The Midnight Guardian: A Millennial Novel [Hardcover]

Sarah Jane Stratford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 2009 | Series: A Millennial Novel

It’s 1938, and the tentacles of Hitler’s terrifying Third Reich have commenced their stranglehold on Europe. The Nazi empire will soon be clean of all bloodlines deemed tainted or undesirable…including vampires.

 

London’s ancient tribunal of vampires is aghast at the destruction taking place on the Continent. Though vampires try not to interfere with human politics, Hitler’s terrible plans force them into action. They resolve to send five of their most formidable vampires to Berlin— millennials that have lived over 1000 years and whose age and wisdom make them close to invulnerable— to infiltrate, disrupt, and destroy the growing Nazi war machine.

 

The brilliant and beautiful millennial Brigit is loath to go, but her powers are needed if the mission is to have any chance of success. She must summon all her strength to endure the separation from her lover Eamon, whom she made almost eight centuries ago, but whose lack of millennial status makes him an unacceptable choice for this operation. Though he longs to join her, his duty to Brigit is best served from afar, by nurturing their deep psychic connection and reinforcing her spirit with his fierce devotion and memories of his tender embrace.

 

But as the millennials attempt to penetrate and sabotage Hitler’s armies, they discover that the Nazis are more capable than any human force they’ve yet encountered and more monstrous than they'd ever imagined. Forced to take bolder, more dangerous steps, they soon attract the attention of specially trained vampire hunters loyal to Hitler and his vision of a vampire-free Europe. Exposed, deep inside enemy territory, with vicious Nazi officers and hunters at her heels, Brigit must attempt a daring escape from the Continent, guarding precious cargo that marks the only hope of salvaging their mission.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Stratford's debut, the first in the Millennial series, matches up two groups of smug, self-righteous evildoers: Nazis, who want to "purify" the human race, and all-powerful vampires, who want to consume it. In 1939, Brigit, a vampire who has earned awesome powers by surviving over a thousand years, and her fellow millennials seek to bring down the Nazis, primarily to prevent another war that might diminish their human food supply. Despite the vampires' powers of suggestion and superhuman strength, the Nazi war machine will not be easily broken. Digressions into Brigit's past dig deep into vampire lore and provide emotional heft with sensuous descriptions of love, music, hate and death that evoke early Anne Rice, but readers will be frustrated by the lack of sympathetic characters and the complicated, unresolved plot.
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Review

"A ripping adventure, a thrilling chase, not too much blood and gore, and well-realized characters make for an impressive first novel." --Booklist

 

"4 1/2 stars. It's easy to get sucked into this rich and complex tale with its believable alternate history and its dynamic vampire society. This dark, intriguing story casts a new light on a dark time in history." --Romantic Times

 

"In a world overcrowded with vampires, Sarah Jane Stratford has created something unique: the millennial named Brigit,  She's everything you'd want in a vampire, and more.  Vampires! Nazis! And blood galore!  Heaven.  A smart, well-imagined, thrilling debut."--Eric Van Lustbader, bestselling author of First Daughter and The Bourne Deception

"An impressive debut novel.  Sarah Jane Stratford has created a spell-binding world that's full of classic vampire thrills, yet feels textured and original.  With its tautly drawn characters, The Midnight Guardian announces her as a new and welcome voice in genre storytelling." --Alex Kurtzman, coscreenwriter of Star Trek, Transformers and Fringe

“A wickedly clever work of historical fiction. Putting vampires in Nazi Germany is a great idea, obviously, and the writing is every bit as good as the hook.” --Ben H. Winters, coauthor of Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

"Inside a richly detailed world, set in one of history's most inhuman times, The Midnight Guardian asks readers to question what truly makes us human. Coupled with a powerful, and emotionally charged, love story, this is a compelling introduction to the mind of Sarah Jane Stratford." --Marti Noxon, Writer and Executive Producer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"Millennium old vampires... Nazi vampire hunters... eternal love... THE MIDNIGHT GUARDIAN is an intriguing take on what is evil as Sarah Jane Stratford makes the case that deeds not species defines malevolency."  --Harriet Klausner, GenreGoRoundReview.blogspot.com

 

