Book Description
Investigator Arkady Renko, the pariah of the Moscow prosecutor's office, has been assigned the thankless job of investigating a new phenomenon: late-night subway riders report seeing the ghost of Joseph Stalin on the platform of the Chistye Prudy Metro station. The illusion seems part political hocus-pocus and also part wishful thinking, for among many Russians Stalin is again popular; the bloody dictator can boast a two-to-one approval rating. Decidedly better than that of Renko, whose lover, Eva, has left him for Detective Nikolai Isakov, a charismatic veteran of the civil war in Chechnya, a hero of the far right and, Renko suspects, a killer for hire. The cases entwine, and Renko's quests become a personal inquiry fueled by jealousy.
The investigation leads to the fields of Tver outside of Moscow, where once a million soldiers fought. There, amidst the detritus, Renko must confront the ghost of his own father, a favorite general of Stalin's. In these barren fields, patriots and shady entrepreneurs -- the Red Diggers and Black Diggers -- collect the bones, weapons and personal effects of slain World War II soldiers, and find that even among the dead there are surprises.
Customer Reviews:
first time reader, ready for another one.......2007-10-18
When I jump into an existing series of novels, the important question at the end is whether I want to read another one. With Martin Cruz Smith and "Stalin's Ghost", the answer is yes. Not an emphatic yes, but a yes. The character was brand new to me, which conveniently avoided any thoughts of whether the latest adventures of Arkady Renko were fresh. Fortunately, not knowing the previous novels was not much of a handicap.
The "ghost" of the title metaphorically anchors the themes, after the opening scenes where subway riders claim to have seen the real ghost of Stalin. The early sections have the feeling of a lightweight American detective novel, only set in Russia. Fortunately, the Stalin vision is dispatched soon enough as a fabrication facilitated by American political and media consultants, and the story switches into the actual modest plot, which is military hero Nikolai Isakov's run for office and the truth behind his fame. Isakov calls for a return to the good times when Russia was powerful and respected, invoking Stalin without directly using his name. The accidental discovery of a mass grave of executions during a construction project shows that Smith is not the nostalgic type himself.
When Isakov's ex-colleagues in Chechnya start showing up dead, the legend of the heroic stand against the rebels starts to fray and the race becomes not the election, but whether Renko can uncover the truth.
The truth turns out to be a bit of a dud, with (naturally) corruption involved and the alleged good guys behaving badly. After all, this is the "new Russia" of trying to make a buck, capitalism against the ghost of Stalin's Russia.
Isakov is conveniently also the new lover for Renko's flame Eva, which is almost absurd enough to be disturbing. In fact, Renko's relationship with Eva itself makes only modest sense, at least to this reader without the backstory. Other than passionate lovemaking, it's not clear what binds them together. Eva is drawn to the masculine, natural leader and hero Isakov, and they clearly have a relationship left over from Chechnya. What exactly is that relationship is one of the minor mysteries, as is the tension behind Renko's motives. How much is Renko trying to defeat his rival for Eva, and how much is Renko being the relentless investigator searching for answers?
One of the parallel threads includes the young chess prodigy and scruffy vagrant Zhenya. Smith uses the youth nicely for additional character development of Renko's compassionate side, and for entertaining detours into street life and chess, with plenty of drunks, of course. The aged Grandmaster Platonov also fits in well, and Platonov adds further links to the time of Stalin through some great lines given by Smith.
Stalin's ghost directly affects Renko through the Renko's own father, who worked for Stalin as a brutal fixer of problems. The nostalgia for Stalin evidenced by Isakov's campaign forces Renko to confront memories of his father and what his father and other military leaders actually did as part of the defense against the Nazi invaders and in consolidation of power after the war. One of the stronger scenes in the novel is that of the "diggers" looking for German and Russian remains, especially those that could rehabilitate a "traitor", only to find a Soviet atrocity instead.
Mr. Smith showed a flair for dark, cynical humor throughout, which seems a natural fit for a Russian novel, more than one in an American city such as LA. Many times characters quickly exchanged a few sentences with a biting punch line of resignation or cynicism. Such delicious dialog must be Smith's specialty. "Is there any history of depression in the family?" "The normal." "Any suicide." "The usual." "Attitude has a great deal to do with your recuperation." "I will recuperate if no one else shoots me."
I don't know if Renko has a cat's nine lives in the other novels, but he used at least a couple here. Surviving a direct shot to the head and some other incidents was a bit of a stretch that Smith could possibly have toned down.
Don't bother if you liked the other Arkady Renko books..........2007-10-18
The humor, wit, and energy of early Arkady Renko books are gone. In their place is a deprived plot of Russian "heroes" murdering Chechens and fellow Russians for rugs. And a tired Arkady almost loses a second lover in the operating room, ...whether she lives, some readers won't know until the next book. I won't be reading it.
Dark tunnel to another reality.......2007-10-06
A good writer creates his own reality. For suspense and action novels the reality is a phantasy or a dark picture or just another world. We all, who love reading this genre, know examples of each. "The Hound of the Baskervilles" serves as a shining example of the dark phantasy with the moor, action in the darkness, enormous hound and a pretty lady (in distress).
"Stalin's Ghost" serves Russia in separate flavors. And the general taste seems real, up to the point of having very Russian memories of the main character, investigator Renko, of his deceased and cruel father General. The General served in the Soviet Army against the invading Germans. This was the Great Patriotic War, of which the Russians are so proud of. The General was waiting for his promotion to a Marshall and only found that he was the cause of his wife's suicide and a killer of two young Afghans during that Soviet war.
The Chechen war serves as the background to this novel but the historic value of the Great War outweighs all others. The villain of the story, former Black Beret captain turned detective turned a Senate candidate during recent Russian elections tries to use grave digging of the Soviet soldiers of World War II as his crowning TV event to push him over the top. In a cruel twist, the diggers uncover a mass grave but instead of the brave Soviet soldiers they find Polish officers murdered on Stalin's orders.
Investigator Renko moves through the story almost like a ghost and the weight of the war stories exceeds any detective focus. His determination to uncover the truth is almost painful, as he sees the former Black Beret captain as the scoundrel almost from the first page. We all know that Renko will find his truth but at what price? Will he keep the woman he loves, a woman who is also the captain's lover? Will he die from a head wound that is just too magical to recover from?
