- Hardcover: 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 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 413,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Twelve (Danilov Quintet 1)
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Product Description
Review
`An accomplished, entertaining blend of historical fiction and dark fantasy.'
--Lisa Tuttle, THE TIMES
--Lisa Tuttle, THE TIMES
Book Description
Melding the supernatural and the historical, a thrilling novel of vampires in the Napoleonic wars
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
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.
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.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
How can you lose with a plot like this, Vampires during Napoleons invasion of Russia!
There were times when i thought that Jasper Kent was going to screw this up, the first few chapters were a little on the slow side and there were a few places where the pace of the plot got bogged down, but in the main this was a good read, dark, moody, full of menace, palpable cold from the frozen wastes of Russia, i think the author has a real love for this time and place, but im not so sure about the vampires, at times there was a real lack of detail and information about them, you could be forgiven for thinking the book had been written about the invasion and then vampires were added because they are in vogue?
The book is worth a read....would i buy his next book? probably but it would not be top of my buying list.
(Parm)
There were times when i thought that Jasper Kent was going to screw this up, the first few chapters were a little on the slow side and there were a few places where the pace of the plot got bogged down, but in the main this was a good read, dark, moody, full of menace, palpable cold from the frozen wastes of Russia, i think the author has a real love for this time and place, but im not so sure about the vampires, at times there was a real lack of detail and information about them, you could be forgiven for thinking the book had been written about the invasion and then vampires were added because they are in vogue?
The book is worth a read....would i buy his next book? probably but it would not be top of my buying list.
(Parm)
Format:Paperback
I'm always up for a little historical military fiction, especially if it's got an unusual twist to it -- such as the introduction of vampires. That said, I'm not really much of a vampire guy -- and I've found the latest wave of them to be far too attractive (I prefer my vampires to be more on the Nosferatu end of the spectrum than the True Blood end). So I was a little skeptical that mixing the world of Sharpe and Brigadier Gerard with dark legends would prove to be a satisfying genre mashup. Fortunately, the vampires in this book are based on those of Russian legend, and are vicious, evil creatures that don't disappoint.
The story takes place in 1812 and unfolds through the eyes of Captain Alexei Danilov, a Russian officer from St. Petersburg who has been seconded to the Intelligence Corps. He's part of a four-person team of officers tasked with causing havoc behind the French lines in an attempt to slow their advance on Moscow following Napoleon's victory at the Battle of Smolensk. One of his comrades suggests they employ some Wallachian mercenaries he had previously fought against the Turks with. These grim men are the titular twelve, and their odd behavior stirs Danilov's suspicion. But it's not until at least a third of the way into the story that he realizes what the reader has known all along, and his story shifts from fighting the French to fighting this invasive species of evil. Meanwhile, there's an extensive subplot involving his romance with a prostitute (she doesn't quite have a heart of gold, but she is an utterly romanticized type).
The story is not exactly fast-paced -- there's a lot of time spent following people traveling to and fro, and a lot of ink is spent on Danilov's navel-gazing as he contemplates various courses of action and struggles with his own sin. The writing is solid enough, and the battle and fight scenes are all very well done, I just wished for a little more urgency to the pacing at times. It probably didn't help that only one or two of the twelve vampires had much of a distinct personality. I was glad that the author doesn't shy away from killing off likable characters, and did an excellent job of making the vampires truly malevolent and evil. There's also a very nice twist toward the end that elevates the story in an interesting way.
Probably worth checking out if you like historical military fiction that sticks closely to the accepted version of events and then adds its own twist. Also worth reading as an alternative fictional view of Napoleon's invasion for those, like me, who waded through the entirety of War and Peace. The book is the first in a projected quintet featuring Danilov, and while I will probably seek out the sequel (Thirteen Years Later), it's going to have to improve a bit for me to invest my time in another three books beyond that!
