Rating: Summary: Well written - excellent premise Review: An excellent book with the best explanation of "vampirism" that I have ever read. Fast moving with a bit of mystery thrown in, it grabs your attention and the ending does not disappoint. Definitly a recommended read
Rating: Summary: Vampires By Gaslight Review: Before I read this novel, I didn't care at all for vampire stories. Barbara Hambly managed to change that.Dark and elegantly horrific, radiating the scent of old blood and the dust of time, _Those Who Hunt the Night_ is similar in many ways to Anita Blake's _Guilty Pleasures_, but is suited less to those who favor humor and urban fantasy than to those who are interested in darkness with feeling and depth. Hambly brings her vampires to life for you--you may not understand them, you may not empathize with them, but they will seem real. Ysidro in particular has the power to fascinate, drawing forth the interest of the reader without ever slipping into anything much like humanity. James Asher is also an interesting character in his own right, even if he may end up playing second-fiddle to Ysidro by the story's end. Lydia Asher could be reckoned as a heroine strong in her own right--for whatever reason, though, she was one character who left me cold. This book is well-worth reading, as is its sequel, _Traveling With the Dead_. _Those Who Hunt the Night_ is probably the better of the two; its dark and occasionally chilling atmosphere will linger with one for a long time after the final page has been turned.
Rating: Summary: Vampires By Gaslight Review: Before I read this novel, I didn't care at all for vampire stories. Barbara Hambly managed to change that. Dark and elegantly horrific, radiating the scent of old blood and the dust of time, _Those Who Hunt the Night_ is similar in many ways to Anita Blake's _Guilty Pleasures_, but is suited less to those who favor humor and urban fantasy than to those who are interested in darkness with feeling and depth. Hambly brings her vampires to life for you--you may not understand them, you may not empathize with them, but they will seem real. Ysidro in particular has the power to fascinate, drawing forth the interest of the reader without ever slipping into anything much like humanity. James Asher is also an interesting character in his own right, even if he may end up playing second-fiddle to Ysidro by the story's end. Lydia Asher could be reckoned as a heroine strong in her own right--for whatever reason, though, she was one character who left me cold. This book is well-worth reading, as is its sequel, _Traveling With the Dead_. _Those Who Hunt the Night_ is probably the better of the two; its dark and occasionally chilling atmosphere will linger with one for a long time after the final page has been turned.
Rating: Summary: Realistic- Intriguing-Awaiting with Bated Breath Review: I am a compusive reader. I'll read anything in front of me at least--once. I've read this book 13-times! (Is that a bad omen?) This is one of the best gas-light mysteries that I've ever read or that has been written using vampires & their culture as a the back drop of a Sherlock Holmes-like mystery. Don Simon Ysidro is not only the oldest vampire in London, but he is also cold, manipulative, intense, powerful & deadly (You'll warm up to him eventually). Ysidro compells a mild mannered, poly-lingustic, world-weary retired spy, Dr. James Asher, to hunt for the person who has been methodically hunting & killing the vampires of London in exchange for his wife's life-- and his own. The plot is tight & the characters are believable. Give this book out to friends & family as gifts year around. No one-should miss out on this book.
Rating: Summary: Realistic- Intriguing-Awaiting with Bated Breath Review: I am a compusive reader. I'll read anything in front of me at least--once. I've read this book 13-times! (Is that a bad omen?) This is one of the best gas-light mysteries that I've ever read or that has been written using vampires & their culture as a the back drop of a Sherlock Holmes-like mystery. Don Simon Ysidro is not only the oldest vampire in London, but he is also cold, manipulative, intense, powerful & deadly (You'll warm up to him eventually). Ysidro compells a mild mannered, poly-lingustic, world-weary retired spy, Dr. James Asher, to hunt for the person who has been methodically hunting & killing the vampires of London in exchange for his wife's life-- and his own. The plot is tight & the characters are believable. Give this book out to friends & family as gifts year around. No one-should miss out on this book.
Rating: Summary: One of the best vampire thrillers ever! Review: I enjoyed this novel immensely! "Those Who Hunt The Night" introduces the reader to an exciting, cold- blooded, alluring vampire called Ysidro. It's difficult to remember that he's so cold even when we're reminded over and over. Hambly certainly outdid herself for this one!
Rating: Summary: Dark delights Review: I picked up Barbara Hambly's vampire novels in a fit of boredom, and was unable to put them down. They are dark and rich as a Black Forest cake. The characters, human and inhuman, are enticingly complex and fascinating. Unassuming professor James Asher, erstwhile spy, makes a dogged if reluctant sleuth. His wafelike bride, Lydia, has guts, heart, and brains. And Don Simon Ysidro, who blackmails Asher into helping him hunt a murderer of vampires, shimmers with compelling menace. And between Asher and Ysidro grows a bond as strong as it is macabre. Even tangential characters come alive under Hambly's artful pen, especially Don Simon's companions in immortality. And the killer of vampires, and the mad, fragile stranger to whom Asher and Ysidro turn for help, are perhaps the most fascinating characters of all. All, from the Master Vampire of London to the stevedore on the quay, move against a rich tapestry of historic Europe that invites you to believe. Try, if you can, to read each novel in one sitting -- alone.
Rating: Summary: Great book! Review: I really like this book. The vampires are so "real." Much better than the vampires of Ann Rice. The story is good, the ending leaves you wishing there was more. Read Traveling With the Dead also. More about James and Lydia in it.
Rating: Summary: Couldn't put it down! Review: I usually don't read vampire stories (except for the Count St. Germain series)--the classic creepy, cold-hearted and cold-fleshed hunters of the night are too "alien" to relate to...but Don Simon Ysidro grows on you...He comes to James Asher (ostensibly a mild-mannered Oxford lecturer on folk tales and language) to investigate the "murders" of a series of fellow London vampires. Asher, a bitterly disillusioned former secret agent for British Intelligence, has his own past "ghosts" to deal with--murders, betrayals and lies done in the name of "King and Country." Despite being forced into the investigation by Ysidro's threat to his wife's life, James Asher slowly comes to understand, respect and even value Ysidro's "life" and its realities. It is this delicate development of friendship and understanding that elevate this book from merely a gripping horror novel to a memorable "keeper" book to be shared with friends. The other vampires of London, the details of their "lives" and history, and the final horrifying battle with the "murderer" will keep you reading into the night, but Don Simon Ysidro is who will linger in your mind.
Rating: Summary: Couldn't put it down! Review: I usually don't read vampire stories (except for the Count St. Germain series)--the classic creepy, cold-hearted and cold-fleshed hunters of the night are too "alien" to relate to...but Don Simon Ysidro grows on you...He comes to James Asher (ostensibly a mild-mannered Oxford lecturer on folk tales and language) to investigate the "murders" of a series of fellow London vampires. Asher, a bitterly disillusioned former secret agent for British Intelligence, has his own past "ghosts" to deal with--murders, betrayals and lies done in the name of "King and Country." Despite being forced into the investigation by Ysidro's threat to his wife's life, James Asher slowly comes to understand, respect and even value Ysidro's "life" and its realities. It is this delicate development of friendship and understanding that elevate this book from merely a gripping horror novel to a memorable "keeper" book to be shared with friends. The other vampires of London, the details of their "lives" and history, and the final horrifying battle with the "murderer" will keep you reading into the night, but Don Simon Ysidro is who will linger in your mind.
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