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Russia 1855. After forty years of peace in Europe, war rages. In the Crimea, the city of Sevastopol is besieged. In the north, Saint Petersburg is blockaded. But in Moscow there is one who needs only to sit and wait—wait for the death of an aging tsar, and for the curse upon his blood to be passed to a new generation. As their country grows weaker, a brother and sister—each unaware of the other’s existence—must come to terms with the legacy left to them by their father. In Moscow, Tamara Valentinovna Lavrova uncovers a brutal murder and discovers that it is not the first in a sequence of similar crimes, merely the latest, carried out by a killer who has stalked the city since 1812. And in Sevastopol, Dmitry Alekseevich Danilov faces not only the guns of the combined armies of Britain and France, but must also make a stand against creatures that his father had thought long buried beneath the earth, thirty years before.
AMDonovan
Posted May 12, 2012
Not your Twilight, non-blood drinking, romantic, emotionally tortured vampires. These have all the compassion of a Jack-the –Ripper or a Zodiac killer. They must drink blood to stay alive and they are not kind. Getting the most satisfaction from the extreme emotional states of terror and despair in their victims (even other Vampires). They will plan out a killing, taking hours in performing the act to heighten their own enjoyment. Truly monstrous monsters. Taking place in Russia, based on the historical incidents of 1855, very well researched as to the culture and history of the time (and a more scientific explanation of why vampires have no reflection) covering a switch over from acceptable, practical enslavement, of the peasant population to the freeing of the peasants, eh switch over from the limits of horse power to engines and the end of the war with England and France. A good story with love, loss, betrayal, redemption and an adopted child finding her true parents. Definitely worth the read. © Night Owl Reviews
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Decades of relative peace across Europe ends in 1855 as the Crimean War has ignited. In Moscow, Tamara Valentinovna Komarova is stunned by a particularly vicious homicide at a time when combat has made death the norm. The brutal murder is the first of its kind since the Napoleonic Wars.
In Sevastopol, like his father did years ago (see Twelve), Dmitry Alekseevich Danilov leads a Russian army against the French, but unlike his dad he also faces their allies the British. However, he soon realizes another foe who was his dad's worst nightmare and thought dead three decades ago (see Thirteen Years Later) still live to terrorize people. Vasiliy Innokyentievich Yudin and other Oprichniki use the hazy chaos of war to bare their monstrous fangs.
The third Russian nineteenth century fantasy is an interesting entry anchored in time and place by the Crimean War. The story line lacks the freshness of its predecessors mostly because so much was revealed in Thirteen Years Later turns this thriller into a middle book. Still the tale engages the audience who want to follow how Jasper Kent ties The Third Section mythos to real history.
Harriet Klausner
Overview
Russia 1855. After forty years of peace in Europe, war rages. In the Crimea, the city of Sevastopol is besieged. In the north, Saint Petersburg is blockaded. But in Moscow there is one who needs only to sit and wait—wait for the death of an aging tsar, and for the curse upon his blood to be passed to a new generation. As their country grows weaker, a brother and sister—each unaware of the other’s existence—must come to terms with the legacy left to them by their father. In Moscow, Tamara Valentinovna Lavrova ...