Finally, why is chess so important in Russia? Two supporting characters, both chess masters, add a lot of color to this novel about contemporary Russia, which maybe is a suspense novel as well.
Indestructible Renko survives another bad moment in new Russia.......2007-10-05
"Stalin's Ghost" is right up there with Martin Cruz Smith's best Renko stories. It's a plausible, if extreme, description of what ails nouveau riche Russia socially and politically. As usual, poor detective Arkady Renko is taken to the brink of total destruction physically and mentally before prevailing in the end. Smith's plot zig-zags and other canny surprises fully compensate for the predictable hero-bashing (literally) that comes with these stories. Well, Ian Rankin, Michael Dibdin and others do it to their alter egos, so why not Smith?
An excellent thriller, well worth the time and money.
Renko strikes again.......2007-10-04
I love Arkady Renko: a man of honor in a world of post-communist poshlost', knavery and corruption. And the background in this one, with the uncovering of surprises amid the graves of the war victims. is well thought out. The author satisfies so entirely with hsi sparkling dialong and clever plot twists that I'm willing to suspend disbelief to a ridiculous extent as he pulls it all together at the end. Good job, Mr. Smith!
Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
|
History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
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Similar Items:
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History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
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History: Fiction or Science? Astronomical methods as applied to chronology. Ptolemy's Almagest. Chronology III
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They Cast No Shadows: A Collection of Essays on the Illuminati, Revisionist History, and Suppressed Technologies
ASIN: 2913621058 |
Book Description
Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.
Customer Reviews:
Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03
Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.
Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19
Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09
There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.
For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.
Very Interesting.......2007-03-07
It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.
History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10
Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.
I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.
Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.
Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.
I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.
This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.
Average customer rating:
- Brilliant
- Floating Cities
- A savant at work!
- The Wrong Description
- The Wrong Description
|
Floating Cities: Venice, Amsterdam, Leningrad-And Moscow
Stephen Wiltshire
Manufacturer: Summit Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0671755684 |
Customer Reviews:
Brilliant.......2002-08-09
Stephen Wiltshire's pen and ink drawings are fantastic. He captures each subject perfectly and in incredible detail...sometimes having only seen the subject for a few minutes. Incredible drawings made even more incredible by the fact that Stephen is autistic.
Floating Cities.......2001-11-30
Reading this book was an inspiration.The intricate detail and elegance of each drawing is breath-taking.
As an autistic individual he is able to capture the beauty an essence that a normal person with their eye would not see.
His work seems effortless, and takes him no time to do at all, but yet he is a perfectionist, right down to the last detail.
I am not an art critic, but certainly now I do appreciate the architecture that surrounds me and realize how beautiful it really is, and although Autism is not really understood and how it is actually caused.
Stephen, no matter what level of autism he seems to possess, he has truly mastered and captured the gracefullness of each buillding that he draws.
In a word he is an "Artistic, Autistic Genius."
A savant at work!.......2001-05-06
This man's pictures have to be seen to be believed. Stephen Wiltshire actually is Autistic,operating on a six year old level for most of his adult life. He has a very rare talent of being able to visually process all that he sees and reproduce these images on paper. I have seen him on a TV show being flown around London on a helicopter and reproducing a image of 4 square miles, including 11 London landmarks and over 600 buildings with perfect perspective and scale in less than three hours.
This book has to be appreciated for what it is, a work of a genius!
The Wrong Description.......2000-06-24
I agree that this is not the correct description of the book. Floating cities is actually a series of drawings done by a young english autistic boy. They are absolutely fantastic renditions of famous buildings, made more incredible by the fact that Stephen himself has this overwhelming disability, and many of them were done by memory. This book will make you realise that disabilities are by no means disabling, and can open up worlds unaccessable to the rest of society.
The Wrong Description.......2000-06-24
I agree that this is not the correct description of the book. Floating cities is actually a series of drawings done by a young english autistic boy. They are absolutely fantastic renditions of famous buildings, made more incredible by the fact that Stephen himself has this overwhelming disability, and many of them were done by memory. This book will make you realise that disabilities are by no means disabling, and can open up worlds unaccessable to the rest of society.
Customer Reviews:
Great Overview.......2006-01-26
An excellent overview from the German point of view, best used with Erickson's volume "The road to Stalingrad." Although in the end both lack concrete numbers for Soviet losses, but Erickson's volume presents the Soviet point of view in much better terms than Ziemke's. The maps are very helpful to the text, something that Erickson's volume lacks at times, and the narrative is easy to follow and very interesting. I was very much impressed about how difficult the German situation was both after the Moscow Counter-Offensive and the encirclement of the 6th Armee at Stalingrad. Zhukov's opinion that if the Moscow Counter-Offensive was follwed up by concentrated attacks against Army Group Center only, it would have resulted in a greater German 'retreat' or even a full scale rout seems very much in tune with the situation Army Group Center actually found itself in in late December of 1941 and January of 1942. Yet in the end Stalin choose to attack on 9 out of 10 fronts and in the end the results were less than impressive, to say the least. Overall a dated but still excellent study of the Eastern Front in 1941 and 1942.
The definitive study of the Russian War from German records.......2001-08-03
Excellent operational study of the Russian war from German records. This was the classic way of westerners studying the conflict as the Russian archives had been sealed for decades. This book should be studied with Erickson's work (the Russian side) for a more balanced study.
A Solid Operational-Level History of the Russo-German War.......2000-06-07
World War II was not one, but a whole series of wars which raged over a good portion of the planet from 1939 to 1945. We let the existence of this singular noun influence and cloud our perception of the actual situation, the cross-purposes and confusion of those times. Hitler fought wars on various fronts and also at least one behind the lines, against a people he had decided to destroy, that great massacre which we call today the Holocaust. Nazi Germany's war against the Soviet Union was undoubtedly the largest of them all. Did the strategic bombing of Germany and our operations in North-western Europe influence the final decision in the East? Yes, but it was the actual Soviet victory on the ground which made the difference. For that reason both sides deserve an impartial analysis as far as the operational military history is concerned. Let's leave the other considerations aside in this instance.
