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juushikaTitle: Those Who Hunt the Night
Author: Barbara Hambly
Published: New York: Ballantine Books, 1988
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 296
Total Page Count: 81,908
Text Number: 234
Read For: reading gothic novels, mentioned by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cupcake_goth, borrowed from the library
Short Review: James Asher, an Oxford professor and retired spy, is the ideal detective in a case of murdered vampires—except that Asher has no ideal that vampires exist. Conscripted into service by the vampire Simon Ysidro, Asher, aided by his wife, must discover the murderer before falling prey to the vampires which he now knows haunt the streets of Victorian London. Those Who Hunt the Night is an atmospheric and indulgent historical vampire murder mystery. It's intelligently plotted and fun to read, but not particularly remarkable—except for the suspenseful and surprisingly complex characters and the vampire/human relationships. It may not be a work of art, but this is a solidly enjoyable novel and better than I expected, and I recommend it.
In large part Those Who Hunt the Night is enjoyable but otherwise unremarkable. The setting—in both historical and atmospheric aspects—is solid, and on the whole the writing is strong. The language is approachable but has a certain level of lushness which gives the book more depth than a pulp novel would have. The combination of vampires and murder mystery has a similar function: it's outright fun, but there's enough depth in both aspects to engage the reader's intellect. Unfortunately the "who" of the whodunit comes out of left field—while not unbelievable, the reveal and resolution feel slightly out of place and unevenly paced. But on the whole, Those Who Hunt the Night is an enjoyable, solidly written book—better than I expected, though not quite remarkable.
But the characters are a surprise. Not the protagonist, although he's not shabby—but his wife is a joy and best of all is the vampire Don Simon Ysidro. The vampires themselves are nothing too unusual, though the murder mystery takes a refreshing investigative and scientific approach to their mythos, but Don Simon is an brilliant character who withholds enough to intrigue and reveals enough to be sympathetic. The human/vampire relationships are deliciously tense and complex, so while James Asher is unremarkable the situation he's drawn into is: remarkable, exciting, and delightful to read. It's not enough to bump Those Who Hunt the Night into the realm of great literature, but for a capable and sometimes delightful distraction, a tense and atmospheric trip to vampire-haunted Victorian London, this is an enjoyable and successful novel. I recommend it, in particular to vampire and (Victorian) gothic fans. It's not a must-read in either genre, but it's a strong addition to both.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
For the record, it's possible the most uninspired part of this book is the title—but the good news is that it's largely irrelevant (other than the obvious vampires thing).
This is my 200th Amazon review! And it seems only yesterday that I passed the 100 mark... (Actually, it was over a year ago.) Oddly, We Have Always Lived in the Castle was going to be review 200, which would have made both 100 and 200 some of my favorite books ever. Unfortunately I'm procrastinating that review (it's hardest, sometimes, to talk about the books I love most), so instead 200 is a good-but-not-great not-a-favorite.
Author: Barbara Hambly
Published: New York: Ballantine Books, 1988
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 296
Total Page Count: 81,908
Text Number: 234
Read For: reading gothic novels, mentioned by
cupcake_goth, borrowed from the libraryShort Review: James Asher, an Oxford professor and retired spy, is the ideal detective in a case of murdered vampires—except that Asher has no ideal that vampires exist. Conscripted into service by the vampire Simon Ysidro, Asher, aided by his wife, must discover the murderer before falling prey to the vampires which he now knows haunt the streets of Victorian London. Those Who Hunt the Night is an atmospheric and indulgent historical vampire murder mystery. It's intelligently plotted and fun to read, but not particularly remarkable—except for the suspenseful and surprisingly complex characters and the vampire/human relationships. It may not be a work of art, but this is a solidly enjoyable novel and better than I expected, and I recommend it.
In large part Those Who Hunt the Night is enjoyable but otherwise unremarkable. The setting—in both historical and atmospheric aspects—is solid, and on the whole the writing is strong. The language is approachable but has a certain level of lushness which gives the book more depth than a pulp novel would have. The combination of vampires and murder mystery has a similar function: it's outright fun, but there's enough depth in both aspects to engage the reader's intellect. Unfortunately the "who" of the whodunit comes out of left field—while not unbelievable, the reveal and resolution feel slightly out of place and unevenly paced. But on the whole, Those Who Hunt the Night is an enjoyable, solidly written book—better than I expected, though not quite remarkable.
But the characters are a surprise. Not the protagonist, although he's not shabby—but his wife is a joy and best of all is the vampire Don Simon Ysidro. The vampires themselves are nothing too unusual, though the murder mystery takes a refreshing investigative and scientific approach to their mythos, but Don Simon is an brilliant character who withholds enough to intrigue and reveals enough to be sympathetic. The human/vampire relationships are deliciously tense and complex, so while James Asher is unremarkable the situation he's drawn into is: remarkable, exciting, and delightful to read. It's not enough to bump Those Who Hunt the Night into the realm of great literature, but for a capable and sometimes delightful distraction, a tense and atmospheric trip to vampire-haunted Victorian London, this is an enjoyable and successful novel. I recommend it, in particular to vampire and (Victorian) gothic fans. It's not a must-read in either genre, but it's a strong addition to both.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
For the record, it's possible the most uninspired part of this book is the title—but the good news is that it's largely irrelevant (other than the obvious vampires thing).
This is my 200th Amazon review! And it seems only yesterday that I passed the 100 mark... (Actually, it was over a year ago.) Oddly, We Have Always Lived in the Castle was going to be review 200, which would have made both 100 and 200 some of my favorite books ever. Unfortunately I'm procrastinating that review (it's hardest, sometimes, to talk about the books I love most), so instead 200 is a good-but-not-great not-a-favorite.
