Another revised and reprinted blast from the past
“This is the world of which they have only dreamed. Endless night, and an endless supply of blood and meat. This is how it is meant to be: humans, like bottles, waiting for their caps to be popped.”
Barrow, Alaska experiences 30 days of night once each year — an irresistible lure to a pack of young vampires who descend upon the town like ravening wolves.
TITLE:
30 DAYS OF NIGHT
WRITER:
by Steve Niles
WRITER:
PUBLISHER:
IDW Publishing (December 6, 2004)
LENGTH:
Page Count: 104
GENRE:
Horror Fiction, Graphic Novel (Collection), Adventure.
DESCRIPTORS:
Vampires, Monsters, Secret Societies, Isolated Towns, Survival, Sheriff, Deputy, Night, Predator, Prey, Winter, Alaska.
CHARACTERS:
Eben Olemaun, The sheriff of Barrow. He is married to Stella.
Stella Olemaun, The Deputy of Barrow. She is married to Eben.
Marlow Roderick, The young vampire who led the attack on Barrow.
The Renfield, A nameless human who breaks all communication between Barrow and the outside world.
Vincente, The vampire lord.
Lilith, Vincente’s mate who remains at home.
SUMMARY:
In Barrow Alaska, the sun sets on November 17, and is not seen again for thirty days. It’s a fact of life the residents live with. But for Marlow Roderick, a vampire leader, Barrow is a lure he cannot resist and he leads his pack to the town in anticipation of a month long feeding frenzy.
Eben and Stella Olemaun are both husband and wife and Sheriff and Deputy of Barrow the night the vampires descend upon the town. First they encounter a “renfield”, a human agent serving the vampires, who is stealing all of the cell phones and destroying other means of communication. The Olemauns capture him and learn a little about the impending invasion before he forces the bars of his cell apart and attacks them. Stella shoots him but it takes her entire clip to put him down. The damage, however, is done. The vampires arrive and the town is both isolated and defenseless.
The Olemauns are among the survivors when the long anticipated Vampire Lord, Vincente, arrives. How much longer can the last humans of Barrow hide before they are found and destroyed? Eben and Stella realize that time has run out and that only one last desperate action can save the few who remain. But, if it works, will the victory be worth the price?
APPEAL:
The pacing is quick although the story slowed down for me a couple of time when the dark illustrations got in the way, making it difficult to understand what I was seeing. However, Ben Templesmith’s illustrations are very stylish and evocative. By the time I was finished reading the graphic novel the first time, I felt like I could easily “read” the art work too.
The characterization was lean, dealing mostly with Eben and Stella, the protagonists in the story. It was interesting that Eben the sheriff, was reluctant to use force while Stella emptied her clip into the “renfield’s” head. It’s a contrast to the way they handle their last gambit against the vampires.
There were multiple view points, but the story always came back to Eben and Stella. The story was told in 3rd person past tense, limited view point with only a sprinkling of captions.
The story took place in Alaska, a bitter cold place at a time when the sun would not be seen for thirty days. I enjoyed the ceremonial observance of the final sunset between Stella and a reluctant Eben.
We did not get to see much of how the people of Barrow lived and survived and died but what we saw rang true. Ben Templesmith does a great job of artistically rendering the nearly claustrophobic isolation of the town when cut off and under attack.
The vampires were depicted as being barely human, sporting a mouth jamed tight with with razer sharp teeth. These vampires are hard to kill and they’ve arrived in a large pack — and the number grows when Vincente arrives on the scene. Only a drastic measure can save the suvivors of Barrow.
READALIKES:
30 Days of Night is a dark, twisted and visually grotesque graphic novel. It has spawned several sequels which were also collected into graphic novels. Dark Days (Book 2)
GRAPHIC NOVEL:
SOURCE:
I borrowed the graphic novel from the Heights Library. You can click on either book cover image to view the book at an online book store. The links for 30 Days of Night are affiliate links — I won’t make any money if you purchase your own copy. The links to the books in the Readalikes section are affiliate links.
I read this a little while ago, and have my own review of it scheduled on my blog for the near future too. A really good read, I thought, and since I saw the movie first I can appreciate the film adaptation even more. Some folks trashed the movie, but I liked it, and reading this book has convinced me I need to read the rest of the series.
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