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Judge Dee #1
Judge Dee and the Limits of the Law
No vampire is ever innocent…
The wandering Judge Dee serves as judge, jury, and executioner for any vampire who breaks the laws designed to safeguard their kind’s survival. This new case in particular puts his mandate to the test.
The wandering Judge Dee serves as judge, jury, and executioner for any vampire who breaks the laws designed to safeguard their kind’s survival. This new case in particular puts his mandate to the test.
32 pages, ebook
First published November 11, 2020
37 people are currently reading
819 people want to read
About the author
Lavie Tidhar
390 books740 followersLavie Tidhar was raised on a kibbutz in Israel. He has travelled extensively since he was a teenager, living in South Africa, the UK, Laos, and the small island nation of Vanuatu.
Tidhar began publishing with a poetry collection in Hebrew in 1998, but soon moved to fiction, becoming a prolific author of short stories early in the 21st century.
Temporal Spiders, Spatial Webs won the 2003 Clarke-Bradbury competition, sponsored by the European Space Agency, while The Night Train (2010) was a Sturgeon Award finalist.
Linked story collection HebrewPunk (2007) contains stories of Jewish pulp fantasy.
He co-wrote dark fantasy novel The Tel Aviv Dossier (2009) with Nir Yaniv. The Bookman Histories series, combining literary and historical characters with steampunk elements, includes The Bookman (2010), Camera Obscura (2011), and The Great Game (2012).
Standalone novel Osama (2011) combines pulp adventure with a sophisticated look at the impact of terrorism. It won the 2012 World Fantasy Award, and was a finalist for the Campbell Memorial Award, British Science Fiction Award, and a Kitschie.
His latest novels are Martian Sands and The Violent Century.
Much of Tidhar’s best work is done at novella length, including An Occupation of Angels (2005), Cloud Permutations (2010), British Fantasy Award winner Gorel and the Pot-Bellied God (2011), and Jesus & the Eightfold Path (2011).
Tidhar advocates bringing international SF to a wider audience, and has edited The Apex Book of World SF (2009) and The Apex Book of World SF 2 (2012).
He is also editor-in-chief of the World SF Blog , and in 2011 was a finalist for a World Fantasy Award for his work there.
He also edited A Dick and Jane Primer for Adults (2008); wrote Michael Marshall Smith: The Annotated Bibliography (2004); wrote weird picture book Going to The Moon (2012, with artist Paul McCaffery); and scripted one-shot comic Adolf Hitler’s I Dream of Ants! (2012, with artist Neil Struthers).
Tidhar lives with his wife in London.
Tidhar began publishing with a poetry collection in Hebrew in 1998, but soon moved to fiction, becoming a prolific author of short stories early in the 21st century.
Temporal Spiders, Spatial Webs won the 2003 Clarke-Bradbury competition, sponsored by the European Space Agency, while The Night Train (2010) was a Sturgeon Award finalist.
Linked story collection HebrewPunk (2007) contains stories of Jewish pulp fantasy.
He co-wrote dark fantasy novel The Tel Aviv Dossier (2009) with Nir Yaniv. The Bookman Histories series, combining literary and historical characters with steampunk elements, includes The Bookman (2010), Camera Obscura (2011), and The Great Game (2012).
Standalone novel Osama (2011) combines pulp adventure with a sophisticated look at the impact of terrorism. It won the 2012 World Fantasy Award, and was a finalist for the Campbell Memorial Award, British Science Fiction Award, and a Kitschie.
His latest novels are Martian Sands and The Violent Century.
Much of Tidhar’s best work is done at novella length, including An Occupation of Angels (2005), Cloud Permutations (2010), British Fantasy Award winner Gorel and the Pot-Bellied God (2011), and Jesus & the Eightfold Path (2011).
Tidhar advocates bringing international SF to a wider audience, and has edited The Apex Book of World SF (2009) and The Apex Book of World SF 2 (2012).
He is also editor-in-chief of the World SF Blog , and in 2011 was a finalist for a World Fantasy Award for his work there.
He also edited A Dick and Jane Primer for Adults (2008); wrote Michael Marshall Smith: The Annotated Bibliography (2004); wrote weird picture book Going to The Moon (2012, with artist Paul McCaffery); and scripted one-shot comic Adolf Hitler’s I Dream of Ants! (2012, with artist Neil Struthers).