Professor Earl F. Ziemke's Moscow to Stalingrad: Decision in the East is the second of a planned three volume set of the US Army's historical series of the Russo-German War. The first three chapters of this volume take us up quickly to the failure of the Wehrmacht's Operation Taifun before Moscow. The German Army was the most combat experienced and militarily efficient force in 1941. It consisted of masses of good light infantry but only a thin layer of panzer and motorized troops for long distance movement. The Luftwaffe too was designed and equipped to support short swift wars of annihilation. The Soviets, on the other hand, hadn't fought competent enemies at all before 1941 except for the Finns and had subdued them only with difficulty. Ziemke's story actually starts with Chapter 4, where he describes the Soviet Counteroffensive in detail and the German response to it. All in all this is a good operational history of this period of the war put together overwhelmingly from primary sources. Here one can read of the build up for Manstein's operations in the Crimea, including the deployment of `Dora', the most powerful artillery piece in history. In addition the book provides good history of Soviet Operation Star, the battles along the Finnish border and the combat involving Army Group North (including the capture of Soviet General Vlasov) as well as the German build-up for the Stalingrad campaign. The author uses the official unit war diaries whenever possible for the Germans, but must rely on pre-1991 Soviet official histories for the Russians. Due to the sources, the emphasis is more weighted to the German side, but the author doesn't ignore Soviet development as he describes the evolution of the reeling Soviets of 1941-42 into the unsure practitioners of the vast mobile operations, which nearly destroyed Hitler's southern flank in 1942-43.
A mention of the situation with sources is necessary. Since 1985 when this book was published the former Soviet archives have partially opened. While some interesting information is now available - most importantly perhaps the actual losses that the Soviets suffered - compiling and analysing documents takes time and dedication as well as `distance' on the part of the historian. Ziemke has a good grasp of the German side in this regard from a decades-long thorough study of the archival material. It will be some time yet before we will have someone with as good a view of the Soviet side, perhaps due to nothing else but that their archives were kept secret for so long. The definitive study of this war has yet to be written, but the last volume of this set, that covering the period of June 1941 until the failure of the German drive on Moscow may be the first to combine both the German and Soviet views objectively.
Average customer rating:
- Wish for better translation
- INCREDIBLE!!!
- Another excellent book
- Another masterpiece
- Predictable, cynical, and bland
|
Twilight Watch
Sergei Lukyanenko
Manufacturer: Miramax
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Day Watch
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Night Watch
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ASIN: 1401360211
Release Date: 2007-06-13 |
Book Description
Night Watch and Day Watch, the first two books in this remarkable series, established Sergei Lukyanenko as a breathtakingly bold talent. Part fantasy, part vampire story, and part detective potboiler, this is the most successful science fiction series of all time in Russia and a true international sensation. In America, Fox Searchlight released the film adaptation of Night Watch to rapturous reviews, and adaptations of the next two books are in production.
The world of Lukyanenko is as elaborate and imaginative as Tolkien or the best Asimov: Living among us are the "Others," an ancient race of humans with supernatural powers who swear allegiance to either the Dark or the Light. A thousand-year treaty has maintained the balance of power, and the two sides coexist in an uneasy truce.
In Dusk Watch, the Others face their greatest threat yet. A renegade Other, his identity as yet unknown, has absconded with a fabled spell-book of untold power and appears bent on attacking the entire earth. Now forces of the Light and the Dark -- the Night Watch and the Day Watch -- must cooperate to stop him. Anton, the hero from Night Watch, is back, but when the culprit turns out to be none other than his partner, the race against time becomes more urgent than ever. In a world where reality and magic commingle, and where different degrees of existence are layered one atop the other, nothing is ever quite what it seems.
Customer Reviews:
Wish for better translation.......2007-10-17
The 5 stars are for the book. If I could rate the translation... "-10" might be something.
For all the people who liked it: imagine how much more you'd like it in the original. The translation is unbelievably horrible. The Lukyanenko's excellent style and slang is lost completely. His characters, who are thoroughly modern, sound like they were written by Dickens.
For all people who did not like it: that is because of translation. All the comments about all characters sounding the same... Yep. Not in the original.
INCREDIBLE!!!.......2007-09-23
Sergei Lukyanenko outdid himself with this third book in the series. All three stories in this book are excellent. For new readers, be sure you've read Night Watch and Day Watch before getting into this one. After finishing the book, I emailed the publisher to find out when Last Watch (sometimes titled Final Watch in fan forums) will be translated to English. They tell me the release will be sometime in 2008. Can't wait!
Another excellent book.......2007-09-20
As the first reveiwer did an excellent job I will not rehash the story line
Another excellent Watch book. This one has some interesting concepts and the stories tie together more than in previous books. If you liked the first two then you will like this one
Another masterpiece.......2007-09-11
Sergei, has created yet another hyper-realistic, hyper-stylized frenetic horrorfest, a great follow up to the two classics, Nightwatch and Daywatch
Predictable, cynical, and bland.......2007-09-06
I really liked "Nightwatch". But after I dragged myself through "Daywatch" I should have stopped. Instead, hopeless optimist that I am, I trudged through "Twilightwatch". By the time this book ended, every character felt identical, Sergei did not even bother differentiating their speech patterns or their mannerisms, or anything. In fact, the characterization was so poor, I figured out that whenver a character showed personality, it was a clue as to what was about to happen. The third (also the final) story in this book was so bad, it played out like an over-the-top session of Dungeons and Dragons. On that note, the final confrontation actually felt like it was written by a "rules lawyer" type of D&D player.
Sad to say, I was really hoping that this book would at least be better than "Daywatch", at it wasn't. "Nightwatch" was great, but people looking for better-than-generic fiction should avoid "Twilightwatch" at all costs.
Book Description
Originally published in 1941, Arthur Koestler's modern masterpiece, Darkness At Noon, is a powerful and haunting portrait of a Communist revolutionary caught in the vicious fray of the Moscow show trials of the late 1930s.
During Stalin's purges, Nicholas Rubashov, an aging revolutionary, is imprisoned and psychologically tortured by the party he has devoted his life to. Under mounting pressure to confess to crimes he did not commit, Rubashov relives a career that embodies the ironies and betrayals of a revolutionary dictatorship that believes it is an instrument of liberation.
A seminal work of twentieth-century literature, Darkness At Noon is a penetrating exploration of the moral danger inherent in a system that is willing to enforce its beliefs by any means necessary.
