Ms. Hen reviews The Lights of Prague

The Lights of Prague

Nicole Jarvis

Titan Books

2021

Ms. Hen decided to read this book, because she saw it at a bookstore, and liked the cover. She admired the bats flying around in the picture, and even though she bought it in the summer, she decided to save the book until Halloween season when she thought she would enjoy it more.

This novel is about vampires in Prague, called pijavice. A group of lamplighters defend the streets at night from the creatures of the dark. Domek Myska, a lamplighter, works to defend the citizens of Prague from the demons. He finds a wisp, or a creature in a bottle, with ultimate power, and Domek tries to utilize that power for good. 

Domek is acquainted with Ora, a wealthy lady who has secrets. He discovers that she is a pijavica. He get angry she didn't tell him. Domek doesn't know at first that Lady Ora does not want to hurt anyone, only drinks animal blood, and is older than most pijavica in Prague. Together they fight the evil ones, who have the ability to walk in the daylight, and want to take over the city.

Ms. Hen enjoyed the setting of this novel. She liked that it is set right at the end of the nineteenth century, and she could see, hear, and smell the way Prague existed at that time. She could imagine the cobblestone streets, the smell of the rain, and the lamplighters lighting the lamps for the city.

Ms. Hen thought this novel would be scarier, but she found that it wasn't. It is a novel of place and characters. Action happens in this book, but Ms. Hen didn't think that was the most dramatic part. She is fascinated by Ora and Domek, and the society in which they live. She loves the magic, but she wasn't scared by the vampires, but she found them interesting  

This is a nice vampire novel, if there can be such a thing. Ms. Hen thinks that some books are scarier than others, and she does not know what the intent of this book is supposed to be, but she believes that it is a historical novel, with some thriller aspects, and a touch of romance.

Ms. Hen would like to go to Prague someday, and she would like to see the buildings that are described in this novel. She would love to be scared a little more, but real life has been scary lately, so Ms. Hen accepts that. Gas lamps shine in a neighborhood where Ms. Hen wanders around sometimes, and she will think of this novel when she sees the lamps lit up there again.

Gas Lamps, Beacon Hill