Tidhar lives with his wife in London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews
September 30, 2024
Judgement Day!
Judge Dee is a vampire. And if any vampire break their laws they will have to deal with him. He is judge, jury and the executioner. And he takes his job seriously.
He is called away to an isolated village to solve a dispute between two vampires.
Will justice be served?
Four stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Judge Dee is a vampire. And if any vampire break their laws they will have to deal with him. He is judge, jury and the executioner. And he takes his job seriously.
He is called away to an isolated village to solve a dispute between two vampires.
Will justice be served?
Four stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
November 16, 2020
The judge, as always, had carried out his task. He passed judgement. And, having concluded his task, he went on his way.
what a fun story! a light but clever vampire mystery that caught me off-guard in the most delightful way. i'm not sure if this has any connection to Robert van Gulik's judge dee mysteries, because i haven't read them, so any references would have been lost on me, but it's got definite sherlock vibes—if sherlock were a vampire and watson his hongry hongry human sidekick. apparently there are more tales about this pair to come, and i hope those will also appear on the tor site, otherwise i'm likely to miss them. but maybe a kindly samaritan will point me towards them if they don't. MY kindly samaritan deed for the day is suggesting you read this charming tale, featuring ANOTHER excellent red nose studio "cover."
read it for yourself here:
https://www.tor.com/2020/11/11/judge-...
come to my blog!!
October 19, 2021
Free to read here.
This was an ok short about a vampire and his human assistant.
Looking at the reviews, I thought it would be better than it was, though. I mean, nothing much happened that captured my interest until the very last few sentences. But considering it's a short story and it's a free story, how can you really complain?
Judge Dee is a vampire judge. <--there really aren't many laws a vampire can break but if they do, it's curtains for them, baby! Anyway. Dee and the human he saved a while back trek around on foot handing out justice where needed.
Like I said, I was a bit bored and I didn't feel any connection to the characters, but there's a little twist at the end that made it worth the 15 minutes or so I spent on it.
This was an ok short about a vampire and his human assistant.
Looking at the reviews, I thought it would be better than it was, though. I mean, nothing much happened that captured my interest until the very last few sentences. But considering it's a short story and it's a free story, how can you really complain?
Judge Dee is a vampire judge. <--there really aren't many laws a vampire can break but if they do, it's curtains for them, baby! Anyway. Dee and the human he saved a while back trek around on foot handing out justice where needed.
Like I said, I was a bit bored and I didn't feel any connection to the characters, but there's a little twist at the end that made it worth the 15 minutes or so I spent on it.
July 17, 2023
An exciting and surprisingly fulfilling extra short story by an acclaimed and award winning author.
It follows a vampire judge as he investigates murderous bad manners among his kin. Humorous and galling in places and insightful in others.
Recommended.
It follows a vampire judge as he investigates murderous bad manners among his kin. Humorous and galling in places and insightful in others.
Recommended.
April 30, 2021
I've seen this pop up after a couple of friends recently read it and since there had been vampires in my recent reads, I thought it fitting to add this.
Judge Dee is a vampire. Probably a very old vampire. One day, while passing judgement on other vampires for their behavior, he encounters the only survivor of a village, Jonathan, and asks him to be his guide. Afterwards, Jonathan simply follows his "master". And why not? He seems a very amicable person: soft-spoken, wise, measured, in control of his instincts.
Their current case has Judge Dee and Jonathan find out if a vampire was unjustly murdered by another.
It wasn't too complicated to figure out the mystery of the case of Baron Enzo vs Lady Isabelle of the Shroud, but it was still fun enough. I also liked how Judge Dee actually seemed to value Jonathan's company - despite Jonathan's terrible table manners. *lol*
The writing was flowing nicely enough though I did miss a certain je ne sais quoi. Still, a nice way to spend about 30 minutes, especially since I like mysteries / detective stories.
You can read the story for free here: https://www.tor.com/2020/11/11/judge-...
Judge Dee is a vampire. Probably a very old vampire. One day, while passing judgement on other vampires for their behavior, he encounters the only survivor of a village, Jonathan, and asks him to be his guide. Afterwards, Jonathan simply follows his "master". And why not? He seems a very amicable person: soft-spoken, wise, measured, in control of his instincts.
Their current case has Judge Dee and Jonathan find out if a vampire was unjustly murdered by another.
