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Title: Polar Star by MARTIN CRUZ SMITH ISBN: 0-345-36765-0 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 13 June, 1990 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (30 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: hero of "Gorky Park" returns
Comment: During the early days of Glasnost, the fishing-factory ship "Polar Star" sails the polar waters of the North Pacific in a cooperative deal with the Americans. With the Soviet State still in existence, communism is still the rule. The agreement with the Americans is therefore on thin ice. When the body of one of the ship's crew, a beautiful and bold Georgian girl named Zina, comes up with the latest catch of Pollack, the Captain calls for investigation. Unfortunately, the only man capable of running the investigation is a disgraced, and probably fugitive former Moscow investigator named Arkady Renko.
Yeah, that's right, the guy from "Gorky Park" (who would also go on to witness the abortive 1991 coup in "Red Square" and post-Soviet Cuba in "Havana Bay"). If you haven't read any of those books, I see no reason why you can't start with this one - though they're all worthy reads. Renko, a loyal soviet police detective, proved too loyal by the end of "Gorky Park", in which he unmasked a conspiracy involving murder and sable-smuggling. In "Star", we learn that Renko was locked away in an asylum - probably to keep him from implicating any higher-ups in the events of "Park". He is sprung from prison by an unlikely ally - KGB General Pribluda, a man Renko once tried to implicate in multiple murder. Free, after a fashion, Renko knows that he's marked, and wisely flees Moscow, braves the wastes of Siberia (where car engines run all night long to keep from freezing) and manages to arrive in Vladivostok. Desperate to elude re-capture, Renko takes the lowest job on ship - the "slime-line". By the time of Zina's death, Renko hasn't left the ship in a year. Dragooned by Captain Marchuk into the investigation, Renko pursues leads that may implicate the Americans in smuggling drugs, or the "Polar Star's" communist masters in using the ship to spy on the Americans. Now out of the ship's hold, Renko's search for answers brings him to Nastasha, a beautiful but loyal communist "with eyes as black as Stalin, but nice", Susan, a golden girl who seems to symbolize the promise of American prosperity, and Karp, a viscious thug with a penchant for murder and a grudge against Renko. Though Karp is an obvious suspect, Renko finds plenty of reason to suspect just about everybody - and soon all begin to regret calling him to the case.
"Polar Star" excels on its full-blooded and sympathetic characters and wonderfully nuanced perspectives. (Is Karp really bad? We're not sure. Regardless of the answer, he's a presence we can't forget). The mystery, the setting and the characters make "Polar Star" poles apart from lesser novels.
Rating: 5
Summary: Polar Star
Comment: I picked up a copy of Polar Star when I was 12 and now, 2 years later, I still think it's one of the best book I've ever read. As I had not read Gorky Park, I found the concept completely unique. The main character's past, up to the events on the Polar Star, were helpfully refreshed by the superb literary skills of the author. I was able to quickly understand the story (and misfortunes) of Arkady Renko. In short, a body is pulled out of the sea by a Soviet fishing ship called the Polar Star. Captain Marchuk calls upon Renko to investigate into the case. He soon finds his superiors bullying him inot wrapping up the case, and sees something sinister is afoot. The story kept me enthralled right until the final confrontation in the frozen waters of the Bering Straits. Martin Cruz Smith is a genius of thriller writing. I also recommend Red Square (which I thought was the final Arkady book until I saw the Havana Bay reviews on this very site.)
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent Sequel
Comment: The second in Martin Cruz Smith's wonderful Russian-themed detective series, Polar Star lives up to the promise of the first book, Gorky Park. Polar Star is a Russian fishing ship off the coast of Alaska, working in conjunction with a team of US trawlers. Moscow detective Arkady Renko is being rehabilited after the events in Gorky Park and finds himself on board when a murder takes place. The setting, on a freezing fishing ship in the icy Bering Sea, lends a heavy pressurized feeling to every page. Smith has done the research, his writing is self-assured but not self-conscious. He doesn't show off, but casts plot and dialogue and characters and scenery with the true ring of authenticity. Renko's self-deprecating honesty and Columbo-like detective style brings a smile. Smith is a good writer and this is a good book.
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Title: Red Square by Martin Cruz Smith ISBN: 0345384733 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 01 November, 1993 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith ISBN: 0345298349 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 12 February, 1982 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Havana Bay by Martin Cruz Smith ISBN: 0345390458 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 03 April, 2001 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Rose by Martin Cruz Smith ISBN: 034542252X Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 01 February, 2000 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Stallion Gate by Martin Cruz Smith ISBN: 0345310799 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 12 June, 1987 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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