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A review by angelqueen04
Eye of the Red Tsar by Sam Eastland
2.0
I would love to give this book a higher rating, and initially I did give it 3 stars, but ultimately, I shaved off a star when, after serious consideration, I realized that a good part of my liking for this book stems from the fact that it centers on an actual investigation into the murders of the family of Tsar Nicholas II and his family, not on account of the story itself (I believe another reviewer on GR came to a similar conclusion). While the overall story is decent, it lacked any true punch, nor was it overly engaging on its own merits.
I did like the principle character, Inspector Pekkala, I will say that. He is a very interesting character, and I enjoyed seeing his story unfold, both in the present thread and in the flashbacks. Still, I did find some of his reactions a bit… off. For one, I’m very curious as to how he could bring himself to work for the man who tortured him? Granted, Pekkala’s plans to go look for his former fiancé have just gone up in smoke (and I totally think that Stalin was stretching the truth about the lady having moved on, given how eager he is to keep Pekkala in the Soviet Union and on staff), but he’s sitting in the presence of the man who ordered his brutalization. I’d find it more believable if Pekkala turned down the offer, made plans to go visit his parents (provided they are still alive), and then proceeded to get as far away from Russia as possible, particularly given his close relationship with Tsar Nicholas and Alexei. While in this story, the Bolsheviks are not responsible for the deaths of the Tsar and his family, but it still seems odd that Pekkala would want to work for the ones who deposed the Tsar, whom Pekkala was very close to and respected.
Then there is the whole mystery itself – the question of who murdered the Romanovs. This book first came out in 2010, a few years after the last two bodies of the Romanovs were found in the forests outside of Yekaterinburg, Alexei and one of his sisters (Marie according to Russian authorities, Anastasia to those outside of Russia). By that point, the story of the Romanovs’ end and how they came to be buried was very well known. Little attention was paid to historical fact in this story. The Romanovs end up down a mineshaft and are left there to mummify there until Pekkala finds them instead of what truly happened to them – go into a mineshaft, come out of a mineshaft, a couple of bodies get separated from the rest, and everyone gets buried, left to rot for nearly a century until the Soviet Union collapses and it’s safe to actually talk about the Romanovs without risking getting shot for it. What’s more, the four attendants that historically stayed with the Romanovs to the end were completely removed from the story. While that was likely done for simplicity’s stake, it still feels like an enormous oversight. These four people chose to stay despite likely having opportunities to leave and save themselves. And yet, more often than not, they are completely cut out of any adaptation of the Romanovs’ story.
In the end, it was really difficult to become overly invested in the story as a whole. The mystery was decent, though I put the pieces together pretty fast and well before the grand reveal at the climax of the novel. I had ‘Alexei’ pegged for a fake pretty fast – the real Alexei was a sheltered boy of incredibly fragile health, and yet we’re expected to believe that he not only survived the horrendous murder of his family, but was able to sink into hiding and blend in all around the world while he traveled? Yeah, pull the other one, it’s got bells on it.
I think I may go ahead and keep going with this series, though, simply because Pekkala himself has caught my interest. I’d like to see what else he has in store, and just how things will continue from here on out. WWII is just about a decade away, and that will mean big things for the characters.
I did like the principle character, Inspector Pekkala, I will say that. He is a very interesting character, and I enjoyed seeing his story unfold, both in the present thread and in the flashbacks. Still, I did find some of his reactions a bit… off. For one, I’m very curious as to how he could bring himself to work for the man who tortured him? Granted, Pekkala’s plans to go look for his former fiancé have just gone up in smoke (and I totally think that Stalin was stretching the truth about the lady having moved on, given how eager he is to keep Pekkala in the Soviet Union and on staff), but he’s sitting in the presence of the man who ordered his brutalization. I’d find it more believable if Pekkala turned down the offer, made plans to go visit his parents (provided they are still alive), and then proceeded to get as far away from Russia as possible, particularly given his close relationship with Tsar Nicholas and Alexei. While in this story, the Bolsheviks are not responsible for the deaths of the Tsar and his family, but it still seems odd that Pekkala would want to work for the ones who deposed the Tsar, whom Pekkala was very close to and respected.
Then there is the whole mystery itself – the question of who murdered the Romanovs. This book first came out in 2010, a few years after the last two bodies of the Romanovs were found in the forests outside of Yekaterinburg, Alexei and one of his sisters (Marie according to Russian authorities, Anastasia to those outside of Russia). By that point, the story of the Romanovs’ end and how they came to be buried was very well known. Little attention was paid to historical fact in this story. The Romanovs end up down a mineshaft and are left there to mummify there until Pekkala finds them instead of what truly happened to them – go into a mineshaft, come out of a mineshaft, a couple of bodies get separated from the rest, and everyone gets buried, left to rot for nearly a century until the Soviet Union collapses and it’s safe to actually talk about the Romanovs without risking getting shot for it. What’s more, the four attendants that historically stayed with the Romanovs to the end were completely removed from the story. While that was likely done for simplicity’s stake, it still feels like an enormous oversight. These four people chose to stay despite likely having opportunities to leave and save themselves. And yet, more often than not, they are completely cut out of any adaptation of the Romanovs’ story.
In the end, it was really difficult to become overly invested in the story as a whole. The mystery was decent, though I put the pieces together pretty fast and well before the grand reveal at the climax of the novel. I had ‘Alexei’ pegged for a fake pretty fast – the real Alexei was a sheltered boy of incredibly fragile health, and yet we’re expected to believe that he not only survived the horrendous murder of his family, but was able to sink into hiding and blend in all around the world while he traveled? Yeah, pull the other one, it’s got bells on it.
I think I may go ahead and keep going with this series, though, simply because Pekkala himself has caught my interest. I’d like to see what else he has in store, and just how things will continue from here on out. WWII is just about a decade away, and that will mean big things for the characters.