It wasn't too complicated to figure out the mystery of the case of Baron Enzo vs Lady Isabelle of the Shroud, but it was still fun enough. I also liked how Judge Dee actually seemed to value Jonathan's company - despite Jonathan's terrible table manners. *lol*
The writing was flowing nicely enough though I did miss a certain je ne sais quoi. Still, a nice way to spend about 30 minutes, especially since I like mysteries / detective stories.
You can read the story for free here: https://www.tor.com/2020/11/11/judge-...
April 28, 2021
Judge Dee goes from place to place to deliver justice. He is accompanied by a human, Jonathan and they are going towards Castello dell’orrore. Oh and Judge Dee is a vampire. When Judge Dee knocks on the gate and announces who he is, everyone gets scared. Judge Dee investigates the case and justice is served.
‘I am Judge Dee,’ the judge said. He spoke quietly and coldly and the four vampires rocked in place as though hit.
I love Judge Dee's style.
I really enjoyed this. I agree with the other reviewers that this story has Sherlock Holmes vibes. Even though it is a short-story, so many secrets and mysteries are revealed and I was shook. A captivating read. I know there are more stories like this on the way but I would also like a full novel about Judge Dee and Jonathan and their travels.
4.5 stars
‘I am Judge Dee,’ the judge said. He spoke quietly and coldly and the four vampires rocked in place as though hit.
I love Judge Dee's style.
I really enjoyed this. I agree with the other reviewers that this story has Sherlock Holmes vibes. Even though it is a short-story, so many secrets and mysteries are revealed and I was shook. A captivating read. I know there are more stories like this on the way but I would also like a full novel about Judge Dee and Jonathan and their travels.
4.5 stars
November 16, 2020
Well thanks to my friend Karen, I stumbled onto this read. Normally, I would not read vampire stories, but I loved Karen’s review, loved the cover picture, and loved the premise of the story. (I’d lead you to her review but I don’t know how to do that🤪)
Although a short read, it was very engaging, very descriptive and really very fun! I don’t know much about vampires but did learn a few things about rules, laws and traditions in the vampire world.
... so step out of your comfort zone, or jump into it and read this one!
Although a short read, it was very engaging, very descriptive and really very fun! I don’t know much about vampires but did learn a few things about rules, laws and traditions in the vampire world.
... so step out of your comfort zone, or jump into it and read this one!
June 3, 2022
Judge Dee and the Three Deaths of Count Werdenfels by Lavie Tidhar - 4/5★
An old vampire travels along with his manservant and imparts justice upon its own kind according to the council's laws. I enjoyed the characters and the mystery involved, and I want to read more of Judge Dee.
Can also be read on Tor.com.
An old vampire travels along with his manservant and imparts justice upon its own kind according to the council's laws. I enjoyed the characters and the mystery involved, and I want to read more of Judge Dee.
Can also be read on Tor.com.
December 10, 2022
Judicial Imbroglio! De Facto or De Jure! "Well, I'm sure the Master spotted what was going on right from the start before turning a 'blind eye,' to some very shadowy shenanigans. Of course, being a vampire, he doesn't really have a blind eye to turn, but you get my drift ... now, that pie does look delicious, so I'll duck out now while I've got the chance." - Jonathan - The Vampire's Valedictory
Charming, clever, short, and written with a clear sparse style - which I love.
Recommended 5 'All is not what it seems,' stars.
Charming, clever, short, and written with a clear sparse style - which I love.
Recommended 5 'All is not what it seems,' stars.
April 30, 2021
Great story about a sort of vampire Sherlock Holmes who only investigates and judges other vampires and gets outsmarted in a delightful way, told by his human assistant. It's free on Tor.com, so check it out!
November 10, 2023
This story is available here.
Not gonna lie, I saw one of these stories in my inbox (I'm subscribed to Tor.com's newsletter, yes) and saw the art and I just know I need to read it.
Judge Dee is the judge, jury, and executioner for the vampires who go against the laws set to ensure their kind survives. Together with his human companion, they set off to a far away place to settle a murderous dispute between two elder vampires and one newly turned vampire queen.
+
This was a fun, quick read. The twist was pretty good. It's a good introduction to the series and it definitely made me want to continue on reading. I wouldn't mind if this was expanded to a longer case so that it can be book-length.
