The Romanov Rescue by Justin Watson, Kacey Ezell and Tom Kratman

 

There have always been times in history where things didn't go the way they should have. Sometimes it's a matter of luck. Sometimes it's a matter of bad actors. And sometimes, sometimes, one or two moments can lead to the slaughter of millions. One of those moments happened in Russia in 1918. The Bolsheviks, led Vladimir Lenin, seized power from the Russian monarchy and, as Leftist governments always do, proceeded to slaughter millions over the next several decades while simultaneously subjecting anyone who voiced an unapproved opinion to at least Cancel Culture and possibly imprisonment. But here's the thing: It didn't have to be that way. And The Romanov Rescue by Tom Kratman, Justin Watson and Kacey Ezell shows an attempt by Tsarist elements within Russia to end Communist rule only months into their reign with the only symbol that could have been adequately used against them; The Romanovs, Russia's royal family.

There is a lot to The Romanov Rescue and I loved the complexity of it.  The authors gave us interpersonal conflict, military conflict, lots of challenges to solve, plenty of action and just a touch of romance. It's all there. The characters feel real. The conflicts that started the mess contained within the pages (IE World War I and The Russian Revolution) both actually did exist and seem to be, as far as I can tell from my limited research into both, dead on. (Now some history professor is going to read this and argue with me about the spelling of a city's name when the original name was written in another alphabet. You only think I'm joking.)

Something that you can appreciate in a tome like The Romanov Rescue is that all three authors are military and this is, like most Alternate History, a work of military fiction. Tom Kratman and Justin Watson are both retired Army officers and Kacey Ezell is a currently serving Air Force chopper pilot and a Major, last I heard. I get complaints from military people on occasion, upset about the lack of a true military feeling in works of fiction written by people who haven't served. You will not have that problem here. These are people who have been there, done that and gotten the t-shirt. When you crack this bad boy open it's going to be the real deal.

It occurs to me that I'm kinda because I didn't review this book for my annual Memorial Day event, but I suppose I should just get over myself.

Something I really like about The Romanov Rescue is that it's not just a shoot 'em up novel. I mean, you get some combat, but there's more to it than bullets and  blowuptuations. We get a good look at what it was like to plan and train for an operation at the end of the Great War. From the construction of ranges, to feeding the troops to finding horses and donkeys to haul stuff around while keeping them healthy and on and on we see the real side of things. Yes, the troops who do the shooting are important but so are the people who get them the guns and the bullets to shoot with. The authors have done a terrific job of making sure that all gets in here. That's not to say that the book bogs down. We get to be in on a few of the discussions and get a solid idea of what's needed to pull the mission off, but we don't have to watch all the paperwork get filed.

I spoke a bit about interpersonal conflict earlier, but TRR features a lot of inTRA personal conflict too. Some of the characters aren't sure about their assignments. Others think their assignments might be changed in a way they find objectionable. It's part of the life and it's in there. It also adds a lot to the characters because members of the military, regardless of whose military, are not simply automatons that follow their programming. They are actual flesh and blood human beings with likes, dislikes and qualms. Yes, the physical challenges are real. The mental challenges are no less real.

It feels weird typing thins, but I'd recommend The Romanov Rescue to any military historian out there. It's not for the works scholarly value but for what it reminds us all of: That people who serve in the military really are people. That's a point that frequently gets lost in historical writing where, at best, you might talk about one or two generals as individuals. Reading something like this every now and again is both a brain massage and a reminder to keep those people in mind. Oh, and war does make for strange bedfellows. I'm just sayin'.

The action sequences tend to be short, sharp, and violent and that's just how I like them. Some of the action takes place as part of training and functions as both entertainment and a warning that training to do dangerous things is in and of itself frequently dangerous. A bit of overt gun-geeking does take place, but in a book about a military operation, it fits. We need to know what the troops are using and how it works. If I actually enjoyed the discussion well, the point of reading the book was to enjoy it, right?

In short, I'd recommend The Romanov Rescue to anyone who likes to read things that are fun and interesting. I mean, if The Scarlet Letter is your thing, I don't see TRR as being for you. Dull and depressing have their place in classrooms, but I like to read things that I enjoy. I found someone I could root for (and if you're not a fan of feudalism I get it, but they were fighting Communists.) I found a group of villains I could root against. I got to spend some time with some people I'd love a chance to meet, if only they actually existed. Then again, I wasn't surprised. I've loved both Kratman and Ezell as authors for quite awhile now and, if this was my first experience with Watson, I think he at least lived up to the company he was in and, from me, that's high praise indeed.

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Flashbangs

The Romanov Rescue
Justin Watson, Kacey Ezell and Tom Kratman
Baen Books, 2021

The Romanov Rescue is available for purchase at the following link. If you click the link and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no extra cost to you.

Rest in Peace Anne Rice

 

There was this one time, at Band Camp...

Where a bunch of my friends were talking about a movie they couldn't wait to go see when it came out that weekend. They had wanted to go Friday, but band camp lasted till Saturday and we had a performance right before dismissal so...

Yeah, life sucks that way sometimes I guess.

It turns out that the name of that movie was Interview With the Vampire. I went and saw it with a couple of other people that weekend. (Hey, we had a two hundred and twenty-five member marching band that year. I can't help it if I couldn't take ALL of them with me. Although it would have been nice if that one flute player had come...)

Here's the thing though: None of them told me it had anything to do with a book. Yes, you read that right. I had no clue that there was a book involved. So I totally went and totally loved it, (Remember how it had Tom Cruise and that one other guy in it? It turns out that Brad Pitt is a REALLY good actor but this is the first movie that I remember him from.) but the first inkling I had that it existed in book form was when I bought the VHS tape from Columbia House a few years later (remember them?) and Anne Rice showed up to talk about it. How cool was that? Here I was, finding out that I could read the book and watching my first ever author interview (hey, it was the 90s okay?) all at the same time. I was impressed. I headed out to B Dalton Bookseller the next day and picked up a copy of Interview and also The Vampire Lestat because Lestat was a totally awesome character and I mean, it was book two...

I fell in love that day. I fell in love with New Orleans (which I still haven't seen). I fell in love with homoerotic vampires. And I fell in love with an author named Anne Rice. 

Listen folks, I could read before I started kindergarten. I've read everything from Dick and Jane to scholarly history and an awful lot of science fiction and fantasy. I've read the Bible. I've read parts of the Book of Mormon. I've read bits and pieces of the classics for classes I've taken. I have read very damn few writers of Anne Rice's caliber and none that could paint a picture the way that woman could. Seriously, is it possible to read her work and not feel like you've physically been to the headquarters of the Talamasca? 

Seriously. I've ridden horses with Louis. I've been to Lestat's rock concerts. I've brooded with Armand. I've faced the sun with Claudia. I've toured through pyramids with Akasha. I feel like I'm part of Maharet's Great Family. I have been to heaven and hell, once again with Lestat.

And yes, Memnoch the Devil will always be my favorite Anne Rice novel. Why? Partially because of the stakes, Lestat was literally helping Satan save the people, and yes that does make sense if you read the novel. Satan, of course, is the Great Deceiver and Lestat does have a certain amount of vanity to him...

Yeah, most of the non-fiction I've read hasn't been this believable and I've read non-fic about events I can remember. 

But really, a lot of it was how well Rice set the scene. When Satan took Lestat to Heaven, I almost wanted to put the book down and start looking for my grandpa. When Satan took Lestat to Hell, I was tempted to see if I could find some of the great nutcases from history and ask them what they were thinking. Except he didn't call it Hell. It was Sheol I think. I need to reread that and if you haven't read it then what are you doing with your life? If you're smart, you're heading off to the bookstore and grabbing a copy.

You know what's weird? I read story on top of story about places that don't exist. I had been to Narnia, Middle Earth, The United Colonies of Cobol, Vulcan, Romulus and a million other places before I got my driver's license. Since I've been to other places. Hogwarts, Z'ha'Dum, Krispos,  I  can't even name them all. None of them, not a single one, has ever felt as exotic as Anne Rice's New Orleans.

I will grant you that I've never been there, but I have to wonder if a New Orleans native wouldn't read one of Rice's novels and wonder if they hadn't been someplace else. Someplace familiar, but different. A place much more mysterious and just cooler. It's a weird comparison, and don't I know it, but reading Anne Rice setting a scene in New Orleans is like the time another one of my favorite authors wrote an open letter to her husband as a blog post on their anniversary. It's the kind of love that, while certainly pure at its core, has a certain sensual nature to it. When Anne Rice described New Orleans you didn't want to travel there. You didn't want to move there. You wanted to marry the whole stinkin' city, stinky sewers, sweaty tourists, and all.

I haven't talked much about Anne's Christ the Lord series and it's because I'm a bit uncomfortable doing so. There is something about a young Christ playing on a dusty street in Egypt that just fits...

But also feels a bit like heresy. Then again, I was just talking about Memnoch the Devil so color me hypocritical. Still and all, I loved those books and I think it's time for a reread. 

But yeah, one day after I've actually managed to write a completed novel and published it and become a world famous author, and I'm writing my how-to book because I've got writers block toward my fiction writing, I'm going to have to do a chapter on setting the scene and transporting your reader. The thing is, I won't be describing how I do it. My whole chapter is going to consist of a sales pitch for Anne Rice: "Go read her stuff," I'll say, "Figure out how she did it and do it that way. You'll be better than I'll ever have a chance of being because you'll have learned from the true master."

So farewell, Mrs. Rice. Fair winds and following seas. Third star from the right and straight on until morning. 

Some of Anne Rice's works are available at the links below. If you click a link and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no cost to you.