While the [b:Vampire Hunter D|190361|Obsidian Butterfly (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Book 9)|Laurell K. Hamilton|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172551780s/190361.jpg|2477403] books are still a massively guilty pleasure for me, it's getting slightly less guilty than it used to. The plot, involving D and a pile of supernatural mercenaries all chasing after a vampire-created McGuffin, moves along well, with enough twists & turns to keep you guessing. The characters actually get fleshed out, to a certain degree. They're still pretty rough sketches of characters at best, but they're more interesting & varied than in previous novels. The whacked-out concepts that Kikuchi populates his world with are as wonderfully plentiful as ever. And finally, slowly but surely, the purple prose and over-obvious writing is being toned down. Yes, parts of it still reads like fan fiction, but only parts, rather than the whole thing, like some of the previous books. Overall, I can foresee a day where I actually admit to someone what I'm reading than just saying, "oh, it's a dumb fantasy novel..." before running off with an embarrassed look on my face. Or maybe not. ( )

This is the eighth book in the Vampire Hunter D series by Hideyuki Kikuchi. This book picks up right where the last book left off; in the middle of a fight.

D struggles (as much as he ever struggles) to protect the pearl from the evil people that plot to steal it from him. He also is protecting Win-Lu from all of the people going after the pearl. There are numerous battle and even more evil-doers than ever before. You finally find out what the pearl is and why it is so important.

As I mentioned when reviewing part 1; this book is somewhat different from the other books in the Vampire Hunter D series in that D is more "human" than ever before. D shows emotion and shows that he has faults like everyone else. Win-Lu is a strong character with a dry sense of humor that makes the book fun. You get to spend a lot more time with D's left hand and his hand also has a sense of wit to rival Win-Lu's.

This was a great book with non-stop action. You are actually left wondering at points if D will give up his wandering for a bit and make this town a temporary home. This book gives some nostalgic insight into how things were with the nobility before disaster struck. Of course more mystery is presented regarding who, and what, D is. Some hints are given as to D's origin but nothing is answered for sure.

I look forward to the next book in the series. Although there is a long way to go in this series. I read somewhere that in Japan book 18 was just released. Good thing I like these books because it looks like I will have a lengthy relationship with them :-) ( )