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.
