Quick Review – The Winter Palace by Paul Morgan

On June 10, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Drama, Historical Fiction, Quick Review4 Comments

The Winter Palace Cover

Publisher: Penguin Books (Trade Paperback – 26 March 2024)

Series: Standalone

Length: 329 pages

My page: 4.25 out of 5 stars

Compelling Australian author Paul Morgan presents an intense and intriguing historical drama that examines the tragic lives of a Polish husband and wife who find themselves torn apart by war and circumstance in The Winter Palace.

Plot Synopsis:

If he had died, I would know it in my heart.

In 1939, Anton, a captain in the Polish army, says goodbye to his wife, Elisabeth. He is leaving to defend their homeland against the invasion by Nazi Germany and Russia. They make a vow that – whatever happens, however much time passes – they’ll meet again at the Winter Palace, their stately home in the Polish countryside.

The winds of war draw them far apart. Anton is captured and sent to Siberia as a POW. He eventually joins a lost army that battles through snowstorms and scorching deserts in Central Asia to find freedom. Anton survives, driven by his determination to join Elisabeth again. She, meanwhile, is forced to be the ‘mistress’ of a Nazi officer before escaping to join the Polish resistance.

As the war ends, Anton and Elisabeth are at the opposite ends of the world. Anton is in Australia. Elisabeth is in Poland, awaiting his return for months and then years. Will they ever meet again at the Winter Palace?

From 1930s Europe to present-day Australia, this is a sweeping story of love that cannot be broken by time, distance, war or even death.

Morgan came up with a powerful and captivating tale in The Winter Palace which really hits hard. Following Anton, a Polish military captain, and his wife Elisabeth, The Winter Palace features a well-planned-out split protagonist storyline that shows their respective dark journeys during the destructive chaos of World War II.

Both character-focused storylines are interesting and dark in their own ways, especially as the two protagonists go through hell and back as part of their respective war stories. Anton’s plot follows the fate of the Polish soldiers who were captured during the joint Nazi and Soviet Invasion. In Anton’s case, he experiences being a Soviet POW, a reluctant Soviet soldier fighting the Nazis, and then a member of the Allies when the Soviets send their freed Polish soldiers to Palestine. Elisabeth’s story is more Poland focused, as she is forced to become a Nazi ‘mistress’ before escaping and finding purpose, first as a nurse, and then as a member of the Polish resistance. Both storylines go in some very compelling directions, as the protagonists experience major traumas, tragedies and struggles, all while the two characters are convinced that they will never see their spouse again.

I honestly have a hard time saying which of these two storylines was my favourite, as both hit you in different ways. Anton’s was possibly the more interesting to me as a fan of military history, and I found his constant struggle to survive the direct imprisonments he experienced to be both moving and intense. There are some very direct tragedies in Anton’s experiences, including a particularly dark moment in the first half of the book, and I really found the story of the captured Polish soldiers to be extremely fascinating. However, the other half the book that focuses on Elisabeth is just as dark, if not even more traumatic, especially as the protagonist experiences evil she can’t fight back against, at least not at first. Watching her overcome her constant oppression and pull together a satisfying life that allows her to help people on many fronts was particularly inspiring, and I really enjoyed how her arc came together.

While these storylines are separate for the entirety of the plot, I felt that Morgan did a good job playing them off each other. The corresponding tragedies, the near misses in finding out each other’s fates, and the decisions they make as a result are all moving and captivating, and you are constantly enthralled to see if or how they will get back together. I think that the ending Morgan left the book on was particularly moving, and it fit the overarching themes of the tragedy of war and not knowing about those left behind. I also appreciated how Morgan didn’t overuse the trope of Australian descendants finding out the wartime secrets of their parents or grandparents. Instead, readers were given a simple but highly effective connection to the present that ended the story on a thoughtful and peaceful note that was a great conclusion to such an intense story.

