Scan barcode
lorinlee's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first of the Arkady Renko series that I've read, and it's number 9. Smith is a skilled novelist who builds believable characters, knows how to build tension and create a sense of place. It's Putin's Russia and Renko is sent to Siberia to deal with a prisoner who is accused of trying to shoot his boss, a prosecutor who he dislikes. He's also trying to track down his girl friend, investigative journalist Tatiana Petrovna, who is studying the powerful oligarchs of the oil industry. Along the way, Renko gets shot at, mauled by a bear, and has other close encounters. It's a good yarn, and I think I'll track down some more of these stories.
triple7sss's review against another edition
1.0
Just kind of a clunker. No plot twists, no weaving of a tale. Flat dialog that leaves nothing to the imagination. A march from point A to B with very little but filler in between.
ombraluce's review
4.0
Excellent action book, typical of Martin Cruz Smith's style. Some characters are perhaps too strong, to the point of being almost sketches.
authortedcross's review against another edition
4.0
I've long loved this series, perhaps more due to my nostalgia for Russia than for the quality. That isn't to say that it is bad, because it isn't, but it is getting a bit formulaic in Smith's approach to writing these things. I love them for the feel of Russian life, the morose, plodding, relentless attitude of Arkady Renko. This was probably one of the weaker entries in the series, especially since just when the author finally gave the protagonist a real dilemma, something I really wondered how he would get himself out of it, the author resolved it quickly with a deus ex machine finish that was very unsatisfying. I do hope he will write more of these, and maybe with some of the old magic.
sean_from_ohio's review against another edition
4.0
Arkady Renko is back and its been too long. His dry wit and eternal sarcasm while dealing with Russian politics, the Siberian elements, bears, and his strange relationships are fantastic. Martin Cruz Smith a master story-teller and its showcased again. I feel like Renko would make a great lead for a show on Netflix or Showtime. The book isn't perfect as its much too short and at times too convenient. Overall, it is another very good read that is always a delight.
timothyneesam's review
3.0
3.5 stars. I've always enjoyed the Martin Cruz Smith's series featuring Russian investigator Arkady Renko. His latest, The Siberian Dilemma is a good read, but not one of the best.
Renko is sent to Siberia to bring back a man accused of the attempted murder of Renko's boss. Coincidentally (or not), it's the same city where Renko's girlfriend, investigative reporter Tatiana is investigating a pair of oil-rich oligarchs.
A bear-hunting trip in a remote location leads to misadventure and the plot thickens. The Siberian Dilemma is laced with dour humour and Renko takes a beating but comes out on top.
There are a couple of great new characters, but Renko's partner, Viktor, disappears early in the book, and his chess-playing, underachieving adopted son, Zhenya, makes only a few, brief appearances. Still a good read, but not as strong as others in the series.
Renko is sent to Siberia to bring back a man accused of the attempted murder of Renko's boss. Coincidentally (or not), it's the same city where Renko's girlfriend, investigative reporter Tatiana is investigating a pair of oil-rich oligarchs.
A bear-hunting trip in a remote location leads to misadventure and the plot thickens. The Siberian Dilemma is laced with dour humour and Renko takes a beating but comes out on top.
There are a couple of great new characters, but Renko's partner, Viktor, disappears early in the book, and his chess-playing, underachieving adopted son, Zhenya, makes only a few, brief appearances. Still a good read, but not as strong as others in the series.
saareman's review against another edition
4.0
Good Thriller but Padded with Blank Pages
Review of the Simon & Schuster paperback edition (October 2020) of the Simon & Schuster hardcover original (November 2019)
To get the lede gripe out of the way first, this book has about 80 blank or non-text pages (adding up full blanks, 1/2 to 9/10th page blanks, pictures, maps, preamble) padding its length from about 200 pages of reading to its full page count of 288. If your veteran author (Cruz Smith, now in his late 70s) doesn't want to expand on the length, or the editor cuts it down, why artificially bump it up?
I followed several of the early books of the Investigator Arkady Renko series after reading the first one, Gorky Park, when it appeared in 1981. Although the settings often varied wide afield from the Moscow beginnings, it did begin to stretch credibility that such an obstinate detective would survive under first the authoritarian Soviet Union, the chaos of its breakup and finally the kleptocracy of Putin. After recently re-reading the 40th Anniversary edition of Gorky Park, I was curious enough to want to read how Renko was managing in the present climate.
Cruz Smith is still excellent in his location research. This latest (2019) investigation sends Renko to the Irkutsk region near Lake Baikal in Siberia. The initiating plot is an apparent assassination attempt on his boss from the Moscow Prosecutor's Office, with the Chechen suspect having fled to Siberia. Renko is also concerned that his lover Tatiana, an journalist, has not returned on an agreed date from her investigation of Russian oil oligarchs in the East. Cruz Smith adds an entertaining supporting cast into the mix, especially with a local Irkutsk "factotum" named Rinchin Bolot, of indigenous Buryat background, who attaches himself to Renko.
