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Review | Shadow Pass, by Sam Eastland

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Shadow Pass, by Sam Eastland

Shadow Pass, by Sam Eastland

Inspector Pekkala — the Tsar’s trusted investigator — serves Comrade Stalin at the brink of World War II, a time where no one can be trusted, not even your own flesh and blood. When the leader of a top-secret production of tanks is killed, Stalin suspects a faction called the White Guild. Pekkala is sent to investigate it, but the Nazis are looking for any excuse to invade, so everything must be done with care.

Pekkala and Major Kirov join forces with female NKVD Major Lysenkova to investigate the death. Lysenkova is ready to close the case as quickly — and sloppily — as possible so that she can look good. Pekkala discovers that things are, of course, not what they seem.

Just then, Pekkala’s fist closed on something hard. A stone, he thought. He nearly tossed it aside, but then, in the glare of the generator light, he caught a glimpse of metal. As he worked his fingers through the mud, they snagged on what he now realized was a bullet cartridge.

I think the title, Shadow Pass, is much cooler than the British publication’s title, The Red Coffin. I like the idea behind both, but in this novel, Pekkala uses his shadow pass a whole lot more than the red coffin — the nickname for the T-34 tank, which was designed to be a deathtrap for the men operating it in battle — is referred to.

Unfortunately, the first three-quarters of Shadow Pass dragged for the most part. Production of the T-34 interested me, and of course Pekkala’s flashbacks interested me — especially because many of them were about the Romanovs — but the story itself seemed to take forever to take shape. There wasn’t much suspense at all until the last fifty pages or so. While I thoroughly enjoyed that last little section, I thought the book itself could have been a lot shorter. The first book in the series, Eye of the Red Tsar, was much better. Even though it was obviously Eastland’s first novel, I couldn’t put it down. It took me days to read this one. (To be fair, I was pretty immersed in playing Sims 2, so I was only reading in spurts, but even then I had no problem putting it down and going back to playing.)

Honestly, Pekkala didn’t seem as strong of a character as he did in Eye of the Red Tsar. I liked Kirov a lot, though, and his poking at Pekkala for always inhaling his food made me smile. I also liked how much Pekkala loved his “dead man’s” coat. The relationship between the two investigators is a much more easy friendship than it was in the first book.

I don’t know. I really enjoyed Eye of the Red Tsar, so I guess I had high expectations for this one. I’ll still read the next one — which is slated for release in February 2012 — but now I’m not so sure of this series. If anything, though, it’s inspired me to learn more about Russian history, specifically during the reign of the Tsar, the Revolution, and the aftermath.

The ending tied up almost everything, but we have no idea what happened to Major Lysenkova. Earlier in the novel, we were given reason to worry about her being sent to Siberia, so as the novel came to a close, I continued to worry a little. Sam Eastland, you gave us nothing! (; I’m guessing he either forgot about her accidentally, or her story will continue in the next book. Still, I wish we knew. I would have liked an explanation of her actions; if she was so concerned about Siberia, she should have continued with Pekkala’s plans and orders, rather than doing all of those things on her own and making herself look even worse.

Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Bantam Books
Pages: 289
Release Date: February 22nd, 2011
List Price: $25
Price Paid: N/A (Library)

3/5 Freaking Stars

I could only give Shadow Pass 3/5 Freaking Stars, mostly because of how slow it was. I’m glad I slept on it, though, because I was almost thinking of upping it to 4/5. I tend to lean on the nice side when reviewing, and that needs to stop!

Have you ever read a sequel that just didn’t live up to the first book? We all know sequels usually can’t ever surpass the first, but most of the time, a sequel really gets a series going. Leave me a comment and tell me about your least favorite sequel.

Related Links:
Inspector Pekkala Official Website
What Really Happened to the Romanovs
The Real Story of the T-34 Tank

Summer 2011 Reading List

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Hooray for summer reading (and iced coffee)!

Hooray for summer reading (and iced coffee)!

It’s summer, that time of year I crave Dunkin Donuts iced coffee, warm beaches with gentle waves, and of course, books! (Then again, I’m always craving books.)

A few days ago, I took a list of books and headed to my library. I found three promising books, but didn’t come even close to crossing off even half of my list. Since I’ve been reading a lot of comics lately, I’ve really missed curling up with a thick, long book that takes more than a few minutes to read. Don’t get me wrong — I love that, with comics you get a new “chapter” of the story every month. But, I do really like that with books, you can form a sort of relationship with it. That book becomes your friend. If you don’t believe me, read my review of Beat, by Stephen Jay Schwartz. That novel didn’t leave my side until I finished it! I read comics in a single sitting, and then they go straight into my comic box.

Since I haven’t done any kind of To Read list in a while, and even took my old lists off of the menu, I decided to bring it back, and to read each book on my list by the end of the summer. I might even add more, because you guys always give me awesome suggestions.

