Vampire Hunter D Volume 11: Pale Fallen Angel Parts One and Two [Paperback]

Hideyuki Kikuchi (Author), Yoshitaka Amano (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 2008

"Pale Fallen Angels" parts one and two, the first two novels of Hideyuki Kikuchi's groundbreaking, epic four-part Vampire Hunter D tale, are presented here in one affordable omnibus collection! When Lord Vlad's son, Baron Byron Balarge, needs to make a long and treacherous journey to faraway Krauhasen, he commissions the help of the infamous Vampire Hunter D, promising a princely sum and a solemn vow - no feasting on any humans for the duration of their journey! Still, D finds his work cut out for him as the duo encounters an ongoing parade of thugs, rogues, and runaways, all with riot and revenge in mind!

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Dark Horse Books/Digital Manga Publishing (October 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595821309
• ISBN-13: 978-1595821300
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #674,469 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fallen angels, December 11, 2008

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vampire Hunter D Volume 11: Pale Fallen Angel Parts One and Two (Paperback)

Hideyuki Kikuchi's vampiric Nobility tend to be monstrous, evil, or both at once. But he introduces a very different kind of vampire in the eleventh volume of his Vampire Hunter D series, "Pale Fallen Angel Parts One and Two." Kikuchi sticks to his futuristic fantasy horrors and action, but also introduces a sympathetic vampire and some eerie vampire technology.

D has an unusual assignment -- accompany young Noble Baron Byron Balazs to the town of Krauhausen, so he can kill his old daddy Vlad Balazs. D agrees, as long as Byron keeps his fangs out of human necks.

At first it seems like a straightforward assignment, but their little caravan starts picking up some strays -- a haughty, snooty Noblewoman who keeps buzzing around Byron, and a pair of teenage tumblers. Though the boy Hugh strikes up an odd quasi-friendship with Byron, the girl May violently hates all Nobility for a simple reason -- they turned her parents into vampires.

And it turns out that old Lord Vlad has sent some assassins to kill D and his son, with their own range of horrific magical powers. And when D and Co. encounter an old vampire stronghold, D is faced with an ancient weapon so terrible that even the Nobility sealed it away -- as well as what appears to be the mysterious Sacred Ancestor.

It's entirely possible that "Pale Fallen Angel" is the best of the Vampire Hunter D novels to date, with its perfect balance of character development and grotesque slam-bang action. Sure, it has the usual flaws of Kikuchi's work -- namely that D's heartstopping hotness is mentioned every couple pages, and everybody keeps asking him who he is. It's obvious who he is, but for some reason people need verification.

But Kikuchi's vivid writing (including a mass tentacle attack) keeps the book going -- it moves by at a breathless pace, with lightning-fast action and a creepy bunch of villains (including an evil magician, a puppetmaster, "Vince" and the Dark Water assassins). And courtesy of the Baron, there's a certain amount of grim comedy here as well, including a friendly chitchat from inside his coffin ("Even now, I'd like nothing better than to put it to the torch!" "That would be rather inconvenient").

Kikuchi further expands this dark, vaguely medieval sci-fi world -- not only do we get a guided tour of a vampire citadel with a lovesick computer, but he explains a long-ago war between extraterrestrials and the Nobility, and the remnants left behind. And at one point, the horrible results of a vampire not drinking blood is revealed.

In fact, the biggest problem with "Pale Fallen Angel Parts One and Two" is that it ends on an obvious cliffhanger -- we're left wondering what D will do next, and about the Baron's secrets.

And Kikuchi takes plenty of time to flesh out his characters -- the Baron is a rather unique vampire among Kikuchi's Nobility -- he's actually rather pleasant, charming and kind of quirky, although there are hints of a nasty past that has made him different. The snooty Miska is his complete opposite, and the cast is rounded out by a few human children who manage to seem relatively naive despite their pasts.

The eleventh Vampire Hunter D adventure, "Pale Fallen Angel Parts One and Two," is a spectacular sci-fi adventure tempered by solid character development. And the ride isn't over yet.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars D's world is more dangerous than ever; you learn about the Noble's history, September 2, 2009

By 

Karissa Eckert "Devourer of all books fantasy" (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vampire Hunter D Volume 11: Pale Fallen Angel Parts One and Two (Paperback)

This is Volume 11 in the Vampire Hunter D series. This is also the first two parts of this four part epic story called "Pale Fallen Angel"; parts three and four are in Volume 12. This was a very good Vampire Hunter D book!

In this book D is hired by Baron Byron Balarge to serve as his guard. D doesn't usually work for Nobles but given that the Baron is on his way to kill his Noble father; D consents to join him. As with most of D's adventures; they are beset on by natural disasters and assassins at every turn.

This book was right up there as one of my favorite Vampire Hunter D stories. The action is non-stop; in fact the characters rarely get to catch their breath between things attacking them and "natural" disasters running into them. The assassins are all very interesting and have interesting powers. The characters that end up accompanying D and the Baron are also fascinating. D's interactions, especially with the acrobatic brother and sister, give additional incite into his character.

This book was exceptional in that you get to learn a lot more about how the Nobility were wiped out, more about D's history, and more about the history of the world in general. The Baron himself has a complicated history and character and harbors many secrets that I am eager to find out. Kikuchi really excels at coming up with creative dangers in his world and with creative characters.

This book could be read as a stand alone (assuming you read the next volume, parts 3 and 4 after this one) you don't need to read all of the books before this one to enjoy the story. This book does end with a lot of things unresolved; but it doesn't leave you totally hanging like his last 2-book story did. You could read this book and then read parts 3 and 4 later; but I would recommend getting both volumes 11 and 12 so that you can finish up the story.

Kikuchi's writing style comes across as a bit choppy at times. Occasionally I also have trouble telling who is saying what; and the constant descriptions of D's beauty get to be a little much sometimes. But, those who like this series are used to all those drawbacks.

Overall, this was one of the best Vampire Hunter D books yet and I look forward to finishing the story in Volume 12.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The best one in the series since DEMON DEATHCHASE., December 6, 2008

By 

Kemushi (Vienna, Austria) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vampire Hunter D Volume 11: Pale Fallen Angel Parts One and Two (Paperback)

While it may seem premature to say so after only reading half of the story, I still consider PALE FALLEN ANGEL to be the best book in the VAMPIRE HUNTER D series since DEMON DEATHCHASE, which was the third volume. The most immediate point of interest here is that D gets hired by a Noble this time, a vampire who wishes to be protected from the wrath of another vampire. That puts D into a very interesting position full of conflict and it really adds a much needed breath of fresh air (or maybe some new blood) to the proceedings. I also enjoyed that the multitude of villains and enemies allows Kikuchi to dispatch of a number of them rather quickly and often in spectacular and surprisingly viscious ways. This book is not entirely free of the somewhat tiring formula of villains meeting D, facing off, escaping with a few wounds while vowing to come back and finally getting sliced and diced on the second or third encounter, but at least it adds some variety. What I enjoyed most about the book was how fast-paced and action-packed it is. A number of the wilder action scenes were so cinematic I couldn't help but wonder what a genius like Yoshiaki Kawajiri, who obviously excells at action and who directed the VAMPIRE HUNTER D: BLOODLUST feature film, could do with them. As a result, this is now by far the book I'd most like to see animated if there ever is to be another D anime.