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Vampire Hunter D Volume 1 Kindle Edition

by Hideyuki Kikuchi (Author), Yoshitaka Amano (Illustrator), Kevin Leahy (Translator) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 out of 5 stars 571
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12,090 A.D. It is a dark time for the world. Humanity is just crawling out from under three hundred years of domination by the race of vampires known as the Nobility. The war against the vampires has taken its toll; cities lie in ruin, the countryside is fragmented into small villages and fiefdoms that still struggle against nightly raids by the fallen vampires-and the remnants of their genetically manufactured demons and werewolves.

Every village wants a Hunter-one of the warriors who have pledged their laser guns and their swords to the eradication of the Nobility. But some Hunters are better than others, and some bring their own kind of danger with them...

From creator Hideyuki Kikuchi, one of Japan's leading horror authors with illustrations by renowned Japanese artist, Yoshitaka Amano, best known for his illustrations in Neil Gaiman's Sandman: The Dream Hunters and the Final Fantasy games.
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  1. Part of Series
    Vampire Hunter D
  2. Print length
    279 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    Dark Horse Books
  6. Publication date
    October 9, 2012
  7. File size
    2624 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Hideyuki Kikuchi is a Japanese author famous for his horror novels. His most famous works include the Vampire Hunter D series, Darkside Blues, and Wicked City. He has been compared to both Stephen King and H. P. Lovecraft. Kikuchi was born in Choshi, Japan, on September 25, 1949. He attended Aoyama Gakuin University and was trained as a writer by famed author Kazuo Koike. His first novel, Demon City Shinjuku, was published in 1982. Kikuchi became close friends with writer and director Yoshiaki Kawajiri during his adaption of Wicked City and the two have since collaborated on Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and the OVA of Demon City Shinjuku. Yoshitaka Amano is a comic book and manga creator, artist, and cover artist known for his work on Aliens, Sandman, and Speed Racer.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00A7H2GQM
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dark Horse Books; Translation edition (October 9, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 9, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2624 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 279 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 571

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  1. Yoshitaka Amano

    Yoshitaka Amano

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    Yoshitaka Amano, (born July 28, 1952) is a Japanese artist. He began his career as an animator and has become known for his illustrations for the anime Vampire Hunter D, Shinjuku, and for his character designs, image illustrations and title logo designs for the Final Fantasy video game series developed by Square Enix (formerly Square). His influences include Western comic books, art nouveau, and Japanese woodblock prints. He has won awards for his work, including the 1999 Bram Stoker Award for his collaboration with Neil Gaiman, Sandman: The Dream Hunters. In early 2010, he established Studio Devaloka, a film production company.

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  2. Hideyuki Kikuchi

    Hideyuki Kikuchi

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  3. Kevin Leahy

    Kevin Leahy

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
571 global ratings
By far one of the best novel series out there and my all time fav over a decade and a half - Nothing like it!
5 Stars
By far one of the best novel series out there and my all time fav over a decade and a half - Nothing like it!
When I was a kid (around 10 - 12 yrs old) I remember renting the VHS Anime "Vampire Hunter D" all the time ... Not sure what I loved about it, but I wore the tape out of that VHS lol!When I got older, I discovered there was a novel before the Anime! As a book worm, I HAD to read it!! Instant love, by far!Of course, I got dragged into the novels without realizing how far they really go - and have now been on a mission to collect ALL the Vampire Hunter D novel books and am now even collecting from the Manga books as well ... Now just to get my hands on a decent copy of the VHS & DVD release to complete my obsession LOL!I will say I do love the 2nd Anime movie better, which is actually based off the 3rd novel (skipping the 2nd novel) as the artwork is much, much better and detailed (but hey, the 1st was a 1985 Anime, and for it's time, I'm ok with how it was done!).Ok ... The book ... I've never had any issues with it's translation, I've seen some reviews mentioning translation but I've never felt there were nor are any problems in that area - To be honest, it's very well written for a translated series. I'm definitely one of those people who visualize a movie playing in my head when I read a book and I've not had to re-read a line to "see" it better in my head.The story is captivating, it's got just enough of everything for every type of reader be it romance, action, sci-fi, horror - you name it, it's got it! It's hard to get that, and the more you read in the series the better it really does get - Where the author comes up with his stuff is BEYOND me.I'm just praying he finishes the series before something bad happens and suddenly I'm left with a series that never officially ends :( To date there are I believe 26 Volumes in the novel series so be prepared to dedicate yourself (and pocket book) should you get addicted like myself, :)This is definitely worth the money, and if nothing else, it's a good time killer - You won't be disappointed with this series, I can almost bet on it!(Sorry for the bad lighting in photo - Tried to fit all of them in there - The two bottom books are part of the Manga series and so far only have Volumes 4 & 7 ... I should be receiving the rest soon via the mail actually)
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Top reviews from the United States

