Vampires and Beyond

This week’s theme is Vampires and Beyond.  The genre of vampires and other supernatural creatures like werewolves and especially zombies has grown increasing popular amongst YAs since the 90’s.  Why is this? Some believe that adolescents are fascinated with the concept of a vampire’s immortality – the ability to live forever as a young and energetic person.  I agree with this and think many teenagers (and adults as well) have a fear of ‘growing up’ and ‘getting old’.  They are reluctant to give up what they perceive as their ‘freedom’ for adult responsibility.  I also believe that YAs are attracted to the dark and forbidden nature of vampires – that they feel a sort of kinship with this creature since they too are prone to attempt the dangerous and forbidden.  This dark and forbidden theme extends to other creatures as well such as zombies and werewolves.  Overall I think the key attraction for all supernatural creatures is just that – they aren’t natural.  They represent a welcome escape from the sometimes crushing responsibilities and drudgery of ‘reality’.    Teens and other young adults can, for a time, pretend they are all powerful, can breathe underwater, fly with ease, move with the speed of lightening or have any number of other special abilities.  I’ll be discussing the novel, Department Nineteen by Will Hill in relation to this topic.

Department Nineteen  

This story revolves around the adventures of Jamie Carpenter as he attempts to track down and rescue his mother from the clutches of the deranged master vampire Alexandru who seeks revenge for the death of his wife at the hands of Jamie’s father.  Jamie is rescued from Alexandru’s surprise attack by none other than Frankenstein and subsequently thrust into a completely different world when he is taken to the clandestine headquarters of Department 19 – an organization dedicated to hunting down and eradicating vampires along with other supernatural menaces.  Jamie becomes a Department agent and along with Frankenstein, a troubled teenaged vampire girl named Larissa and a host of others hunts Alexandru.  In the process, he stumbles upon a much more dangerous plot to resurrect the greatest vampire of them all – Count Dracula.

This is a surprisingly well written story that has a number of draws for a YA audience.  There is the usual dark and forbidden theme that seems to go along with vampire novels.  One example of this is the romance that develops between Larissa and Jamie.  They must pursue their feelings in defiance of both humans and vampires who each see it as something dangerous and vile.  Another is the savage brutality of Alexandru who takes the evil and sadistic nature often associated with vampires to new extremes.  He massacres an entire fishing village simply as a means of luring Jamie into a confrontation, routinely skins innocent civilians to pass messages and turns Jamie’s mother as one more means of ‘getting under his skin’.  The theme of immortality is also present as most of the major vampire characters have been around for hundreds of years – still full of drive and energy.

I think my favorite aspect of the story is the way the author bucks traditional vampire lore.  Garlic has no effect, crucifixes are laughed at and holy ground is crossed with ease.  This allows several brutal but elaborate scenes to be constructed.  The best of these is the scene for the final confrontation between Jamie and Alexandru.  It takes place in a small monastery where the priests have been contemptuously murdered in a number of creative ways, including one unfortunate soul who has his own crucifix embedded in his forehead.  I also enjoyed the detailed backstory.  Any alternate world worth its salt must be especially well detailed, including the lore that holds it together.  Throughout the novel, Jamie’s story is interspersed with snippets from the past including the founding of Department 19 by Professor Van Helsing, the origins of Dracula and his three lieutenants and a host of others.  I recommend this title for anyone who wishes to dive into the oftimes dark and mysterious world of the supernatural.