book review | December with Dracula 9 | A Sharpness on the Neck by Fred Saberhagen | Dracula 9

Author: Fred Saberhagen
Title: A Sharpness on the Neck
Series: Dracula 9
Genre: Urban Fantasy; Dracula
Pages: 352
Rate: 2/5 | Goodreads

Ugh. Finished “A Sharpness on the Neck” by Fred Saberhagen, ninth, and almost the last book in author’s Dracula or Dracula Tape series. While I absolutely love authors writing more about Dracula’s life before and after Bram Stoker, these are not for me.

About the Book: Radciffe family have earned the wrath of an old and powerful vampire, Dracula himself, just… not THAT one, as Vlad Dracula keeps trying to prove them, having kidnapped the family to save them from his brother Radu Dracula. But the will to protect people is not enough when they don’t understand your actions, their importance, or even reasons behind them. And to attempt and explain them, well, who would believe in vampires, right?

My Opinion: Current Radcliffe family puts themselves in danger via this long and dull back-and-forth of “we’re vampires – there’s no such thing as vampires“. Much like late Anne Rice’s works, this here is a tale of a tale, where people sit down just to hear a tale from long ago, with all it’s sleep-inducing nuances, notes from long ago, additional notes made now, and notes in retrospect of things currently. It’s classically okay, but just not good. The writing is poor, the tale itself is poorer, side characters are of no more importance than furniture, and the main-sides, aka Radcliffes, lack any characteristics to make them real people, or notable characters. With all the emphasis on brotherly rivalry, it was more a mockery that we were expected to admire.

Can’t give this more than 2 out of 5.

book review | December with Dracula | Seance for a Vampire by Fred Saberhagen | Dracula 8

Author: Fred Saberhagen
Title: Séance for a Vampire
Series: Dracula 8
Genre: Vampires; Urban Fantasy
Pages: 310
Rate: 2/5 | Goodreads

I’ve read a few Sherlock Holmes and Dracula crossovers. Séance for a Vampire by Fred Saberhagen, eight book in his Dracula series, might just be the best of that specific kind. Yet that doesn’t say much…

About the Book: Distraught parents become easy pray to charlatan mediums who claim to be able to speak to the dead, including their daughter. Sherlock Holmes and his loyal partner dr. Watson come for a séance too, fully expecting to expose the frauds. Instead, what they witness makes them turn for help even farther down the Holmes family tree. They must reach out to prince Dracula himself…

My Opinion: An unbearably slow story full of completely useless text that wasn’t worth much even as page filler, with ideas that author himself has dropped and likely forgot they were even there. Plot holes so grave I’ve reread some chapters, thinking I missed something, surely, but no, I haven’t. An apparent attempt to imitate Bram Stoker’s Dracula, I could be wrong about this, it just felt that way. So, in total: slow, difficult to follow and/or understand, and additionally made unnecessarily complex. The only true positive of this story is that looking from afar – the idea is pretty good.

If you truly like Sherlock tales, might be worth reading this one. I’m not that big of a fan. A firm 2 out of 5.

Dracember | Father in Darkness and Tall Dark Stranger

Kim Newman‘s Anno Dracula series inspired Father in Darkness type of a Dracula painting, and a more Hellsing like inspired Tall Dark Stranger Dracula.

Both available in a variety of prints, postcards, stickers, and other things over at my Redbubble shop
👑

book review | December with Dracula 5 | The Cambion Cycle by John G. Hartness | Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter 5-8

Author: John G. Hartness
Title: The Cambion Cycle
Series: Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter 5-8
Genre: Urban Fantasy; Vampires
Pages: 394
Rate: 4/5 | Goodreads

I couldn’t resist. Instantly grabbed The Cambion Cycle: Year Two by John G. Hartness, second book in Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter series. Other series will just have to wait. And no, I regret nothing either.

About the Book: Someone is hunting down people with supernatural blood in their veins, specifically those whose one parent was either an angel, or a demon. They brutally kill them, and leave Harker a message. A message out of blood, guts, and remnants of soul. And, worst of all is that Harker has already seen all this before. Back then having stopped it through sheer luck…

My Opinion: Author has a great, smooth writing style where between high-strung action there’s moments of respite and planning. Characters don’t loiter about, taking more time talking than doing things. Everything’s in very, very good balance, I just can’t stress that enough. Additionally I noticed there’s these… Little repeated things, sentences, jokes. Not repeated per page, but from another book, another story told before. This created a lovely little dynamic, where it almost feels like the reader and the author have inside jokes now. Again, takes balance to get there. Lots of humor, unbelievably colorful epithets and insults, well written action and protagonists. The only thing I had a small issue with were side characters who were not so small as to warrant such template-writing.