I really must emphasise how impressed and intrigued I was by some of the historical elements captured in The Winter Palace. Morgan does an amazing job of showcasing various alterative experiences suffered by the Polish, from the initial invasion all the way up to the end of the war. This includes a great rundown of how many citizens, especially women, were abused in Poland as the troops rolled in, which ensured a dark aura around the potential homecoming many characters were hoping for. However, I found the historical details of the Polish soldiers and civilians captured in the opening days of the invasion to be the most interesting. Watching the various hardships and journeys that these individuals had to go through during the war, including being POWs, having to fight alongside their former captors against the Nazis when they found themselves on the same side as the Soviets, and the transfer of their army to the Middle East to serve with the Allies on the Western front was extremely fascinating and it was an part of history you don’t see often in fiction. These historical details from Morgan where some of my favourite parts of the book, and I deeply appreciated the compelling story he told around them.

Overall, The Winter Palace by Paul Morgan was an outstanding and compelling historical drama that really grabbed my attention. Powerful, unflinching and focusing on a complex and dark period of our history, this was an emotionally charged and excellent read that is really worth checking out.

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The Defector by Chris Hadfield

On November 30, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Historical Fiction, Thriller3 Comments

The Defector Cover

Publisher: Quercus (Trade Paperback – 10 October 2023)

Series: The Apollo Murders – Book Two

Length: 369 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Former astronaut turned thriller author Chris Hadfield returns with his second excellent novel, the intriguing and clever historical read, The Defector.

Back in 2021, I was lucky enough to receive a copy of superstar astronaut Chris Hadfield’s cool and much-hyped debut novel, The Apollo Murders. Set during the Cold War, The Apollo Murders depicted an alternate history adventure where a fictional Apollo flight mission to the moon suffered all manner of calamity, including murder, treachery, and unexpected Russian hitchhikers. Thanks to Hadfield’s knowledge of history and spaceflight, this turned out to be quite the gripping read, and The Apollo Murders ended up being one of my top debuts for 2021. As such, I have been eager to see how Hadfield planned to follow up his first book, and I was quite excited when I saw that his second novel was a sequel to The Apollo Murders. This book, The Defector, was an excellent and compelling thriller which I had a brilliant time getting through.

Israel, 1973. On the eve of the Yom Kippur War, a Soviet test pilot makes the bold decision to fake a crash in his state-of-the-art MiG fighter and secretly land in Israel. Claiming that he wants to defect to the United States, the pilot, known by his codename, Grief, and his plane are traded to the Americans, who desperately want to know the secrets of the MiG and how it achieves such impressive altitude.

Having witnessed Grief’s defection while on holiday in Israel, NASA flight controller and former Navy test pilot Kaz Zemeckis is quickly drafted in to take carriage of the captured MiG and to work with Grief to fully understand the plane’s limitations and capabilities. Their unlikely partnership eventually takes them to the most secure and secret location in the United States, Area 51, where Grief looks set to provide all the information the Americans have ever wanted about the MiG. However, not everything is as it seems, and it soon becomes apparent that Grief has his own reasons for wanting to defect to the United States. Can Kaz get to truth before it is too late, or has he let a wolf right into the heart of America’s most secret air base?

This ended up being an excellent and exciting novel from Hadfield that successfully follows up his original debut and provides a cool and intense new story that proves very hard to put down. Hadfield tells a pretty tight and compelling story in The Defector that starts strong with the mysterious Grief defecting right in the middle of the Yom Kippur War. This initial excitement morphs into an intense and gripping game of cat and mouse, as Kaz attempts to utilised Grief’s knowledge and keep his defection secret from the Soviets, while the Russian pilot works to initiate his own plans.

This continues for much of the book, and I thought this ended up being a much more focused and well-structured thriller narrative than we previously saw from Hadfield in The Apollo Murders. The focus on espionage and military secrets was a great centre for the plot, and Hadfield did a good job on also utilising some intriguing characters, especially Kaz and the mysterious Grief. The inclusion of a couple of fictional supporting characters from The Apollo Murders, namely a cosmonaut and a major Soviet antagonist, was also quite interesting, although as they were mainly there to set up a future entry in the series it did disrupt the narrative flow a little. Everything leads up to the big conclusion, which Hadfield set up nicely throughout the course of the story. While I do think that Hadfield might have considered utilising a twist to change the antagonist around, it was still really fun to see the full plan unfold, as well as the real reasons behind the defection. Watching the manipulation and the resulting violence unfold was very impressive, and it led to a satisfying, if slightly predictable, final showdown with the protagonist that ended everything on a high note.