Customer Reviews:
The view from inside the dustbin of history.......2007-10-04
Arthur Koestler's "Darkness at Noon", his magnum opus, is more than just a book. It is not a novel, nor is it an essay; it is a memory and an experience, a warning and a vision. It takes the reader into a nightmare world that is nevertheless real, an alternative history that is more history than alternative, and if he has a sensitivity to questions of history and politics, it is sure to be imprinted on his mind forever. In summary, it's one of the most powerful political books of the 20th Century.
The theme of the book is the experience of Stalinism, in particular the Stalinist Great Purges and the show trials during the late 1930s. Arthur Koestler himself was a Party socialist for much of his life, and only left the Soviet Union in 1938. Having known many of the Old Bolsheviks personally, he saw the state of the revolution taken over by Stalin and his henchmen, and witnessed the slow (and sometimes fast) destruction of the revolutionary old guard.
It's the experiences of this infamous Great Terror of communism, seen from the eyes of a communist, that form the basic of this book. The plot is rather limited in scope: the protagonist, N.S. Rubashov (probably loosely modelled after Bukharin), is arrested for 'counterrevolutionary crimes', and spends the rest of the book in prison, being interrogated and prepared for the inevitable show trial. This of itself is not particularly clever, but that is not the core of the book.
The real core of the book is Rubashov's fundamental theoretical paradoxical position: all his life he has believed in submitting the "subjectivity" of the individual to the demands of the Party, in the knowledge that they were building a future for mankind. All his life he has believed in History working its will, in the inevitable eventual victory of the right over the wrong. Yet now this same history has taken a turn, and he and the works of his generation are destroyed by the progeny of his own revolution. His interrogators, first the cynical intellectual Ivanov and later the farmer's son-turned-cadre Gletkin, want him to sign a series of damning confessions that are palpably false, which all parties involved know. Yet if the Party demands this of him, if this indeed is the will of History, can he resist? And moreover, how is it possible to begin with that the revolution led to the terror of "No. 1", the totalitarian Party leader?
Through a series of short but thrilling scenes in interrogation and longer periods of reflection, monologue interieure, and flashbacks, the downfall of a committed revolutionary and intellectual and his generation are painted as vividly and profoundly as one could demand of literature. This book is more powerful than Orwell's "1984" and yet more understanding than any of the common anti-communist works of the last century; it is a testament, dedicated to the generation of Trotsky, Bukharin, Rykov, Tomsky, Rakovsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev, and all the other fighters for socialism at the birth of that bloodiest of centuries.
Chilling look at results of socialist revolution.......2007-09-27
Koestler motivates a terrific theme of the dehumanization of man through assimilation by the state. The protagonist, Rubashov, takes us through memories that lead us to realize that we could all be delinquents of a socialist state. His feelings begin with understanding for the revolution and support of the positive changes the revolution brought along. The feelings become more of a Randian nature as Rubashov realizes the great error of the people.
The thematic quality of the book is near that of any of Ayn Rand's novels while the prose surpasses even Rand's greatest. This is a must read for any with love for twentieth century literature; or anyone who has felt the link to self exhibited in the Randian philosophy.
An all-time classic.......2007-08-21
This book is a must-read. Anyone who thinks they know what freedom is needs to see the opposite end of the spectrum to really understand the depths of totalitarianism. This book does that superbly.
Self-Destructive Fanaticism Still Lives.......2007-07-03
With the collapse of Marxism-Leninism in Europe after 1989, many people might think the nightmare totalitarian world Koestler describes no longer exists, but unfortunately the mentality that Rubashov embodies in which he willingly destroys himself because of a perverted identification with a monstrous ideology still lives. Rubashov ponders, as he faces his own termination due to "political divergences" whether it is true that "the ends justify the means". However, in our modern, post-Communist world, this idea still motivates a lot of people. On a small scale, we have seen animal rights or anti-abortion activists carry out terrorist attacks against those who they view as "the enemy" (regardless of the justice of those causes) using the same justification. On a world-wide scale, we now see Islamic terrorism thriving, claiming that mass slaughter of people is a way to bring "redemption to mankind" (e.g. Sayid Qutb-the Egyptian theologian of Islamic terror). We even see Western "liberals" trying to "understand the frustration" of those who are committing these atrocities. Has mankind really learned anything?
What particularly drew my attention in Koestler's story is his description about what imprisonment in solitary confinement for long periods of time is like. This is in addition to his relating to the reader what facing a politically-motivated death sentence is like (Koestler himself experienced this in Spain during the Civil War there so this is really authentic). The narrowing of the sensory world of the prisoner makes one feel ecstatic at simply seeing a patch of blue sky or birds flying. Reading this books is both a depressing experience but it also makes one appreciate living in freedom. I daily thank my ancestors for getting out of Russia 100 years ago. We all owe Koestler a debt of thanks for pointing out what can happen when human morality is thrown in the junk-pile. Possibly the finest novel of the 20th century.
Penalty is Death - Guilty of Political Divergencies.......2007-05-11
A faded photograph on the wall depicts the bearded, solemn, serious men that were the delegates to the first Congress of the Party. It is decades later and only a few like Comrade Nicolas Salmanovitch Rubashov have survived. Late one night Rubashov is awakened, arrested, and taken to cell number 404. Like so many others, he now expects to be interrogated, tortured, and shot. Harsh steps echo down the prison corridor toward his cell, but this time it is only the guard bringing soup.
Darkness at Noon is an authentic and chilling look at Stalin's Russia in the late 1930s. Arthur Koestler, formerly a member of the Communist Party, completed this superb historical fiction in Paris as WWII was just beginning. In a short forward he says that the characters in this book are fictitious, but that the historical circumstances which determined their actions are real. The life of the man N. S. Rubashov is a synthesis of the lives of a number of men that were victims of the so-called Moscow Trials. Several of them were personally known to the author. He dedicates this book to their memory.
Suffering from a toothache, subjected to endless interrogation, deprived of sleep, Rubashov struggles to delay his inevitable, final confession. He questions his own past and motivations. Was he unconsciously disloyal? Is he guilty? Does it matter whether he is guilty? Should he remain silent, argue, or simply capitulate?
Rubashov finds meaning in politics, history, and philosophy. We see him wrestling with the meaning of suffering, senseless suffering versus meaningful suffering. We sympathize with him as he questions the morality of betraying his life-long beliefs, despite his recognition that he himself has been betrayed. He clearly knows that he is guilty of betraying others. In his exhausted and muddled state, his motivation for living seems driven by a desire to explore more fully a new idea, the law of the relative maturity of the masses. He only needs time to sort out his questions and to resolve his doubts.
