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Twelve
 
 

Twelve (Paperback)

by Jasper Kent (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
RRP: £12.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 480 pages
  • Publisher: Bantam Press; 1st edition (1 Jan 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0593060644
  • ISBN-13: 978-0593060643
  • Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.2 x 4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 9,563 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Review
`An accomplished, entertaining blend of historical fiction and dark fantasy.'
--Lisa Tuttle, THE TIMES

Product Description
Zmyeevich had remained standing and now began to speak in very precise, but very formal and strangely accented French. His voice had a darkness to it that seemed to emit not from his throat but from deep in his torso. Somewhere inside him it was as if giant millstones were turning against one another, or as though the lid were being slowly dragged aside to open a stone sarcophagus...On 12th June 1812, Napoleon's massive grande armee forded the River Niemen and so crossed the Rubicon - its invasion of Russia had begun. In the face of superior numbers and tactics, the imperial Russian army began its retreat. But a handful of Russian officers - veterans of Borodino - are charged with trying to slow the enemy's inexorable march on Moscow. Indeed, one of their number has already set the wheels of resistance in motion, having summoned the help of a band of mercenaries from the outermost fringes of Christian Europe.Comparing them to the once-feared Russian secret police - the Oprichniki - the name sticks. As rumours of plague travelling west from the Black Sea reach the Russians, the Oprichniki - but twelve in number - arrive. Preferring to work alone, and at night, the twelve prove brutally, shockingly effective against the French. But one amongst the Russians, Aleksei Ivanovich Danilov, is unnerved by the Oprichniki's ruthlessness...as he comes to understand the true, horrific nature of these strangers, he wonders at the nightmare they've unleashed in their midst...Full of authentic historical detail and heart-stopping supernatural moments, and boasting a page-turning narrative, "Twelve" is storytelling at its most original and exciting.

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
5 star:
 (7)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Top notch historical horror, 22 April 2009
There seems to be an insatiable demand for both vampire's and historical fiction at the moment so to combine the two genres has the potential to be a real winner or possibly fall in between the two and miss both potential reader groups.

Happily this book is the former, in fact I don't ever remember reading a vampire/ horror that I have ever enjoyed as much.

Set during Napoleon's bloody advance and subsequent retreat into Russia and featuring a gang of mercenary vampires this had the potential to be a real 'gore fest'. However the author resisted such obvious temptation and instead serves up a multi-layered story of war, friendship, betrayal, mixed loyalties, cruelty and love. All told with a deft, restrained and subtle hand.

It is the pacing of the story that sets it apart from other 'horrors'. One minute your fending off a set of gnashers from your throat then you reclining in a whore house discussing philosophy before than finding yourself creeping through a musty cellar looking for coffins!. That and the authentic feeling historical background and Russian culture.

Jasper Kent's Vampires are fairly tradional and somewhat mundane, he doesn't gift them any new super powers or make them super charismatic and as a result they are all the more believable and you kind of feel if Vampires did excist they would be like the ones brought to life (or perhaps undeath) here.

Cleverly the author tells the story not from the point of view of the vampires themselves (ala Lestat) but from a Russian soldier/intelligence officer forced into working with them against the French. An engaging believable hero who you will like, be frustrated with and fear for, and who will achieve his main purpose of pulling you totally into this excellent story.

Great stuff Jasper Kent, a book crying out to made into a film and an author to watch out for.
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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Vampires in the Napoleonic era! , 6 Jan 2009
By M. Middleton "stewartmiddleton2" (Manchester) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
A well-written debut - the French are invading Russia, in 1812. The Tsar wants them stopped, by any means. So a group of Russian covert operatives decide to employ some mercenaries, who only work at night...

I will not spoil the rest of the plot, except to say that this book takes you into this desperate time, full of the chaos and violence of war, romance, and great historical detail. A page-turner!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars fangs and muskets, 29 Jun 2009
This book mixes a winning combination of 'historical novel' with 'vampire horror,' though it leans more towards the 'historical' end of the spectrum. I read another book recently with the same formula - Napoleonic Wars and Vampires, but this is, for my taste, a much better offering. Particularly the historical aspect is written very well, invoking a real sense of 19th century Russia, although, for me, there could have been a little more descriptive prose to set the very cinematic scenes.
Much attention is given to the characters, and a real sense of male camaraderie is crafted amongst the 4 main protagonists, with that sense of 'caring what happens to them' being deftly and subtly cultivated.
The vampires are also written well, being primal, feral beings rather than the misunderstood, poetic creatures of many offerings - more '30 Days of Night' than Anne Rice's creations.
In saying this, i never, at any point, felt that delicious moment of dread that i remember when first reading 'Dracula' or 'Salem's Lot,' (although this is possibly because i read those two in my teens and i am now a jaded 40-something!!!) But i have to say i just did not find the vampires scary. This may have been because the main 'hero' didn't seem to either, hunting and dispatching them regularly with apparent ease, and not even a tremble of the knees.
The pacing of the book was handled very well, i thought, for the first two thirds, building a definite tension and excitement, although i did feel it fizzled out a little in the final act of the book, with the big 'plot twist' at the end being somewhat obvious and also, to my mind, just a little unexciting.
Overall though, i have to say that the pro's definitely outweighed the cons - a flawed but nevertheless still enjoyable read, i would have given this 3 and a half stars, but Amazon don't do half marks, and i though this leant more towards 4 than 3, so 4 it is!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
An extremely well written and well crafted story. A dark and chilling tale set during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Read more
Published 20 days ago by V. Knapp

4.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing historical fantasy debut
Comparisons between Twelve by Jasper Kent and the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik are perhaps inevitable: both are set during the Napoleonic wars, and both make significant use of... Read more
Published 29 days ago by James Long (Speculative Horizo...

3.0 out of 5 stars This vampires had its fang's pulled
it may just be my taste in fiction at the moment, but i tend to like my vampires with a bit more bite! whilst the books "ok" its nothing more. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Richard Priest

5.0 out of 5 stars Well researched & an excellent debut novel!
Wonderful debut novel that is an absolutely well researched, and of course, vampirish (fun!) novel. I read this book in 3 sittings, only tiredness from work ensured I could not... Read more
Published 2 months ago by NRM

5.0 out of 5 stars VERY,VERY GOOD
Well worth the wait. A gripping, though predictable storyline. I will not give the plot away. I think the interest comes for the reader in the historical setting, Napoleon and the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by TAFFMANN

5.0 out of 5 stars Napoleon vs Wallachians!
Fantastic read and if is the authors first offering I eagerly await more. the characters are all very deep and the book is written in a way that you can almost smell and taste the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Talie

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Read all in all
I bought the book because I read about it in the SFX magazine and was not diassapointed. The story is gripping and would make for a great vampire movie. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Pasquale Simon

5.0 out of 5 stars Is it horristory or historrer?
Either way this is a great read!

This novel uses evocative historic detail to place an exciting story of vampires and war. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Laura Kennedy

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