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A review by koki_siringo
One Thousand Monsters by Kim Newman
5.0
As a fan of Kim Newman and the Anno Dracula series for almost 10 years, I have made my peace that while A.D. is an amazing feat of storytelling and writing in many ways, climaxes and endings are its weakest points. I read with great happiness two near-masterpieces by Newman (Johnny Alucard and the non-A.D. The Hound of D'Ubervilles) only to be let down by the fact that they just...ended, leaving a sour taste in my mouth (that wasn't blood). The first three novels of Anno Dracula had left me with a similar feeling. Before reading this novel, I had also noticed the reviews in Amazon and GoodReads, singling it out as the weakest entry of the series, along with Judgement of Tears/Dracula Cha Cha Cha. So my standards were low.
Boy, I was so happy when the reviews proved to be wrong. One Thousand Monsters is the most solid novel in the series from beginning to end. I was so pleasantly surprised to read an Anno Dracula book with an exciting, all-guns-blazing climax and an ending that left me smiling.
The story focuses on vampires exiled by Dracula's court years after the conclusion of the first Anno Dracula, sent to "Yokai Town" in Japan. The wonderful Geneviève Dieudonné narrates the novel and writes an account to her "warm" lover, Charles Beauregard, about her life as a medical student in Paris, hiding in the shadows like all vampires, until Dracula's ascension to the British throne. Sympatethic Carpathian Guard captain Kostaki narrates additional chapters.
Fans of Japanese folklore, myth, cinema, literature, manga and television will have a smashing good time with all the famous fictional characters, yokai and famous ghosts that appear in the novel.
I'll write a longer, better review down the road. In the meantime, I'm happy to report that GoodReads was wrong this time around and I'm happy about it. I just want to say that Newman has outdone himself this time. Also, there are some genuinely creepy and gory scenes in the novel, some very funny moments and some deeper character development for this endearing cast of vampire adventurers.
Boy, I was so happy when the reviews proved to be wrong. One Thousand Monsters is the most solid novel in the series from beginning to end. I was so pleasantly surprised to read an Anno Dracula book with an exciting, all-guns-blazing climax and an ending that left me smiling.
The story focuses on vampires exiled by Dracula's court years after the conclusion of the first Anno Dracula, sent to "Yokai Town" in Japan. The wonderful Geneviève Dieudonné narrates the novel and writes an account to her "warm" lover, Charles Beauregard, about her life as a medical student in Paris, hiding in the shadows like all vampires, until Dracula's ascension to the British throne. Sympatethic Carpathian Guard captain Kostaki narrates additional chapters.
Fans of Japanese folklore, myth, cinema, literature, manga and television will have a smashing good time with all the famous fictional characters, yokai and famous ghosts that appear in the novel.
I'll write a longer, better review down the road. In the meantime, I'm happy to report that GoodReads was wrong this time around and I'm happy about it. I just want to say that Newman has outdone himself this time. Also, there are some genuinely creepy and gory scenes in the novel, some very funny moments and some deeper character development for this endearing cast of vampire adventurers.