An enjoyable read that had enough to set it apart and make it memorable, but lacking those intangible qualities that would have set it above rather than just apart.The story begins as the Russians are falling back from Napoleon's relentless onslaught in the War of 1812, and we are introduced to a small group of elite soldiers skilled in espionage and harrassing the enemy behind their lines. The entire novel is told through the point of view of Alexei Danilov, one of the four soldiers in this group. As the plot develops, we find that a military arrangement has been made by one of his compatriots with a group of twelve Wallachian guerrillas (thus the title) to assist the small band in their efforts to disrupt Napoleon's advance. Not much information is given about these guerrillas except that their fighting prowess beggars belief.The author is careful not to tip his hand to any of the plot details for an impressive length of time. To say any more would really be to spoil the enjoyment of the novel, so I will leave that to marketing departments and perhaps over-eager reviewers. The slow reveal of so many different aspects is indeed one of the greatest strengths of this novel, and it happened on many different levels. I unfortunately found the payoff of the suspense to be middling, but that didn't stop me from being impressed with the storytelling technique. This is one of those books where I know others will be gobsmacked as plot points are revealed, but I can only seem to appreciate the talent from a distant remove without becoming emotionally involved.Although I would be hesitant to recommend this book outright, I would certainly encourage readers whose interest is already piqued to give it a spin. The writing is lucid and intelligent, and the story moves at a quick enough pace that the pages almost turn themselves. For myself, I already have the next book in this series bought and in my reading queue. That should at least be praise enough for the quality of this book despite my mostly lukeroom review. About the book description. The tales of the "creature of legend" terrified children of the South-Western part of the Russian Empire alone, which was rather small in comparison with the entire great country, and all the rest Russia never heard of the word "voordalak" for generations, to be more exact.The Oprichniki, the members of the organization Oprichnina, were responsible for the torture and murder of internal enemies of the Tsar Tsar Ivan the Terrible (1530 – 1584), and their realm and role ended along with the Tsar's life.It looks like the author's intention is telling tall tales about Russia.
What do You think about Douze (2000)?
A unique look at the Dracula legend, set during Napoleon's Russian campaign.
—hycm
One fo the most frightening vampire story i have ever read :)
—Sadeepa