I really enjoyed how well The Defector came together, especially as Hadfield reused all his best writing elements from The Apollo Murders, while also strongly utilising his own personal experiences and knowledge as a test pilot. The constant switching between perspective characters, as well as several interludes and flashback sequences, helped to produce a complex, multilayered storyline, and I liked seeing the various players in the plot attempt to work out what everyone else is doing. It also allowed Hadfield to hide some good hints about the antagonist’s true motivations and feelings, which came out perfectly at the end of the book. There was also some great character growth around the protagonist Kaz, especially as Hadfield successfully built on his personality and relationships from the first book, and it is clear that the author has some future adventures planned for him.

However, the real strength of The Defector lies in Hadfield’s encyclopaedic knowledge of military airplanes, Cold War espionage history and spaceflight, which was masterfully inserted into the plot. Much of the plot revolves around the desire for both sides of the Cold War to get a better understanding of their opponent’s aircraft capability, and Hadfield expertly examines the history and mechanics around this. The discussions about aircraft, fighter capabilities and more, are all quite fascinating, and Hadfield does a wonderful job of exploring them in a highly detailed way that readers unfamiliar with aircraft can easily understand. His experience also allows for some highly realistic and intense aerial combat sequences, and I really enjoyed the elaborate scenes that resulted, especially the cool conclusion. This grasp of aircraft, the history surrounding their development, and the espionage involved, are well worked into the plot of The Defector, and I loved how much it increased the authenticity of the book, making it so much better.

Overall, The Defector was an outstanding second novel from Hadfield that I had a wonderful time reading. Containing a clever and well-paced spy thriller narrative loaded with intriguing details about aircraft and the cold war, The Defector had me hooked from its first awesome scene, and I managed to power through this book in no time at all. Compelling and action packed, The Defector was an outstanding follow-up to The Apollo Murders and I cannot wait to see what Hadfield writes next.

The Defector Cover 2

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The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield

On December 13, 2021November 30, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Thriller9 Comments

The Apollo Murders Cover

Publisher: Quercus/Hachette Audio (Audiobook – 12 October 2021)

Series: Standalone/Book One

Length: 15 hours and 14 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Prepare for one of the most impressive and complex debuts of 2021, with the exciting alternate history science fiction thriller, The Apollo Murders, by former astronaut Chris Hadfield.

In 1973, former test pilot turned government liaison officer Kazimieras “Kaz” Zemeckis arrives at Huston to supervise NASA’s latest voyage into space for their 18^th Apollo mission. On paper, NASA plans to send three astronauts to the moon, seemingly on a scientific expedition. However, Kaz is also under orders to prepare the military astronauts on board for a covert operation to investigate the Russians’ recent rover mission to the moon as well as a secret spy satellite orbiting Earth that could give the Soviets an invaluable advantage in the Cold War.

As the crew prepares for their mission, tragedy strikes when a helicopter crash results in the death of one of the astronauts. Forced to take on a new crew member at the last minute, the team launches and begins to make for their primary mission, the spy satellite. However, the Americans are unprepared for the satellite to be manned by Russian cosmonauts determined to defend their station. The encounter results in a terrible accident and a cosmonaut being trapped aboard the Apollo craft as it hurtles towards the moon.

As the American and Soviet governments argue over the unfortunate events, the Apollo crew attempt to undertake a moon landing with limited crew and resources. Forced to work together with their Russian stowaway, the crew begins to descend towards the moon on an apparent joint venture. However, back on Earth, the Soviet government is determined to turn this to their advantage by any means necessary, even if it means utilising a long-hidden intelligence asset. Worse, it soon becomes clear that the helicopter crash that killed one of the astronauts was no accident. Forced to contend with the knowledge that an Apollo astronaut in space might be a murderous saboteur with nothing to lose, Kaz and the flight team at Huston can only watch helplessly as events unfold and the future of space travel is changed forever.

This was a pretty impressive debut from Chris Hadfield, who really showed a lot of talent in this book. Hadfield, a former astronaut known for his excellent rendition of ‘Space Oddity‘ filmed aboard the ISS, was able to construct a compelling and fast-paced novel with an amazing story to it. Combining detailed science with a complex alternate history thriller, The Apollo Murders ended up being an excellent and powerful read that I deeply enjoyed.