WHO Reviewer
5.0 out of 5 stars Such Nostalgia
Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2020
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I'm an older gent. I cut my teeth on the anime version long before I knew of the novels. I recently bought a kindle (extremely pleased with the latest model... I don't normally plug products in reviews unrelated but I got the epub version of this book and it looks fantastic on my reader... okay...moving on) and I was able to rediscover this book in the electronic format. I'd like to say I'm a writer or something with a little ethos to validate my opinion, but I am just a dude, so consider the review source... that said... I really enjoyed the heck out of this story. I also wasn't aware that it was a series and so, I look forward to continued reading. If I cast a critical eye on the novel, I'd say that it is appropriate for the time in which it was written (and bear in mind, this is a translation and I'm literally learning Japanese so I can read the original sans interpretation... langage makes the culture in many ways) but may strike some as being the opposite. D is a fun fellow to follow and having some insight into his backstory (no spoilers here) prompts one for a second read with a slightly adjusted perspective of the story. I am a gigantic fan of Yoshitaka Amano (I even own some of his work) and the occasional ink plate of his art adds a nice touch. Does the structure follow the standard hero's journey? Not exactly, but the difference is what makes the story unique. D is something of a 'hold over' static character with some of the hero/anti-hero tropes of pulp fiction story telling (extremely gifted/powerful... but still tragically flawed in many story creating ways). He is a hero (of sorts) that is basically going to work (like a daily grind job)... except that work involves pest control of the vampire type. The world building lends to some interesting visualizations of a future where the highest of tech meets the lowest of human living conditions (typified by a medieval living standards for the 'lowly Humans' and what I would describe as "star trek post scarcity/galactic level 2 society"... but with way more violence... for the 'High/Nobel Vampires'). It is a clashing world of the future that is nothing but a leftover from some greater civilization founded by... vampires. So, what you get with this world is a bit of a neogothic-cyberpunk-vampire science fiction/fantasy setting... that's a lot to wrap up into a single story but it is actually an easy and entertaining read (with 20+ more books in the series... so I expect to learn more about this world of complete opposites). It seems paced well (to an amateur) and given the number of sequels... it clearly stood the test of time. I highly recommend this book in any format you can get it in. So go get some!
12 people found this helpful
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Kat
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly entertaining start to the series
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2007
Verified Purchase
I became interested in this series after watching "Bloodlust" and was hoping to get more info on D, his background and his talking left hand. While I liked how the book was fast paced and descriptive, I got more background information from Wikipedia than from the novel. Though to be fair, it is the first in a series of seventeen. Hopefully D's mysterious background will be revealed in later volumes.

The story was fun and delightfully harrowing though the writing itself could be choppy and a bit confusing. At times I felt I was either spoon fed the plot line or like I was watching an episode of the 1960s "Batman". The author would insert inane questions into the narration as if the reader was too dense to figure the plot out for his or herself. But, I suppose that might be due to alterations from Japanese translation as they have a different writing style than what most Westerners are used to. Also these books were written in the 1980s and writing styles may have changed somewhat.

Nevertheless, once I got passed the erratic narration, I thoroughly enjoyed the story. It was dark, erotic and had great battle and character descriptions. The author did a wonderful job of conveying emotions as well.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has watched the Vampire Hunter D movies or is just a fan of vampire stories.
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Pepper
4.0 out of 5 stars The First Time I've Loved A Terribly Written Book
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2013
Verified Purchase
I'm not a vampire novel fan, but I am a big fan of anime. Nope, I don't watch anime for the graphics, or the voice acting, I watch it for the different storylines and methods of approaching a story. Their stories are different to Western mainstream stories.

This is why I love this novel, despite (let's face it!) the fact it's terribly written. I'm putting that down largely to quirks in translation.

Firstly, the negatives:
> While dialogue is serviceable, it's by no means outstanding (though I should note it's WAY better than the anime of the 80's).
> You are constantly reminded of how gorgeous the characters are, and they are repeatedly described in detail (while characters who I guess are "ordinary" are described hardly at all).
> The word "countenance". Seriously, count how many times it was used.
> You are frequently given the result of an action, only to have the narrative backpedal to explain how such a result came about. I found this had a jarring effect on the flow of the story, until I started to get used to it by about half way through.
> The omniscient narrator often addresses the reader directly (a personal dislike).
> A bit of head-hopping, particularly in the beginning.
> For folk who haven't seen the anime, I imagine there's a bunch of things that won't make sense until late in the novel.

