Russian Amerika - Book Review

Russian Amerika is an alternate history novel written by Stoney Compton.  This is the first book I've read by Compton, who apparently uses Alaska as the setting for most of his tales.  Sometimes, authors feel the need to set the stage for their alternate history stories by showing the exact divergence from our timeline.  Compton takes a different - and, I think, correct - tack by just presenting it as it is and not trying to fill in all details.  We know this world is different from our own, we just don't know exactly what happened.  That's OK with me - the world is described well enough to follow the action, so that's all I need.

In Russian Amerika, the Czar still rules in Russia, the United States lost the Civil War, and North America is split into 9 or 10 smaller entities.  The political situation isn't well defined by the book, but the United States and the Republic of California appear to be allies, and support the revolution that is trying to form the new republic in Alaska.

The action centers around Gregori (Grisha) Grogorievich, a former officer in the Russian equivalent to the French Foreign Legion, who is thrust into the middle of the conflict by circumstances.  What follows is a good adventure yarn, taking us through the revolution.

Technology in this universe is somewhat behind that of our world - late 1980's in the book feels more like 1940 - no jets, limited communications, less sophisticated military equipment.  Because of this, the rebels, led by Native Americans (the Dena) have some success against the Russian forces.

 Grisha is a good protagonist - tough and smart. Circumstances throw him together with the Dena, eventually leading to his important role in the revolution.  The Dena are superb woodsmen, fierce warriors,  and loyal friends, so it's easy to root for the revolutionaries.

I like Russian Amerika, but it's not perfect.  The characters are interesting, but quite black and white.  Every rebel is altruistic and heroic, while the Cossacks are universally evil, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.  Other Russians are mostly incompetent, except those who convert to the rebel's cause.  Speaking of turncoats, everyone - with one exception I can think of - who goes over to the rebel side is completely converted, and instantly becomes a trusted, valuable member of the revolt.  The Dena Indians are almost superhuman, possessing incredible fighting and tracking skills, and able to withstand torture without cracking.

The battle sequences are entertaining, but a bit hard to believe.  Small, ragtag bands of heroic guerrillas succeed by sabotage and subterfuge, not by fighting pitched battles with enemy infantry when they're badly outnumbered and outgunned.  To be fair, the rebels get some valuable help, which makes this a little easier to believe, but it still seems as though their success comes a little too easily.  To me, it would be a bit more believable if the technology level was lower - say about equal to that availble during our Civil War.  That would even up the playing field a little, and make the rebel's victory more plausible.

I'd also like to see more character development.  Grisha is a three-dimensional character, but many others are less fleshed out.  I'd like to see a sympathetic Cossack - not agreeing with his superior's methods, but powerless to do anything about it.  In any revolution, there are good and bad guys on both sides - I'd like to see a little more of that.

All that being said, this is still an entertaining yarn.  There are a lot of interesting characters, and the action certainly keeps your attention.  In many ways, it reminds me of Eric Flint's 1632 series (although that is a better book, IMHO), in that it presents an extremely optimistic view of the events.  That's OK - we know this isn't a history book, and who's to say it COULDN'T go like that?  If there's no great message behind this story, it's still fun to read.  There's at least one sequel, which has the potential to further develop characters and plot lines.  This is a simple book that tells an entertaining story - worth the time if you like an adventure story.