At the heart of this novel lies a captivating and multilayered narrative surrounding a doomed mission into space. Set in the 1970s during the golden age of spaceflight, The Apollo Murders follows a fictional 18^th Apollo mission that goes very differently than intended, with fantastic espionage thriller elements combining with the science and historical fiction storyline. Told from a huge range of different perspectives, this book initially focuses on the planning for an Apollo flight, which intends to both explore the moon and disable a Soviet spy satellite. However, the story takes a turn when one of the astronauts is killed, and from there the story ramps up as the astronauts blast off into space while the other characters, both American and Russian, attempt to follow them while also conducting their own investigations and espionage missions. The novel has an explosive middle, in which the American and Soviet astronauts encounter each other in space with disastrous results. The consequences of this encounter lead into an epic second half filled with lies, deceit, sabotage and backstabbing, as two characters in space attempt to manipulate the situation to their advantage, while everyone on the ground, including Kaz, the astronauts, mission control, the Russians and a variety of other characters try to influence what is happening. This all builds to one hell of a conclusion, with interesting consequences for several of the characters, and one surprise after another.

I really enjoyed this cool story, and I loved the fun blend of genres that Hadfield featured throughout it. On paper, a thriller and murder mystery set around a fictional historical space flight seems a bit too complex for its own good, but Hadfield made it work, and the story is crisp and easy to follow, with none of the component parts overwhelming any of the others. The reader is swiftly drawn into the story and it was fun to see everything unfold, especially as Hadfield ensures that you can see all the various angles and treacheries as they occur. The author made excellent use of multiple character perspectives to tell a rich and captivating story, and it was extremely fun to see how the various characters viewed the situation and reacted to certain events. Each of the characters featured in this novel is set up extremely well, and the reader quickly get to see their unique personalities, history and motivations surrounding the events of this book, which makes them extremely relatable and easily to follow. While the identity of the person responsible for the murder at the start of the novel was a tad obvious, Hadfield uses this to its full advantage, helping to establish the book’s main antagonist, turning him into quite an arrogant and unlikable figure whom the reader really starts to root against. It was really fascinating to see all the various character arcs and storylines come full circle by the end of the narrative, and The Apollo Murders ended up being a brilliant and compelling self-contained novel.

Easily one of the best things about The Apollo Murders was the incredible amount of detail about space flight and the science of space featured within. Throughout the narrative, Hadfield spends an amazing amount of time explaining all the relevant science and technology that is relevant to the plot as the protagonists encounter it. At the same time, the author also features a ton of relevant anecdotes or discussion about the history of spaceflight up to this point, which often serves to highlight the scientific information being provided at the same time. All of this is worked into the plot extremely well, and the reader is soon given insight into what the characters are doing and the significance of their actions. While all this information had the potential to be extremely overwhelming, Hadfield manages to dole it out in appropriate snippets, ensuring that there is never too much science or history in one scene, only enough for the reader to follow what happens. This information is usually very easy to follow, and Hadfield’s writing style ensures that all the relevant facts are explained appropriately as the reader requires. As such, the reader is never left confused at any point, and it leaves them open to enjoy some of the epic scenes. I really must highlight some of the great spaceflight sequences featured throughout this book, including some of the epic take-off and landing scenes. Hadfield really paints a beautiful picture here with his writing, and the reader gets a detailed understanding of every element of the flight and what the astronaut characters are experiencing or attempting to do. These spaceflight elements are extremely well written, and I really must commend Hadfield for the work he put into making them seem as realistic and accurate as possible.