A firm 4 out of 5. And how do I resist taking third one right now…

book review | December with Dracula 4 | Quincy Harker: Year One by John G. Hartness | Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter 1-4

Author: John G. Hartness
Title: Quincy Harker: Year One
Series: Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter 1-4
Genre: Urban Fantasy; Vampires
Pages: 384
Rate: 4/5 | Goodreads

Quincy Harker, Demon Hunter series, written by John G. Hartness, is best read in these omnibuses. Then you’ll be absolutely certain you’re reading them in appropriate, chronological order. Don’t ask why I mention this now, now that I’ve read Quincy Harker: Year One, a 1-4 books omnibus.

About the Book: Quincy’s parents were Mina and Jonathan Harkers who, one way or another, were affected by Vlad Dracula himself. This means that Quincy, while not a vampire, now lives in the age of cell phones and security cameras, and calls Dracula his uncle. He works as a demon hunter, one way or another banishing the things that go bump in the night, bumping them back, as he puts it. But whether it’s because being an anomaly that he is – he attracted attention of said beings, or because they just pissed him off – remains unknown. After all, living this long means he saw the worst humanity has to dish out. And the darkness those acts pull into the world.

In this book Quincy starts officially working with officially nonexistent paranormal activity division. And while at first that sounds like great fun – finally someone to clean the records, the blood, and the bodies – it turns out they’re lacking in the supernatural department. So there he is, as before, against a few of Apocalypse Horsemen, Death itself, Hell’s Lieutenants, and all kinds of other crap. Must be Tuesday.

My Opinion: Great humor, colorful epithets and unmatched vocabulary, incredible fights with creatures from the depths of hell, whose sharp tongues are only matched by their damned swords, Vlad the Impaler himself going medieval or, worse, getting all parental, a guardian angel who can barely keep up with this bad influence of a protagonist, and many other absolutely glorious things. Well written, easy to absorb, and even easier to read. The only minus is that some prominent characters follow a very clear pattern that makes their acts, events around them, answers, and dialogues – overly predictable. Occasional curveball would’ve made this beyond perfect.

A very fine read, solid 4 out of 5.

book review | Dracember | Children of the Night by Dan Simmons | Seasons of Horror 2

Author: Dan Simmons
Title: Children of the Night
Series: Seasons of Horror 2
Genre: Horror books; Thriller
Pages: 453
Rate: 3/5 | Goodreads

Dracember (drac-sem-ber) is here, and so, I return to you with a month of Dracula, and a great worry for next year, as there simply aren’t enough of these. But, for starters, read Children of the Night by Dan Simmons, the most boring interesting book I’ve ever read. Yes.

About the Book: Post-communist Romania, still running on not yet uprooted remnants of nasty regime, is where Kate’s source of frustration and salvation lies. A child with supernatural immune system, so powerful that if only she could get the kid out of the country, and into a proper, state of the art lab, there’d be no more incurable illness or disease. But Romania has long since been the cradle of Dark Secrets, and so, forces that serve them are unwilling to give up the child they could use to revive Him with…

My Opinion: The book is told from two perspectives; Kate’s, and Dracula’s, who tells his tale, and explains how he’s learning of things happening around him. Mythos of vampires is well woven, and in general it was a very interesting read. Except that I almost died of boredom when author saw the need to describe bureaucracy in such detail and extent, and then provide all of the characters who just happen to know all the right people, and have all the right skills. Kate was annoying too, unusually so, and her co-workers were the worst by being the best with their praises to Kate, oh, if anyone, you can surely do it. Yes, okay, great, fun. The book is good enough that I’d read sequel if there was one (series is not of connected books, they’re all stand-alones), but bad enough that I wouldn’t recommend it.

It really had its moments, so a firm 3 out of 5.

book review | Vampire Hunter D: Tale of the Dead Town by Hideyuki Kikuchi | Vampire Hunter D 4

Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Title: Tale of the Dead Town
Series: Vampire Hunter D 4
Genre: Sci-fi; Vampires
Pages: 201
Rate: 4/5 | Goodreads

There is only a handful of novels in Vampire Hunter D series by Hideyuki Kikuchi that I can get, so, yes, I am determined to read them all. Finished the fourth one, called Vampire Hunter D: Tale of the Dead Town.

About the Book: A traveling city, entire metropolis, on an unknown course, and a very strict policy for boarding it or leaving, that almost left D on the other side of the door, except… Against all odds, they have found themselves in need of a vampire hunter, better still if one’s as skilled as D, for who or what could possibly hide here, where every citizen can easily be accounted for?

My Opinion: If I haven’t warned you yet, let me do so now: do not play a drinking game where you take a shot every time D’s described as gorgeous, you will end up in the hospital. Other than this annoying flaw that continues through all of the books, the story was pretty good. An interesting concept of a traveling town, where motion and walls were meant to keep everyone safe from what’s outside. But a single threat on the inside of the walls has turned it into a death trap.

