Review: Department 19 by Will Hill

Department 19 by Will Hill (Department Nineteen #1)

bought

Synopsis from Goodreads
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…

 Amazon  US/UK(£4.68) | Amazon kindle US/UK(£3.99) | The Book Depository US/UK | Fishpond

7.5/10

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Oh My God, this is such a boyish book!  Gadgets and explosions aplenty, gore, combat and bullets, monsters and manly talk... You name it, it's there.

I did surprise myself by really enjoying it. Honestly, I was fully prepared to dislike this book, and yet, this was such a curious mix of history and present that I got sucked right in into this violent joyride.



Why 7.5 out of 10 then? This book has unrealistic male to female ratio. Here is this huge Department 19 and not one operative is a woman. They all Seal type tough macho men... You are telling me that with all the founding families not even one generation suffered from lack of male successors or let a daughter in especially in the last 50 years of female emancipation? This is not only unrealistic, it's offensive.

Jamie turns out to be some kind of a prodigy child, he's got an innate talent with the weapons and great instincts, that let him ace his test after only 24 hours of training. Nope. Not buying that either.

There is a total sum of three girls in this book: Jamie's mother who waits for him to save her from vampires, Larissa, a young vampire who is sent to kill him, but suddenly develops romantic feelings for him strong enough to risk her life for the boy (yeah, they do talk for a few hours in total. I guess that was enough for insta-love); and a girl in the end whom he and Larissa save. That's it. Nice, huh?

This is what I mean by boyish book. It irritated the hell out of me, but hey the villains are awesome, the gadgets are cool and a teen saves the world again. Really good potential for a decent series.

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Хороший потенциал для типичной мальчишеской шпионской серии, только про вампиров. Взрывы, вертолёты, схватки, гаджеты, специальные колы на пружинах, котрые выстреливают в сердце вампира и возвращаются обратно в руку, а вампир взрывается изнутри прям как в Истинной Крови.

Интересная смесь исторических фактов из жизни Ван Хельсинга и его друзей из Дракулы Брэма Стокера как пяти семей, основавших Отдел Девятнадцать, и событий настоящего, где Джэйми спасён Отделом 19, и теперь он постарается с их помощью освободить свою маму, захваченную одним из злодеев-братьев Дракулы.

Шестнадцатилетний мальчик оказывается бойцом-вундеркиндом и после брутальной суточной подготовки проходит тест с лучшим результатом в истории отдела. Ага. Не верю.

Ладно бы проблемы закончились на этом, но эта книга до невозможности шовинистская! Здесь всего три женщины, да и те -  второстепенные героини: мама Джэйми, девочка вампирша Ларисса, которая непонятно почему мгновенно влюбляется в мальчика и переходит на сторону отдела, помогая ему во всём, и Кэти - девочка, которую Ларисса и Джэйми спасают в самом конце.

Позвольте мне отступить на шаг и послать автора на три буквы. Я понимаю, что в 19 веке мужики, основавшие отдел - дочерей в него бы не вовлекли, но в последние 50 лет женской эмансипации, что этого нельзя было сделать? Ни один из членов отдела не оказался женщиной. Все они - типичные голубые береты, из уст которых постоянно извергается мусор в стиле мачо. Вашу мать.

В общем, да... Потенциал хороший, читать интересно, но меня лично этот пунктик очень раздражал.


Comments

  1. Ooo, the lack of girls would annoy me! It frustrates me enough in UF when the girl never meets any other females! Real life just isn't like that! :-)

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  2. Wow that is insta love for real

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  3. I don't tend to do well with boy books. I don't mind there being a lack of females but sometimes books written for boys are lacking in something; usually an emotional connection. I'm feeling that way with The Maze Runner at the moment, keep putting it down because I feel it's all about the actions and not the feelings.

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  4. This is the first ARC I ever had just show up at my house...and I didn't like it at all. I think I got sick of all of the boyish thing. It's like one of those boy movies - not much plot, all explosions.

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  5. Okay, I know it brought the number down for you. But I'm thrilled it's all boy. lol. There's not many boy reads out there and this one is here for my son and I to read. I think he's going to love it them. :D Thank yoU!

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  6. Melissa, I think this book is perfect for boys, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it as well! :)

    Christina, oh no! What a start for a first ARC! :)

    Ellie, good to know I shouldn't bother with The Maze Runner :)

    Blodeuedd, it definitely was!

    Mel, I know! It was like it was still 19th century...

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