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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9781595821300
ISBN number: 1595821309
Label: Dark Horse/Digital Manga
Manufacturer: Dark Horse/Digital Manga
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 480
Printing Date: October 22, 2008
Publishing house: Dark Horse/Digital Manga
Sale Popularity Level: 108958
Studio: Dark Horse/Digital Manga
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Product Description:
'Pale Fallen Angels' parts one and two, the very 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!
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Rated by buyers 
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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 very 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.
Rated by buyers -
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.
Rated by buyers 
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This novel seemed to give a little more insight on the authors take on the personal life of a noble and the humans who oppose them. D's presence brings humility to both races . A must have for any VHD fan!
Rated by buyers -
D's latest adventure has him traveling with two Vampires and it just doesn't get any better, this volume contains two books.
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