Rasputin's Bastards

by David Nickle

They were the beautiful dreamers.

From a hidden city deep in the Ural mountains, they walked the world as the coldest of Cold Warriors, under the command of the Kremlin and under the power of their own expansive minds.

They slipped into the minds of Russia's enemies with diabolical ease, and drove their human puppets to murder, and worse.

They moved as Gods. And as Gods, they might have remade the world.

But like the mad holy man Rasputin, who destroyed Russia through his own powerful influence... in the end, the psychic spies for the Motherland were only in it for themselves.

* * *

It is the 1990s.

The Cold War is long finished.

In a remote Labrador fishing village, an old woman known only as Babushka foresees her ending through the harbour ice, in the giant eye of a dying kraken – and vows to have none of it.

Beaten insensible and cast adrift in a life raft, ex- KGB agent Alexei Kilodovich is dragged to the deck of a ship full of criminals, and with them he will embark on a journey that will change everything he knows about himself.

And from a suite in an unseen hotel in the heart of Manhattan, an old warrior named Kolyokov sets out with an open heart, to gather together the youngest members of his immense, and immensely talented, family.

They are more beautiful, and more terrible, than any who came before them.

They are Rasputin's bastards.

And they will remake the world.

Genres: Horror, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Russia, Alternate History, Historical

467 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

David Nickle is the author of several novels and numerous short stories. His latest novel is VOLK: A Novel of Radiant Abomination. His novel Eutopia: A Novel of Terrible Optimism (to which VOLK is a sequel) was a finalist for the Aurora Award, the Sunburst Award and the Compton Crook Award. His story collection Monstrous Affections won the 2009 Black Quill Reader's Choice Award. He's a past winner of the Bram Stoker Award and Aurora Award. He lives and works in Toronto.

Reviews

[Bibliophile · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book makes me happy. Just the fact that it exists gives me hope. There is so much mediocre, predictable and sloppy genre fiction out there, every time someone breaks out of that mold I want to cheer (Jeffrey Ford also does that to me).

I loved Eutopia: A Novel of Terrible Optimism, and this one is just as wonderful, but quite different. It's one of those rare novels that doesn't fit neatly into any category. Yes, there are elements of horror and fantasy with a bit of the spy novel thrown in, but basically it's just a terrific novel - well written, original, interesting and immensely enjoyable.

I mean, what's not to love? There's bitchy baby Vladimir, scheming telepaths, puppet masters, sleeper agents, giant squids, a laboratory at the bottom of the ocean, a power hungry old Babushka, oddly lovable Morlocks... and it all comes together so well. In the hands of a lesser writer it could have turned into a whimsical mess, but Nickle takes his characters seriously and stays true to the story. The characters are neither good nor evil (though some may have darker motives than others) unlike the usual characterization in the horror genre. Nickle portrays everyone with understanding and empathy. Instead of doling out gruesome punishments to the villains, he offers them compassion and perhaps even redemption. Let's all stop to consider for a moment how rare that is. Ok? And the story? Well, it's sad and touching without being sentimental. And also very, very funny.

The ending is nicely put together and very satisfying, although I would have liked to know what becomes of the characters. Also I'm a little worried about the Morlocks. Will they be ok? Do they need looking after? Will they retire?

Now I just need to convince my friends with refined tastes to read this one so I'll have someone to discuss it with.

[Kristin (MyBookishWays Reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/06/...

Alexei Kilodovich, KGB agent, has been pulled out of the water by a ship full of criminals. Specifically, criminals specializing in the trafficking of children, and using them in various money making schemes. Holden Gibson, head honcho, is bad news, but he’s nothing in comparison to the people that Kilodovich is used to dealing with. Kilodovich had been serving as a body guard to a supposed “business woman”, but who is, in fact, involved in a much greater conspiracy. Meanwhile, his handler, Kolyokov, festers in a total immersion tank in New York, casting his psychic net, gathering together his “children” for motives beyond anything you can imagine. He’s not the only one calling to these exceptional children, though, and a showdown is on the horizon. City 512 has been churning out psychic manipulators for quite some time, and now its most ambitious operatives yet are on the move, and no longer want to be under the thumb of a puppet master. They are the “beautiful dreamers.”

