Those Who Hunt the Night

Barbara Hambly

Mar 2011 · The James Asher Vampire Novels Book 1 · Open Road Media

About this ebook

From a New York Times–bestselling author: A former spy is recruited to unmask a vampire hunter in this Locus Award Winner.
 
James Asher, a retired member of the Queen’s secret service in Edwardian England, has settled into quietude as an Oxford professor of philology with his physician wife, Lydia. But his peace is shattered when he’s confronted by a pale aristocratic Spaniard named Don Simon Ysidro, who makes an outlandish claim that someone is killing his fellow vampires of London, and he needs James’s help to ferret the culprit out. The request also comes with a threatening ultimatum: Should James fail, both he and his wife will die.
 
With James’s talent for espionage and Lydia’s scientific acumen and keen analytical mind, the couple begins an investigation that takes them from the crypts of London to the underworld circles of the unliving to the grisly depths of a charnel house in Paris. Now James and Lydia must believe in the unbelievable—if they’re to survive another night in the shadow of Don Simon Ysidro.
 
This first book in the James Asher series is “one of the more memorable vampire novels of recent years—smoothly written, suspenseful, awash in moral ambiguity, and rich in vampire lore . . . a must-read for vampire fans” (Kirkus Reviews). Barbara Hambly gives “Anne Rice a run for her money” (Publishers Weekly) and “Don Simon is unforgettable” (Charlaine Harris).

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Hambly, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from her personal collection.

Ratings and reviews

A vampire novel that doesn't involve a bunch of silly love interests. A murder mystery set in 1907 England, an ancient vampire hires a human to find out who's killing the vampires of London. Protagonists that make mistakes and almost lose their lives for it. You get the feeling that they are actually in danger, it not being just a set up. I read this book years ago, back in high school, when it first came out. Having read it again, I liked it just as much this time. I have this in both paperback and eBook. I'm looking forward to the next in the series. The eBook was formatted well, with only a couple of spelling errors.

Great book. If you like vampires you don't want to miss this. THIS is better.

I judge a book in three ways. Is it well written? Do the characters have depth and psychological coherence? And does the book keep me guessing? This book qualifies on all three counts. Though I could figure out that brother Anthony would be the only way to solve the problem.

About the author

Barbara Hambly (b. 1951) is a New York Times–bestselling author of fantasy and science fiction, as well as historical novels set in the nineteenth century. After receiving a master’s degree in medieval history, she published The Time of the Dark, the first novel in the Darwath saga, in 1982, establishing herself as an author of serious speculative fiction. Since then she has created several series, including the Windrose Chronicles, the Sun Wolf and Starhawk series, the Sun-Cross series, and her new fantasy novel, The Iron Princess, in addition to writing for the Star Wars and Star Trek universes.

Besides fantasy, Hambly has won acclaim for the James Asher vampire series, which won the Locus Award for best horror novel in 1989, and the Benjamin January mystery series, featuring a brilliant African-American surgeon in antebellum New Orleans. She lives in Los Angeles.