Archangel: A Novel

Robert Harris puts academic has-been Fluke Kelso at the center of a tall tale with a solid foundation in the 'wild west' days of post-Soviet Russia. Hookers, mafia, a publicity-mad newshound, former Soviet tough guys, and modern Russian cops all play roles in this page-turner that delves back to the cult of Stalin - and brings that cult into today. The scariest thing about this book is that it's based partially in the reality that Stalin remains a shockingly popular figure in Russia today, which also lends the book an uncomfortable veneer of plausibility. I've read three of Harris's works now - Pompeii, Imperium, and Archangel. Contrary to some other reviewers, I enjoyed this book more than Pompeii and found it to be more of page-turner than Imperium (I thought Imperium was a bit more of a serious book - closer to literature than mass market paperback like Archangel). I suppose the ending, criticized by others as implausible, does require one to perform a sizeable suspended disbelief, but if you pull that off, the ending hangs together. It's just a creepy lot of fun to see how Professor Kelso is going to get out of this mess and the crazy company he's keeping. Highly recommended.

This is a great historical 'what if' type of book. Not only is Harris a great author who's writing flows very quickly and fluently, but he also has a very talented mind for these kinds of books. The first half of the book may seem somewhat slow and uneventful and I remember being somewhat frustrated on my first day of reading. However, about half way through things start to take a very interesting twist, which is followed by a twist, etc. Things keep taking unexpected and exciting turns throughout right through to the last page and that is something that defines (in my eyes) a thriller. One critisizm that I will throw out there is that there doesnt seem to be much of a climax with the book. Whenever you think you're there you expect for things to slow down but they never do. After reading all of Harris' book in the course of two weeks it got rather annoying, but it definately does not take away a star.

So many of the reviews I've read below poke at the realism of the story based upon what really goes on in Russia right this minute. Let's not forget that Harris's previous books all are based on what-if scenarios that stem from actual historical events. Russia truly has fallen into disarray since the fall of communism, and this book simply takes that to the extreme of a "what-if it was just a bit worse?".I've heard plenty of horror stories about visitors to Russia, particularly in Moscow. People minding their own business being forced to bribe cops to walk down the street, violence over a few rubles, rampant prostitution (girls lining up in parking lots at night, and customers selecting them from the luxury of their cars with their headlights on so they can see them better...most of the girls coming to Moscow from Ukraine or the Baltic states because no jobs exist anywhere else outside the cities or in the CIS). The descriptions of the decrepit apartment buildings, the seedy dance clubs, the barren wastelands on the way to Arkangelsk...all of it really brought me there, and I immersed myself into thinking that I was really there.This alone set the stage for the book in my mind, however true or untrue these stories above are (I tend to think they are). Set that up against the background of cruelest dictator of all-time, Josef Stalin, and his legacy...suddenly you have a book that makes you feel as though YOU are the one that should be watching over your shoulder, because you've dug too deep. I'll admit it - the actions of Stalin's son when they finally came across him, seemed a tad ridiculous. But then, I don't think that anyone would turn out too normal if they were kept so isolated. And he would've had to have been VERY isolated to be kept a secret.All in all, I thought the book was fantastic, and gave Fatherland a run for its money. And, in classic Fatherland style, the ending finished with a bang - quite literally. An excellent read.

After reading all 40 of the reviews, I am amazed that so many readers found the ending unbelievable. I lived in the Soviet Union before and after its demise. The comment I heard so often from the common person was a desire for a strong leader, "like Stalin." The ending of the book was frighteningly believable down to the political posturing and manipulation of the media. I'm pondering how so many readers could find the ending so unbelievable. Perhaps you must live in a culture to really entertain the possiblities. Given all of this, I am still disappointed with the last few paragraphs. I'm not sure how it ended. I wonder if that was the author's intent or whether it was a typical television, movie question-mark ending that leaves rooms for sequels. Nevertheless, the book captured the Russia I experienced so profoundly that I had to set it aside several times because of the deep emotional impact his very clear descriptions evoked.

In no other way is the terror, fanaticism and cunning of Stalin brought forward more forcefully. Nowhere else can anyone experience the sheer terror that Stalin comanded over his people, and the skill with which Harris displays this feeling is immense. At every turn there is a new revelation, at each chapter a further twist in the plot, until the end is revealed in stunning power, excitement and suspense. This is a fantastic book, and made even more frightening with the knowledge that Stalin could have done this.