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Vampire Hunter D #15
Vampire Hunter D Volume 15: Dark Road - Part Three
Vampire Hunter D takes on his greatest challenge yet! The ruthless vampire Noble General Gaskell commands the loyalty of some of the most infamous and deadly vampires in history, and Gaskell has no patience for D's interference, heroic or not! With the odds stacked against him, D must prevail -- or perish.
* Features seven gorgeous black-and-white line illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano as well as a color tip-in illustration.
* Features seven gorgeous black-and-white line illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano as well as a color tip-in illustration.
173 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 29, 2024
This worked well as a conclusion to the story but as a standalone book it was lacking.
February 26, 2025
all reviews in one place:
night mode reading
; skaitom nakties rezimu
My Opinion: Funny how world building can make a tale or break it. Here, it made it. Strange land, with remnants of wary vampires still roaming it, tired and upset at the world. Humanity, huddling together in various towns and cities, try to avoid both the Nobles and various creatures they unleashed back in the day. And, hunters, who dispatch of all such filth, a deeply unusual lot, of whom the oddest ones – hunt vampires, for it takes not just skill, but probably a hint of insanity too. Enter D. His side of the tale is told through half-said sentences, and questions to answer questions, as if you should know, you should see. But you don’t, so you just read on, and watch the fragmented picture grow. Is it good? So far, yes.
A 4 out of 5, an interesting conclusion to the tale.
My Opinion: Funny how world building can make a tale or break it. Here, it made it. Strange land, with remnants of wary vampires still roaming it, tired and upset at the world. Humanity, huddling together in various towns and cities, try to avoid both the Nobles and various creatures they unleashed back in the day. And, hunters, who dispatch of all such filth, a deeply unusual lot, of whom the oddest ones – hunt vampires, for it takes not just skill, but probably a hint of insanity too. Enter D. His side of the tale is told through half-said sentences, and questions to answer questions, as if you should know, you should see. But you don’t, so you just read on, and watch the fragmented picture grow. Is it good? So far, yes.
A 4 out of 5, an interesting conclusion to the tale.
February 24, 2015
This novel starts off with a thrilling scene: an execution. Having started there, it hits the ground hard and takes off running. D is called on to rescue his employers, deal with the dangerous and jealous Lady Ann and finish off his would-be executioner General D. He definitely has his hands full—especially the left one. Along with all this is the mystery behind his planned assassination. Why have all these people been brought back from the dead? Even General Gaskell doesn’t know and the answer is a haunting one. Brimming with excitement, the embroidered text that characterizes the author’s style isn’t so annoying here.
September 26, 2010
this is the third and final part of the dark road miniseries in the vampire hunter d mythos. in this one d finds himself fighting against a group of nobles who were brought back from the dead to slay him...at least that is what they believe. this is another good addition to the series and the action is non-stop.
September 1, 2015
Another great tale in Kikuchi's Vampire Hunter D series. This series was split into three parts and two books in America. In the book D squares off against eight resurrected vampires who are the cream of the crop of villainy. Of course, D saves the day again but it's how he got there that made the story good. Definitely one of the better books in the D series.
April 6, 2011
I was glad to have had this on hand when I finished volume 14 - but man did this one end abrupt.
No kind of wrap up for the characters at all. Makes me wonder if they will be making an appearance in a future volume.
No kind of wrap up for the characters at all. Makes me wonder if they will be making an appearance in a future volume.
November 6, 2023
(Same review for Parts 1&2 as for Part 3)
This entry into the VHD series sees the eponymous vampire hunter up against a series of dangers, each worse than the last, until the final bit. Aside from some weird parts, it was a very enjoyable read overall, and D is hurt worse than ever before, and somehow more evenly matched than before, even than in Vampire Hunter D Volume 13: Twin Shadowed Knight - Parts One and Two. If this is going to be trend for the next volume, so be it, as we got more vampire (Noble, excuse me) history in this volume than in many other combined.
The weird bits are weird enough that I don't want to go over them, but all in all, a good read, better than most of the series.
This entry into the VHD series sees the eponymous vampire hunter up against a series of dangers, each worse than the last, until the final bit. Aside from some weird parts, it was a very enjoyable read overall, and D is hurt worse than ever before, and somehow more evenly matched than before, even than in Vampire Hunter D Volume 13: Twin Shadowed Knight - Parts One and Two. If this is going to be trend for the next volume, so be it, as we got more vampire (Noble, excuse me) history in this volume than in many other combined.
The weird bits are weird enough that I don't want to go over them, but all in all, a good read, better than most of the series.
