Martin Shaw (Author of Echoes in the Black)

Martin Shaw and 2 other people liked Horror Haus Books's review of Echoes in the Black: "I’ve been deep in my space horror era lately, so this one immediately shot to the top of my TBR and it did not disappoint. This is the kind of sci-fi horror that understands isolation is just as terrifying as any monster. The deeper Marcus pushes into" Read more of this review »
Feb 26, 2026 02:00PM · see review
Martin Shaw liked michelle gibson's review of Echoes in the Black: "Give me more !!!!! Wow I thoroughly enjoyed this book.The way it's written has you totally invested in the characters and storyline straight away."
Feb 18, 2026 03:20AM · see review
Martin Shaw liked Avery Walker's review of Echoes in the Black: "Echoes in the Black is a masterclass in slow-burn sci-fi horror. Martin Shaw builds dread patiently, letting atmosphere and isolation do the heavy lifting until the tension becomes unbearable. The Veil feels genuinely cursed, and Marcus Carpenter is " Read more of this review »
Feb 18, 2026 03:20AM · see review
Martin Shaw rated a book really liked it Vampire Hunter D by Hideyuki Kikuchi	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A few things I noticed while reading this novel was the feeling that I had seen this before—in a different story or genre. I quickly allowed myself to strike that off, though, as this novel was originally written in 1983. Long before Twilight, The Wi ...more
Feb 08, 2026 08:16AM · like · see review
Martin Shaw wants to read The Haar by David Sodergren (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 07, 2026 01:06AM · like
Martin Shaw is now following Ann Onimaus and Horror Haus Books
Jan 05, 2026 07:04AM
Martin Shaw is currently reading Never Flinch by Stephen King (Goodreads Author) Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Horror	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 08, 2025 08:25AM · like
Martin Shaw has read Echoes in the Black by Martin Shaw (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 05, 2025 01:53AM · like
Martin Shaw rated a book really liked it The Thing by Alan Dean Foster	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
To be clear for readers this is an adaption of the John Carpenter movie. Not the original short story ' Who goes there?' spotted this 1982 corgi book at a car book sale and am a big fan of the movie. alot of plot will feel familiar with a name change ...more
Dec 03, 2025 01:43AM · like · see review

Martin Shaw and 2 other people liked Horror Haus Books's review of Echoes in the Black:

"I’ve been deep in my space horror era lately, so this one immediately shot to the top of my TBR and it did not disappoint.

This is the kind of sci-fi horror that understands isolation is just as terrifying as any monster. The deeper Marcus pushes into" Read more of this review »

Martin Shaw liked michelle gibson's review of Echoes in the Black:

"Give me more !!!!!

Wow I thoroughly enjoyed this book.The way it's written has you totally invested in the characters and storyline straight away."

Martin Shaw liked Avery Walker's review of Echoes in the Black:

"Echoes in the Black is a masterclass in slow-burn sci-fi horror. Martin Shaw builds dread patiently, letting atmosphere and isolation do the heavy lifting until the tension becomes unbearable. The Veil feels genuinely cursed, and Marcus Carpenter is " Read more of this review »

Martin Shaw rated a book really liked it

Vampire Hunter D
by Hideyuki Kikuchi

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A few things I noticed while reading this novel was the feeling that I had seen this before—in a different story or genre. I quickly allowed myself to strike that off, though, as this novel was originally written in 1983. Long before Twilight, The Wi A few things I noticed while reading this novel was the feeling that I had seen this before—in a different story or genre. I quickly allowed myself to strike that off, though, as this novel was originally written in 1983. Long before Twilight, The Witcher, and even a full seven years before the first spoke in The Wheel of Time.

Written in Japan by Hideyuki Kikuchi (who also created Wicked City), I had already seen both animated adaptations of Vampire Hunter D from 1985 and 2000. For years, I’d heard of the character but never actually read the novels that inspired those films.

This book series remained largely outside the English language until 2005, when I picked up the first six novels from a now-closed Forbidden Planet. What followed has been one of the strangest—yet most rewarding—genre mash-ups I’ve read in a long time.

The setting is a post-apocalyptic Earth. Humanity nearly destroyed itself in nuclear fire, but a race of vampires—who foresaw humanity’s undoing—sheltered themselves in underground bunkers. They later emerged from the wastelands to lead, guide, and in many cases enslave humanity, using a mix of pseudo-science and genealogy to breed the mythic monsters of old and keep everyone in their place.
And that’s just the backstory.

The main story, and our introduction to the hunter known only as D, takes place 12,000 years and two human rebellions later. Vampires—now known as the Nobility—are rare, but still extremely dangerous. The world feels like the early frontier days of the American West colliding with the Dark Ages of Europe: post-apocalyptic sci-fi western gothic horror.

While Kikuchi has cited various films and TV shows as influences, I would genuinely love to know how he assembled this particular jigsaw—and why the pieces blend together so well.

The plot itself is fairly simple. A local girl, Doris, is being stalked and terrorised by something, so she sets out to find a hunter. Each monster has its own kind of specialist, and Doris—being the daughter of a werewolf hunter—knows exactly what she needs: the rarest and most dangerous of them all. A vampire hunter.

There’s no burying the lead here. By the end of Chapter One, D tells Doris that he is a dhampir—the offspring of a vampire and a human (and, in this lore, either parent can be either species). He’s your classic stoic character, but not standoffish. He can be kind when needed, and utterly ice-cold to his enemies.

Kikuchi also makes a point of telling us that D is extremely good-looking—so much so that it’s not just humans who swoon for him. Quite a few very enthusiastic monsters do as well.

The book may be short, but it’s dense. It keeps you properly engaged, and the prose is vivid and descriptive throughout. The only thing that slightly threw me—perhaps a modern reader problem—is that some of the English names feel a little odd. Still, that’s a minor quibble.

Overall, I’m very much looking forward to continuing my journey into the next novel. ...more

Martin Shaw wants to read

The Haar
by David Sodergren (Goodreads Author)

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Martin Shaw is now following Ann Onimaus and Horror Haus Books

Martin Shaw is currently reading

Never Flinch
by Stephen King (Goodreads Author)
Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Horror

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Martin Shaw has read

Echoes in the Black
by Martin Shaw (Goodreads Author)

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Martin Shaw rated a book really liked it

The Thing
by Alan Dean Foster

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To be clear for readers this is an adaption of the John Carpenter movie.
Not the original short story ' Who goes there?'

spotted this 1982 corgi book at a car book sale and am a big fan of the movie.
alot of plot will feel familiar with a name change ...more

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