Baltimore: Or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire
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Baltimore: Or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Mike Mignola (Author), Christopher Golden (Author), Colin Mace (Narrator),
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 277 ratings
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2007 Booklist Editor's Choice for Young Adults
2008 New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age

From celebrated comic artist Mike Mignola and award-winning novelist Christopher Golden comes a work of gothic storytelling like no other. Reminiscent of the illustrated tales of old, here is a lyrical, atmospheric novel of the paranormal—and a chilling allegory for the nature of war.

“Why do dead men rise up to torment the living?” Captain Henry Baltimore asks the malevolent winged creature. The vampire shakes its head. “It was you called us. All of you, with your war. The roar of your cannons shook us from our quiet graves.... You killers. You berserkers.... You will never be rid of us now.”

When Lord Henry Baltimore awakens the wrath of a vampire on the hellish battlefields of World War I, the world is forever changed. For a virulent plague has been unleashed—a plague that even death cannot end.

Now the lone soldier in an eternal struggle against darkness, Baltimore summons three old friends to a lonely inn—men whose travels and fantastical experiences incline them to fully believe in the evil that is devouring the soul of mankind.

As the men await their old friend, they share their tales of terror and misadventure, and contemplate what part they will play in Baltimore’s timeless battle. Before the night is through, they will learn what is required to banish the plague—and the creature who named Baltimore his nemesis—once and for all.

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  1. Listening Length
    9 hours and 16 minutes
  2. Author
    Mike Mignola, see all
  3. Narrator
    Colin Mace
  4. Audible release date
    May 10, 2022
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Random House Audio
  7. ASIN
    B09SGRVH1V
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 9 hours and 16 minutes
Author Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden
Narrator Colin Mace
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date May 10, 2022
Publisher Random House Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B09SGRVH1V
Best Sellers Rank #98,307 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#442 in Movie, TV & Video Game Tie-In Fiction
#554 in Occult Horror Fiction
#2,146 in TV, Movie & Game Tie-In Fiction

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
277 global ratings
A Vampire with a grudge...
5 Stars
A Vampire with a grudge...
I purchased this novel prior to reading the Baltimore Graphic Novel Omnibus Vol one and two and was very happy I did. The efforts of Mignola and Golden place the reader in the front row of a victorian world full of haunted houses, cemeteries, monsters, lonely crypts, dark forests and let's not forget vampires. They are plenty of vampires. Quite simply I had a blast reading this and really wonder why other properties have not followed their bold example and created their own novels. The format allows the story to take its time and for events to develop organically. The consequences of decisions slowly interconnect and will lead Mignola's cast of characters to an all-out war. The pace of the book is somewhat of a slow boil and really made me want to continue the story in both of the graphic novels.
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Top reviews from the United States

TBS
5.0 out of 5 stars Amidst the sounds of metallic rain
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2007
Verified Purchase
Before reviewing this book, I have to say that many of the editorial comments I've read under "plot synopsis" are understimations - and then some. They try to capture something and put it in a little box when it has a much more intoxicating allure than that, and it underestimates the read. It does have the vampire portion, the Hans C. Anderson appeal, WWI, the fiends, and so on. Still, one comes to expect more from an idea from Mike Mignola and, in Baltimore, the reader gets it.

As far as the book goes, it is an utterly grand rad. While there have been a lot of Hellboy tales done by Mignola/Golden, I've never really seen anything the two created that I was overly impressed with (and I am writing about novelizations coupling the efforts of the two just for clarity's sake because Golden does god work and Mignola does fabulous work). I had heard a lot about Baltimore when it was in its initial phases, however, and reading a few introductory paragraphs made me think that it might be good.
It was sooo much better than that.
For one thing, the plotline being followed is complex and gives the reader something to enjoy. It moves back and forth in a syllabic dance as it introduces various themes, and the way this is done is really rewarding. The metaphors utilized in the book, the ideas given life; everything kept me pressing on toward the end. You could see the influence of both Mignola and Golden in the story, too, an the pictures that Mignola includes here and there bring that much more depth to the read.
It was one of the best things I've read in quite some time.

If you accustomed to what Mignola can do and you like the almost fairytale allure he presents in so much of his work, then you will enjoy this. It isn't really like the oddities he does or his more mainstream work, instead standing alone and making it that much better for doing so. Even people who do not like Mignola, dark tales, or most of the keywords that come up when looking for this book would probably find it a great read.
I recommend it highly.
18 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Vampires and Giants and Eldritch Things, oh my!
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2017
Verified Purchase
Ohhh, Baltimore. Man it's hard, just to liv--

Wait. Wrong Baltimore.

I hadn't heard of this illustrated novel until a friend of mine picked up a copy at a thrift shop. I had him let me take a look at it and it was a very beautiful book.

