Raiser of Gales (Vampire Hunter D, Vol. 2)
by Yoshitaka Amano, Hideyuki Kikuchi
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Book Summary Information
Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi, Yoshitaka AmanoTranslator: Kevin Leahy
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2005-08-31
ISBN: 1595820140
Number of pages: 300
Publisher: Dark Horse Books/Digital Manga Publishing
Book Reviews of Raiser of Gales (Vampire Hunter D, Vol. 2)
Book Review: Floating death
Summary: 4 Stars
Vampire Hunter D is one of those vampiric characters who clings to the imagination -- a chilly, powerful dhampir with a big hat and sword.
And Hideyuki Kikuchi is still in pretty good shape in D's fourth fantasy adventure. "Vampire Hunter D Volume 4: Tale of the Dead Town" is more of a mystery than straight sci-fi horror, and while it lacks the visceral punch of Kikuchi's other work about his postapocalyptic dhampir, it's still a solid story with some solid action scenes, and a glimpse of D's life as a wandering Hunter.
As the story opens, D rescues the lone survivor of a dragon massacre -- a radiation-sick teenage girl named Lori -- and a brash biker named John M. Brasselli Pluto VIII.
With his two new companions, D arrives at a very unique town -- it floats above the ground, and constantly travels. Compared to the rest of the Frontier, it's pretty idyllic, except that the mayor's daughter has been attacked by the Nobility. At first D thinks that the place has been invaded by a lone Noble, but when he kills the vampire he finds that the man is not the only one in the floating city.
And he finds that something strange is lurking in Lori's old home, where her father was conducting some odd experiments. Using John's special talents -- possessing the minds of others -- D soon discovers just what Lori's father was trying to create all those years, and who is responsible for the vampire attacks. To make matters worse, the city is going waaaaaayyy off course toward some Noble ruins...
Hideyuki Kikuchi has explored the horrors that science can create before, even in a series with vampires, mutants, and monsters of assorted types. And "Tale of the Dead Town" straddles the line between horror and mystery -- not mystery of the Agatha Christie type with subtle clues and many suspects, but more of a Raymond Chandler dig-up-the-dirty-nasty-facts pulp variety.
With that in mind, "Tale of the Dead Town" unwinds at a relatively relaxed pace, with D poking around in dark corners and fending off the bigotry of the locals. Kikuchi's shadowy, lushly detailed descriptions lend themselves well to the eerier scenes -- such as the vampire girl's creepy multiple-personality moment -- as well as the action sequences. One particularly striking scene is D's battle against some vicious carnivorous birds to save a little girl.
There are a few bumps in the literary road, though -- Kikuchi's detailed writing sometimes goes a bit over the top ("vermillion rage" in someone's voice?), and he reminds us at least every two pages about how unspeakably gorgeous D is.
Though D claims he's "seen too much" to react to his surroundings, Kikuchi keeps his anti-hero from becoming a cardboard cutout. He spends most of the book being chilly and remote, but occasionally comes out of his shell -- his unacknowledged with the brash, talkative John M. Brasselli Pluto VIII is a particularly fun one, since the men are utter opposites. At the same time, we get a glimpse at the mindless hostility he's been hit with for centuries.
"Vampire Hunter D Volume 4: Tale of the Dead Town" is one of Kikuchi's lesser works, but it's still a solid horror/mystery tale of a hi-tech city that is rotting from the inside out.
Summary of Raiser of Gales (Vampire Hunter D, Vol. 2)
The adventures of Vampire Hunter D continue! Vampires: murderous creatures in the shape of humans, they stalk the night feeding on the blood of innocents. Seemingly immortal, they can be destroyed only by the use of a stake through the heart, severing of their heads or exposure to sunlight. By the year 12,090 A.D., vampires have ruled the Earth for almost 300 years, and it is only these weaknesses that have kept these foul monsters from totally overrunning the world.General Books
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