A slow building mystery, an historical tour-de-force, a tale of creeping horror, Jasper Kent’s superb novel is a masterful blending of all three. The elusive and secretive vampires are strangely believable as they hide from extravagance and obey their own rules. An intelligent read with themes of curse and despair as the Russians unleash a true terror in their battle against Napoleon’s invasion. It will succeed with fans of horror, history or alternative history and I hope prove to be a true cross-genre hit. It certainly deserves to be.
Comparison: Dan Simmons, Elizabeth Kostova, Naomi Novik.
| Primary Genre | Historical Fiction |
| Recommendations: |
On 12th June 1812, Napoleon's Grande Armee forded the River Niemen and crossed the Rubicon - its invasion of Russia had begun. Charged with delaying the enemy's inexorable march on Moscow, a group of Russian officers summon the help of the oprichniki, a band of mercenaries from the outermost fringes of Christian Europe. As rumours of a plague travelling west from the Black Sea reach the Russians, the Oprichniki - twelve in number - arrive. Preferring to work alone, and at night, they prove brutally, shockingly effective against the French. But one amongst the Russians, Captain Aleksei Ivanovich Danilov, is unnerved by the mercenaries' ruthlessness...and as he comes to understand the true, horrific nature of these strangers, he wonders at the nightmare they've unleashed in their midst...
Twelve features in the following genres: Debut Books of the Month, Historical Fiction, eBooks of the Month, Recommendations, Fiction
Twelve is available in Paperback
Twelve was written by Jasper Kent and published by Bantam Books an imprint of Transworld Publishers Ltd
Twelve has 538 pages
Yes it is part of The Danilov Quintet series
£16.19