The twists and betrayals are typical Cruz Smith, but the setting of the Siberian landscape, Lake Baikal, the threats of the freezing cold and wild bears and, of course, the greed of the kleptocracy are all well handled. Like Chekhov's gun, the hinted dilemma of the title is paid off. The obvious inspiration of the real life story of Mikhail Khodorkovsky in the character of fictional oligarch Mikhail Kuznetsov is obvious of course, even to the extent of both having written a book such as My Fellow Prisoners. The resulting fates are, of course, completely different.
So overall I quite enjoyed it and appreciated its attention to real-life details and inspirations. It was just the artificial page padding of the publisher that was an annoying distraction.
Other Reviews
Review in Asian Review of Books by Peter Gordon, December 13, 2019.
Trivia and Links
[Mild Spoiler]
Review of the Simon & Schuster paperback edition (October 2020) of the Simon & Schuster hardcover original (November 2019)
"Siberian dilemma?" Tatiana asked.
Bolot gestured in Arkady's direction.
"A fisherman is on a frozen lake. He moves around, listening all the time for the ice cracking beneath his feet, ready to jump back to thicker ice if necessary, but sometimes he's not quick enough. The ice breaks. He falls in."
"So, what's the dilemma?"
"I heard it from my wife, Irina. If he pulls himself out of the water onto the ice, he'll freeze to death in seconds, a minute at most. If he stays in the water, he'll die of hypothermia in five." - excerpt from The Siberian Dilemma
To get the lede gripe out of the way first, this book has about 80 blank or non-text pages (adding up full blanks, 1/2 to 9/10th page blanks, pictures, maps, preamble) padding its length from about 200 pages of reading to its full page count of 288. If your veteran author (Cruz Smith, now in his late 70s) doesn't want to expand on the length, or the editor cuts it down, why artificially bump it up?
I followed several of the early books of the Investigator Arkady Renko series after reading the first one, Gorky Park, when it appeared in 1981. Although the settings often varied wide afield from the Moscow beginnings, it did begin to stretch credibility that such an obstinate detective would survive under first the authoritarian Soviet Union, the chaos of its breakup and finally the kleptocracy of Putin. After recently re-reading the 40th Anniversary edition of Gorky Park, I was curious enough to want to read how Renko was managing in the present climate.
Cruz Smith is still excellent in his location research. This latest (2019) investigation sends Renko to the Irkutsk region near Lake Baikal in Siberia. The initiating plot is an apparent assassination attempt on his boss from the Moscow Prosecutor's Office, with the Chechen suspect having fled to Siberia. Renko is also concerned that his lover Tatiana, an journalist, has not returned on an agreed date from her investigation of Russian oil oligarchs in the East. Cruz Smith adds an entertaining supporting cast into the mix, especially with a local Irkutsk "factotum" named Rinchin Bolot, of indigenous Buryat background, who attaches himself to Renko.
The twists and betrayals are typical Cruz Smith, but the setting of the Siberian landscape, Lake Baikal, the threats of the freezing cold and wild bears and, of course, the greed of the kleptocracy are all well handled. Like Chekhov's gun, the hinted dilemma of the title is paid off. The obvious inspiration of the real life story of Mikhail Khodorkovsky in the character of fictional oligarch Mikhail Kuznetsov is obvious of course, even to the extent of both having written a book such as My Fellow Prisoners. The resulting fates are, of course, completely different.
So overall I quite enjoyed it and appreciated its attention to real-life details and inspirations. It was just the artificial page padding of the publisher that was an annoying distraction.
Other Reviews
Review in Asian Review of Books by Peter Gordon, December 13, 2019.
Trivia and Links
[Mild Spoiler]
Spoiler
There really is speculation about a Russian Bermuda Triangle in the Irkutsk, Siberia region.vicardave's review against another edition
4.0
This is an outrageously good series, which I was put onto by my astute psychiatrist who thought I would enjoy it. It's not quite the top tier of Renko novels, but it's still excellent. Not for the first time, there's a very bold sequence detailing a character's medical crisis, their experience of it, and recovery from it. That doesn't quite work as brilliantly as it does elsewhere in the series, but it's still a strikingly adept wrinkle to the genre that you can imagine few other authors even dreaming of. Not for the first time - but perhaps to the greatest extent in the series - I found myself brilliantly led to wonder if the main character is a fully reliable narrator; some things are deftly omitted from the narrative that pose big questions by their absence. As always, the fiction sheds much light on contemporary Russia, with as much insight and wisdom as in-depth analysis from the best journalists around. It's shorter than most of the series too; it could perhaps have been allowed to breathe a little more. All told, another outstanding Renko novel.
teeg's review against another edition
4.0
Probably not the best idea to start in the middle of a series, but the book was recommended to me, so I read it. The writing is well done and the story is interesting. It's not my favorite, mostly because it's not a genre I usually seek out, but the book is good and for anyone who looks for action/adventure stories, it's well worth picking up.