It has some 150 illustrations (give or take) by Mike Mignola, of Hellboy fame. Although, in addition, I believe he also co-wrote the novel with Christopher Golden.

I promptly ordered myself a copy.
I read it in 3 days and enjoyed every page.

Baltimore has some heavy praise by big names such as Joe R. Lansdale, Michael Moorcock, and Joe Hill.

The style of writing reminded me a lot of H.P. Lovecraft and Poe, with no small portion of folktales.

Although it reminded me of HPL, the writing here is far more readable. Out with the archaic words that he is famous for including in his work.

While Baltimore is essentially a vampire novel, it doesn't read like any vampire novel I have ever read. I mentioned folktales above, and it is far less removed from them than it is the modern vampire novel.

Our titular hero, Henry Baltimore, is a mother****ing bad***. He uses a harpoon as a walking stick and won't hesitate to stab you with it, should his array of other weaponry be spent.

Henry is missing his left leg and has a wooden peg in its place that he studs with a nail for each otherworldly fiend he slays. This is cool as all hell.

"Cool as all hell" is a pretty apt assessment of this novel.

My last review was extremely optimistic and it wasn't until an edit that I added any complaints. While reading Baltimore, I made a point to remember anything I didn't like or thought could have been done better.

I could come up with only three.

1. The dialog is winded at times. There are some occasions where we have someone telling a story about someone telling a story and while easy to follow, it can sometimes seem a bit unnatural.

2. Some of the illustrations, while wonderful, are slightly different versions of other illustrations in the book. Plenty of haggard old men's faces, gravestones, crucifixes, and Gothic Towns. I still enjoyed them all but felt it was worth noting.

3. There very few woman to speak of and the ones that are here aren't main characters. While I subscribe to Mark Lawrence's point of view when it comes to this topic (google it), I thought this would effect many peoples buying choice. This is a mans story, through and through.

To wrap up, I greatly enjoyed this book. I think it is a wonderful gothic adventure tale and would recommend it to people who like such things. I plan on reading all of the companion comic series, starting with The Plague Ships as soon as I post this review.

If you have read the book, let me know what you thought!

[Edit: Finished Baltimore Vol. 1 The Plague Ships and it was also wonderful. it works really well as a companion and it is awesome to see some returning characters illustrated. I plan on purchasing subsequent volumes.]
4 people found this helpful
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Shannon L. Gardner
5.0 out of 5 stars “So long as man endures, we will be his red shadow.” Quote from this book that fits into the story very well.
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2018
Verified Purchase
“So long as man endures, we will be his red shadow.” Quote from this book that fits into the story very well.

This was a highly enjoyable read. I was somewhat put off by “another vampire” story. I was truly surprised by this book. It is not the run of the mill “vampire” story of late. It is a look into how war shaped this rise of vampirism. How death, blood, hate and destruction combined to set a stage for a good vs evil battle. The characters are all very interesting and intense. Great backstory on each character, very descriptive and well rounded. You really get into the story that each character tells, until the final battle where there are some twists and turns that are really fascinating. For those that have been leerily about vampire stories, pick this one up. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Uriel
4.0 out of 5 stars Llego en orden pero nada les costaba empacarlo mejor
Reviewed in Mexico on May 10, 2020
Verified Purchase
El libro no venia envuelto en plástico lo que me hace pensar que tal vez no era nuevo, pero aun así no tiene señales de que hubiera sido manipulado y que fuera usado. Considerando que el libro es una edición inusual agradezco mucho haberlo encontrado en general, pero aun así el precio era relativamente alto. El único problema que tuve es que el vendedor no lo envolvió en una caja o un contenedor, simplemente lo puso en una bolsa de plástico y el libro se lastimo en el viaje. Daños que se hubieran podido evitar si hubiera sido mas cuidadoso. Me molesto su descuido, no dejo el libro tan barato como para que no tuviera la decencia de hacer un buen envío en vez de ahorrarse un par de dólares, en especial considerando que el me cobro el envío.
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Phil
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 18, 2017
Verified Purchase
An excellent book, very 1930's pulp fiction and highly enjoyable.
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Jan-Niklas Bersenkowitsch
5.0 out of 5 stars Vampire, Zinnsoldaten und der Kampf gegen das Böse
Reviewed in Germany on December 2, 2011
Verified Purchase
Europa nach den ersten Weltkrieg. Eine geheimnisvolle Plage hat den großen Krieg frühzeitig beendet und nun deren Opfer stehen als Vampire aus den Gräbern wieder auf und jagen die Lebenden.