Not gonna lie, I saw one of these stories in my inbox (I'm subscribed to Tor.com's newsletter, yes) and saw the art and I just know I need to read it.
Judge Dee is the judge, jury, and executioner for the vampires who go against the laws set to ensure their kind survives. Together with his human companion, they set off to a far away place to settle a murderous dispute between two elder vampires and one newly turned vampire queen.
+
This was a fun, quick read. The twist was pretty good. It's a good introduction to the series and it definitely made me want to continue on reading. I wouldn't mind if this was expanded to a longer case so that it can be book-length.
December 4, 2022
Karen has again mined Tor for the good stuff!
Vampires have few laws, but those they take deadly serious. Directed by the Council, Judge Dee travels the medieval world with his human companion and acts a judge, jury, and executioner for his kind. He is old, powerful, and respected - but that doesn’t mean he cannot be fooled.
This was clever, fun, and addictive! I will continue the series.
Read it yourself: https://www.tor.com/2020/11/11/judge-...
Vampires have few laws, but those they take deadly serious. Directed by the Council, Judge Dee travels the medieval world with his human companion and acts a judge, jury, and executioner for his kind. He is old, powerful, and respected - but that doesn’t mean he cannot be fooled.
This was clever, fun, and addictive! I will continue the series.
Read it yourself: https://www.tor.com/2020/11/11/judge-...
April 21, 2024
I was instantly reminded of Judge Dee from Van Gulik’s stories, which I liked very much as a child. Discovering these new stories was a delightful surprise.
This short story presented an uncommon vampiric tale that was absorbing, atmospheric, and delightful. The twist at the end was particularly enjoyable.
This short story presented an uncommon vampiric tale that was absorbing, atmospheric, and delightful. The twist at the end was particularly enjoyable.
March 23, 2021
This is a quick short story about vampires and their adherence to their own internal law. For those of us who don’t really follow the supernatural creature thingy, this is a character-driven tale that sets up nicely and clicks the reader’s interest.
So vampires liked castles, and they liked the gates to ominously creak, and they liked the floorboards to make a sound when you stepped on them and, in short, they wanted to be well informed in advance if anyone, especially people with sharp sticks, were approaching.
The title character is Judge Dee, a vampiric Stoic, who abhors mess and bad manners. He’s not so much prissy as he is a Cato-ish administrator. He has a human travelling companion, who is unusual in that he hasn’t been turned (in other words, the human hasn’t been bitten and made into a vampire offspring). This allows the human to provide the main viewpoint of the story while also being the Grasshopper to the Judge.
Judge Dee travels around to decide upon legal cases between vampires. In this instance, one vampire family is itching to get retribution against a widow in the next castle and they are hoping the Judge will be on their side. But nothing in this short story goes the way one thinks it will, especially when the Judge goes to town. And boy, does he go to town!
I enjoyed this read and admired the set-up, as it pulled me in very quickly. A light read with enough suspense and humor for a very good short story.
Book Season = Autumn (dusty aftermaths)
So vampires liked castles, and they liked the gates to ominously creak, and they liked the floorboards to make a sound when you stepped on them and, in short, they wanted to be well informed in advance if anyone, especially people with sharp sticks, were approaching.
The title character is Judge Dee, a vampiric Stoic, who abhors mess and bad manners. He’s not so much prissy as he is a Cato-ish administrator. He has a human travelling companion, who is unusual in that he hasn’t been turned (in other words, the human hasn’t been bitten and made into a vampire offspring). This allows the human to provide the main viewpoint of the story while also being the Grasshopper to the Judge.
Judge Dee travels around to decide upon legal cases between vampires. In this instance, one vampire family is itching to get retribution against a widow in the next castle and they are hoping the Judge will be on their side. But nothing in this short story goes the way one thinks it will, especially when the Judge goes to town. And boy, does he go to town!
I enjoyed this read and admired the set-up, as it pulled me in very quickly. A light read with enough suspense and humor for a very good short story.
Book Season = Autumn (dusty aftermaths)
November 13, 2020
Good stuff! Apparently there are more of these droll, all vampire mystery stories coming down the pipe. Vampire Judge Dee is sure to get into some strange situations while enforcing the vampire code, and his relationship with his reluctant human "familiar" Jonathan is ripe for some amusing developments.
