Elitist Book Reviews

By now most of you faithful readers should have picked up a copy of Jasper Kent's novel, TWELVE. If you are like me, TWELVE completely blew you away with its terrific blend of Historical Fiction and Horror. I mean, come on, that ending? That was freaking awesome. And the twist made it even more horrific and awesome. TWELVE easily became one of my favorite books last year. The sequel, THIRTEEN YEARS LATER, was awesome in its own way, but fell juuuuuuust short of its predecessor.

And now we get book three, THE THIRD SECTION.

The third entry in the Danilov Quintet has us following Aleksei Danilov's two children (who don't know they are siblings), Dmitry and Tamara. Naturally this novel follows their (re)discovery of the vampires, and the machinations of the Aleksei's nemesis, Iuda (now known as Vasily).

The first thing that stood out was how different Dmitry is. This novel starts in 1855, thirty years after the events of the previous novel. Aleksei is in exile, and thus not a PoV character. Yet Aleksei's legacy still has such an enormous impact on the two main characters. Dmitry has been molded and changed by the past 30+ years, and it paints a starkly different picture of his persona. For Tamara, the quest to find out who her father really is (Aleksei was exiled before she was old enough to realize what was going on) leads her right into the crossfire of the vampires.

These characters are so refreshingly different from those in the prior two novels. Don't get me wrong, I loved Aleksei's PoV, but I think this is one of the main failings of series fiction. Far too often we follow story after story of just one character, and if the author isn't careful the characters get dull. Kent has avoided this issue entirely, and has handled it expertly.

The way Kent handles the historical facts is awesome, unsurprisingly. The action is terrific. The pacing is great. None of these should surprise you. All the same, it is a relief to me that Kent has managed to remain so consistent from novel to novel.

Here's the thing. If you have read the first two novels in this series, you know what to expect. If you haven't read the first two books, I'm a little unsure why you are reading this review. Quit fooling around and go treat yourself. So the only thing I want to mention is how INCREDIBLE the last quarter of THE THIRD SECTION is. This novel is batter than book two, and has me debating on whether it is better than book one. And this is all due to the ending. It blew me away. If you had any doubt or fear that THE THIRD SECTION wouldn't live up to the standards set in the first books, take my word for it.

Seriously, just go out and buy the book.

Recommended Age:b 17+
Language: Some, and it can get strong.
Violence: Remember, these vampires don't try to sparkle you to death.
Sex: A lot of references and some scenes that border on being really detailed.

Buy this whole freaking series! It is completely awesome!

1 - TWELVE
2 - THIRTEEN YEARS LATER
3 - THE THIRD SECTION