The Kremlin Conspiracy: A Marcus Ryker Novel, Book 1

A very timely book on the Russian method. Good read.

This is a prescient look at Russian war culture that is now being played out in Ukraine. It’s too bad that the premise is fiction.

This book reads like a novelization of current events. Published earlier this year, its top political figures are remarkably similar to the current ‘president for life’ of Russia, the newly elected president of America, and a particularly outspoken member of the American Congress.The main character is a guy named Marcus Ryker who has a really difficult way to go, facing life and death issues first hand throughout his life. He goes from being a school kid who finds it necessary to shoot his abusive step-dad, to a grunt in the Marine Corps who ends up in a helicopter crash with a horrendous firefight, to being a Secret Service agent who saves the White House against a terrorist attack, to an unemployed guy, which is where his real role in this book begins.The other main character is a young Russian lawyer who becomes the son-in-law of Aleksandr Luganov, the doppelganger of Russia’s president Putin. His life in some ways parallels that of Ryker, but in other ways is radically different. They both meet and marry the love of their life, they both eventually lose their family, and they both court death on a regular basis. Whereas Ryker faced the possibility of being outright killed by bad guys in combat, Oleg Kraskin lives daily among the top dogs in Russia. He becomes increasingly closer to and trusted by Luganov, ultimately becoming his closest advisor and confidant. At this level he is in the realm where speaking against the whims of the president could get you ‘disappeared’.The Kremlin Conspiracy is about Luganov’s desire to “restore the glory of Russia” that was lost in 1991 with the collapse of communism and the Soviet Union, and to become the sole world superpower. He intends to do this by reconquering three former Soviet states who have since become members of NATO. He feels that by doing so, he will render NATO obsolete and powerless, and will demonstrate that the West can no longer challenge him. As the story progresses, Luganov becomes increasingly dishonest with his cabinet, his military leaders, his allies, and the world at large. He also seems to slowly lose his grip on reality by crawling into the bottle more and more often, losing his family, and ultimately reaching the point where he relishes the thought of nuclear war. Kraskin, on the other hand, becomes increasingly disenchanted with the direction Luganov is headed, and, putting the safety of his country and family above his own safety, he reaches out to Ryker and between them they formulate a plan to avert an apocalypse.Given the state of politics in America and the world, and the recent aggression exhibited by the new Russia, this story is plausible. It is conceivable that events similar to these occur on a daily basis, and that destruction of the world could easily be brought about by decisions made by egocentric world leaders.While the story is good, the book itself falls short in a few areas. First, the thing takes a while to get started. The author insists on dwelling excessively on background information that does not propel the story line. Regarding Ryker, the book alternates between periods of action (interesting) and periods where his family relationship is explored (boring). In fact, Ryker doesn’t even contribute to the real plot until near the end. The Oleg Kraskin side of the book is actually more interesting, but again the author takes up excessive pages discussing issues unrelated to the story. As a whole, the book progresses with fits and starts in the beginning, with early adventure followed by misfires and distractions, then finally gets in gear at the end, only to stop dead in its tracks, leaving the reader and the characters – literally – hanging. If the story were true, a more satisfying book would have picked up a little later in the action, skipped over some of the less useful personal interests, and concluded at a later point when the fallout from the plot becomes known. This one gets 3.5 stars.

If you like geo political thrillers. This is one for you. The book did start a little slow for me, but It made a great comeback. I am looking forward to the next Ryker book

Well that was the epitome of a slow burn, but once it got ignited . . .WOW!This was my first Rosenberg book and at times in the first 30% of the book I almost put it down. I'm SO glad I stuck with it.I would have already started reading the next book, but I wanted to first tell y'all how good this was. Go and read it now!!

Book was shipped quickly and in excellent condition.

Great book. This could have been written today (minus the pandemic). A thriller full of suspense and moral and ethical dilemmas. This book does not disappoint.

This book, as all of Joel C. Rosenberg's books are was riveting. The setting is in Russia at the highest level. It starts off with Oleg having a nightmare about his girlfriend, Marina, getting caught up in a burning building. Someone is setting off bombs and blowing up buildings with normal, everyday people in them. It has Russia on it's toes to find the bomber. Aleksandr Ivanovich Luganov, Marina's father, is the acting president of Russia and hopes and plans to be made the president as soon as the real president is dead, which should be any time. The Kremlin Conspiracy is a fast moving suspense book. As the book developed I felt sorry for Oleg as the intrigue of the highest office was offered to him and he saw how many things that were happening were not adding up. Then in part 2, Marcus Ryker, steps into the picture inn Colorado, a young college student along with his girlfriend, Elena, racing to save his mother from his abusive step father. Life happens and Elena's father asks them to take a break for 1 year. Then 911 hits and Marcus joins the service. The stories of Oleg's and Marcus's life coincide with many similarities, marriage, children, the life of men with no time for their families but very high profile. Then both of their lives meld and they come together with events that kept me reading way past my bedtime. The book ends abruptly though in a heart stopping event. I yelled out "nooooo" when the last page came. "It cannot end this way." but it did and I will have to wait for the sequel. Write fast Joel, write fast.......

SUPER READ AS USUAL, FAST PACED ALMOST CINEMATIC STYLE, SCENE REELING FAST INTO NEXT SCENE. VERY AMERICAN STYLE SUSPENSE THRILLER BOOK.

A brilliant author with prophetic insight

looks great!

a Good buy, easy read

Requested as a present.