May 29, 2022
4.5
I thoroughly enjoyed this vampirish kind-of take on Holmes and Watson.
My only very small reservation is that I didn't quite buy into the central conceit -
I can see there are other Judge Dee stories and I want to read them!
I thoroughly enjoyed this vampirish kind-of take on Holmes and Watson.
My only very small reservation is that I didn't quite buy into the central conceit -
I can see there are other Judge Dee stories and I want to read them!
July 4, 2022
Fun novella about a vampire Sherlock Holmes, judge Dee travels to remote areas with his human assistance Jonathan to apply justice, the only catch is that all this happens in vampire world. In this world vampires and humans live together but remember a vampire is never innocent.
Fast, fun read.
Fast, fun read.
January 14, 2021
3,25/5
Aunque los vampiros nunca han sido mi fuerte, la portada de 'Judge Dee and the Limits of the Law' hecha con marionetas por Red Nose Studio y que Lavie Tidhar fuera su autor, atrajo mi interés. También su corta extensión y que suponga el inicio una serie de relatos/casos de misterio sobre vampiros en Tor.com.
Aquí, conocemos al juez Dee y su compañero humano Jonathan mientras viajan al Valle di San Filippo para investigar el asesinato de un vampiro. El intelecto agudo y frio del vampiro Dee, contrapuesto con el asustadizo y reacio asistente Jonathan, componen un simpático dúo cual Sherlock y Watson, que ameniza la investigación del caso y presentan el universo de Tidhar al lector.
Tidhar establece una sociedad vampírica donde existen ciertas leyes para salvaguardar la supervivencia de la especie. Dichas leyes, por supuesto, tienen a unos jueces como supervisores para su cumplimiento. En apenas 30 páginas se atisba un mundo rico, que bebe de los estereotipos vampíricos por completo, pero que tiene cierto regusto diferente. Si, hay sangre, asesinatos, murciélagos, colmillos afilados, familiares y ambientes tenebrosos. Pero a su vez, hay cierto encanto, un simpático giro final y una dicotomía de personajes que funcionan bien.
Con ganas de leer la próxima aventura del juez Dee y su compañero Jonathan.
Aunque los vampiros nunca han sido mi fuerte, la portada de 'Judge Dee and the Limits of the Law' hecha con marionetas por Red Nose Studio y que Lavie Tidhar fuera su autor, atrajo mi interés. También su corta extensión y que suponga el inicio una serie de relatos/casos de misterio sobre vampiros en Tor.com.
Aquí, conocemos al juez Dee y su compañero humano Jonathan mientras viajan al Valle di San Filippo para investigar el asesinato de un vampiro. El intelecto agudo y frio del vampiro Dee, contrapuesto con el asustadizo y reacio asistente Jonathan, componen un simpático dúo cual Sherlock y Watson, que ameniza la investigación del caso y presentan el universo de Tidhar al lector.
Tidhar establece una sociedad vampírica donde existen ciertas leyes para salvaguardar la supervivencia de la especie. Dichas leyes, por supuesto, tienen a unos jueces como supervisores para su cumplimiento. En apenas 30 páginas se atisba un mundo rico, que bebe de los estereotipos vampíricos por completo, pero que tiene cierto regusto diferente. Si, hay sangre, asesinatos, murciélagos, colmillos afilados, familiares y ambientes tenebrosos. Pero a su vez, hay cierto encanto, un simpático giro final y una dicotomía de personajes que funcionan bien.
Con ganas de leer la próxima aventura del juez Dee y su compañero Jonathan.
January 5, 2021
4.3/5
"There are no innocent vampires"
A human assistant and a vampire Judge travel to the Castle of Gold to determine if a crime has been committed. A delightful fantasy tale with a wonderful twist.
I really want to see more of the vampire Judge Dee.
"There are no innocent vampires"
A human assistant and a vampire Judge travel to the Castle of Gold to determine if a crime has been committed. A delightful fantasy tale with a wonderful twist.
I really want to see more of the vampire Judge Dee.
January 5, 2026
I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did!
One by one
I'll take them down
(tralala)
And maybe then I will write a decent review on the whole thing.
Bye for now!
One by one
I'll take them down
(tralala)
And maybe then I will write a decent review on the whole thing.
Bye for now!
