Title - Tale of the Dead Town
Author - Hideyuki Kikuchi
Year - 1986 (Japan) 2006 (RoW)
Stand Alone or Series - Fourth on Vampire Hunter D series
Pages - 171
Reading Time - 28 days
Rating - 6.5/10
Review and General Opinion
This novel was a bit different than the first and third novel which I enjoyed a lot. The second book was a bit different. When I say different I say about the way the tales are told. Some are works have become less descriptive and more action-driven. To me it's not always that good. This is a rich world and it's a shame that we are losing it. These novel begins as D saves a woman (not so different as all other novels) and meeting an "ally" as he journey to his next job in a floating city. There he will find that things are not always what they seem to be. The story is quite straightforward. A vampire (or two) is stalking the city but they are of a different breed as they need blood to survive they have other qualities different from the noble vampires. As the tale follows the detective D he finds some hidden secrets by some of the characters. In all the tale there isn't anyone capable of harming D (as in the previous novels). I enjoyed Pluto VIII (the "ally" of D) and in the end I was pleased by the tale.
Criticisms
- There are always a young girl needing rescue- The movie-script look alike. This upsets me. The first novel didn't appear that way but this is something I am currently facing in latter novels.
- The long chapters. (not that big criticism)
- Maybe is just the translation but some bits are quite odd to decipher what a heck is happening.
- Vampire Hunter D; our hero is quite a character. Is anyone capable of defeating him? Is any character in all next novels capable of making him sweat a little? Godlike.
Good
- Vampire Hunter D: The Hero is quite an amazing "super-hero". All it's power and his talking hand (should appear more) and the feelings of other vampires and humans have around him. (This is the good part the bad part is explained above)
- The Setting & World: The setting of this series is amazing. With each book we get more info about Kikuchi view on the Frontier in the world he created and contributed with 33 novels and half a dozen short stories this world is getting better.
- The postscript: The author himself writes a postscript in the end of each novel that gives us some information about how this world came to be. Not particulary about the novel but the motifs and the why's. It's quite good.
- Yoshitaka Amano drawings are always great. Specially the covers.
Conclusion
This was my fourth book of Vampire Hunter D and as I said before the setting is amazing but this tale lacks more information about the world, nobility or even D. I was pleased with the tale and I will continue reading the novels but I am not happy where the tales are going. If you are a fun of Vampire Hunter D first novel then read these one but if you are new don't begin here. If you enjoy Vampires I would also advice you to read these novels. Maybe I will try reading another kind of book by Kikuchi.
Manga novel (released by DMP). Illustrated by Saiko Takaki.
This manga was as the previous ones... weak. As I read the novel I was floaping the pages so I could "see" the action. In those strange and confusing parts I saw the Manga to fill me in. In the next novel I won't have these companion book. But either way; in my opinion, it was not as good as the novel.
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