Solid one, a 4 out of 5.

book review | Vampire Hunter D: Demon Deathchase by Hideyuki Kikuchi | Vampire Hunter D 3

Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Title: Vampire Hunter D: Demon Deathchase
Series: Vampire Hunter D
Genre: Sci-fi; Vampire books
Pages: 211
Rate: 4/5 | Goodreads

Third Vampire Hunter D book, Demon Deathchase by Hideyuki Kikuchi is what animated movie Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is based on. Very different, but got that main story line going right.

About the Book: D is hired to retrieve a young woman, kidnapped by a true member of nobility, an old vampire who didn’t disappear like the rest of them. On his heels there’s a whole band of other hired muscle, as the payment offered is enough for them to consider ridding of the competition too. But due to D’s dhampir nature, his skill is unmatched, and so, he can concentrate on the young woman, and the puzzle she poses, having had plenty of opportunity to escape or even kill her captor…

My Opinion: This one’s brutal. Noticed a running theme of ever increasing sexual violence in these books, from mere threat of it, to… To the nasty shit that happened in this book, so keep it in mind as a trigger warning. Other than that, the book is packed with action, supernatural battles, killing machines, relics of unimaginable past, mutations that were once stopped by, seemingly, daddy Drac himself, and mutations that didn’t stop: there’s a vampire who can drink gasoline, because, in a twisted way, it’s life-giving liquid.

Not bad, a 4 out of 5 so far.

book review | Vampire Hunter D: Raiser of Gales by Hideyuki Kikuchi | Vampire Hunter D 2

Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Title: Raiser of Gales
Series: Vampire Hunter D 2
Genre: Horror Books; Sci-fi
Pages: 250
Rate: 3/5 | Goodreads

Continuing October reads with Vampire Hunter D: Raiser of Gales by Hideyuki Kikuchi, second book in the Vampire Hunter D series. Definitely feeling that dystopian sci-fi vibe.

About the Book: Vampires known as nobility, the peak of science and evolution, have vanished, leaving behind their relicts, and experiments. One of such starts terrorizing village of Tepes (yep) D’s passing by, where he gets hired to figure out what’s going on before it’s too late…

My Opinion: Almost strained my eyes rolling, due to every D’s description, even when he’s only mentioned as a rider, starting with “gorgeous youth“. Gorgeous, gorgeous youth that makes even the hearts of straight men beat faster. You know, I have a suspicion D might be handsome. Anyway, other than that the story was alright. Felt a bit unfinished or lacking logic at times, but was interesting visually and action-wise.

A medium 3 out of 5.

book review | Clan Novel: Gangrel by Gherbod Fleming | Vampire The Masquerade: Clan Novel 3

Author: Gherbod Fleming
Title: Clan Novel: Gangrel
Series: Vampire the Masquerade: Clan Novel 3
Genre: Urban Fantasy; Vampires
Pages: 270
Rate: 2/5 | Goodreads

Finished Clan Novel: Gangrel by Gherbod Fleming, third book in Vampire the Masquerade: Clan Novel series, and the last one I own in a physical copy. Gangrels aren’t my favorite clan, but they aren’t my least favorite either. For better or worse, this book didn’t change my opinion either way.

About the Book: Ramona and her two friends barely escape with their unlives, just to end up in a city thriving with life, where death yet again breathes down their necks. From their own kind, to even worse of their kind, the Sabbat. Not least of their problems is Ramona herself, as she soon finds herself obsessing over a mortal teenage girl that is like a highway to absolute hell, and she’s taking more than just herself for a ride on it.

My Opinion: Saying someone needs to earn your respect implies your respect is worth earning. I, personally, believe one can only ever lose respect. And so, Ramona’s arrogance rubbed me the wrong way from the start. Slight to mediocre spoilers ahead, no major plot twists, even though I feel like there weren’t any to begin with: She, and sometimes the other clan-kin of hers, treated one another, friends, acquaintances, like trash, acting respectfully to a degree only towards those whom they deemed in a position to help, and quickly turned their attitude if that proved to be wrong. She’d ask a question, and tell you to shup up before you finished answering, all while not only contributing nothing useful to the overall topic, but additionally misleading her kin with, yet again, arrogant assumption she knew what she was saying, despite having evidence to the contrary, or omitting the truth outright, which likely was the main contributor to majority of deaths. All due to obsession over a mortal teenage girl she and another vampire vied over to a point where they broke her family and her too, for no apparent reason at all. No, really, at the end it was stated the girl really didn’t mean anything.

This plot hole that drove majority of the plot isn’t the only one. Writing, in general, was poor, with a lot of empty descriptors that added nothing to otherwise action-based story-telling. My favorite of this action, though, was the villain’s, just sitting for two or three nights in an empty cave, doing absolutely nothing until they all prepared for a visitation.

So, all in all, a 2 out of 5, for both the writing, and level of story. Strange are the people who think their way of life is the correct one.