Winds of October by Alan Gibbons

review by Maryom

Alan Gibbons' first foray into adult fiction takes us to 1917 when Russia is held in the grip of revolution. The streets of Petrograd are in turmoil, its people on the march, demanding better working and living conditions, a government that really represents them, and an end to the war with Germany. Striking workers are joined in their protests by students and soldiers, and an unstoppable wind of change is blowing.
The story brings these tumultuous events to life through the intertwined stories of three young people - Raisa, who, following the death of her mother, was forced into prostitution. A violent, yet ultimately lucky, encounter sees her escape this life and she's more than ready to embrace the freedom offered.
Kolya, a young student, firm in his Bolshevik ideals, with a rousing slogan for almost every occasion, but of very little experience in the world. He's talked about revolution a lot, but will it live up to his expectations?
Pavel, an army conscript, who doesn't see why he should sacrifice his life fighting the war against Germany, and finds himself thrust into the front ranks of the Revolution after shooting an officer.
All three have a lot of growing up to do - mentally, emotionally, and sexually - as chaos overwhelms the city, and they become part of a growing mass of angry workers, ready to take on anyone who opposes them. Through their eyes the reader shares the hopes and fears, gains and setbacks, of a year marked by strikes, lockouts, and demonstrations, as the first revolution of February falls flat and tensions continue to simmer through spring and summer.
As you'd expect the main historical figures of the time put in appearances - Kerensky driving past in a limousine, a glimpse of Lenin looking unimpressive, British suffragette Jessie Kenney addressing the crowds - but the emphasis is firmly on three main characters, their friends and lovers: this isn't a political novel but one of real people caught up in world-changing events.
Although billed as an adult novel, with the main characters being all fairly young I think this would appeal to teens - of course with revolution and rebellion comes a certain level of violence and bloodshed, and there's a fair amount of sex in it so definitely OLDER teens (maybe the equivalent of a 15-rated film)


Maryom's review - 4 stars 
Publisher - Circaidy Gregory Press
Genre -adult, older teen, historical fiction, Russian Revolution, 

Red Winter by Dan Smith

review by Maryom

After years of being at war, first against Germans then against the White rebels seeking to over throw the Communist revolution, Nikolai Levitsky has had enough of fighting. All he wants to do is go home and settle back down with his wife and family. But when he reaches his home village, he's in for a shock. The place is deserted apart from one old woman who talks about the village being ravaged by Koschei, a terrifying figure from old Russian folk tales. The men are discovered in the nearby forest, horribly mutilated. The women and children are gone - taken away by Koschei and his men - and Nikolai can only follow the trail and hope to find his family still alive at the end of it. But Nikolai himself is being pursued and it soon emerges that his desire to be home with his family isn't as simple and straightforward as the reader's been led to believe.

Red Winter is a gripping historical thriller, set in a time and place familiar to readers of Dr Zhivago - the civil war period just after the first world war, when Russia was torn apart by the various factions fighting for supremacy. Armed units roam the countryside arbitrarily enforcing their version of the law and it's safest to trust no one, as even old friends may turn you in to save their own skin. Against this backdrop move Koschei and his men, leaving devastation and emptiness in their wake - and Nikolai follows.

This is definitely the sort of book that once started is difficult if not impossible to put down. There's a creepy feeling of menace from the very beginning, such that I'd almost expected something more supernatural - but to be honest, with such people around as Koschei, who would need supernatural horrors?
It isn't a book of all out and out violence, though. On his journey through the beginnings of winter, Nikolai encounters people who share his frustration at the seemingly endless war; some looking for a safe place to hole up while the violence wears itself out; others out on their own quests for revenge. Nikolai himself is a complex, flawed hero, but one for whom I felt a lot of sympathy. Once full of ideals but now finding they've let him down, he's almost as much at war with himself as his country is.

This is the first Dan Smith thriller I've read  - I actually won it in a competition hosted on The Little Reader Library blog - but I'll be on the look out for more.

Maryom's review - 4.5 stars 
Publisher - Orion 
Genre - adult, historical thriller