Auch Lord Baltimore, ehemaliger Soldat und tragischer Held des Buches, hat unter der Grausamkeit der Kinder der Nacht zu leiden und indirekt, trägt er eventuell Schuld an ihren erneuten Erwachen, welches erst im Krieg einsetzte.

Doch er dürstet nach Rache und entwickelt sich über die Jahre zur größten Nemesis der Vampire, während er selbst einen speziellen Vampir jagt, mit dem alles begann.

Und wie dies geschah wird der Leser über drei Freunde Baltimores erfahren, die selbst Grund genug dafür haben zu glauben, dass es mehr auf der Welt gibt, als die Menschen bereit sind zu akzeptieren und es in den düstersten Winkeln der Erde auf sie lauert, um Angst und Schrecken über sie zu bringen.

Baltimore basiert auf den Ideen und Notizen des Comiczeichners und ' autors Mike Mignola (Hellboy, B.U.A.P.) und wurde von Romanautor Christopher Golden als Roman zusammengefasst, nachdem feststand dass ersterer keine Zeit mehr finden würde, um die angedachte Graphic Novel zu kreieren. Der Roman selbst wurde noch mit vielen Illustrationen von Mignola bereichert und ist in seiner Gesamtform zu einem kleinen Meisterwerk geworden.

Golden und Mignola greifen hierbei auf klassische Motive der Schauerliteratur des 19 Jahrhunderts zurück (böse Geister, verfluchte Tempel, das wahre Böse) und verbeugen sich auch deutlich vor dem Roman ,Dracula' und kreieren in Kombination mit dem Hintergrund des ersten Weltkrieges und dessen schreckliche Folgen, eine ganz eigene düstere und gruselige Atmosphäre, die Baltimore trotz der klassischen Elemente (darunter fällt auch die düstere Hintergrundgeschichte seines Helden) einzigartig macht und wirklich frisch und neu wirken lässt.

Dies gelingt jedoch vor allem auch über seinen Erzählstil. Zwar erfährt man wie Baltimore zum erbarmungslosen Vampirejäger wird, doch erfährt der Leser dies größtenteils über die weiter oben erwähnten Freunde, die aus ihrer Perspektive an wichtigen Stationen in seinem Leben teilnahmen und ihren Zuhörern (und damit auch den Lesern) diese erzählen. Damit wird der Charakter Baltimore, um so mysteriöser und interessanter und auch die drei Erzähler selbst, wissen das Buch auch auf andere Art und Weise zu bereichern, indem sie weitere Geschichten erzählen, welche (auch wie oben schon geschrieben) von ihren eigenen Erlebnissen mit übernatürlichen Wesen erzählen und diese überlebten.

Dadurch gewinnen die Welt und auch die restlichen Charaktere erheblich an Tiefe, von der Abwechslung angesichts der wechselnden Erzählperspektive und den unterschiedlichen Themen der einzelnen Erzählungen einmal abgesehen. Dies macht Baltimore also zu einem erstaunlich vielseitigen, spannenden und sogar sehr gruseligen Abenteuerroman, zählt man noch die atmosphärischen Zeichnungen Mignolas (die wirklich gelungen sind) mit aber es ist kein Buch für jedermann.

Wie schon geschrieben, wird ein Lesegefühl wie aus den alten Schauergeschichten des viktorianischen Zeitalters erzeugt (wenn natürlich auch moderner) und dementsprechend speziell ist auch die dunkle Atmosphäre, auf die man sich einlassen muss. Trotz einiger Action, wird im Buch mehr subtiler Grusel, als blutrünstiger Splatter betrieben und von daher ist es vielleicht weniger für Leute geeignet, die dies von der Geschichte erwarten.

Allen anderen, ob sie nun Horror (oder Darkfantasy) oder den Stil von Mignolas Geschichten mögen (obwohl Golden sie schrieb, ist eindeutig sein Stil zu erkennen) und allen die neugierig geworden sind, kann das Buch nur wärmsten ans Herz gelegt werden.
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MotionBros
2.0 out of 5 stars Mike Mignola は挿絵でした…
Reviewed in Japan on December 28, 2008
Verified Purchase
ミニョーラの作品が見れるのかな？と思って買ったのですが小説の挿絵部分をミニョーラが描いてるというだけでした。カラーは表紙だけで挿絵は全て白黒です。全部で 285 ページあるうち３，４割のページ（２、３ページに１回）には細かく挿絵が入っているので、それでも楽しめる人にはお勧めです。
3 people found this helpful
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Seanair Bruce
3.0 out of 5 stars Confusing and meandering
Reviewed in Canada on November 1, 2023
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I didn't really enjoy this book. I found it meandered and at times it was just weird. It could just be a genre that I don't appreciate. It wasn't bad, just not great in my opinion.
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