The story takes place in 1812 and unfolds through the eyes of Captain Alexei Danilov, a Russian officer from St. Petersburg who has been seconded to the Intelligence Corps. He's part of a four-person team of officers tasked with causing havoc behind the French lines in an attempt to slow their advance on Moscow following Napoleon's victory at the Battle of Smolensk. One of his comrades suggests they employ some Wallachian mercenaries he had previously fought against the Turks with. These grim men are the titular twelve, and their odd behavior stirs Danilov's suspicion. But it's not until at least a third of the way into the story that he realizes what the reader has known all along, and his story shifts from fighting the French to fighting this invasive species of evil. Meanwhile, there's an extensive subplot involving his romance with a prostitute (she doesn't quite have a heart of gold, but she is an utterly romanticized type).
The story is not exactly fast-paced -- there's a lot of time spent following people traveling to and fro, and a lot of ink is spent on Danilov's navel-gazing as he contemplates various courses of action and struggles with his own sin. The writing is solid enough, and the battle and fight scenes are all very well done, I just wished for a little more urgency to the pacing at times. It probably didn't help that only one or two of the twelve vampires had much of a distinct personality. I was glad that the author doesn't shy away from killing off likable characters, and did an excellent job of making the vampires truly malevolent and evil. There's also a very nice twist toward the end that elevates the story in an interesting way.
Probably worth checking out if you like historical military fiction that sticks closely to the accepted version of events and then adds its own twist. Also worth reading as an alternative fictional view of Napoleon's invasion for those, like me, who waded through the entirety of War and Peace. The book is the first in a projected quintet featuring Danilov, and while I will probably seek out the sequel (Thirteen Years Later), it's going to have to improve a bit for me to invest my time in another three books beyond that!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great but lacking the fear factor
Twelve is a 'horror' story set during the 1800s in Russia. To save Russia from the advances of Napoleon four men call on a group of 12 vicious killers who they believe will help... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Joellanne
1, 2, 3 zzzzzzzzz
The rule is never judge a book by the cover, the cover of this book looks great. I bought the book because it was about vampires although oddly enough the term vampire is not used... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Kevin O'Brien
one for the boys
I love history and I love reading. I'm also quite intrigued by the whole vampire thing (I loved Bram Stalker's Drakula) so this book seem quite perfect. Read more
Published 7 months ago by quiltwhileyoureahead
Lengthy and descriptive ....
This book seemed to take me ages to read (a fortnight to be precise), I'm not sure if it was the book necessarily or the fact that I had a lot going on in my life at the time. Read more
Published 7 months ago by B. Robinson
Slow starter but enjoyable historical novel/vampire tale amalgam
Twelve is an amalgam of historical novel set in 1812 Russia as Napoleon's army advances and Vampire tale ... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Arkgirl
Once it gets going it's good.
This book was given to me and to be reviewed for the Transworld Books.
This was a book I wanted to read for a while after catching it on a BBC TV show about books that are... Read more
This was a book I wanted to read for a while after catching it on a BBC TV show about books that are... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Catwomanthegeek
Great premise but slow to start
Set during Napoleon's invasion of Russia this had the potential to be a great meeting place between historical fiction and vampire action. On the whole it does achieve this. Read more
Published 8 months ago by sardoc
A Well Researched Novel
I am a sucker for any historical fiction, so I thought this book would be right up my street and it was in parts. Read more
Published 8 months ago by S.Duncan
War & Peace, with not much peace, and added vampires!
I have read War and Peace, so I know a little bit about Napoleon v. General Kutuzov, the Battle of Borodino and Napoleon's march on Moscow and retreat, and Tchaikovsky wrote the... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Annabel Gaskell
As dark, ambiguous, epic and bereft of comfort as Mother Russia...
I am a member of the Transworld book group!
Jasper Kent certainly undertook a significant task in trying to combine history, believable vampires, and a working plot. Read more
Jasper Kent certainly undertook a significant task in trying to combine history, believable vampires, and a working plot. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Matt D.B.
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