Peak Picks & Reviews

I do not give my hand to murderers. Introduction  In A Cold Red Sunrise, Stuart M. Kaminsky presents a gripping tale set in the stark, frozen landscapes of Siberia, blending mystery with a subtle critique of Soviet society during the Cold War. Part of the Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov series, this novel brings readers into the life of a resilient and insightful investigator tasked with solving a politically sensitive murder in the Soviet Union. Kaminsky masterfully weaves the atmospheric tension of Siberian life with the nuances of Rostnikov's moral struggle as he navigates a system that values obedience over truth. Synopsis  The novel opens with Commissar Illya Rutkin's journey to the remote Siberian village of Tumsk to investigate the suspicious death of a child, the daughter of a prominent dissident, Lev Samsonov. While initially perceived as a straightforward inquiry, the case becomes more complex when Rutkin himself is found murdered. His death brings Inspector Porfiry Rost...

Why can’t people ever record the good things, the everyday things? If there were ordinary accounts of the camps people would understand how we couldn’t always weep, how we came up out of the mines into the wash-house, singing. You’re a writer, aren’t you, so why don’t you write that? How we smiled a little, danced and sang a little. Because people must live in hope…. Introduction  Colin Thubron, a celebrated British travel writer, is known for his deeply introspective and meticulously researched works that explore distant, often unfamiliar regions of the world. In Siberia, published in 1999, is no exception. The book chronicles Thubron's journey across the vast, enigmatic, and frozen expanse of Siberia. Stretching over five million square miles, Siberia has long been a place shrouded in mystery and misunderstanding in the Western imagination. From its infamous association with the Soviet Gulag system to its indigenous cultures and rich natural resources, the region embodies a compl...