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speesh's review against another edition
5.0
The third of William Ryan’s books set in 1930’s Russia and involving the character of police Captain Korolev. It’s the best of the three, but I sure do hope it’s not the last.
It’s quite a slow-burning and, appropriately enough, Russian doll-type tale. Lots of layers of thought-provoking atmosphere and moral problems all under the watchful eye of the secret police and Uncle Joe. It’s more subtle, more involving and all-round better than the previous books. Though, you couldn’t have got here without them, they have been leading here. Like stages on the way to the summit.
This sort of thing has been done a lot before, I’ve read several series now in this era - Sam Eastland, Tom Rob Smith, etc - however, The Twelfth Department is at least equal to the very best. I think the ‘attraction’ if you can call it that, with this era, is because to me, that is to us, western Europeans, it’s hard to even contemplate how it could have got to this stage. Especially now as it’s gone (though perhaps opponents of Putin would disagree). The paranoia on all sides, is stifling. And paralysing. Inaction is action. Though doing nothing is not an option. Neither is doing something.
It’s written in, or at, a leisurely pace. For me, this gives enough room for you to fill in the gaps. Here, it’s you, your imagination, that creates the nightmare world, the words on the page just light the touch-paper and then retire, as it were. In part, the interesting sections are those where I’m thinking around the thought Korolev once expresses of ‘what happened to our revolution?’ Korolev does, if I remember rightly, span pre- and post-revolution Russia. His bemusement is how did we let ‘them’ steal the revolution he and other Russians deserved. The ‘ordinary’ people had a right to own the revolution. The ‘intellectuals’ took it over, then used it to secure their own place at the top of the pile. Before the people could take a breath, take a step back and see what was happening, it was too late and then, all they could do was survive. Hope to survive. Or not. No one knew how. The ripples analogy sat the end, should also be used for the ‘guilty by association’ process. You must have known something, because you knew the person we arrested. If you say you didn’t know anything, you must be lying. If you're married, your wife knew. Your mother father knew, the people they knew, knew...
I found actually, I had more sympathy for Korolev’s situation here. Not because it involved a search for his missing son, just that I could finally see what was making him tick and why he was, despite his son and ex-wife and colleagues, all alone. Had been all the time. He could rely on no one, no one was going to help him…or were they? The only people he perhaps could rely on, were those we wouldn’t think of, leading to another of my thoughts about his situation, that a decent man had more in common with the criminal than his equals or peers.
As I say, if you are interested in the post-revolution period in Russia, there are some really splendidly well-done books to go at. Which one of the three would I grab from my burning house? This one.
All my reviews are here: Speesh Reads
Speesh Reads is now a Facebook Page
It’s quite a slow-burning and, appropriately enough, Russian doll-type tale. Lots of layers of thought-provoking atmosphere and moral problems all under the watchful eye of the secret police and Uncle Joe. It’s more subtle, more involving and all-round better than the previous books. Though, you couldn’t have got here without them, they have been leading here. Like stages on the way to the summit.
This sort of thing has been done a lot before, I’ve read several series now in this era - Sam Eastland, Tom Rob Smith, etc - however, The Twelfth Department is at least equal to the very best. I think the ‘attraction’ if you can call it that, with this era, is because to me, that is to us, western Europeans, it’s hard to even contemplate how it could have got to this stage. Especially now as it’s gone (though perhaps opponents of Putin would disagree). The paranoia on all sides, is stifling. And paralysing. Inaction is action. Though doing nothing is not an option. Neither is doing something.
