The beginning is entertaining, with the clues that the oprichniki are vampires, clues only the reader sees. And vampires in russia at the time of napoleon's wars is such a original premise. But once the narrator understood their menace, I felt the book lost his momentum and the travel to the end of the book was like a long walk in the snow. I don't know exactly why, maybe Aleksei was too lost in his thoughts or the pace too slow. More my reading was advancing, less I was motivated. This was a long and arduous journey. The text is more about the moral philosophy of war and peace, personal opinions of morality, loyalty, friendship and love, then it is about vampires in Moscow during the Napoleonic invasion. The story is very well researched, it is clear the author delved extensively into all aspects of the culture, history, even the paths that the two armies took to confront each other during this period. However, despite all knowledge of the people and the region, the characters are hard to connect with and the action is buried deep in the comparative contemplation between war crimes and crimes against humanity. This could have been a fun, quick read, but it got bogged down by all that philosophy.
What do You think about Oniki (2010)?
Set in Historic Russia 1812 during conflict with Ottoman empire. Real vampires no lovey-dovey crap.
—readchick
This is the best vampire novel I've read in a long time. I'm looking forward to reading the sequels.
—michi
Had to take this back to the library. May pick up again later...
—tee