Now for the positives:
> Characters were likable- a huge plus with me.
> The enemies were so epically powerful that it was hard not to root for them, just to see them show off their stuff.
> The story is very action-driven. There are no boring bits. Even the (few) lulls are filled with tension.
> The story is set in a unique world in a distant post-apocalyptic future where there's a strong gothic/medieval influence (from the vampires and how they've shaped the world), but also very high-tech as far as cyborgs and weaponry goes. The creatures of myth and fairy tales are the result of vampiric influence and genetic modification.
> Things continue to get worse for the main characters, and the flow of events weren't terribly predictable.
> From someone who hasn't read (or enjoyed) very much vampire fiction, this was enjoyable and unique.

For me, the pros outweighed the cons. The story moves at a fast pace and therefore you don't pay as much attention to the truly awful writing. I'll definitely be reading volume two. If the writing improves, I'll be a happy girl.
14 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Tiago Fernandes
4.0 out of 5 stars Grande estréia!
Reviewed in Brazil on March 6, 2023
Verified Purchase
Este é o livro que inspirou a primeira animação dos anos 80. Aquela até que é bem fiel a este. Este é, pra mim, o melhor dos quatro primeiros livros e traz toda a atmosfera que os fãs que vieram das animações esperam deste universo. Este conto também traz excelentes personagens e passagens. Acho uma pena que a única conexão narrativa dos quatro primeiros livros é uma citação no fim do quarto livro da "irmã e do irmão que viviam em um rancho"...
Mas isso é uma questão de gosto e opinião pessoal e não estraga as histórias em nada.
Este aqui é bem legal e um excelente começo. E a arte do mestre Amano é um deleite como sempre.

Entretanto, apesar da riqueza do cenário único, dos personagens e da história em si (história boa, narrativa ruim) as duas reviews que deram 1 estrela tem razão nos argumentos apontados. O livro é mal escrito (embora muitas das coisas que o primeiro avaliador critique sejam mais uma questão de estilo do autor e não necessariamente o que torne a forma de contar a história ruim - ex: As Mil e Uma noites traduzidas pelo Mamede Mustafa Jarouche tem metade de alguns livros sendo de notas e é absurdamente sensacional) e as obras do Vampire Hunter D (até o quarto livro) são de fato sexistas, genéricas e até infantis em muitos momentos.
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Jonathan M.
5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant b!end of genres.
Reviewed in Canada on January 3, 2021
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This is a mash-up of genres, pulp western, sci-fi and horror with a new take on vampires. The author's imagination knows no bounds and he uses all of these elements to put together an engaging and unique tale. This fun read that will leave to wanting more. Fortunately there are many more books in the series.
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Feco
5.0 out of 5 stars Es lectura obligada.
Reviewed in Mexico on May 5, 2017
Verified Purchase
Esta es la primera aventura de D, y resulta exótica y exhuberante a pesar de tratarse de una obra post-postapocalipsis. Aquí todos son misterios de un mundo hostil que sabemos que se van resolviendo en posteriores volúmenes, pero que aquí no entendemos y eso, justamente eso, hace genial este volumen. ¿Alguien ha dicho que Sandman, D y Alucard se parecen mucho? Seguro que si, pero al escribir esto se me ocurrió.
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Amazon-Kunde
5.0 out of 5 stars Sehr gut
Reviewed in Germany on July 20, 2017
Verified Purchase
Bin gerade auf einem vampir trip mit dem release des castlevania animes und so und ich muss sagen dieses buch ist genau das nachdem ich gesucht habe
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Z I Fergus
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting world building
Reviewed in Australia on February 10, 2023
Verified Purchase
Vampire Hunter D Volume 1 is considered a must-read for fans of dark fantasy, action-adventure and sci-fi. The Kindle edition of the book, written by Hideyuki Kikuchi, features several stunning illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano, which help to bring the world and characters to life in a unique and captivating way.

The story follows the adventures of the mysterious and powerful vampire hunter, D, as he travels through a post-apocalyptic world, set in the distant future, filled with danger and supernatural creatures.
Definitely one of the strengths of this book is its imaginative world-building. Kikuchi has created a rich, complex world filled with a diverse cast of characters, each with their own motivations and desires. There are some surprising phenomena, for example the Nobility castle on a small hill that is defended by bending time and space such that it takes hours to climb a few metres.

Another standout aspect of the book is the character of D himself. He is a fascinating protagonist, who is both mysterious and powerful. The reader is drawn to his enigmatic nature and is eager to learn more about his past and what drives him. However this strength is also one of the book's weaknesses because the omnipotence of D results in you never really believing that he is ever in any danger.

In terms of action and adventure, Vampire Hunter D Volume 1 did not disappoint, though some of the scenes and scenarios started to feel a little reiterative with predictable plot twists. It also suffers from being a little dated now.

Overall, I rated Vampire Hunter D Volume 1 an OK read. It does feature a rich world, some interesting characters, and plenty of action especially for fans of dark fantasy in a science fiction setting.
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