February 25, 2022
Presumably some kind of hommage to Robert van Gulik 's books, but I never read any of the original Judge Dee novels so I can not really judge it.
Ascetic, scrupulously fair vampire judge/executioner travels with his faithful human servant (who is our PoV) judging other vampires. There is a conflict, there is a mystery and a twist. The writing is lovely, I like the characters (or like reading about them, Baron Guido has some fantastic douchebag lines), the plot twist was interesting. I was a bit disappointed in the plot though which is something important for me in mystery-genre stories (and this got mentally assigned to that category), yes, it is interesting, but not sure it works around all the edges, so to speak. I am very bad at rating numerically stories, and this would be maybe 3.5 though rounded DOWN (rather than up as usual for me) because I was not so sure plot was that feasible...
Still I will very likely read the following stories (and other of his work), really nice writing and interesting characters/universe.
Ascetic, scrupulously fair vampire judge/executioner travels with his faithful human servant (who is our PoV) judging other vampires. There is a conflict, there is a mystery and a twist. The writing is lovely, I like the characters (or like reading about them, Baron Guido has some fantastic douchebag lines), the plot twist was interesting. I was a bit disappointed in the plot though which is something important for me in mystery-genre stories (and this got mentally assigned to that category), yes, it is interesting, but not sure it works around all the edges, so to speak. I am very bad at rating numerically stories, and this would be maybe 3.5 though rounded DOWN (rather than up as usual for me) because I was not so sure plot was that feasible...
Still I will very likely read the following stories (and other of his work), really nice writing and interesting characters/universe.
November 13, 2020
I came here for the vampire judge, stayed for the almost Sherlock Holmes-esque mystery.
December 26, 2020
What a delightful little short story about a vampire judge and his human companion. And I quite appreciated the little twist at the end.
June 9, 2025
Plot holes big enough to drive a stake (or a truck) through, but I liked the characters and would enjoy reading either a full length story or a collection of shorts about Judge Dee.
June 6, 2021
This is a fun little short story about a very old vampire who is, essentially, a circuit judge for vampires, enforcing the only law that really matters to vampires: don't endanger us all by behaving so outrageously that you get us discovered by the humans we prey on.
Judge Dee is accompanied in his travels by a boy named Jonathan, whom he rescued from a local disaster in England. Because vampires don't really eat, and really don't eat what humans eat, Jonathan devours ferociously whatever human-edible food comes his way. Other than that, he just tries to be observant, learn what Judge Dee has to teach him, and be useful.
Jonathan is enjoying one of those meals when Judge Dee is called Castello d'oro, or perhaps Castello dell'orrore. Castle of Gold, or Castle of Horrors. When they arrive, they find the Baron Guido, and his surprisingly large vampire family--the large number of former humans he has transformed into vampires. Together with the large number of prey humans they have confined, one can easily see some likely violations of the one law vampires care about.
But Baron Guido sent for a vampire judge, and claims that his neighbor, Lady Isabelle of the Shroud, another vampire, has murdered his brother, Enzo. Judge Dee and Jonathan set off to visit Lady Isabelle. What the Judge finds there is very odd, and there are odd things about Guido's story, too,
There are also some unusual defensive features in Lady Isabelle's castle.
It's an interesting, entertaining tale with a twist at the end that adds to the fun.'
Recommended.
Story available free on Tor.com
Judge Dee is accompanied in his travels by a boy named Jonathan, whom he rescued from a local disaster in England. Because vampires don't really eat, and really don't eat what humans eat, Jonathan devours ferociously whatever human-edible food comes his way. Other than that, he just tries to be observant, learn what Judge Dee has to teach him, and be useful.
Jonathan is enjoying one of those meals when Judge Dee is called Castello d'oro, or perhaps Castello dell'orrore. Castle of Gold, or Castle of Horrors. When they arrive, they find the Baron Guido, and his surprisingly large vampire family--the large number of former humans he has transformed into vampires. Together with the large number of prey humans they have confined, one can easily see some likely violations of the one law vampires care about.
But Baron Guido sent for a vampire judge, and claims that his neighbor, Lady Isabelle of the Shroud, another vampire, has murdered his brother, Enzo. Judge Dee and Jonathan set off to visit Lady Isabelle. What the Judge finds there is very odd, and there are odd things about Guido's story, too,
There are also some unusual defensive features in Lady Isabelle's castle.
