I really love Alexey Pehov’s work. For me, he’s already become a kind of personal brand — I buy any new book of his as soon as it comes out, even if I don’t plan on reading it right away. My wife and I have different opinions on which of his books is the best. As for his collaborations with Elena Bychkova and Natalya Turchaninova, I had only read a few novellas and stories before, and over ten years ago, I started the vampire series Kindrat.
I say “started” because, at the time, only the first volume had been published. I read it, but it seemed weaker to me than Alexey’s other solo works (yes, I know they’re not exactly solo). So, for many years, the books from that series were left on the shelf.
But recently, I decided to give the series a second chance, especially since the topic of vampires has always interested me. Since I have a peculiar memory for books, I began by re-reading the first volume. Interestingly, my feelings about it remained exactly the same after ten years. But now I didn’t have to wait for the second volume to be released, so I started reading it right away. And you know what? It worked. The pacing of the narrative changed dramatically, the “annoying” moments from the first book disappeared… and in the end, I read the entire series with great pleasure.
The books tell us about a world of vampires living around us in modern times. Vampires are divided into clans, each with its own abilities and life principles. The authors are not the first to come up with such a vampire society — it’s enough to mention the most famous vampire-themed game world, World of Darkness, which has even more clans and differences. But here, they didn’t blindly copy; instead, they gave the vampires unique backstories.
As I mentioned earlier, the series is uneven. The first volume is very slow, almost as if it’s just introducing the world and preparing for the main story. Maybe it’s a bit too subtle. And the rather large focus on the relationship with the human boy initially seems strange (it even discouraged my daughter from reading it).
As the narrative progresses, the pace picks up, though there are still occasional “slow” moments. However, if you don’t give up after the first volume (as I did the first time), you won’t want to stop reading.
The personalities of several main characters — representatives of different clans — are very well written. They’re not just cardboard puppets; they feel real (if you can say that about immortal vampires). Even the initially unpleasant representative of the most inhumane clan becomes somewhat understandable by the end, once you learn more about his personal story and his clan.
Personally, I thought the main conflict was resolved too easily, but in life, that happens. And the book doesn’t end there, leaving some time to deal with the aftermath. Plus, there’s plenty of room for a new story if the authors ever decide to return to this world.
Overall, I highly recommend it.
My rating: 4.5/5