"Wildly inventive…transporting us back to the ominous early months of World War II, when the fate of civilization hung in the balance.  Filled with marvelously evocative period detail and atmosphere, 'The Midnight Guardian' is lush, dark and very sexy -- an addictive blend of history and horror." -- Tony Perrottet, author of Pagan Holiday and Napoleon's Privates

“What an auspicious debut novel for Sarah Jane Stratford. She has a deep well of talent that grips you from page one and doesn't let go. The Midnight Guardian is a vampire story for grown-ups that explores the universal themes of love and loss, good and evil, joy and despair. Stratford has written a beautifully crafted, compelling work.” --Jacquelin Cangro, editor of The Subway Chronicles: Scenes from Life in New York

 

 

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1 edition (October 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312560133
• ISBN-13: 978-0312560133
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,676,378 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Ride!, October 23, 2009

By 

Astrid Aldrich - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Midnight Guardian: A Millennial Novel (Hardcover)

The Midnight Guardian is a fast-paced, fun read. It's ideal when you want to curl up by the fireplace with a smooth scotch and great page turner. If you like vampires and you're too grown-up for abstinence porn, this will surely satisfy a more sophisticated palate. Set in both London and Germany during the brink of WWII, vampires try to dismantle the Nazi regime through cunning, force and a dash of hope. Brigit the vampire protagonist has a wicked sense of humor and a soft heart, and the interplay among her cohorts, as well as their "dinner" companions, is engrossing, well developed and thoroughly enjoyable. Sarah Jane Stratford is clearly a rising star.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bloody good read!, November 17, 2009

By 

M. Klayman "Klayperson" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Midnight Guardian: A Millennial Novel (Hardcover)

Vampires fighting Nazis! What more could you want?! But even beyond the undeniably perfect hook, this story unfolds into a thing of beauty. The vampires are deep, intriguing characters with hundreds of years of back story among them. The plot focuses around Brigit - a beautiful, smart, cunning, loving, and theatre-going vampire, as she infiltrates the Nazi inner circle while leaving her immortal beloved behind.

Author Sarah Jane Stratford describes how vampires come to be, what qualities make some survive for millennia, and what constitutes the vampire code of ethics in her Stratfordverse. Most of the time, Brigit and her fellow vampires kill for nourishment, and they have particular tastes. (Nazis taste bad. Figures.) But sometimes they kill out of vengeance or anger, and the lucky reader learns all about those moments - but more of the emotion behind the killing than graphic descriptions of guts and gore. (Okay, there's some guts and gore, too.) Vampires all quite literally have inner demons.

Nice accuracy in the descriptions of period details, which is something that I always notice in historical fiction.

The Midnight Guardian was a pleasure to read - fast and fun, but not fluffy. I can't wait for the sequel!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars intriguing take on what is evil, October 17, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Midnight Guardian: A Millennial Novel (Hardcover)

By 1940 Hitler had succeeded in killing all the vampires on the continent. He created a special hunter unit, the Nachtspeere whose mission was the vampiric genocide. However, Millennials, millennium old vampires are not easy to kill as they double in strength and other powers in their thousandth year. Only a few special hunters can kill a Millennial because each vampire has a demon inside who feeds on their hunger and gives them the skill to strike back at their enemies.

With the Millennials dead on the mainland, the British Millennial vampires send a group to Germany to prevent a human war as memories of the destruction of WWI lingers when their food supply killed one another that led to a vampire civil war. Brigit and the others plan to kill key SS men in order to prevent Hitler from occupying France. In Germany the unit is stunned by Hitler's Final Solution and hope to create enough chaos to slow down Hitler's master plan as he and his leadership teams prove they are greater monsters than vampires with what they are doing to the Jews. Brigit leaves Germany with two orphaned Jewish kids as the Nazi vampire hunters stalk her on a train ad boat on her way home to England.

Told from Brigit's perspective, readers learn through flashbacks how she was turned, how she became freed of her sire, and how she met her eternal love Eammon who waits for her back home. Their love sustains her as she rides the trains towards the Channel with the real evil in pursuit of her and her precious cargo. THE MIDNIGHT GUARDIAN is an intriguing take on what is evil as Sarah Jane Stratford makes the case that deeds not species defines malevolency.

Harriet Klausner