... But I read both of those about 4 years ago and it took me quite a while to get round to following them up with Archangel. It has been sat on my book shelf for quite a few months and so I finally picked it up a couple of weeks ago. On first impressions I didn't really find Archangel as compelling ... Read review
Before political journalist Robert Harris turned to fiction and resurrected Hitler for his ... more
best selling novel Fatherland, he also wrote a hugely entertaining account of the farce surrounding the publication of the hoax Hitler diaries. Archangel, with t...
Postage & Packaging: refer to website Availability: Check Site.
Before political journalist Robert Harris turned to fiction and resurrected Hitler for his ... more
best selling novel Fatherland, he also wrote a hugely entertaining account of the farce surrounding the publication of the hoax Hitler diaries. Archangel, with t...
Postage & Packaging: refer to website Availability: Check Site.
Before political journalist Robert Harris turned to fiction and resurrected Hitler for his ... more
best selling novel Fatherland, he also wrote a hugely entertaining account of the farce surrounding the publication of the hoax Hitler diaries. Archangel, with t...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Before political journalist Robert Harris turned to fiction and resurrected Hitler for his ... more
best selling novel Fatherland, he also wrote a hugely entertaining account of the farce surrounding the publication of the hoax Hitler diaries. Archangel, with t...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 3 to 5 weeks...
Advantages: Great characters, interesting historical read Disadvantages: Very slow to start, too quick to finish, lot of unanswered questions
...impressions I didn't really find Archangel as compelling a read as the other two books. The plot was still quite good, but I didn't think it had the same compelling edge to it.
The story has quite a slow start to it and if anything it's far too slow to really hold the interest for any length of time. While there are a couple of things happening it doesn't seem to have the addictive readability of Fatherland or Enigma. Even after such ... ...interesting read if you like historical fiction, much in a similar vein to Harris's other books. Despite the slow start, quick end and unanswered questions I would still recommend Archangel to anyone who likes historical works of fiction.
When Fluke Kelso, a British historian on a trip to Moscow for a conference, is visited late at night by a Russian claiming to know about a secret Stalin diary he is intrigued. Unsure what to do with the information, Kelso starts to investigate the truth in this story. Following a visit to a well known Stalinist and then finding the Russian who visited him hanging dead in his apartment, Kelso decides there must be some truth in this rumour. He sets off in pursuit of the Diary, hoping this will be his big break to get back into the public spotlight but it certainly won't be that easy for Fluke.
I'd previously read a couple of Robert Harris's books and had enjoyed them. In fact Fatherland and Enigma are probably two of my favourite books. But I read both of those about 4 years ago and it took me quite a while to get round to following them up with Archangel. It has been sat on my book shelf for quite a few months and so I finally picked it up a couple of weeks ago. On first impressions I didn't really find Archangel as compelling a read as the other two books. The plot was still quite good, but I didn't think it had the same compelling edge to it.
The story has quite a slow start to it and if anything it's far too slow to really hold the interest for any length of time. While there are a couple of things happening it doesn't seem to have the addictive readability of Fatherland or Enigma. Even after such a slow start the conclusion of the book has quite a rushed feel to it and I couldn't help thinking it needed a bit more time spent on the ending. In comparison to the opening 250 odd pages of build up the conclusion certainly feels rushed.
I find Harris's style to be quite likeable though and for that reason I kept on reading as I felt that there was a decent story in amongst the long lead in. He creates quite a likeable lead character in Fluke Kelso and that again seems to make you as a reader want to carry on and find out what happens to him. In contrast the American journalist that joins him on the journey is perhaps one of the most annoying lead characters I've come across recently. Harris has created a background and built his character up to be one of those people that as you read you know you don't actually like or trust, but just cant place why.
As for the other characters I found Papa Rapava to be quite an interesting character and he seemed to really give the secret a bit of a true life element to it. Likewise I thought the characterisation of his daughter was quite well done. In fact it's something I've noticed with all three of Harris's books I've read that his characters, no matter how weak or slow, really seem to make the story readable. Apart from one character I thought that Harris did his usual job of impeccable characters to really help develop the story.
The plot itself is quite an involved one and throughout it is obvious that Harris really knows and has presumably spent a lot of time studying Russian history. The work behind the scenes on the book seem to suggest it is something of a passion for him and perhaps that's why the start is so slow. While I don't really have a great deal of knowledge on the history of Russian and in particular about Stalin I found this to be quite an eye opening read on that front as well. It would seem that this book isn't just about the story, it's also about the history behind the story.
Overall this is a reasonably good book. The pace of the book could have been quicker in the early part of the book and I thought there were far too many unanswered questions due to the rushed nature of the ending. The characters really made the story but I felt the altering ends of the spectrum in terms of the pace really let it down. The book is a very interesting read if you like historical fiction, much in a similar vein to Harris's other books. Despite the slow start, quick end and unanswered questions I would still recommend Archangel to anyone who likes historical works of fiction.
Advantages: Great thriller written with an expert knowledge of Russia Disadvantages: none
...own Fatherland, Enigma and now Archangel all of which take a distinctive view of modern history and weave his own characters into this situation.