Koestler reveals much about Rubashov through flashbacks. We recognize that Rubashov's own ethics and morality were undermined as he participated in the destruction of well-meaning, loyal party members that unintentionally became guilty of political divergencies. He allowed his lover to be imprisoned, and even joined the chorus that condemned her. Nonetheless, Koestler persuades us to have sympathy for Rubashov, now a victim of his own ideology.
I was unfamiliar with Arthur Koestler and I was unprepared when I opened this little book. I was captivated as Rubashov gradually awoke from a disturbing dream of betrayal, only to discover that he was being awakened by the secret police. I carried Darkness at Noon to work and shared it with a colleague. His teenage son was the next reader. Darkness at Noon is a classic that you will share with others.
Book Description
The guide that shows you what other travel books only tell you!
A city of opulent architecture, striking art, and history of epic proportions, Russia's cultural showplace is vividly depicted in DK's Eyewitness Travel Guide: Moscow. The guide covers the city's five main sections with street-by-street maps and 3-D aerial illustrations that lead you to many magnificent sights. View major works of Renoir, Cezanne, Matisse, and Botticelli at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. Examine art collected by the tsars and their families at the State Armory. Additional sections highlight the Bolshoy Theatre, St. Basil's Cathedral, and the Tretyakov Gallery. In the Beyond Moscow chapter explore the Novodevichiy Center, the elaborate gardens at the Kuskove Estate, and the village of Kolomenskoe. The guide also provides an enthralling overview to the city's turbulent history, outstanding cultural contributions, remarkable people, and regional cuisine.
Customer Reviews:
One of an excellent series of travel books.......2007-01-07
I have used this series for other cities and have found them always excellent, the best at what they do.
.Eyewitness: Moscow .......2007-01-05
This book gives ou a nice overview of the region, and incredible specific tips for visiting Moscow.
DK Eyewitness Travel Guides- Moscow & Prague.......2006-03-24
These are by far the best travel books out there, because of the detailed picture maps and the specific historical info for each area of the cities.
GOOD, BUT NOT GREAT.......2005-08-23
Its up to the minute information is invaluable as you travel around St. Petersburg. But, its AAA apearance is so dull you hardly want to use it. My recommendation is to buy this for the current info. and the EYEWITNESS GUIDE for its intelligent and beautifully illustrated usability.
Moscow for Dummies.......2004-01-03
Greetings,
As the founder of a company devoted to enriching cultural and business travel to Russia, we are always looking for a good, general guidebook for clients. We give "Moscow Eyewitness Travel Guide" to all of our full-service clients going to Moscow. It is a good visual and historic guide to St Petersburg,
We call "Moscow Eyewitness Travel Guide" the "Moscow for Dummies" as it is designed to be browsed. The thumbnail-sized color photographs will inspire you to read a bit more about the attractions, so it is ideal to review before the trip, as well as during the first meeting with a local tour guide ("Gee, this building looks interesting, how do I see it?"). Most of our clients read the book before going, and put Post-It notes on pages with interesting attractions to ask about.
"Moscow Eyewitness Travel Guide" is also ideal for the cruise ship visitors who will be in Moscow for less than three days, as the photos give a good appreciation to the visitor of what there is to see, especially in a limited amount of time.
The history and art sections are reasonably good for a guide book. The restaurant and hotel suggestions are accurate (as far as quality and general pricing range, although the pricing itself is not accurate)..
Note, however, that we always tell clients and other visitors to Russia that you should get the most current guidebook, as attractions, hotels, restaurants and transportation options do often change--AND THEN VERIFY THE INFORMATION! All in all, we recommend "Moscow Eyewitness Travel Guide" as the first guidebook to purchase when planning on journey of Discovering Russia's capital city, Moscow.
Marc David Miller, Discovering Russia, New York
Amazon.com
Surely no stranger work exists in the annals of protest literature than The Master and Margarita. Written during the Soviet crackdown of the 1930s, when Mikhail Bulgakov's works were effectively banned, it wraps its anti-Stalinist message in a complex allegory of good and evil. Or would that be the other way around? The book's chief character is Satan, who appears in the guise of a foreigner and self-proclaimed black magician named Woland. Accompanied by a talking black tomcat and a "translator" wearing a jockey's cap and cracked pince-nez, Woland wreaks havoc throughout literary Moscow. First he predicts that the head of noted editor Berlioz will be cut off; when it is, he appropriates Berlioz's apartment. (A puzzled relative receives the following telegram: "Have just been run over by streetcar at Patriarch's Ponds funeral Friday three afternoon come Berlioz.") Woland and his minions transport one bureaucrat to Yalta, make another one disappear entirely except for his suit, and frighten several others so badly that they end up in a psychiatric hospital. In fact, it seems half of Moscow shows up in the bin, demanding to be placed in a locked cell for protection.
Meanwhile, a few doors down in the hospital lives the true object of Woland's visit: the author of an unpublished novel about Pontius Pilate. This Master--as he calls himself--has been driven mad by rejection, broken not only by editors' harsh criticism of his novel but, Bulgakov suggests, by political persecution as well. Yet Pilate's story becomes a kind of parallel narrative, appearing in different forms throughout Bulgakov's novel: as a manuscript read by the Master's indefatigable love, Margarita, as a scene dreamed by the poet--and fellow lunatic--Ivan Homeless, and even as a story told by Woland himself. Since we see this narrative from so many different points of view, who is truly its author? Given that the Master's novel and this one end the same way, are they in fact the same book? These are only a few of the many questions Bulgakov provokes, in a novel that reads like a set of infinitely nested Russian dolls: inside one narrative there is another, and then another, and yet another. His devil is not only entertaining, he is necessary: "What would your good be doing if there were no evil, and what would the earth look like if shadows disappeared from it?"
