Series: Department 19, Book One
Publisher: HarperCollins
Format: Paperback
Published: 1st September 2011
Number of Pages: 496
Book: Bought
Genre: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Science-Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Horror,
Action-Adventure, Mystery, YA
Recommended
Age: 12+
Contains: Violence, Death, Swearing, Destruction Scenes Caused By
a Psychopathic Vampire
No Alcohol, Drug References
Author's
Blog: Will Hill
Department
6 is the army.
Department
13 is MI5.
Department
19 is the reason you’re alive.
When
Jamie Carpenter’s mother is kidnapped by strange creatures, he finds himself
dragged into Department 19, the government’s most secret agency.
Fortunately
for Jamie, Department 19 can provide the tools he needs to find his mother, and
to kill the vampires who want him dead.
But unfortunately for everyone, something much older is stirring,
something even Department 19 can’t stand up against…
Review:
"Lux
E Tenebris: Light Out Of Darkness"
One night Jamie Carpenter's dad Julian came
home early. That night there was something outside - that Jamie
knew. What... he had no clue…
That same night Julian was shot dead by the
police, after pulling a gun on them...
He told Jamie nothing, only to take care of his mother.
He told Jamie nothing, only to take care of his mother.
The next day, they were informed Julian was
a terrorist, a traitor, and their life hasn't been the same since.
Two years later, Jamie's mum is taken; by
the same things Julian was so scared of all those years ago... Jamie is
desperate to find his mum, but he has no idea how.
Until Department 19 break through his
door. Department 19, the reason
the world is still living, the ones who battle the vast army of undead.
But something even they cannot deal with is
threatening to rise. Can Jamie save his mother in time, or will the whole
world die first...?
I love a good action novel, especially if
it includes butt-kicking lead characters! Department 19? Ah-maz-ing!
With non-stop action, the most amazing mythology and a gadget-packed,
super-secret agency whose job was killing vampires, this was a book I fell in
love with from the word go. I raced through it, eating it all up.
And y'know what? I wanna be a Department 19 agent! Failing that, give me lots, lots, lots more books
in this series please, Mr Hill!
I loved all the characters, our hero Jamie
in particular. He was curious and sweet
and brave and determined, and just felt so much like a real teen boy. A teen boy I
loved absolutely to pieces! Another one
I loved was Larissa, who was a vampire and a character who caught my interest
from the moment we first met her. I loved learning more about her past
and how funny she was, teasing Jamie!
She was really strong and sweet and brave, and not at all a
monster! But I think my favourite may
just be Colonel Victor Frankenstein, AKA Frankenstein’s Monster. He was a little scary at first, but when you
got to see how sweet and cheerful and caring he was, when you got to see into
his past and how he became who he is you just can’t help loving him! And man
our villain was terrifying! Alexandru
Rusmanov, a vampire – a scary vampire. Animalistic, violent and pure evil, he really gave the
super-scary-heebie-jeebies. He was, literally, an "immortal psychopath"!
And Larissa and Jamie's relationship was
brilliant. Admittedly, it didn’t start of great, what with Larissa trying
to kill Jamie and all, but slowly trust – and more – developed. It was
really sweet and really real.
I just loved
the writing, how I got to see into the past and into Department 19 – especially
how it was created. Seeing it all from Jamie's POV let us see this world
in a new and amazing light - we were discovering it all right along with
him. And all the other action we got to see, all the other characters, were
so well thought out, so real. This was amazing and unprecedented for me -
I've never met such amazing in-it-for-one-chapter characters! And the plot was just incredible! Full of twists and turns and just non-stop
action, Department 19 had me constantly on the edge of my seat.
Full of twists and one heckuva conspiracy, it was just so darn addictive!
Although I had suspicions about where everything was going, I was still hooked
and was constantly surprised. As for the ending? Oh.
My. God. I, quite frankly,
had to read Book Two the second I
finished!!
I loved
the vampire mythology! It was brilliant! And I loved how the Dracula story tied in, the legend.
It was awesome and new, yet traditional. And it wasn't just vamps either, something that made me super
excited! Overall? Awesome and so rich! And it was all so believable in a totally
supernatural way. Or maybe that's 'cause I'm weird and just want it to be real 'cause I WANNA BE IN DEPARTMENT 19!! Or
maybe it's just the rich backstory and history, the utterly believable
characters, the oh-so convincing spy-ish-ness of the Department. Oh
well. Whatever it was, I loved EVERY
SINGLE SECOND!
With a top secret government agency,
vampires everywhere and one boy caught in it all, Department 19 was action-packed, addictive and just all round amazing.
007 and MI5 are no longer cool: give me Department
19 and Colonel Frankenstein any day! I simply cannot wait to read The Rising.
Star Rating:
4½ Out of 5
4½ Out of 5
Read this
book if you liked:
Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz
Cherub by Robert Muchamore
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Bind-Ups by Various
The Enemy by Charlie Higson
Challenges
It's Taking Part In:
Happy Reading
Megan
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