Russian Amerika

by Stoney Compton

Book Overview

1. To many Americans, and visitors from other countries, Alaska means adventure, romance, and excitement. Russian Amerika delivers all this and more: Revolution against an oppressor, continent-wide... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 141652116X
• ISBN13: 9781416521167
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Baen
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Excellent military fiction

A story that will keep the reader glued to the book. For those who like running action and "what might have been" had history changed just a little, this is for you.

Alaska is Russian Amerika, under the brutal and cruel empire of the Czar

Alaska is Russian Amerika, under the brutal and cruel empire of the Czar, Canada is British Canada and French Canada, and the Midwest of our America is the First Peoples' Nation. The upper Northeast is the United States of America, which flubbed Seward's Purchase back in the 1800s, most of Arizona and a hunk of New Mexico are the hermetic religious realm, Deseret; The Republic of California includes the areas of Nevada and Baja, and everything south of the Republic of Texas and the Confederate States of America is New Spain. The protagonist is Grisha, a Russian and Alaskan Native, a charter captain and cashiered Russian officer. Trapped by a political murder during a storm at sea and a woman's betrayal, he finds himself stripped of ship, wife, home, liberty, and enslaved in the interior of Alaska. Freed by a native rebellion, Grisha rapidly revives his dormant skills as a field officer and leads the rebellion to victory. Sound simple? Not really. The process involves combat, diplomacy, the deaths of friends, air vs. armor encounters, sea battles, love, and unending action. There is even a parachute drop into a hot L.Z.! Stoney Compton adroitly maintains conflict and tension throughout. With good environmental, geographic, and linguistic detail, this is the kind of offering Baen is famous for. This book cost me sleep. Reviewed by David Lloyd Sutton

Russian Amerika rings changes

What if the Louisiana Purchase never happened? What would happen if Seward never bought Alaska from the Russians? What if the Russian Revolution failed? What if there were an independent Republic of California? Stoney Compton, winner of the prestigeous Writers of the Future contest, has produced a thinking person's alternate history...that is, if you can take a breath and pause for a minute from the headlong action and think about the implications of what his story is about. You like alternate history, right? You're bored to tears with more changes on the Civil War, right? Well, here's a civil war that will bring tears to your eyes at the heroism, allow you to hiss the villains, cheer the heroes, and when it is over, leaves you wishing it was longer, and didn't stop in medias res...dammit Stoney, get that sequel finished!!! Go buy this book. Trust me. You won't regret it. Walt Boyes Associate Editor/Marketing Director Jim Baen's Universe magazine

A beautifully written tale of revolution

Having grown up in Alaska, I have wondered what it would have been like if it were still under Russian control. This book offers us a well written answer, taking us back into a new and different cold war, and into the heart of Alaska. While at first glance a gritty tale of war and struggle, there is a love story here too, not only of a man and a woman, but also between the Native peoples of Alaska and the land itself. The prose is beautiful and detailed, allowing the reader to imagine their way through each scene. You are in the battles, in Rainbow Valley, in the Dena Republic. This is a great read for anyone, especially those who have been to Alaska, or wondered about this great land, its peoples, and its history.

Which is stronger, courage or chains?

This is an absolutely marvelous debut. It's set in an alternate history where the War of Northern Aggression did *NOT* go well for the North, and the North American Continent has ended up as ten different countries, and "Russian Amerika" owned by the Czar. ALL of these countries are "armed because they do not trust each other." As the story opens, we meet ex-Army of the Czar Captain Grisha Grigorievich, a man disgraced, cashiered, and divorced for disobeying an immoral order and saving his command from destruction. As he sets sail on his tramp fishing boat, the currents are against him, and I'm not talking about the ones in the water, either. For we can hear in the background a rhythmic pounding. It's not drums. The native peoples of Alaska are fed up with the Czar's foot on their necks, and the pounding is lead pipes and axe-hafts into the palms of their hands. There's a lot of action in this book, all of it centered around The Revolt from Hell. There's all the combat you would expect from such a story, but the author doesn't forget that "War is diplomacy conducted by other means," and he shows us the even more desperate battles fought behind the scenes in drawing rooms and council chambers. The newborn Dena Republik needs friends and allies, but how do they get them without being [worked] over by those same people? Visualize negotiating with Halliburton Oil while you're outnumbered, outgunned, and under attack and you'll get some idea of just how bad that can get. The story is very well told, with superb characterization, plot and storytelling. There are a lot of little touches to remind us that this may be OUR continent, but it's not OUR 1980's-era. I liked the good guys, despised the bad guys, had a lot of fun reading this, and tried not to let minor concerns like eating, sleeping, or working distract me from this book. I urge you to buy this book, so that the publisher is encouraged to bring out sequels or follow-ons in this exciting new universe. I sure as heck want to read them. Thanks, Mr. Compton. Please keep it coming!