Note: My list doesn’t include comics, but this summer I’ll be reading the monthly issues of The Walking Dead, Witch Doctor, Batman Beyond, and whatever else grabs my interest. Also, if a title in my list is linked, it means I’ve read it and reviewed it!

Some of the books on my summer reading list

Some of the books on my summer reading list

*The Last Little Blue Envelope is June’s Freaking Book Club read! It’s the sequel to 13 Little Blue Envelopes, which I read last year and really enjoyed. Maureen Johnson is my guilty reading pleasure! I couldn’t find The Last Little Blue Envelope at my library, but I’m hoping to find it next time (or I’m just going to end up buying it, because I can’t be the only one not reading my book club’s book). Joining my book club is FREE as in air, so why don’t you register in the forums and post your thoughts so far on the book?

What’s on your summer reading list? Do you have any recommendations for mine? Leave me a comment and share!

Review | Eye of the Red Tsar, by Sam Eastland

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Eye of the Red Tsar, by Sam Eastland

Eye of the Red Tsar, by Sam Eastland

I went to the library a few days ago after work because I wanted to go for a walk, and the library is on the street intersecting the street our offices are located on. There’s nothing better than getting some exercise and getting a book out of the deal!

I decided to look at the new arrivals first, since that was how I found Joe Meno several months ago. I’m trying really hard to broaden my author horizon. When I was in high school, I didn’t read anything else besides Stephen King and Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. (Not that there’s anything wrong with either!) In the last few months, I’ve read a bunch of new authors. I’ve also been listening to a lot of Mastodon. Their new album, which is my favorite, has a song on it about the murder of the Romanovs. This song quickly became my favorite of theirs — before I even knew who Mastodon was! I’ve always been fascinated with the Romanovs. Maybe it’s because I’m part Russian and it’s in my blood to be interested in my ancestors’ history. Maybe it’s because I saw the movie Anastasia as a kid and could never get the fact that a whole family had been murdered for political reasons out of my head.

But when I saw Eye of the Red Tsar sitting on the shelf at the library, I pretty much knew I was going to read it. Before deciding, I read the synopsis on the inside of the jacket.

A decade [after the murder of the Romanov family], one man lives in purgatory, banished to a forest on the outskirts of humanity. Pekkala was once the most trusted secret agent of the Romanovs, the right-hand man of the Tsar himself. Now he is Prisoner 4745-P, living a harsh existence in which even the strongest vanish into the merciless Soviet winter.

But the state needs Pekkala one last time. The man who knew the Romanovs best is given a final mission: catch their killers, locate the royal child rumored to be alive, and give Stalin the international coup he craves…

I read the first few sentences, and quickly closed the book shut; the sooner I checked it out, the sooner I could read it!

Over the next couple of days, I was riveted. There were a couple of nights I stayed up well into early morning to keep reading. The book definitely started off slow; you can easily tell this is Sam Eastland’s first published novel. It gradually picks up speed, though, and I was interested enough to keep reading even when Eastland did a lot of telling rather than showing. About halfway through, however, it starts getting really interesting. There were enough twists and turns, and enough tidbit details about Pekkala (the main character), to keep me reading through cigarettes, meals, and even when I should have been sleeping.

Eastland crafted a very interesting character in Pekkala, known as the Emerald Eye because of his service to the Tsar. Pekkala begins investigation with his brother Anton and Lieutenant Kirov. Along the way, you get flashbacks of back story showing Pekkala’s and Anton’s childhood, Pekkala’s days with the Romanovs, and his many days of interrogation by Stalin, who wanted the location of the Tsar’s treasure.

There are so many things that make this book spellbinding, taking its own course from history and spinning a fantastic work of fiction. As much as I wanted Pekkala to solve the murder and find the rumored missing child (which is not, by the way, Anastasia), I also didn’t want the book to end.

It did, however, and even the ending is interesting, leaving room for a sequel if Eastland chose to do more with the characters.

At the back of the book, Eastland includes a section called “What Really Happened to the Romanovs”, which interested me because I never knew the full history, and while reading couldn’t separate fact from fiction (which was kind of cool, because it allowed me to get deeper into the story rather than picking it apart). While reading, I kept saying that I needed to pick up a history book about the Romanovs and the Revolution. There are a lot of fascinating rumors that surround their murder, and reading Eye of the Red Tsar has piqued my interest again (and, of course, Mastodon).

If you’re a history buff or just like murder mysteries or suspense, Eye of the Red Tsar is a great work of historical fiction. I give it Five Freaking Stars.

UPDATE: There is going to be a sequel, published in 2011! You can see photos from the Revolution, a preview from the next book, and the “What Really Happened” section all at the Inspector Pekkala website. Continue reading →