obsession with Doris. Rei, the second-coolest character in the book, is obsessed with sticking D.
Characters--plot--none of these are this book's strong suit.
But action is.
There are monsters of all shapes present, each more nightmarish than the last. Action scenes are incredibly over-the-top. The surreal and bizarre are common place throughout this novel. Even the events that transpired thousands of years before the novel come hard and fast, with an incredibly rich universe that, at times, makes me wish I was reading about that (unsurprisingly, there are spin-off novels detailing this past).
I cannot speak for the original Japanese, but the translation of this book feels sloppy. The prose is very weak, written in an odd way that makes the action hard to follow. It will describe a quick blow-by-blow of the action on page, only to explain what just happened right after showing it happen. This is the only thing that impedes the action.
Still, this is a fun ride. It's silly, poorly thought out, and dumb....but fun. I hear the series gets better down the road, but, so far, this book reminds me of RA Salvatore's Drizzt series. Cool main character, awesome fights, but derivative of far better works.
horriblehumain's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
amy_reading_23's review against another edition
1.0
I really wanted to like this series as I enjoyed the movies, however it was really disturbing. The first book was alright but then the second one had really graphic r*pe scenes that made me very uncomfortable, I just didn't feel the writer needed to go into that much detail and it felt very wrong. I couldn't finish the second book and I honestly wouldn't recommend trying this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse and Rape
westenra's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Hammer horror meets anime nonsense and a ttrpg manual in the nuclear wasteland. Perfect for what it is.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
allnee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0