Unsurprisingly--in view of its frequent, scarcely disguised references to interrogation and terror--Bulgakov's masterwork was not published until 1967, almost three decades after his death. Yet one wonders if the world was really ready for this book in the late 1930s, if, indeed, we are ready for it now. Shocking, touching, and scathingly funny, it is a novel like no other. Woland may reattach heads or produce 10-ruble notes from the air, but Bulgakov proves the true magician here. The Master and Margarita is a different book each time it is opened. --Mary Park
Book Description
(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Terrific.......2007-09-18
Fantastic, wickedly funny satire of Russian life in the Soviet Union. I picked this up on impulse and really, really enjoyed it. It's challenging and entertaining and very rewarding. A great read.
M&Ms Soviet Style.......2007-09-13
I bought this book here after getting two independent recommendations and seeing it mentioned in another book about Russia. As mentioned by others, the satirical humor about fatalism and the all out battle for class being fought on a square foot by square foot basis in the "classless" society of the Soviet is priceless, even to someone who has no first hand knowledge of the society. The foibles of bureaucracy is a universal theme.
The second half of book was a wild ride for sure. The Devil and his retinue's exploits in Moscow finally involve "The Master", a failed author whose life's work is a non-religious account of Pontius Pilate and the last days of Yeshua (Jesus). Margarita is The Master's mistress, who sells her soul to the devil for her beloved. Bulgakov explores the nature of good and evil, of religion and history, and of freedom and totalitarianism, all in a world where the illusion of reality can be fractured in an instant. A good background in literature and religious history will help the reader, but the story can also be appreciated for its humorous and satirical aspects. Not for everyone, but certainly of interest to avid readers of all ilks.
A very dated but interesting piece of satirical fiction.......2007-08-23
For someone living under the grip of the Stalinist regime, the account in this novel must have been cathartic. I find it all a bit exaggerated and silly. It was recommended by a friend as the best novel ever written. That's going a bit far, but it is well done and amusing.
A Russian speaking reader.......2007-08-23
The translation is lousy. The one made by Michael Glenny is far better, though his is sometimes very free - for example he may write "heart attack" instead of lungs sarcoma, and he calls Solovki an asylum while it's a prison, he also may omit passages (not very important ones, though) but his translation beautifully conveys Bulgakov's humour and that's the most important part. The translation we are discussing here does not do this and the book sounds dead.
piltosis.......2007-07-12
one of themost bizarre readings i've ever had. but delightful -like satanic fairytale and the end scenes between the master magarita and jesus and pilate were just as moving as hell.
Amazon.com
This splendid novel is set in the tumultuous Soviet Union of the 1930s during the treason trials. Rubashov, the protagonist and a hero of the revolution, is arrested and jailed for things he has not done, though there is much about the current Soviet state that veered from his ideals as a revolutionary. His investigators, Ivanov and Gletkin, seek a public confession and interrogate him using a number of methods. Through the ordeal, Rubashov reaches an epiphany or two while his interrogators suffer the cruel fate of the Soviet machine. Darkness at Noon succeeds as political/historical novel, but even more so as a refreshing tale of the human spirit.
Book Description
Darkness At Noon stands as an unequaled fictional portrayal of the nightmare politics of our time. Its hero is an aging revolutionary, imprisoned and psychologically tortured by the Party to which he has dedicated his life. As the pressure to confess preposterous crimes increases, he re-lives a career that embodies the terrible ironies and human betrayals of a totalitarian movement masking itself as an instrument of deliverance. Almost unbearably vivid in its depiction of one man's solitary agony, Darkness At Noon asks questions about ends and means that have relevance not only for the past but for the perilous present. It is--as the Times Literary Supplement has declared--"A remarkable book, a grimly fascinating interpretation of the logic of the Russian Revolution, indeed of all revolutionary dictatorships, and at the same time a tense and subtly intellectualized drama..."
Customer Reviews:
Brilliantly demonstrates the errors of communist ideology.......2007-08-15
Only a former communist like this brilliant author could get under the skin of a true dyed in the wool communist like Rubashov, the protagonist in this novel, to expose just how bankrupt is communism.
The novel portrays the imprisonment, torture, confession, show-trial, and execution of the fictional Rubashov who just happens to be one of the founders of the communist state that does all this to him. What I found striking about the novel is that rather than take the easy route of portraying Rubashov as a sympathetic victim of totalitarian oppression who either is totally unblameworthy and persecuted by the state or who -- although deserving blame for his predicament because he helped cause the state to come into existence -- comes to a realization of his errors and realizes the evil he has helped to create, Koestler instead portrays Rubashov as so blinded by the communist ideology that he has chosen to follow that even as he is being led to his execution after a long imprisonment during which he spends the entire time going over his life dedicated to the spreading communist ideology he still cannot grasp the fatal flaws of his chosen ideology. In fact, it seems that every time something happens to Rubashov that plainly shows that his chosen ideology is bankrupt he just becomes more firmly embedded in his mistaken beliefs. This is symbolized by his reflexive polishing of his prince-nez -- the symbol of his communist ideology -- throughout the novel whenever something bad happens as a result of his beliefs; said prince-nez falling to the ground and shattering seconds before his execution.
The true genius of this novel, however, is that Koestler shows us these flaws without beating us over the head in an Ayn Rand-like manner. Koestler subtly shows the reader these flaws by just letting the reader hear Rubashov speak in his "own words" so to speak. The really funny thing is that Rubashov, who is obviously a fiercely intelligent person, is so blinded by his ideological maxims and historical laws that he simply is incapable of seeing the errors in his thinking that have led to his predicament. Koestler does a fantastic job in portraying Rubashov's intellectual confusion so that the reader can see what Rubashov cannot see without Koestler even having to specifically give voice to any counterarguments to communism whatsoever. Thanks to this novel I have a better understanding of how the so-called intelligentsia has always been so susceptible to such a moronic ideology as communism.
The Mentality Described by Koestler Still Lives.......2007-06-30
With the collapse of Marxism-Leninism in Europe after 1989, many people might think the nightmare totalitarian world Koestler describes no longer exists, but unfortunately the mentality that Rubashov embodies in which he willingly destroys himself because of a perverted identification with a monstrous ideology still lives. Rubashov ponders, as he faces his own termination due to "political divergences" whether it is true that "the ends justify the means". However, in our modern, post-Communist world, this idea still motivates a lot of people. On a small scale, we have seen animal rights or anti-abortion activists carry out terrorist attacks against those who they view as "the enemy" (regardless of the justice of those causes) using the same justification. On a world-wide scale, we now see Islamic terrorism thriving, claiming that mass slaughter of people is a way to bring "redemption to mankind" (e.g. Sayid Qutb-the Egyptian theologian of Islamic terror). We even see Western "liberals" trying to "understand the frustration" of those who are committing these atrocities. Has mankind really learned anything?
