Vintage horror paperbacks have made an astounding resurgence in the last few years. This new popularity was helped by Grady Hendrix’s nonfiction book Paperbacks from Hell and his own effort to keep older horror novels from being forgotten. Because of this resurgence Valancourt Books has been releasing some books such as Nightblood.
The Valancourt Books’ version of Nightblood features the novel’s original cover just as it was when it was first published in 1990. This new edition also features an introduction by Grady Hendrix, which talks about why the novel is important to the genre (or at least fun enough to get a new edition!).
Nightblood is a vampire novel but it’s far from a normal one. The plot can be basically described as Rambo vs. Dracula (and all his minions!). A single Vietnam vet trained in the ways of death and violence has become a monster hunter constantly searching for the ‘thing’ that killed his brother. His quest brings him to a small town in Indiana where a powerful vampire has been set free. After about a hundred or so pages of set up, the rest of the novel is nonstop action that doesn’t disappoint.
If you enjoy horror set in the 80’s or vampires, Nightblood is certainly a novel you put on your must read list.
