The shorter length of these tales didn't detract from their development in fact, the details and characters were clearer and developed faster. As much as I love Vampire Hunter D, I cannot in good faith recommend this one.ĭark Nocturne features Vampire Hunter D's journeys through Spring, Fall, and Winter - the first volume to feature three short stories instead of one novella. Casual readers will want to skip this one as it does not add anything to the series and I think can be ignored as a whole. Purists like myself will of course want to add this book to their collection so they might have the whole set. It was actually hard to like him, while he is a character I have enjoyed reading about for some time. He is flippant and at times almost uncaring and while in other stories D can be off putting, it is not to this degree. They feel as if they were written much earlier than previous novels, when Kikuchi was just beginning to write about D and had yet to get a hold on the character himself.Ĭompared to other novels in the series with the same protagonist, the D here feels off somehow. The stories themselves do not have to coherency of earlier novels and the characterization is often very weak. With all this being said, unfortunately I find Dark Nocturne to be one of the weakest books in the series.

It is compromised of three short stories that were published independently in magazines before being collected for the novel here. While Dark Nocturne is labelled as number 10 in the Vampire Hunter series, it could actually fit any where in the early series itself. Individuals, like myself, were ecstatic with the release of each novel and while some are better than others, we still seek to collect them all. Western audiences were introduced to the character via the first animated movie in the late 80’s, with the novels themselves not coming out in translated form until some years later. Readers who have been a part of the graphic novel/manga/anime fandom for some time will immediately recognize the name ‘Vampire Hunter D’. And in doing so, they could re-ignite a fight that has been dormant for a very long time. Genetically engineered creatures set to fight to the death and though the war has been over for centuries, two remaining individuals are still set to battle. When an outsider finds himself caught between the young woman being sacrificed and her beau, the whole village itself might be doomed.Ĭountless years ago, two sides in a devastating war create their own living weapons. A yearly ritualistic sacrifice meant to protect the town and keep the monsters at bay. The village of Shirley’s Door has a dark secret. No one in the village is able to locate where the song is coming from, so an outsider is hired to unlock the strange secret.

See my other reviews at Never Enough BooksĪ siren’s song has been drawing young men to their deaths in the hills outside of Anise Village.

Vampire hunter d by hideyuki kikuchi