What particularly drew my attention in Koestler's story is his description about what imprisonment in solitary confinement for long periods of time is like. This is in addition to his relating to the reader what facing a politically-motivated death sentence is like (Koestler himself experienced this in Spain during the Civil War there so this is really authentic). The narrowing of the sensory world of the prisoner makes one feel ecstatic at simply seeing a patch of blue sky or birds flying. Reading this books is both a depressing experience but it also makes one appreciate living in freedom. I daily thank my ancestors for getting out of Russia 100 years ago. We all owe Koestler a debt of thanks for pointing out what can happen when human morality is thrown in the junk-pile. Possibly the finest novel of the 20th century.
Great anti-totalitarian novel.......2007-05-29
This is one of the great anti-Stalinist novels. In my opinion it ranks right up there with 1984 as a literary examination of the internal workings of totalitarianism and as an exploration of the authoritarian mentality. It tells the story of Rubashov, a high-ranking communist party official in a fictional country that is clearly modeled on Stalin's Soviet Union. I have read that the character of Rubashov is largely based on Nikolai Bukharin, the old-guard revolutionary who was arrested during the Stalinist terror and executed following a public show-trial.
Rubashov has been arrested for counter-revolutionary activities and attempting to assassinate the country's leader, who is referred to throughout the novel as No. 1. This is more than the simple story of one man's imprisonment. Through Rubashov's diary entries, reminiscences, and conversations with his accusers, Koestler explores some of the most fundamental political issues of the day. Rubashov himself, having been indoctrinated to serve the party and subsume his own individual will to the party's directives, ironically sympathizes with his accusers. Throughout his political life he has never questioned the assumption that the ends always justify the means and that moral principles have no place in the realm of politics. One of the chief elements of suspense throughout the book is whether Rubashov will ultimately come to denounce this political philosophy which views human beings purely as dispensable instruments to be exploited in the pursuit of the party's objectives.
Overall, this book deserves its reputation as one of the great works of 20th century literature. I think that it is indispensable reading for those interested in the Stalinist terror or in totalitarianism more generally. But Koestler also deals with more universal questions, such as individual freedom vs. the collective will, the ultimate ends of political life, praxis vs. theory, and the meaning of morality. Perhaps one of the most impressive aspects of the book is Koestler's even-handed treatment of the justifications for totalitarianism. Rubashov's accusers are truly persuaded of the justness of their methods and convictions. Rubashov himself in his diaries writes a fairly sophisticated intellectual defense of the methods to which he is now being subjected. Even though Koestler is ultimately sympathetic to Western liberalism, he resists the urge to portray Rubashov's accusers as inhuman.
If this isn't enough of an enticement to read the book, I should add that it is a very quick read! For those wishing to read more about the Stalinist terror, I would recommend Eugenia Ginzburg's Journey Into the Whirlwind and the memoir of Bukharin's widow, Anna Larina, This I Cannot Forget.
Contradictory, yet consistent. Whole. Beautiful........2007-04-24
What is this book? It is so many different things: it is both savage indictment of the Soviet socialist state and a partial defense of its leaders. It is a tale of life in death and death in life, of imprisonment and of being set free. It is an incredibly intellectual defense of certain breeds of anti-intellectualism. It is both fiction and philosophy. It is a repository of incredibly black, yet unfailingly humanistic humor. It is an exploration of differing strains of morality. It is about collectivism and individuality. It is, in many ways, a Dostoevsky redux. It is an account of the psychology of imprisonment (which Koestler, who had been jailed for political reasons, knows well). It is a debate about the worth of communism as an idea and as a practice. Koestler comes to no easy conclusions. He gives a shocking amount of credit to the ideas that he attacks. He attacks, to a shocking extent, the concepts which he most treasures. There are no cookie-cutter villains in this book; Koestler condemns horrifying ideas and practices at the same time as he humanizes their perpetrators. In this manner, Koestler depicts the Stalinist regime; he shows the reader how that regime was possible. Some of Koestler's reasoning is probably flawed. He fails to take into account the individual desire for power. But that does not matter; that desire is known and emphasized, perhaps overemphasized, in official histories anyway. Koestler tackles desires that are not part of the official record because those who held those desires lost.
Darkness at Noon was first published in 1940, nine years before 1984. It tackles many of the same themes as 1984. It is better than 1984.
Please--read it.
This is really a phenomenal book.......2006-11-17
Nikolai Rubashov, a noted Bolshevist, revolutionary, and philospher, finds himself in a Stalinist Russia he has difficulty reconciling with the image of communism he helped form. The book tracks his thought process as Rubashov, arrested on varying charges of treason, is given time to pace his cell, relive past misgivings, and contemplate whether it is truly the new "Neanderthaler" regime or he himself who is in the wrong.
This book is not, as some have suggested, polemical. It is, especially for anybody who knows little about the deep philosophical groundwork for communist Russia, tremendously interesting and intricate. Koestler takes the reader on a tense, thoughtful, and philosophically provocative journey through the mind of this man, who, even in his old age, even as he is at grave risk of execution for crimal activities that he at one point did support, is still unsure as to whether he is in the right.
It is not an easy question to answer, and as Rubashov grapples with his two vastly differing basises for his moral choices, the reader is provoked to question his own moral system as well. Communist philosophy, which, as Rubashov himself puts it at one point, has replaced decency with reason, can be tremendously alluring. As much as the book may argue against Rubashov's situation, it leaves the reader to form his own opinion of this philosophical system, a system very convincingly spoken for by several of the characters in the novel.
This is a book that can truly change the way you look at things. It questions most of your conceptions not only of communism, but of good and bad. But this book is not dense philosophy. The philosophy is weaved seemlessly into this intellectual thriller of sorts until one is more mesmerized by the arguments than the plot itself. It is gripping book, dark and thoughtful, a book you really ought to read.
Book Description
Inspector Rostnikov is vacationing by the seashore, tending to his recuperating wife and reading American crime novels, when a vacationing fellow officer meets with a mysterious demise. Suddenly, Rostnikov is back at work . . . and on the trail of a murderer whose footsteps may lead straight to the heart of the Kremlin.