April 3, 2023
various Nobles of heinous crimes and judged by the Sacred Ancestor have all been resurrected to try to kill D but for what purpose
one of the more shorter books in the series that I finished in a flash
dark road more like short road feels like a bit of a mesh between Journey of the Sacred and Profane and Mysterious Journey to the North Sea as it combines the multiple assassin plot with a traveling band of characters trying to outmaneuver various dangers along the way
the band of Deliverers who carry supplies town to town along the frontier are a bit lacking in distinction from each other and sort of homogenize together with Pale Fallen Angel the amount of characters in the band wasn't a hindrance due to the diversity of characteristics
perhaps they're meant to not be very vibrant characters but as such I didn't quite feel engaged between the relationship between D and the band which is one of the prominent aspects of these stories is seeing D's human side stoked by the interactions he has with the various human characters in these grisly and bittersweet adventures
I won't say there isn't anything but I loathe feel other storylines have done this premise just a bit more memorably
the Noble antagonists are at the very least varying and are quite interesting, especially Lady Ann and her father the Duke of Xenon and General Gaskell seems to be a prominent character who will reoccur in another storyline which is fantastic personally since most of these storylines tend to share the universe but also remain standalone shots of different parts of the world
one of the more shorter books in the series that I finished in a flash
dark road more like short road feels like a bit of a mesh between Journey of the Sacred and Profane and Mysterious Journey to the North Sea as it combines the multiple assassin plot with a traveling band of characters trying to outmaneuver various dangers along the way
the band of Deliverers who carry supplies town to town along the frontier are a bit lacking in distinction from each other and sort of homogenize together with Pale Fallen Angel the amount of characters in the band wasn't a hindrance due to the diversity of characteristics
perhaps they're meant to not be very vibrant characters but as such I didn't quite feel engaged between the relationship between D and the band which is one of the prominent aspects of these stories is seeing D's human side stoked by the interactions he has with the various human characters in these grisly and bittersweet adventures
I won't say there isn't anything but I loathe feel other storylines have done this premise just a bit more memorably
the Noble antagonists are at the very least varying and are quite interesting, especially Lady Ann and her father the Duke of Xenon and General Gaskell seems to be a prominent character who will reoccur in another storyline which is fantastic personally since most of these storylines tend to share the universe but also remain standalone shots of different parts of the world
August 30, 2024
YOOOOOO THEY FINALLY SAY FUCK IN THIS ONE
Finally, a solid final part to a multi-part story. Stakes felt high, characters felt they were at the end of their road maps. Might be just me but this felt the most like the 2001 Bloodlust film.
Ending was a little lame but let's be honest, it almost always is. Potential saving grace - the word on the street is that an antagonist in this one actually appears in a later book (a first for this series).
Dark Road (all three parts) was good. Maybe a high point of the series?
Finally, a solid final part to a multi-part story. Stakes felt high, characters felt they were at the end of their road maps. Might be just me but this felt the most like the 2001 Bloodlust film.
Ending was a little lame but let's be honest, it almost always is. Potential saving grace - the word on the street is that an antagonist in this one actually appears in a later book (a first for this series).
Dark Road (all three parts) was good. Maybe a high point of the series?
June 27, 2022
I have yet to read a Vampire Hunter D novel I didn't like, and this was no exception. I think this was the shortest of the novels so far, at least in the American editions.
This storyline seemed to have too many characters to me, and D was almost relegated to supporting cast. Also, this was a case where we may see a recurring villain introduced, which is unusual for this series.
This storyline seemed to have too many characters to me, and D was almost relegated to supporting cast. Also, this was a case where we may see a recurring villain introduced, which is unusual for this series.
October 21, 2020
The lead baddie was fun.
October 16, 2013
This was a rip-roaring tale of D partnering with several human men tasked with supplying villagers with necessities in return for a cyborg horse, when his horse is killed. I liked the interplay between them most of all in the book. Also entertaining was a noble girl named Lady Ann who was in love with D throughout the book and kept trying to save him from the various nobles that General Gaskell keeps sending after him. There have been a lot of women in love with D in the previous books, but I confess I always enjoy reading these small bits of romance in the series (D has never once shown anything but distant affection for any female in the series). The fight scenes are as always exciting and I enjoy seeing what new superpowers the author comes up with for D’s enemies he must face.
The language is stilted in this book as it is in the other D novels, whether from translation problems or writing style. I always mention that when reviewing this series as I like the books enough to look past it, but it is there.
I did not like the ending, which after 2 books seems to have been wrapped up altogether too quickly for me. It was also similar in my opinion to the ending for the previous couple series books that contained a multiple part story, so it felt a little too formulaic.
The language is stilted in this book as it is in the other D novels, whether from translation problems or writing style. I always mention that when reviewing this series as I like the books enough to look past it, but it is there.
I did not like the ending, which after 2 books seems to have been wrapped up altogether too quickly for me. It was also similar in my opinion to the ending for the previous couple series books that contained a multiple part story, so it felt a little too formulaic.
March 29, 2013
In my opinion Dark Road (trilogy?) is one of the weakest books from the Vampire Hunter D series. It's sloppy written, the story is all over the place, the characters are inconsistent, the bad guys that are suppose to be ultra powerful are a bunch of weaklings that keep running away all the time but still never get killed. D is completely out of character that Kikuchi has been building for the past 13 books. The book is an utter disappointment.
July 26, 2011
Considering this is simply a continuation of the previous installment, the issues of the first are still present in this volume. There was something of a twist, but overall I thought there was a little too much prolongation in this storyline. It could be the translation's fault or the source, but I read it to discover more about D more than anything else.
January 24, 2024
This was one of the best sagas in the vampire hunter d series! I could hardly put it down. There are a lot of plot twists and action. The end took me by surprise but I was struggling to figure out how that character fit into the story. The drawing in the book were beautiful too. They perfectly accompanied the emotional tone of the chapter.
November 20, 2011
awesome read as always....
May 26, 2011
Conclusion in a stand-alone book. Poor editing choice, why not put it all together in one volume? Oh well.
August 14, 2012
Not too many questions are answered here. D kills a bunch of people while being beautiful, which is what matters.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews