If you read only one Robert Harris thriller, read Archangel
The story of a Stalin bloodline is truly chilling
What? Not Enigma? Not The Ghost? Right, not Enigma. Definitely not The Ghost. In Archangel, Robert Harris brought together the parts that have made each of his other novels in some way remarkable. There’s a historical What-if mystery, an erudite figure at the center of the book, and a chilling final section filled with tension.
A British historian travels to Russia for a conference. There he learns of the existence of Stalin’s secret diary. He tracks it to the northern city of Archangel, where he makes a terrifying discovery.
Without giving the end away, I must tell you that the conclusion of the novel is particularly poignant in these days of Ukrainian troubles and a new kind of Stalin in the Kremlin yearning for the good old days of the Soviet Union. Even more reason to read this one.
Read more If you read only one... To discover the indispensable book by each big thriller writer.
Get a FREE ebook of my crime stories.
What? Not Enigma? Not The Ghost? Right, not Enigma. Definitely not The Ghost. In Archangel, Robert Harris brought together the parts that have made each of his other novels in some way remarkable. There’s a historical What-if mystery, an erudite figure at the center of the book, and a chilling final section filled with tension.
A British historian travels to Russia for a conference. There he learns of the existence of Stalin’s secret diary. He tracks it to the northern city of Archangel, where he makes a terrifying discovery.Without giving the end away, I must tell you that the conclusion of the novel is particularly poignant in these days of Ukrainian troubles and a new kind of Stalin in the Kremlin yearning for the good old days of the Soviet Union. Even more reason to read this one.
Read more If you read only one... To discover the indispensable book by each big thriller writer.
Get a FREE ebook of my crime stories.
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AdiTurbo
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Mar 31, 2014 02:51AM
I agree completely. Archangel is his best thriller. I still remember my heart pounding like crazy as I was racing through its last pages. Wonderful.
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It's quite terrifying, isn't it. I'd add that, in an entirely different way, his latest "An Officer and a Spy" which is about the Dreyfus affair, is terrific. But nothing matches Archangel for that feeling -- you've hit the nail on the head. Did you read the Dreyfus one?
Matt wrote: "It's quite terrifying, isn't it. I'd add that, in an entirely different way, his latest "An Officer and a Spy" which is about the Dreyfus affair, is terrific. But nothing matches Archangel for that..."Yes, it was very good on the historical front, and in the character building. I learned a lot I didn't know about the details of the affair (great research, as always in Harris' novels). The period and people involved were brought back to life very expertly, and became very vivid in my mind. However, I thought that setting it up as a suspense novel was a bit forced, and didn't work as well as his 'real' thrillers do. Archangel is still my favorite of all of his fiction writing. (Selling Hitler - a favorite too, in non-fiction).
I haven't read his nonfiction, Adi. I'll look that one up. In many ways, I think the bridge between his nonfiction and fiction is The Ghost (with its obvious Blair analysis) and even his Cicero novels, which I think we spurred by the idea of power and its abuse during the early part of the last decade with the war in Iraq.
Do try Selling Hitler - it's fantastic. Agree about The Ghost and you're probably right about the Roman novels, although I must admit that I didn't like them as much as his World War II novels.
Right about Cicero books. In fact, Harris's first relatively weak book was Pompeii, also about ancient Rome...Did you read that one?
Yes, and was very disappointed. I expected to enjoy it much more than I did, as I love Harris and the subject matter. But it just failed to hold my interest. It was too slow, the investigator's character not well-flashed and wasn't intriguing enough psychologically. Actually, when I think about it, up to 'Officer and Spy', no Harris novel was as enjoyable to me as the first WWII ones. I'm glad he's back to form.