Customer Reviews:
It's Hard to Tell the Bad Guys, Even with a Program.......2006-09-13
Once again, Kaminsky has written a very fine detective story with all of the warts and smells of the decaying Soviet system. As always there are three stories here (with two or three minor ones). Porfiry is ordered (by the Grey Wolfhound) to take his wife on vacation to the Crimea (Yalta). While there he meets an acquain- tence from the GRU (military intelligence) who has a secret to tell him but is murdered first.
Sasha is on a stakeout trying to nab a group that has been robbing Jews of their computers. They rob the Jews and then beat them up. So Sasha goes undercover as a Jewish computer analyst to try and catch them. (You would have to be a ex-Russian or Soviet Jew to understand the robbers logic, but take my word for it, to them it makes sense.)
Meanwhile, Karpo is busy looking for the murderer of a German businessman. A bartender gives him the name of a woman who knows who the killer is (it's her boyfriend). After following her to her apartment one evening, while waiting to see if the boyfriend shows up, she comes flying out of her sixth story window and lands naked on top of a car. Standing at the broken window is a man with glowing eyes, and spiked orange hair, screaming down at her.
Two of the three cases end up being tangential to each other while the other turns into a lesson in Russian sociology and long term national antagonisms.
Rostnikov's "working" vacation..........2005-04-06
It hasn't taken me very long to become an avid fan of Stuart Kaminsky's Porfiry Rostnikov series of mysteries. My latest read is Rostnikov's Vacation.
The Soviet Government was big on sending workers on vacation. As the book begins, the Soviet regime is hanging on for dear life in the midst of economic reforms. Things appear very fishy when many high-ranking officials in the police and KGB are all ordered on vacation at the same time. Yalta was a big vacation spot for senior officials, and Rostnikov and wife Sarah are spending their vacation there. But there are not many left "minding the store" in Moscow. A colleague of Rostnikov's (also on vacation in Yalta) turns up murdered, so Rostnikov's vacation becomes a working one. He soon discovers that this colleague has uncovered a plot to kill Gorbachev and make it appear as it if was done by the CIA.
There are also a number of interesting subplots. Associates Emil Karpo and Sasha Tkach are involved in cases of their own. Tkach has gone undercover in an effort to apprehend a group of criminals who are preying on Jewish computer technicians. Karpo is on the trail of a drug-crazed Russian murderer and his American cohort. Both cases are extremely dangerous, and pose a serious threat to the two detectives. One aspect of the plot I didn't like is that it became a little confusing at times. While the KGB is usually a lurking presence in Rostnikov's life, this time, at least one agent appears to be on Rostnikov's side.
What I especially enjoyed about Rostnikov's Vacation are the descriptions of life in the Soviet Union during the fall of communism. Historically, Russians have faced tremendous hardships. This period in Russian history was especially unsettling for the people of Russia. Money was scarce, food and goods were hard to find, and many people went months without receiving a paycheck. Survival was difficult. Yet, Russians have always learned to put a positive spin on life.
Kaminsky is engaging enough that I am determined to read this entire series. I have already started The Dog Who Bit a Policeman.
Great Characters.......2003-03-31
Perhaps this story requires a little "willing suspension of disbelief" as to the story line more than some of the others of this series, but the characters are drawn with Kaminsky's usual excellence. No reader will be disappointed!
Dry pleasure.......2001-10-24
Something doesn't feel right when so many senior officers are ordered away on vacation-- and Rostnikov *knows* that something's wrong when one of his fellow vacationers dies suspiciously. All trails in this mystery set in the last days of the USSR lead to a problem larger than simple homicide...
Well-written, but ultimately not compelling.
No rest for the weary (or Rostnikov)!.......2000-05-09
It's Yalta, and it's not a peace conference between heads of state!
Following orders from headquarters, Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov is taking a vacation in this resort city. (Some say, it's because they want him out of Moscow for a while!) With his wife, he is all set to take some needed rest and recuperation.
But this is a Stuart Kaminsky work and his fictionalized inspector is not about to be left alone in peace and quiet. In no time, naturally, he is involved in another murder--a fellow policeman is killed in less than honorable circumstances. So, Rostnikov's dreams of beach-side relaxation, of making sure his convalescent wife follows the doctors' orders, and of reading his favorite novels (American Ed McBain!), are put on hold.
The circumstances, indeed, are harbingers of what is happening in Moscow as the Iron Curtain is rapidly being packed away. The USSR is falling apart! Meanwhile, back in the capital, Rostnikov's pair of assistants, Emil ("The Vampire") and Sasha Tkach, are investigating crimes dealing with computers and psychos! "Rostnikov's Vacation" is yet another installment in a very exciting series set in the USSR.
The eighth in the series, readers have come to recognize--and respect--Kaminsky's penchant for detail, for finely-tuned characterization, and for thrilling resolutions.
The major fault in Kaminsky's work is that he doesn't produce his Rostnikov stories fast enough!
Billyjhobbs@tyler.net
Books:
- State Names, Seals, Flags, and Symbols: A Historical Guide Third Edition, Revised and Expanded (State Names, Seals, Flags, and Symbols)
- Stealing the Network: How to Own a Shadow (Stealing the Network) (Stealing the Network)
- Suite Française
- Swords Around a Throne: Napoleon's Grand Armee
- Teaching Today's Health, Seventh Edition
- The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game
- The Boy in the Alamo
- The Claims of Culture: Equality and Diversity in the Global Era
- The Conqueror
- The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Kingdom of Shadows: A Novel
- A Deep Breath of Life: Daily Inspiration for Heart-Centered Living
- Ontogeny of Transmitters and Peptides in the CNS
- Orthonormal Systems and Banach Space Geometry
- The Critique Handbook
- A Dark and Bloody Ground: The Hurtgen Forest and the Roer River Dams, 1944-1945
- What Dogs Teach Us: Life's Lessons Learned from Our Best Friends
- Robert Maillart and the Art of Reinforced Concrete
- Plantation Homes of Louisiana and the Natchez Area
- Development and Physiology of Angiosperm Pollen
The Secret Servant (Gabriel Allon)
The Overlook (Harry Bosch)
The Tin Roof Blowdown: A Dave Robicheaux Novel
Bangkok Haunts
Bad Luck and Trouble
