Without Redemption
Author
Thomas Thorpe
Publisher
Black Rose Writing
3 Review Copies Left
In the spring of 1846, William and Elizabeth Darmon receive a mysterious letter from a soldier dying on a Punjab battlefield. Soon after, a Sikh refugee arrives at London dock pursued by a Russian agent who kills the warrior and kidnaps Elizabeth. William trails them to India and confronts the predator high on Rakaposhi Mountain. Then the unthinkable happens: Cossacks invade over the Himalayas to join a rebel leader in Jammu. Within the war-torn province, the Darmons make their way back and find a letter from Tsar Nicholas alluding to a Russo-American agreement to eliminate British presence in North America by the sale of Northwest territories. Using the proceeds, the Emperor plans an invasion of the Crimea. The Darmons race across the Taklamakan desert, Afghanistan, and Persia under pursuit of Cossacks and Khiva warriors in an attempt to warn Abd al-Majid, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
Reviews
Well, as those of you that follow my blog know, I've been on a Russian literature and history kick. Well, this sort of stays within a few of those lines. This one takes you through parts of the Russian invasion of India.
Reviewed on 09/01/2010 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Mystee Blackwood
I thought this was a wonderful book. It is a historical fiction about a couple, William and Elizabeth, from Great Britain in the mid 1850's. It tells about a trip they take to look for a ring that Elizabeth lost in Russia. The story takes you through several countries and tells about the Russian invasion of India. It describes the trials and tribulations they have from Elizabeth being kidnapped and William going to India looking for her, their reuniting, the trips they take into various areas looking for the ring and what they face as others try to stop them. It also describes how they help stop the overthrow of the British government in India at the time after the Russians leave. They face danger from Russian, Indian, and native troops along with illness and the dangers of traveling.
I feel that the author does a great job of keeping the reader in suspense. You never know what is coming up next. You think that Elizabeth has been taken to one place when she is kidnapped to find out she has been taken somewhere completely different. He does a great job of discribing what the people of that time wore, the problems that were occuring at the time, such as illness, the geography of the areas they are traveling through, the people they met along the way, and much more. I felt I was in the time period right along with them and traveling with them.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in this time period. Author Thorpe has done a wonderful job and I will be looking at more of his books. This book is number 6 in a series but I had no trouble picking up the story line. If you are interested in British or Indian history, don't hesitate to pick it up.
Reviewed on 07/16/2009 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Shannon Baas
