Well, I've been a fan of Vampire Hunter D since I saw the film ages ago, and now I've finally gotten to read the book.
Now, it's a translation from the Japanese, so I have no way of knowing whether this is a flaw in the translator or in the author, but damn that prose was purple! D is always being described as gorgeous or beautiful, superlatives scatter the page like ants on a sugarbowl, and the ultimate effect is near-Lovecrafting overwrought writing.
Fortunately, the story itself is awesome. The plot is well-constructed (subplots come together and merge in unexpected ways, which is nice) and the characters and the world are fascinating. I really wished there was more detail about how things work (this is a post-apocalyptic future with all sorts of mutants and weird technology), but it's not good to slow down a suspenseful horror story with lots of exposition, so... yeah.
Anyway, I really enjoyed it, even if the purpleness did make me snicker on a semi-regular basis. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
(book 30 in 2005)
by Lemony Snicket
Read this while standing in line to get it stamped and signed by Dan Handler. I'd say it's another slam-dunk in the Series of Unfortunate Events, and I really enjoyed it. Good show.
But doods, don't read it if you haven't read the others, it won't make sense. :)
(Book 29 in 2005)