The two historical events on which Archangel is based are the death of Stalin with the ensuing political fallout, tied in with the implications of the discovery of Stalin’s diary that is clearly based on the Hitler diaries scam of a few years ago. The basic premise is that a recent poll (although ... ...son, now safely protected in Archangel in Siberia who is waiting to take his father’s position as ruler of the Soviet Union. It follows Kelso and unscrupulous American TV journalist O’Brien as they try to reach him ahead of the Russian security forces who have orders to maintain the status quo, and the mysterious Aurora group who wish to return to the days of the old Soviet empire. Whilst an oversimplification of the plot, I’ve ...
brownp1 31.08.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Archangel - Robert Harris
Advantages: Very well-written, convincing and compelling Disadvantages: A bit depressing sometimes - and the ending will disappoint some
...to the northern port of Archangel to hunt down the real legacy of Josef Stalin in the remote forests just outside the Arctic Circle. All the while, he is accompanied by a shiftless and untrustworthy journalist by the name of O'Brian, and the Aurora group of Stalinist sympathizers, led by a shady figure called Mamantov are on his tail. The Yeltsin government is also involved as they want to get their hands on the notebooks first, to try and stem the ... ...poor democratic Russia. Harris maintains a detailed yet fast and intelligible style throughout, managing to hold together the plot strands without confusing the reader. You find yourself drawn into this compelling and realistic world - the details of Stalin's death seem unquestionably accurate, and the Russian people and landscapes are unremittingly grey and sullen. When it arrives, the ending is very sudden indeed, and does in fact leave you with ...
JVL 15.11.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Archangel - Robert Harris
Advantages: Fast paced thriller, excellent plot Disadvantages: its a bit grim
...keep things moving apace and Archangel is a perfect example of this.
The story is very well reseached and the details of Stalins final days are habits are very revealing and thought provoking.
The setting is modern Russia - a nation portrayed as bitterly dysfunctional and lost since the fall of Communism and succumbing to the seedier side of Capitalism. The story follows historian Fluke Kelso, who (in keeping with the main protagonist in a Robert ... ...The story begins with Kelso recording an interview with Papu Rapava, an old proud Russian who was employed by the men at the top in Stalinist Russia. Rapava's life turned into a nightmare when he was witness to Stalins death and the subsequent subterfuge surrounding Stalins obsession with an oilskin notebook.
As the story unfolds Kelso gets drawn into Rapava's world in a desperate bid to uncover the secrets before Kelso's plane leaves for America.
...
italiacat 31.12.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Archangel - Robert Harris
Advantages: Kelso, interesting history Disadvantages: Long
This really is a good, modern thriller, with an extra dose of non-preachy history so that you will learn something from the book. It concerns a historian, Kelso, who is visited by a man who starts him on a trail looking for a notebook of Stalin's, a legendary item. But, of course, the Russian services start to look for it as well, starting an intruiging hunt across Russia for the item. The thriller element really is brought across well, and it makes ... ...thing that Harris conveys well is the modern Russia. He often shows the contrast between the Communist era and nowadays, showing the difference in the quality of life. Also, the book is peppered with historical information about Stalin, who is interesting in being one of history's greatest villains. All this makes you trust the writing. It evokes a strange era of mystery, which Westeners do not really know. One of the best books I have read all year. ...
CarpeDiem 09.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Archangel - Robert Harris
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Advantages: The main character, lots of interesting detail, portrayal of Roman engineering Disadvantages: You know what is going to happen, some of sub-plots a bit half-hearted
Pompeii is the fourth novel by RobertHarris, author of Fatherland, Enigma and Archangel. It is set in the last week of August, AD 79, covering four days starting two days before the eruption of the volcano, Mount Vesuvius up until the last day of the eruption.
= WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
Marius Attilius Primus is an aquarius, an engineer whose live revolves around the great aqueduct projects, which have been the great triumph of Roman civilisation. The engineer in charge if the Aqua Augusta, the 60-mile long aqueduct that brings water to the towns around the bay of Naples, has disappeared, and Attilius has been sent to take over charge of the project. On arrival, he is met by mistrust and hostility, which intensifies as early in his tenure problems affect the water supply. First, levels of sulphur increase causing fish in ...
with. It’s not the fact he goes into great detail, as he doesn’t, but instead uses choice descriptions, which really describe the event and making you think about it.
Right well that’s pretty much all I can tell you about the book without really ruining any of it. The plot of the book is good and flows easily without getting bogged down in to much character and place development. It keeps you gripped and wanting to read on, which is a feature I like in a book as it also means it is an enjoyable read. So last words have to be why not read it, you will enjoy it.
Other RobertHarris Books
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Advantages: Great plot, strong narrative, memorable episodes Disadvantages: Too many names can confuse by the end, knowledge of ancient Rome helpful
Imperium is the fifth novel by RobertHarris. I have read the first three, Fatherland, Enigma and Archangel, which might be said to belong to the genre of alternative history. I have not read Pompeii which is based on the events around the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, but when I saw Imperium at the airport I was tempted to buy it. A three hour flight and nearly 200 pages later, I think it is safe to say that I was hooked.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
The book is written in the form of a first person narrative, that person being the nearly 100-year old slave, Tiro, who as a slave of the famous orator Marcus Tullius Cicero, invented a system of shorthand that enabled him to take down great amounts of speech verbatim, which could be read back faultlessly. In his twilight years, Tiro sets down what Cicero was like, having been privy to ...
