The vampire nobility who rule Earth have been battling invaders, the Outer Space Beings, with mixed success. One of their greatest heros is Greylancer, a vampire warrior with unusual powers even among the Nobles. But the OSB's latest infiltration and deadly plot might leave Greylancer looking for help in some unusual places.

When I first heard this series was being started, I figured the only reason this book might get translated to English is the continuing popularity of Mayerling's character from the Bloodlust film. That seems to have held true, as the subsequent books have not been translated! I did sometimes feel that this book was targeted a little more towards the anime's fans, particularly with the addition of Mircalla (an alias of Carmilla) who appeared in Bloodlust as an apparent acquaintance of Mayerling.

Overall, I thought this book was quite strong. The plotting is tight and action-filled, which can't always be said for Kikuchi's work! I found the world-building and most of the characters engaging and the writing is intensely visual. I could picture many scenes as a film or comic as I was reading. The writing is concise and straightforward, sometimes a little too much so, resulting in some awkward phrasing.

This book is one of the starting novels in the newest round of The Vampire Bookbox

This book rode to the end of the line in the Vampire Bookbox and will soon be setting out to find a new reader.

Sent out as part of the Supernatural Sweepstakes

Oh wow! This looks absolutely intriguing. I've never read anything by Kikuchi, and I think outside Manga, The Ring is the only supernatural Japanese book I've ever read, so this will certainly be expanding my literary horizons. Thank you emmejo, that looks like a great pick!