Historical Fiction / Thriller
Date Published: 6/2013
Set against the backdrop of Soviet, post-war Russia, Birth of an Assassin follows the transformation of Jez Kornfeld from wide-eyed recruit to avenging outlaw. Amidst a murky underworld of flesh-trafficking, prostitution and institutionalized corruption, the elite Jewish soldier is thrown into a world where nothing is what it seems, nobody can be trusted, and everything can be violently torn from him.
Given the order to disperse and arrest a crowd of Jewish demonstrators in Red Square, Jez breaks up the rally but discovers his sisters in their ranks. Rushed for a solution, he sneaks the girls from under the noses of secret police and hides them in downtown Moscow. But he knows they will no longer be safe in Russia. He has to find them a safe route out.
The journey begins, but he is unaware that his every move is being observed and that he has set in motion a chain of events that will plunge his life into a headlong battle to stay alive.
Review
Set against the backdrop of Soviet, post-war Russia, Birth of an Assassin follows the transformation of Jez Kornfeld from wide-eyed recruit to avenging outlaw. Amidst a murky underworld of flesh-trafficking, prostitution and institutionalized corruption, the elite Jewish soldier is thrown into a world where nothing is what it seems, nobody can be trusted, and everything can be violently torn from him.
Given the order to disperse and arrest a crowd of Jewish demonstrators in Red Square, Jez breaks up the rally but discovers his sisters in their ranks. Rushed for a solution, he sneaks the girls from under the noses of secret police and hides them in downtown Moscow. But he knows they will no longer be safe in Russia. He has to find them a safe route out.
The journey begins, but he is unaware that his every move is being observed and that he has set in motion a chain of events that will plunge his life into a headlong battle to stay alive.
Review
I was pleasantly surprised by the authenticity of this novel. I truly felt like I was in not only the era, but Russia. This is a Gritty novel, not for the faint of heart. But then again, the title doesn't exactly scream sunshine and roses. ; )
Rik Stone takes on the major theme of Human Trafficking and after reading you will see it in a new light. While it was a lengthy novel, it kept my attention, I was never bored if anything I was anticipating each direction the plot could go.
Vivid, Deep, and Emotional, I thoughtfully enjoyed Birth of an Assassin.
Rik Stone takes on the major theme of Human Trafficking and after reading you will see it in a new light. While it was a lengthy novel, it kept my attention, I was never bored if anything I was anticipating each direction the plot could go.
Vivid, Deep, and Emotional, I thoughtfully enjoyed Birth of an Assassin.
Do children born into poverty become impoverished adults? It happens; pitfalls and roadblocks to advancement are everywhere. Rik Stone grew up poor amidst the slum-lands of fifties North East England, and left school at 15 without any academic qualifications.
He worked in the shipyards on a local river and later went into the merchant navy. Further down the line, he worked quarries in Essex in South East England.
But life was without horizons until, contrary to what his teachers had told him, he found he was capable of studying and completed a BSc degree in mathematics and computing.
Life got lucky for him when he took a company pension at 50 and began writing. And now, here he is offering up his debut novel Birth of an Assassin, the first in a series.
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