The Tale of a Revolution — A revolutionary tale
For 17 days the future of Europe was held in the balance by the soldiers, sailors, and civilians of Kotlin island, who stood up to the growing Bolshevik tyranny that would one day become the Soviet Union. Their effort to change the course of the Russian revolution failed, but what if it had not?
Feel the excitement of a world-changing revolution creating a new history for the planet, while simultaneously witnessing the bitterness and heartache of how that potential future was lost.
A story of history, politics, war, and love, and a world that could have been.
It was nice to fall in love with some history and fiction in a sweet and tense combination. I didn’t know about the story of Kronstadt before I started the book, but I certainly do now. The world-building, plot, and story were well-written, and these are things I appreciate and care about when I read books. Whether the events were factual or fiction mattered less to me at some points. I think the book was well-researched, accurate, and told an epic tale. I was able to imagine this vivid world, in pictures and with feelings.
I can only surmise the beautiful woman on the top part of the cover is intended to represent Anna, Alexander’s love. The author uses love letters that Alexander writes to his love throughout the book to express his thoughts even though he knows the probability of the letters ever being read are unlikely.
It was a remarkable tactic that help me as the reader gain compassion for otherwise cold-militaristic soldiers in a time of war. Alexander isn’t the main character, but I alike the predicament the author placed him in.
The letters were placed/timed perfect. I would become hooked reading Stepan/ the soldiers situation and engulfed in what the next steps taken will be to wait, time for a letter. A letter that served as a reminder of the soldiers being human, being fathers and husbands.
The book does a phenomenal job of painting the desperation of Communism and the letters bring home how destitute the situation is. The story is gripping. I highly recommend reading it!
—MM
It isn’t in a genre that I usually read, but I am so glad that I took a chance on it. It is clearly very throughly researched. It feels very authentic all the way through and the tone matches the time period well. The speech patterns feel very authentic, too.
The line between fiction and history book are wonderfully blurred in this alternative history narrative. It is very poignant and I would thoroughly recommend it.
—Emdf
Author’s note:
I have been struggling with Kronstadt, with the idea of Kronstadt, for decades. I read William Burroughs’ Cities of the Red Night and realized I imagined Kronstadt as a ripple in the fabric of time, that it could be my “retroactive utopia,” as Central and South America were for Burroughs in his book.
Amazon Author page
Google Play audio book
Cover art & design by Fay Lane.
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