The Siberian Dilemma

I am not a frequent book--reader, but have read all of the Renko novels. I didn't start with Gorky Park, but got to it after reading a couple of others. I was delighted - really - when my Amazon page showed me there was a new Renko novel out. I had it in less than 24 hours, & read it entirely in less than a day. I am not a fast reader.I was really disappointed. The story text runs to 274 pages, - not a lot. It starts on page 3, & has 42 Chapters. Between the vast majority of chapters there is a full empty blank page. Some pictures too. So approx' 232 actual pages of story text. And the print isn't small.One could probably ignore the above if it was a great tale, but the plot is thin, & not very believable.Also Smith is American, so he uses Imperial measurements, - since he's been writing about Russian characters for so long though you'd think he'd know the big difference between a foot & a metre. (No, proof readers, I'm sure the Russian translation isn't meters.....) So there's a bear over 29ft tall in this novel..... And a Russian character says something is 4ft long.... bet he didn't....So I'd say spend your money on something else.

Where to start, maybe at Gorky Park which was a great Renko opener. Polar Star was only a niche down from GP so to Red Square. Havana Bay and Wolves Eat Dogs were high points, well written, taut, interesting - then a dip, Stalin's Ghost was 3/10 but Three Stations was sloppy and mistake ridden, the ending very rushed. Then up again, Tatiana is a gem. Set in kaliningrad the storyline is excellent so too the location and it's description. Now we get to Siberian Dilemma.I always get excited at a new Arkady book, expectations rise and it's an event which doesn't hapen often. However I struggled to make progress with this offering. The plot is thin, characters not padded, events glossed over. In effect, quite boring. Even the action when it arrives is dull. Sadly, another 3/10 - maybe next time :)

This was a padded short story. Characters were not developed and had the feel of the author running out of ideas. His worst so far.

After the fantastic Gorky Park, Red Square, Polar Star, Wolves eat Dogs etc, MCS is milking Renko. However, this would not be bad or un-understandable, but in this book, Renko is devoid of his personality and MCS has turned him into a James Bond figure with non credible derring-do feats. The plot is scant, Renko's tangles with authority are pathetic and I am hugely disappointed in Mr Cruz-Smith. Retire Renko, sir!

What a great disappointment this book is. Little in the way of plot. Thin characterisation. Just when the main character is faced with a life or death dilemma you think at last, now the book just might get going. Not a chance. The whole thing is sewn up in the next few pages with an ending that feels like the author had somewhere else to be. Not recommended.