Bookworm Speaks!- Department 19 Review

Bookworm Speaks! 

Department 19 Review

by Will Hill

Vampires, they have really captured the imagination have they not? Even though the fad caused by the success of the Twilight series is beginning to fade (thank the Emperor) no one can deny that vampires have left an indelible mark on culture, both on and off the page. They are an undeniable entry to the lexicon of monsters and myth and will no doubt continue for a long time to come. 

Today is one of those marks: Department 19. 

The Story: 

Jamie Carpenter is a bullied high schooler, whose mother has been kidnapped by strange creatures. His father has also disappeared. He is soon discovered by a secret organization called Department 19. Jamie needs their help to find his mother but an older conspiracy from deep in his family’s history is stirring and Jamie will have to fight for the future, alongside his allies from Department 19. 

The Good: The setting is very well done. It takes place in Britain, and Department 19 is stated as a extension of the British government, and numerous references are made to Britain and British culture. Unlike a lot of stories which take place in Cityville, Country Name, this story is specific rather than generic without overdoing it. Sometimes its better that way. 

Secret Socieites are always a fun plot device. We like to think there are secrets all around us and adds another layer of mystery to our world.  

In spite of a sluggish start, the text is energetic and action-packed and it does pick up near the end so the reader can become invested in the characters and see how it all turns out. 

One of the hardest parts of writing young adult fiction is making the young adult star act his or her age. The author does a good job of making Jamie’s reactions, particularly a bullied outcasts, seem very authentic and how he reacts with fear to a lot of the very frightening situations he finds himself in. 

The Bad: A good way to determine how ‘good’ a book is, is how long it takes to complete it. If one reads it in an afternoon, that probably means that the reader enjoyed the story and really wanted to know what happened next. If a book sits on your desk, a few chapters in for days or weeks at time and you still have not picked it up, that probably means that the reader does not care for it too much and the author stumbled in a few places. 

This book is one the latter. 

The bottom line is that Department 19 is not new. Everything inside has been done before in one way or another. The book is just one long amalgamation of cliches. Bullied Protagonist? Seen it. Secret Government Organization? Been Done. Secret Government Organization Dedicated to the Paranormal? Seen it already. Bullied Protagonist actually descendent of great hero? Hero’s journey anyone? Hidden Sect of Killer Vampires? Done. To. Death. Bookworm has not read many ‘vampire’ stories but even he can tell this author’s vampire mythos is overdone. 

Even one of the main characters, (no spoilers) while in of itself is not a bad character, is designed after a character of the same name from a movie. Granted, this how the character is perceived in great deal of media. But that makes it worse! The author didn’t try to make his own twist on the character, he just copied what everyone else did. It’s lazy and unoriginal. 

The pacing is off as well. It does pick up significantly near the end but in all the chapters preceding, it is extremely muddled. There are several flashback chapters throughout but the trick with those is coordinating them with the present chapters so the past and present form a cohesive narrative. It does not work, and make the reader force his way to the next page rather than flow towards it. 

Final Verdict:

Department 19 was a disappointment, plain and simple. Expecting a daring tale of a secret society battling evil, what we got was a muddled, boring, cliched mess. Perhaps a few one or two good vampire books came in the wake of Twilight, but this is not one of them. 

Perhaps the first sign of trouble was the fact it was on the bargain rack. 

2 out of 5 stars.