Jasper Kent

The Danilov Quintet — (2009-2010) Publisher: 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.

Forthcoming:
The Third Section
book 4
book 5

Twelve

CLASSIFICATION: Set in 1812 during the French invasion of Russia — specifically the Battle of Borodino, the capture and fires of Moscow, the retreat from Moscow, and the Battle of Berezina — with the primary antagonists being vampires, Twelve is much like the book describes itself... a vibrant blend of detailed historical fiction and heart-stopping supernatural horror. I was reminded of a cross between a Bernard Cornwell novel, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, and “Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire.”

FORMAT/INFO: Twelve is 480 pages long divided over two Parts, thirty-two Roman-numbered chapters, and a Russian Folk Tale as the Prologue. Also includes a map and an Author’s Note. Narration is in the first-person exclusively via Aleksei Ivanonvich Danilov. Story is self-contained and comes to a very satisfying conclusion, but Twelve is envisioned as the “first in a quintet (The Danilov Quintet) of novels which span Russian history in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries” with a sequel, Thirteen Years Later, currently under development.

ANALYSIS: I love vampire stories, but the concept has started to lose its novelty because it’s just the same ideas being used over and over. Which is why I was instantly attracted to Jasper Kent’s Twelve, a book billed as “the First Napoleonic Historical Vampire Novel.” Simply put, using a war as the backdrop for a vampire tale was a brilliant idea. In fact, I wonder why it hasn’t been done more often. After all, wartime is like an all-you-can-eat buffet for the ever thirsting vampire and is just full of material for an author to work with.

Yet an interesting hook can only take a novel so far without the proper execution. This is what makes Twelve so special. Because while it was the hook that first reeled me in, it was Jasper Kent's wonderful writing and storytelling that kept me glued to Twelve until its very last page.

Kent’s writing impressed me for a number of reasons, but most impressive of all was the characterization, specifically of the main protagonist, Aleksei Ivanonvich Danilov. With a first-person narrative, one would expect to get a little more insight into a character than they would from a third-person narrative, but Jasper takes it a step further, establishing everything from Aleksei’s personality and his fears and desires to the different levels of friendship he has developed with Maks, Dmitry and Vadim to the love that he feels for his wife and child as well as the prostitute Domnikiia, and much more. The end result is a fully realized three-dimensional character who readers can care about, root for, and connect with emotionally. One of my favorite traits about Aleksei was his wonderful similes and metaphors:

Horses and victuals that had been moved away from the road during the French advance had surged back in after their retreat, as though Napoleon were Moses leading his army of Israelites across the Red Seas, except that what was drawn away in advance of him and returned behind would have brought life, not death to his army.

In addition to the characterization, the worldbuilding was topnotch, effortlessly transporting the reader back to the Napoleonic Wars when France was invading Russia. History buffs in particular will be thrilled by the amount of detail that Kent has packed into Twelve, especially the way he weaves the main storyline with actual historical events like the Battle of Borodino, Napoleon’s capture and occupation of Moscow, the fires and the French army's retreat from Moscow, and the Battle of Berezina. It should be noted however, that even though the book takes place during the Napoleonic Wars and that Aleksei and his friends are Russian soldiers, Twelve is not your typical war novel. Part of the reason is because Aleksei, Maks, Dmitry, and Vadim specialize in espionage and fight the war through subterfuge, but it’s also because of the vampire storyline which dominates about half of the novel.

Story-wise, Twelve starts off a little slow with the author focused on establishing the setting, the character of Aleksei, his relationship with Maks, Dmitry, Vadim, and Domnikiia, the strangeness of the Oprichniki, and so forth. In fact, the vampires aren’t even revealed as such until about 200 pages into the novel. What’s interesting about this though is that the reader knows that the Oprichniki are vampires, so it’s fun to catch all of the little clues that reveal the Oprichniki’s true nature. Plus, there’s plenty to keep the reader entertained including war espionage, the love story between Aleksei and Domnikiia, and a traitor amongst Aleksei’s friends. After the Oprichniki are revealed as vampires, Twelve starts to venture into more traditional horror territory with Aleksei intent on destroying the Oprichniki, but Kent does have a few tricks up his sleeve including a couple of unexpected twists — which are easy to figure out if you pay attention — and an engaging game of cat and mouse.

As far as the vampires, Jasper relies mainly on recognizable lore such as the Oprichniki’s increased strength, speed, and recuperative abilities; their need for blood; their Wallachian roots; and being susceptible to sunlight, a stake through the heart, and decapitation. Crosses and churches don’t affect the Oprichniki however, and they cannot change into bats, wolves, or mist. For the most part though, Jasper’s vampires are of the time-honored variety, although the author does explore the Oprichniki philosophically and psychologically, and also uses vampires as a stark contrast to mankind who are still the world’s worst monsters.

