Reviews

One Thousand Monsters by Kim Newman

8797999's review against another edition

4.0

This series is back on track in my opinion, a more familiar era with it being set in 1899 and nearer to the events of the first Anno Dracula novel. Set in Japan it features a very fun and enjoyable plot. Not so many references as past titles, I was expecting a showing from Godzilla but was left disappointed.

I did find this a lot more enjoyable than Johnny Alucard. I have the last book of the series (so far) lined up to read but I think I may save it for a week or two. I looked forward to reading this one and it was worth it.

astator's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

While not as riveting a read as previous entries in the series, still a strong outing. I especially loved the detail in which the yokai and their legends were used and explained. 

latterature's review

3.0

Another very solid entry in the finest alternate-history/fantasy mashsup series there is. This entry takes us back to the late-nineteenth century and gives Newman a chance to play with Japanese folklore and monster mythology. Suffers from an influx of inconsequential characters and those unfamiliar with Japanese may struggle committing them all to memory, but the unique relationships between the main characters, particularly Genevieve Dieudonne and the Princess Christina Light, provide an intriguing counterweight to the gorefests standard in the series.

crashontheway's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

tarantulah's review

3.0

Pretty fun read, didn't realise this was the 5th in a series when I bought it but I read it anyway and didn't feel lik I was missing anything

20000leagues's review

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

jtkeenan's review

4.0

The most fun thing about Kim Newman’s “Anno Dracula” series is the way he sprinkles figures from literature and folklore — and pop culture — throughout his alternate history universe (where Dracula prevails against Van Helsing). In “One Thousand Monsters” — the second-best book in the series that I’ve read (I haven’t yet gotten to “Johnny Alucard” or “Daikaiju”) — he gives us Henry James’ Christina Light, Akira Kurosawa’s Sanjuro, the Japanese snow queen Yuki-Onna, a thinly disguised version of the teenage mutant ninja turtles, and a barely-disguised-at-all Popeye. To fully enjoy Newman’s books, you have to go to Google every time he drops a name, but honestly, that’s part of the fun. And of course, Genevieve Dieudonne, Newman’s inimitable vampire heroine, is back as well. A fun book for horror fans.

daniel_faniel's review

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

My first book in this series. 3/5 of this book and like the first 200 pages are lowkey just exposition setting up characters. But the vampires are so damn weird and wacky and creepy (wtf Kuchisake).

This is a really cool world though, that I would like to explore more. If it wasn’t for this, I wouldn’t be rating this as high.

serenityfound's review

dark funny slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

koki_siringo's review

5.0

As a fan of Kim Newman and the Anno Dracula series for almost 10 years, I have made my peace that while A.D. is an amazing feat of storytelling and writing in many ways, climaxes and endings are its weakest points. I read with great happiness two near-masterpieces by Newman (Johnny Alucard and the non-A.D. The Hound of D'Ubervilles) only to be let down by the fact that they just...ended, leaving a sour taste in my mouth (that wasn't blood). The first three novels of Anno Dracula had left me with a similar feeling. Before reading this novel, I had also noticed the reviews in Amazon and GoodReads, singling it out as the weakest entry of the series, along with Judgement of Tears/Dracula Cha Cha Cha. So my standards were low.

Boy, I was so happy when the reviews proved to be wrong. One Thousand Monsters is the most solid novel in the series from beginning to end. I was so pleasantly surprised to read an Anno Dracula book with an exciting, all-guns-blazing climax and an ending that left me smiling.

The story focuses on vampires exiled by Dracula's court years after the conclusion of the first Anno Dracula, sent to "Yokai Town" in Japan. The wonderful Geneviève Dieudonné narrates the novel and writes an account to her "warm" lover, Charles Beauregard, about her life as a medical student in Paris, hiding in the shadows like all vampires, until Dracula's ascension to the British throne. Sympatethic Carpathian Guard captain Kostaki narrates additional chapters.

Fans of Japanese folklore, myth, cinema, literature, manga and television will have a smashing good time with all the famous fictional characters, yokai and famous ghosts that appear in the novel.

I'll write a longer, better review down the road. In the meantime, I'm happy to report that GoodReads was wrong this time around and I'm happy about it. I just want to say that Newman has outdone himself this time. Also, there are some genuinely creepy and gory scenes in the novel, some very funny moments and some deeper character development for this endearing cast of vampire adventurers.