I must also highlight the great historical elements featured in this novel. I rather expected this to be one of the weaker spots of the book, especially with so much focus on the spaceflight or the thriller parts of the book. Instead, the reader is treated to a detailed and compelling discussion about the state of the world in the 1970s, especially surrounding the Cold War and the capabilities of both America and the Soviet Union. A lot of this history relates to space travel, which is probably why Hadfield knows so much about it, and he uses it to great effect throughout the novel, giving the story an appropriate feel. However, Hadfield also takes the time to examine the competing nations of America and the Soviet Union, and there are some brilliant scenes set in both, especially when it comes to the covert geopolitical battle occurring between them. Hadfield portrays this period perfectly, and I especially liked his great use of multiple real historical characters, including politicians, NASA flight crew, espionage heads and even a few famous astronauts such as Alan Shepard, all of whom played vital roles in fleshing out the espionage elements of the plot. While a lot of this book is based on historical events and facts, it is set around a fictional 18^th Apollo mission. This alternate history element is a fun part of the book, and I really appreciated the way in which Hadfield tried to envision how the various governments would react to such as disastrous mission to the moon. I feel that Hadfield captured the political and social elements of this period extremely well, and I really appreciated this examination into history, especially as it combined with the thriller and space faring elements of the book extremely well to produce an outstanding and compelling narrative.

While I did receive a physical copy of The Apollo Murders, I was unable to resist the audiobook version, which proved to be really impressive. With a run time of just over 15 hours, I was able to power through this audiobook quickly, especially once I got engrossed in the cool story. I felt that the audiobook format was very conducive to following the various scientific elements featured throughout the novel, and I had a wonderful time imagining the elaborate space manoeuvres brought to life by the narration. However, the main reason that I wanted to listen to this book was due to its narrator, Ray Porter. Porter is one of the best audiobook narrators in the world today, and I am a big fan of his voice work in the thrillers of Jonathan Maberry (such as Code Zero, Deep Silence, Rage, Relentless and Ink). Porter ended up providing an excellent narration for The Apollo Murders, with each of the various characters presented with a compelling and fitting voice that fit their personalities and nationalities. While it was a bit weird in places to hear a voice from one of the other books I have heard him narrate, Porter was able to produce an excellent flow throughout The Apollo Murders, and the story swiftly moved across at a great pace. This ended up being an excellent way to enjoy this novel and I would strongly recommend checking out this audiobook version of The Apollo Murders.

The Apollo Murders is a brilliant and powerful literary debut from former astronaut Chris Hadfield, who blew me away with this amazing first novel. The Apollo Murders contains a fantastic and complex story that blends several genres into an exciting and clever read that takes the reader on a wild and thrilling adventure into space. Featuring a deeply fascinating look at historical space flights and based around a fictional 18^th Apollo mission, The Apollo Murders was one of the best debuts of 2021 and I had a fantastic time listening to it. This is a great novel to check out and I cannot wait to see what Hadfield writes next.

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Heads You Win by Jeffrey Archer

On December 9, 2018June 25, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Alternate Timeline, Historical Fiction5 Comments

Heads You Win Cover.png

Publisher: Macmillan

Publication Date – 30 October 2018

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From the mind of one of modern fiction’s most controversial authors comes a two-in-one fantastic and elaborate piece of historical fiction that utilises an intriguing narrative device to create one of 2018’s most unique stories.

Young student Alexander Karpenko is the bright, talented and ambitious child of two hardworking citizens of the Soviet Union. Living in Leningrad in 1968, Alexander’s dream is to become the first democratically elected president of his country. However, when he is betrayed and his father is killed by the KGB, Alexander and his mother realise that their only hope is to flee Russia and make a new life for themselves in another country.

Arriving at the docks, Alexander and his mother are given a choice between two different ships: one heading to London or one heading to New York. The decision is made by the flip of a coin, and Alexander’s life splits into two separate paths: one where he heads to Britain and one where he heads to America. Alexander arrives in these countries with great ambition and a desire to succeed no matter what.

Over the next 30 years, in both these lives, Alexander finds success in a two separate ways. He fights his way up from the bottom as a lowly immigrant to an influential person, overcoming obstacles and antagonists along the way. Both Alexanders’ journeys are inspirational, but no matter what these two Alexanders accomplish, the fate of their home country is always on their minds, and the shadow of the Soviet Union constantly surrounds them.