CONCLUSION: Jasper Kent’s Twelve may fall in the category of historical fiction and vampire horror, but labels are only a small part of the picture. To put it simply, Twelve is magnificently written and told, with great characters and villains, a vivid setting, and a haunting story, all of which makes Jasper Kent’s debut one of the best books of the year. —Robert T.   Comments

Thirteen Years Later

CLASSIFICATION: Like its predecessor Twelve, Thirteen Years Later is a “vibrant blend of detailed historical fiction” and vampire horror. Think Bernard Cornwell meets Bram Stoker meets Anne Rice’s THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES meets Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire.

FORMAT/INFO: Thirteen Years Later is 500 pages long divided over three Parts, thirty-seven Roman-numbered chapters, a Prologue, and an Epilogue. Also includes a map, an Author’s Note, a Historical Note, a Selected Romanov Family Tree, and information on the Decembrists. Narration is in the third-person via Aleksei Ivanonvich Danilov — the star of Twelve, Aleksandr Pavlovich (the tsar of Russia), Aleksei’s 18-year-old son Dmitry Alekseevich, Aleksei’s 4-year-old daughter Tamara Alekseevna, and a few other characters. Thirteen Years Later is a sequel to Twelve, set thirteen years later, and concludes Aleksei’s story, but is just the second volume in THE DANILOV QUINTET. The third installment, The Third Section (working title), looks to feature Aleksei’s daughter Tamara as the protagonist.

March 18, 2010 marks the UK Trade Paperback Publication of Thirteen Years Later via Bantam Press UK. Cover designed by Paul Young. The US edition will be published by Pyr.

ANALYSIS: One of my favorite books of 2009 — and one of the year’s best debuts — was Jasper Kent’s Twelve. In fact, I loved Twelve so much, I had concerns about the sequel disappointing me due to the lofty standards set by Mr. Kent’s outstanding debut. Fortunately, I needn’t have worried.

For starters, Thirteen Years Later retains the same winning formula found in Jasper Kent’s debut: realistic historical fiction mixed with chilling vampire horror in the vein of Anne Rice and Bram Stoker. From a historical standpoint, Thirteen Years Later is once again set in Russia — mainly Moscow, Taganrog and Petersburg — but this time revolves around the tsar of Russia, Aleksandr I, his mysterious death in 1825, the subsequent confusion surrounding the order of succession among his brothers, and the Decembrist uprising.

The voordalak — vampires — meanwhile, remain of the mostly time-honored variety — drink human blood to survive; increased strength, speed and recuperative abilities; can only be killed by sunlight, a wooden stake through the heart, or decapitation; et cetera — but where Jasper Kent explored vampires from a philosophical and psychological standpoint in Twelve, here he examines the voordalaki scientifically, e.g. the reason vampires don't have reflections, the ability to harm a vampire using its blood or body parts, and so on. Jasper Kent also introduces a couple of new vampire abilities, although they are powers that readers will be familiar with.

Secondly, Jasper Kent’s writing is once again first-rate, including detailed world-building, evocative prose, and in-depth characterization. Instead of the single first-person narrative used by Kent in Twelve though, Thirteen Years Later is written in the third-person via several different point-of-views. Because Aleksei Ivanovich Danilov’s first-person narrative was one of the best features about Twelve, I was admittedly worried by this change, but the author is able to pull off the third-person narratives without losing any of the depth, insight or personality that made Aleksei so compelling in the first book, while also providing variety and additional insight through the other characters. I particularly enjoyed the narrative of the book’s primary antagonist — one of the best villains to have been introduced in literature in the past few years — and wish more time had been spent with him.

Lastly, Thirteen Years Later features another engrossing story by Jasper Kent, brilliantly weaving together history and family drama with supernatural horror, political intrigue, espionage and suspense. To be honest, there are a number of similarities between the two novels plot-wise like the games of cat and mouse and how nothing is what it appears to be, but I liked the way Thirteen Years Later built on key events from Twelve, while laying down the foundation for the upcoming sequels. Plus, the whole Aleksandr, Romanov Betrayal, Cain and Decembrist uprising subplot added a different flavor to the book. Other than that, the novel suffers from a few lulls and twists aren’t quite as heart-wrenching as those found in Twelve, but the pacing is engaging for the most part, and the story still delivers plenty of unexpected surprises.

In the end, as much as I loved Twelve, I enjoyed Thirteen Years Later just as much, if not more, and if Jasper Kent can continue this high level of excellence in the remaining sequels, then I strongly believe that THE DANILOV QUINTET will end up being one of the best vampire series I have ever read.
—Robert T.   Comments