It’s written in, or at, a leisurely pace. For me, this gives enough room for you to fill in the gaps. Here, it’s you, your imagination, that creates the nightmare world, the words on the page just light the touch-paper and then retire, as it were. In part, the interesting sections are those where I’m thinking around the thought Korolev once expresses of ‘what happened to our revolution?’ Korolev does, if I remember rightly, span pre- and post-revolution Russia. His bemusement is how did we let ‘them’ steal the revolution he and other Russians deserved. The ‘ordinary’ people had a right to own the revolution. The ‘intellectuals’ took it over, then used it to secure their own place at the top of the pile. Before the people could take a breath, take a step back and see what was happening, it was too late and then, all they could do was survive. Hope to survive. Or not. No one knew how. The ripples analogy sat the end, should also be used for the ‘guilty by association’ process. You must have known something, because you knew the person we arrested. If you say you didn’t know anything, you must be lying. If you're married, your wife knew. Your mother father knew, the people they knew, knew...
I found actually, I had more sympathy for Korolev’s situation here. Not because it involved a search for his missing son, just that I could finally see what was making him tick and why he was, despite his son and ex-wife and colleagues, all alone. Had been all the time. He could rely on no one, no one was going to help him…or were they? The only people he perhaps could rely on, were those we wouldn’t think of, leading to another of my thoughts about his situation, that a decent man had more in common with the criminal than his equals or peers.
As I say, if you are interested in the post-revolution period in Russia, there are some really splendidly well-done books to go at. Which one of the three would I grab from my burning house? This one.
All my reviews are here: Speesh Reads
Speesh Reads is now a Facebook Page
raven88's review against another edition
5.0
There are few pleasures in life akin to immersing yourself in a great read, and after the brilliant series opener The Holy Thief, followed by the equally compelling The Bloody Meadow (seek them out if you haven’t already), I settled down for another trip to the claustrophobic and suspicious world of Stalinist Russia. So how did The Twelfth Department measure up to its predecessors?
Building on the strength of this already established series, Ryan not only gives the reader the requisite amount of tension and skulduggery that we have come to expect from this excellent series, as Korolev finds himself at the bidding of two masters investigating a dastardly plot involving the brainwashing of dispossessed youths, but also skillfully interweaves an altogether more personal and introspective strand to Korolev himself. The central plot displays its usual strength, as the main theme addresses the necessity for the mind control of the average Soviet citizen to adhere to the rules and constraints of the totalitarian regime. Building on the palpable tension and inherent suspicion of others that such a society produces, Ryan constructs a world where every statement made and action taken must be in accordance with being a model citizen and woe betide those who speak or act of turn. Finding himself at the behest of the feared NKVD, Korolev must endeavour not only not to displease his masters, but also retain his essential humanity in what unfolds as a particularly unsettling investigation that strikes close to his heart and home.
What makes this a different read to the first two books is the addition of Korolev’s son Yuri to the mix, on a long overdue visit to his father, and this enables Ryan to expose the more personal fragility of Korolev, which had only been addressed previously in his tentative relationship with Valentina (who shares his apartment with her young daughter). As Korolev refamiliarises himself with his son, aspects of Yuri’s schooling weigh heavily on him, again drawing on the mind control theme of the central plot, and their relationship seems stilted at first before the layers of tension begin to break down. Ryan balances their strangeness to each other beautifully, and we begin to see the softness that lays beneath both their veneers. As Yuri becomes a pawn in the plot, Korolev must balance his natural role as protector and father with the needs of his professional demeanour to uncover the truth behind a series of deaths in the scientific community, and the disappearance of other young boys. Likewise, the father/son theme has an impact on another character at the heart of these books, as Count Kolya (the leader of the criminal gang The Thieves) also turns to Korolev when his own son disappears, demonstrating for both men the intrinsic value of family aside from their public personas as detective or criminal. As Ryan unfolds these other layers to Korolev and Kolya, the book illustrates the depth and control of Ryan’s characterisation, supported by a whole host of other equally well-defined protagonists connected to both Korolev and the murder victims.
