Cold Blood

by James Fleming

Book Overview

Charlie Doig, the hero of White Blood, returns in another magnificent and thrilling adventure set in Russia as it descends into the chaos and confusion of a full-blown revolution.

The Russian Revolution is breaking out all around him, but Charlie Doig has a private war to fight. Even if he dies in the attempt, he's going to track down and kill Prokhor Glebov, the Bolshevik who murdered Doig's beautiful wife, Elizaveta. Certain...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416596518
• ISBN13: 9781416596516
• Release Date: October 2009
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.8" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Rollicking, Lusty, and Action-packed!

A good read that took me a lot longer to digest and finish than most of the paperback pulp currently on the market. Fleming adds depth and imagery to a swashbuckling tale of revolution, murder, riot, anarchy, gold robbery, comradeship, and fornication. The chase is on after a family's murder, and in the end, as with all great stories, good wins out - which satisfied me immensely. I look forward to more of this author's work, and will pass on this novel to a friend with good recommendation.

Very enjoyable book

I found Cold Blood to be a very well written novel. The story starts out at a decent pace, and keeps going at a steady cadence from start to finish. As you follow Charles Doig along his journey, you can't help be drawn into the story emotionally, feeling his bitterness and hatred for the man who caused him so much anguish. I found myself staying up late into the night reading this profound story, not wanting to put it down until I got to the end. I have to say that the characters portrayed in this novel are well thought out, with depth of character and personality. This is what mostly gives the story such enjoyment in reading is the lack of shallow, paper-cutout characters.

Great piece of historical fiction!

This was a fantastic bit of historical fiction. Set around the Russian Revolution, it shows what the Russian people went through while the demagogues and idealists waged their war of words and the soldiers waged their actual war - while the people just tried to stay out of the way and not starve. Or, alternatively, try to get out of the cities. I was able to read this book and more-or-less know what was going on, even though it is actually a sequel (which I didn't find out until after I'd read it) to White Blood: A Novel. However, the essence of White Blood: A Novel is outlined at the beginning of "Cold Blood," so you can pretty much be up to speed when you start reading. There is a good description of the plot above, so I won't waste your time outlining all of that and risk the chance of a spoiler. What I will say is that this is a great book, lots of good characters and well-developed ones at that. There is a mention in an editorial review above that people might be put off by the "jokey" voice of the main character, Charlie Doig. What you need to understand about Russians is that they are like that - they make light of things that we here would find absolutely appalling - it is a coping mechanism; at least, that's my theory. When I bring it up to my Russian husband, he just shrugs and says "that's just the way it is." So, relax and find the funny. Enjoy the wonderful descriptions and the great characters - I think just about anyone should enjoy this book.

A cracking good yarn!

I first met the writings of James Fleming's uncle Ian when I was the sole passenger on a tramp steamer sailing from Manchester, England to Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was February 1953, and the winter Atlantic storms were with us constantly. I spent most of my time in the ship's library, and there I discovered Ian Fleming's third novel, Moonraker: James Bond Series #3. I mention this, because James Fleming has a writing style that is every bit as engaging as that of his better known uncle. He has elected to write extremeny short chapters, up to four pages each. His writing style has the flash and devil-may-care dash that has the ring of James Bond about it -- and yet, Charlie Doig is entirely James Fleming's creation. One of the things about "Bond, James Bond" that has endeared him to readers is the elan with which he enters any challenge. The word "impossible" does not appear to be in his vocabulary, and the same may be said of Charlie Doig. The most remarkable achievement in this novel is the feeling created of being present during the fractious moments of the earliest part of the Russian Revolution in 1917. Reminiscent of the volume by R.H. Bruce Lockhart, Memoirs Of A British Agent, Fleming captures the day to day personalities of the big name players, Lenin and Trotsky along with a phalanx of extraordinary ordinary folks. He moves the drama along with unerring focus on his goal. He introduces flesh and blood characters to whom as a reader it is easy to relate. Perhaps the best recommendation I can offer is the fact that about half way through this book I found myself thinking "I really want to read more by this author".

A great adventure in the midst of the collapse of Russian Tsarist society and the rise of the Bolshe

Although it is not necessary to appreciate and enjoy this book, some knowledge of the history of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia is helpful. Charlie Doig is a man on a mission while the society around him is crumbling into armed chaos. A highly ranked Bolshevik official named Prokhor Glebov led the gang rape and torture of Doig's beloved wife Elizaveta. When Doig found her, strips of skin had been cut from her legs and she begged Doig to kill her. Believing there was no hope, he shot her and pledged that he would hunt down and kill Glebov after subjecting him to torture. The story opens with the Kerensky government on the verge of collapse and V. I. Lenin back in Russia, ready to begin his revolution. As the revolution proceeds and the social order collapses in St. Petersburg, Doig manages to get within a few feet of Lenin, Trotsky and Glebov, who has risen to be the number three man in the Bolshevik leadership. However, with no clear chance to make the kill, Doig leaves the scene and this begins a journey of thousands of miles eastward through the Russian landscape with the civil war raging around them. Doig has learned that Glebov has been placed in charge of the fate of Tsar Nicholas and his family and they currently reside in Ekaterinburg in Russian Siberia. They encounter Red and White soldiers, mercenaries of all stripes, aristocrats clinging to their former lives while looking for a way out and even some Americans. As was the case in the strife in Russia after the fall of the Tsar, there are pockets of absurd normality, for example the postal service is still working. Survival is everything and Doig rationalizes his killing of others by convincing himself that if he does not it will mean his death. Through all of this adventure, Doig maintains his focus on killing Glebov and avenging the death of Elizaveta. It is very much in the Melvillian tradition of chasing the White Whale as there is the side lure of hundreds of millions of dollars of Tsarist gold, a cache that the remainder of Doig's makeshift team lusts for. Underneath all of the chaos lies a great deal of philosophy and human psychology as all of the human characteristics of greed, revenge, sexual lust and lust for power is magnified by the circumstances. Fleming has written an exceptional tale of adventure, Charlie Doig is a ruthless character that you have sympathy for, as very few of his actions are of his own making and in his own way he is really quite noble.