Jeffrey Archer is a rather interesting individual, with a very eventful and controversial background. A former British MP, Archer is probably better known for the various accusations of fraud he has attracted throughout his life, and he has even spent some time in jail as a result. However, rather than let that ruin his public profile, Archer has used his experience and imagination to create a number of fascinating novels, many of which utilise aspects of his political, academic or professional life or expertise to some degree. As a result, Archer is now one of the most high-profile authors in the world and has written over 20 adult novels, including the three books in his Kane and Abel series and the seven books in his bestselling Clifton Chronicles. On top of that, Archer has also written a number of short stories, a couple of plays, several children’s books and his Prison Diaries, three non-fiction novels that chronicle his life in prison.

Heads You Win is an extremely fascinating novel from Archer, which takes his protagonist on two separate adventures through over 30 years of American and British history and life. Archer utilises a very clever divergent timelines narrative device (think Sliding Doors), which creates two separate timelines around the different outcomes of one event, in this case, the outcome of a coin toss. As a result, in one timeline, the protagonists and his mother get on a ship to London, while in another timeline they board a ship bound for New York. This is a very interesting concept to utilise in this story, and one that works to create two separate narrative threads to follow. Both of these storylines focus on the protagonist attempting to find his place in the country that he eventually ends up in, and then moves onto the protagonist becoming a powerful and influential individual in his own way, all the while dealing with the terrible people that seem to inhabit Archer’s world.

I rather enjoyed both of the separate storylines in this book, and had a lot of fun seeing the different or similar ways that the protagonist attempted to make his fortune in each lifetime. The differences between these two storylines happen right away, as in the London timeline, Alexander and his mother find themselves on a nice ship with a friendly crew who mostly want to help, while the New York timeline finds them in a poorly maintained vessel with a self-serving crew who seek to exploit the two main characters. I found it rather fascinating to see the way that their treatment and the environments they find themselves in change the way in which they act. For example, Alexander’s experience in the English setting encourage him to seek the full Cambridge academic lifestyle, while his American counterpart was less focused on his formal education and learned more on the street.

Both of these divergent timelines feature an intriguing look at the cities and countries that the protagonists end up in, and both serve as a good historical backdrop to each of the main storylines, featuring several real historical events and some historical characters. For example, the Alexander who ends up in the American timeline is forced to fight in the Vietnam War, while the British Alexander rubs elbows with a number of the country’s prominent politicians. I liked how the divergent ways that the two separate protagonists gained their power and prestige matched the country that there were in. The American Alexander became rich through his business acumen and financial brilliance, while the British Alexander went the academic route and eventually become deeply involved with the British political system, something close to the author’s heart. Not only does this help match the locations and people that the protagonist deals with, but it allows the two separate stories to diverge out slightly, with the British storyline containing political intrigue, while the American storyline reads a little bit more like a financial thriller. While the focus on the protagonist’s two adopted homelands is a great part of this novel, the protagonist’s history in the Soviet Union is a major part of this story. The initial chapters capture the uncertainty and despair that inhabitants of the Soviet Union would have felt in the 1960s, while the character’s subsequent visits helped highlight the obvious differences between the Soviet Union and the countries that Alexander escaped to. There is also a rather exciting reveal about one of the Russian characters towards the end of the book that will prove to be the most memorable part of Heads You Win, and is definitely something to look out for.

While I enjoyed the divergent timelines narrative device that Archer employed throughout Heads You Win I did feel that he could have done more with it. I would have loved to see a bit more crossover between the two separate timelines, and, for example, see how key characters from one storyline would have fared without their Alexander in their lives. Instead there is minimal crossover between these two separate storylines, which feels like a bit of a missed opportunity. I am also not the biggest fan of what these quick crossovers revealed, as it strongly hinted that both storylines actually exist together at the same time, and as a result, there are two Alexanders existing in the world at the same time. This is a bit of a weird twist, and while it does not negatively impact the vast majority of either storyline, it does result in a conclusion that some may find slightly confusing. As a result, while this did slightly mark down my rating of Heads You Win, the split storyline concept is a fantastic and unforgettable part of this book and makes it quite a distinctive read.

This latest novel from one of the world’s most colourful professional authors is a fun, historical thrill ride that features a very unique and memorable narrative device. With a great look at two different countries during the same historical time period and featuring two separate by similar stories of life, adversity and success, this is an extremely enjoyable novel that will appeal to a varied range of readers. Heads You Win is definitely worth checking out, and I am planning to keep an eye out for the next read from Archer.