Our days (more precisely, the recent past), a young guy bursts into the mysterious world of vampires, unexpectedly, but only for himself. What should a newbie do?? Of course, comprehend the basics of the new world.
We can confidently say that this is a novel from the 00s. The book is directly imbued with this spirit. This is not even a novel, this is a potion for returning to the past. Here is our recipe: we take a novel about a misfit, add vampires as the basis, then mix it with criticism of capitalism, add chic and fashion, season it with conspiracy theories of the shadow world government, a pinch of sexism, a pinch of alternative mythology, serve it with the sauce of teenage love and here is our “Empire V”.
There is a lot of exposition in the novel, which is not surprising when you are inventing a new world, but it can be presented in a different way. The main character constantly asks and asks, and everyone around him does nothing but answer him. Most of the characters are misanthropes, and the author himself doesn’t seem to like people very much. You read it and it’s as if they are trying to covertly insult you.
The author himself complicates everything, and then tries to explain it all. And it turns out that the first half of the book is difficult to read, because you do not understand the explanations of how this world works, and when you understand the essence, you cease to understand the very work of the invented world. And if you try to connect everything with threads of logic, then the vampire universe generally collapses.
The explanations in the book are overcomplicated and illogical. The author came up with an abstruse theory of the device and is now trying to explain everything to the reader, but he chooses the wrong words. From the very beginning of the book, it’s like you’re not in a vampire saga, but in some kind of teenage circus. The characters say something, but they say it not because they want to convey something to the reader, but simply because they like the way their words sound. It feels vulgar and is off-putting at first.
This is the problem with the book, it tries to be a smart novel, pontificating on serious and eternal topics, but in the end it turns out to be a silly journey with unconvincing and abstruse noise in the background.
The author beats around the bush, https://championpokercasino.co.uk/ but never comes close to discovering the secrets over which he so reverently creates intrigue. And this intrigue feels somehow artificial. Yes, I really don’t care what kind of religion vampires have and what it is, I absolutely don’t care what they suck and want, I’d like an immersion in the world, not an explanation of it. But the characters begin discussing some secret for the hundredth time, and for the hundredth time they decide that it’s not time to reveal all their cards. This spoils the book, and as a result, instead of an interesting story, we have incomplete explanations of the world, instead of revealing interesting characters in the world, we have incomplete explanations of the world, and even instead of an interesting world, we have incomplete explanations of the world.
The plot itself is weak. The main characters are beaten. Here we have a main character, timid and ignorant. His opponent, the evil villain. And of course the young girl, she is mysterious and attractive. The plot takes place only in the background, and even if we throw out all the chatter, we will get a weak story more like Twilight fanfiction in Russia.
And the strangest thing is that the book leaves a pleasant feeling behind it. Reduce it by half and it would be an exciting adventure. I would re-read it? Definitely not. I would recommend reading it? If you have nothing to read, want something about vampires, and don’t want to think, then you can pay attention to “Empire V”. But I would advise you to pay attention to something else.
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I heard a story about a teenager who, on his own initiative, began to read “War and Peace”, and kept waiting for the Martians to appear on combat tripods. Well, or you can compare it with a person who really liked “Quantum of Solace” and decided to read the original – and there is no action movie, coups or spy stuff – just the story of how a virgin official married a cunning flight attendant, and what came of it.
"Empire V" is not about vampires, adventures, etc.d. And not about philosophy – the entire philosophy of the GP is multi-digested Buddhism. All GP novels are a slice of time + humor in the style of Averchenko. If you want to look at the mid-2000s, described in such an ironic way, read. If you’re looking for mystery, adventure, and a vampire theme, don’t miss it.
I agree with a lot. The weakest thing I read from Pelevin, and strongly. The book tries really hard to be smart, but it’s like a nerd with an excellent grade who learned everything but didn’t understand anything.
I would also add “The Night Watch” (I haven’t read all of it, but it will be better than the Empire style), Pratchett also has a wonderful “Carpe Jugulum”. Grab You by the Throat" (although it is closer to a comedy, it is still good).
"Carpe Jugulum" – a chic satire on a vampire theme. We need to create a musical based on it, similar to Ball of the Vampires
Among the classic vampire books, I love the work of the Irishman Sheridan Le Fanu – “Carmilla”. Some believe that Bram Stoker profited from the fact that Le Fanu’s work was not so widely known. Well, Stoker, of course, was inspired, but “Dracula” is quite an independent work.
Carmilla made the most unusual (and piquant) vampire films of varying degrees of quality in the 60s and 70s
Give me a list of that same thing.
And besides the classics about Count Otodracula and the works of Charlene Harris, Rachel Mead and Laurel Hamilton, I don’t immediately remember anything. Yes, and the first two only because their works have film adaptations.
I doubt the author read the book. If I read it, I knew that the book was called Empire V, and Empire V is an adaptation of the title for the film.
And in order to completely immerse yourself in the world, you need to read all the books and stories in the series starting with Generation p, “Problems of the Werewolf of the Middle Zone,” “The Sacred Book of the Werewolf” and the continuation of Empire V “Batman Apollo”. Looks like I haven’t forgotten anything. All these stories are united by a common universe and some characters, for example, political strategist Vailen Tvtarsky.