Twelve by Jasper Kent
Mar. 17th, 2010 10:23 pmThe Blurb On The Back:
Autumn, 1812. Napoleon’s triumphant Grande Armée continues its relentless march into Russia. City after city has fallen and now only a miracle can keep the French from taking Moscow itself.
In a last, desperate act of defiance, a group of Russian officers enlist the help of twelve mercenaries who claim they can turn the tide of the war. It seems an impossible boast but it soon becomes clear that these strangers from the outer reaches of Christian Europe are indeed quite capable of fulfilling their promise ... and more.
But the fact that so few seem able to accomplish so much unsettles one of the Russians, Captain Aleksei Ivanovich Danilov. As winter closes in, he begins to comprehend the true, horrific nature of the twelve and the nightmare he has unwittingly helped to unleash ...
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Despite the slow pace of the action and the hero’s failure to catch on as quickly as the reader, there’s a lot to admire and enjoy within this book, which blends history and horror to chilling effect.
Autumn, 1812. Napoleon’s triumphant Grande Armée continues its relentless march into Russia. City after city has fallen and now only a miracle can keep the French from taking Moscow itself.
In a last, desperate act of defiance, a group of Russian officers enlist the help of twelve mercenaries who claim they can turn the tide of the war. It seems an impossible boast but it soon becomes clear that these strangers from the outer reaches of Christian Europe are indeed quite capable of fulfilling their promise ... and more.
But the fact that so few seem able to accomplish so much unsettles one of the Russians, Captain Aleksei Ivanovich Danilov. As winter closes in, he begins to comprehend the true, horrific nature of the twelve and the nightmare he has unwittingly helped to unleash ...
The Verdict:
Despite the slow pace of the action and the hero’s failure to catch on as quickly as the reader, there’s a lot to admire and enjoy within this book, which blends history and horror to chilling effect.