It's an interesting, entertaining tale with a twist at the end that adds to the fun.'
Recommended.
Story available free on Tor.com
December 18, 2022
My thanks to karen for her annual advent calendar of short fiction available online. It is a useful service to those trying to make their reading goal (I find it easier, and less stressful to just change my goal). It is also a fun way to try unfamiliar authors, or short works by familiar ones.
This was particularly pleasing because short stories, well executed are pleasing for their economy. Not that writing a great saga is easy, but one has more leeway for faffing about in a longer work.
But also, some ideas are not improved by padding. A novel needs characterization to work, but a mystery story can be enough if it is only clever. This story is clever, and amusing, and that cover image is awesome.
Available online at Tor.
This was particularly pleasing because short stories, well executed are pleasing for their economy. Not that writing a great saga is easy, but one has more leeway for faffing about in a longer work.
But also, some ideas are not improved by padding. A novel needs characterization to work, but a mystery story can be enough if it is only clever. This story is clever, and amusing, and that cover image is awesome.
Available online at Tor.
May 13, 2024
📚
Free short story from Tor
📚
It is a truth universally acknowledged that all vamps are wimps. Well all vamps but Judge Dee, obviously. (And my boyfriend Jojo Cabal'sbeloved brother Horst, that goes without saying.) “Why, pray tell, is he not included in the Fanged Wimps Club (FWC™),” you ask? Because:
a) He's an errand judge (which kinda sorta explains his name. And is slightly very cool).
b) He practices Asceticism (which is sexy as fish, just so you know).
c) His gaze is somewhat discomfiting .
d) He doesn't laugh, he makes an awful sound .
Also, hahahahahaha.
Also also, horrible deaths and corpses galore and severed heads,oh my yay!
Also also also, that twist!
Need I say more? Didn't think so.
· Story 2: Judge Dee and the Three Deaths of Count Werdenfels ★★★
· Story 3: Judge Dee and the Poisoner of Montmartre ★★★★
· Story 4: Seven Vampires ★★★★
· Story 5: Judge Dee and the Mystery of the Missing Manuscript ★★★★★
· Story 6: The Locked Coffin ★★★★
· Story 7: Judge Dee and the Executioner of Epinal ★★★★
[Pre-review nonsense]
Super Extra Short Yet Super Extra Fun (SESYSUF™). Also, I'm calling dibs on Judge Dee. Because reasons and stuff.
Don't ask.
➽ Review to come and stuff.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that all vamps are wimps. Well all vamps but Judge Dee, obviously. (And my boyfriend Jojo Cabal's
a) He's an errand judge (which kinda sorta explains his name. And is slightly very cool).
b) He practices Asceticism (which is sexy as fish, just so you know).
c) His gaze is somewhat discomfiting .
d) He doesn't laugh, he makes an awful sound .
Also, hahahahahaha.
Also also, horrible deaths and corpses galore and severed heads,
Also also also, that twist!
Need I say more? Didn't think so.
· Story 2: Judge Dee and the Three Deaths of Count Werdenfels ★★★
· Story 3: Judge Dee and the Poisoner of Montmartre ★★★★
· Story 4: Seven Vampires ★★★★
· Story 5: Judge Dee and the Mystery of the Missing Manuscript ★★★★★
· Story 6: The Locked Coffin ★★★★
· Story 7: Judge Dee and the Executioner of Epinal ★★★★
[Pre-review nonsense]
Super Extra Short Yet Super Extra Fun (SESYSUF™). Also, I'm calling dibs on Judge Dee. Because reasons and stuff.
Don't ask.
➽ Review to come and stuff.
January 1, 2021
A delightful little short story that's equal parts Dracula and Sherlock Holmes (specifically, "A Scandal in Bohemia"). This stars a powerful old vampire who is essentially a circuit judge for vampires (to make sure they don't endanger themselves by revealing themselves to the world) and his companion, a human boy who seems to be brought along... well, for a touch of humanity. It's a bit of a murder mystery with a very delightful twist. Well done.
October 28, 2021
A classic but at the same time refreshing play on vampire tropes, pleasant to read, and with a clever twist. The characters are memorable and would deserve getting developed further into something longer. :)
December 5, 2020
3.5? A little light, and not quite what I was expecting but enjoyable enough. The Judge Dee aspect is barely more than a name though.
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