So with exceptional plotting, the assured building of atmosphere and the seamless interweaving of historical detail, supported by a more introspective feel to the characterisation, Ryan has once again produced a superlative read. As I say in the introduction this is a series that deserves attention, so if you haven’t had the pleasure of reading these yet you are in for a treat…
Building on the strength of this already established series, Ryan not only gives the reader the requisite amount of tension and skulduggery that we have come to expect from this excellent series, as Korolev finds himself at the bidding of two masters investigating a dastardly plot involving the brainwashing of dispossessed youths, but also skillfully interweaves an altogether more personal and introspective strand to Korolev himself. The central plot displays its usual strength, as the main theme addresses the necessity for the mind control of the average Soviet citizen to adhere to the rules and constraints of the totalitarian regime. Building on the palpable tension and inherent suspicion of others that such a society produces, Ryan constructs a world where every statement made and action taken must be in accordance with being a model citizen and woe betide those who speak or act of turn. Finding himself at the behest of the feared NKVD, Korolev must endeavour not only not to displease his masters, but also retain his essential humanity in what unfolds as a particularly unsettling investigation that strikes close to his heart and home.
What makes this a different read to the first two books is the addition of Korolev’s son Yuri to the mix, on a long overdue visit to his father, and this enables Ryan to expose the more personal fragility of Korolev, which had only been addressed previously in his tentative relationship with Valentina (who shares his apartment with her young daughter). As Korolev refamiliarises himself with his son, aspects of Yuri’s schooling weigh heavily on him, again drawing on the mind control theme of the central plot, and their relationship seems stilted at first before the layers of tension begin to break down. Ryan balances their strangeness to each other beautifully, and we begin to see the softness that lays beneath both their veneers. As Yuri becomes a pawn in the plot, Korolev must balance his natural role as protector and father with the needs of his professional demeanour to uncover the truth behind a series of deaths in the scientific community, and the disappearance of other young boys. Likewise, the father/son theme has an impact on another character at the heart of these books, as Count Kolya (the leader of the criminal gang The Thieves) also turns to Korolev when his own son disappears, demonstrating for both men the intrinsic value of family aside from their public personas as detective or criminal. As Ryan unfolds these other layers to Korolev and Kolya, the book illustrates the depth and control of Ryan’s characterisation, supported by a whole host of other equally well-defined protagonists connected to both Korolev and the murder victims.
So with exceptional plotting, the assured building of atmosphere and the seamless interweaving of historical detail, supported by a more introspective feel to the characterisation, Ryan has once again produced a superlative read. As I say in the introduction this is a series that deserves attention, so if you haven’t had the pleasure of reading these yet you are in for a treat…
avid_d's review against another edition
4.0
This is the third of the Korolev series which I have read and, in my opinion, the best yet. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
nigellicus's review against another edition
5.0
Alexei Korolev, a policeman in Moscow, 1937, is once again drawn into a case where the murderer is less terrifying than the political snares the investigation has to navigate to find them. A scientific director is found shot, but his work was for the security services, meaning that it was both secret and of questionable ethics. It may not even have been particularly scientific, according to his replacement, who ends up stabbed a few days later. Korolev is on the case and then, because a quick and efficient answer is more desirable than an accurate one, he's off it. Then he's back on it again, ostensibly to get to the truth, but also as part of a deadly power struggle between competing security departments. To make matters considerably worse, Korolev's son, Yuri, is missing, and may be in the hands of the institute where unspeakable experiments were performed on men and boys. Korolev doesn't care about himself, he wants to save his son, and catching the killer is less important than finding a way to survive.
Another superb thriller set in Russia at the height of Stalin's Terror. Ordinary lives lived in the shadow of fear and paranoia, and the near impossibility of doing the right thing and getting away with it give this whodunnit a texture of suspense and humanity, and Korolev, the tough but dogged and good-hearted policeman is a hero who can never be out of danger.
Another superb thriller set in Russia at the height of Stalin's Terror. Ordinary lives lived in the shadow of fear and paranoia, and the near impossibility of doing the right thing and getting away with it give this whodunnit a texture of suspense and humanity, and Korolev, the tough but dogged and good-hearted policeman is a hero who can never be out of danger.
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