I honestly had no idea what to expect from Rasputin’s Bastards. ChiZine is known for its thought provoking fiction, and this is certainly no exception. It’s the 90s, and the Cold War is over, but you wouldn’t know it to read this. Putting in mind the diabolically evil human experimentations of Nazi Germany, Rasputin’s Bastards gives us City 512, a breeding ground for psychic espionage (usually known as astral projection.) Children have been bred to be puppets and puppeteers, but this new batch of kids is just a bit different. No longer will they be used by a group bent on world domination, and they’re ready to take their freedom, at any cost. But the mother of them all has sent out a call, and is gathering all of her sleepers and dreamers together for what has been dubbed The Rapture. Long of tooth and chock full of characters, there’s lots to digest here, but it offers up lots of goodies for those willing to go the distance. The author has a talent for spinning a phrase to make it much more than the sum of its parts, and surprisingly, there’s quite a lot of humor as well: clever and dry, popping up just when things start to get really serious, but never disrupting the flow. The author dives deep into his main characters and paints very complete pictures, weaving the stories together amidst a surrealistic landscape of dream walkers and mind control. This reminded me very much of Dan Simmons’ Carrion Comfort (one of my all time favorites), and it’s been quite a while since I’ve read a book with this much teeth. Lovely, rich writing only serves to make the creepy bits (of which there are plenty), well, even more creepy, and fans of subtle horror will find much to like in Rasputin’s Bastards.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only recently discovered David Nickle through his short story in Best Horror of the Year (Vol. 4), edited by Ellen Datlow. The short story is called "Looker" and I'll have a lot more to say about it when I review the anthology, but at this point let me say that it was both beautifully written, utterly creepy, and made my skin crawl.

Rasputin's Bastards is something altogether different - an epic Cold War novel featuring former KGB agents - the remnants of a former Soviet program to develop psychic superwarriors that worked very well. The problem, of course, with psychic superwarriors is that they tend to act on their own volition - meaning they obey their masters when convenient and when inconvenient - not so much.

Once again Nickles writes beautifully. This is a novel full of complexities. No one really knows who anyone else is (and neither do you). The fluidity of the characters' ability to be within other bodies and other lives might have made this unreadable, but it's wonderful - fascinating, engrossing, and yes - it made my skin crawl.

While I suppose that Nickles might be considered a horror writer (after all, that story I talked about earlier was in a horror anthology), it seems more accurate to call him a writer of speculative fiction. He's got a wonderful mastery of "what if" and effortlessly juggles more objects at one time than most writers that I have read. Fittingly, his story works a lot like a matryoshka doll (a Russian nesting doll) with an infinite number of smaller dolls to be discovered within - each alike, but also different.

Rasputin's Bastards is a fever dream of a novel. It's something you must jump into and allow it to take along through the tides and currents. And sense? Don't depend too much on that. Rather depend on your senses, and on Mr. Nickles' ability to take you along on a journey you won't soon forget. Highly recommended.

[Matt Brady · Rating 2 out of 5]

A frustrating read. Soviet psychics cast adrift with the end of the Cold War wage war through sleeper agents to control the world. It's a relatively simple and interesting story told in a complicated way that just made things more confusing than they needed to be. Lots of cool ideas but it never came together.

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rasputin's Bastards starts out with a very interesting premise tying together psychic, sleeper agents, and Russia's dark history. As a whole, the storyline was intriguing because Nickle only gives you tiny pieces of a massive ongoing story scattered between over a dozen characters. You get bits from characters' backstory, future, present, questionable memories, and 'happy places'.

My issue is only with the actual delivery. The story is told in 1-2 page snippets dealing with various characters. Sometimes it takes most of that to orient you to what you missed while reading a previous snippet, other times you are trying frantically to remember who these people are. Nickle helps a bit with that in the form of a list of dramatis personae. Unfortunately their 'descriptions' are usually a single word that didn't help.

By the time I reached the end of the book people were starting to be more easily remembered. But it was right around that time that things started to flag. The way the story wraps up makes perfect sense given the background, but it just isn't memorable. It all happens too fast and too abruptly. I think it is the method of breaking the story into such short snippets that resulted in this.

However, it was an entertaining read, all in all. I do not regret my purchase.

[D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A spy story? Cold War? Hardly the sort of thing I pick up, on the surface. I have never seen a James Bond film, for example.


This was something entirely different. Shelved Soviet projects, Cold War holdovers out of place, sleeper agents and warped psychics. Layers of identities are giftwrapped over the disquieting sense that small children can see right through any attempts at pretence. Served with a side order of giant squid and at least one absolute gem hidden in a turn of phrase at least once in each chapter. You know the sort, almost too clever by far and sharp enough to elicit a bark of laughter on recognition of the absurd. Out of context, who is ever given the opportunity to debate Brezhnev-era Soviet foreign policy with a five month old infant in a carriage?


I could throw a nod or two to 'Inception' here, but it would be unfair: this is much cooler.
Overlooking any in-depth lit-crit here because it was a pretty wild ride - I caught themes but was having way too much fun trying to keep up with character, perspective and scene shifts.

[Bettie]

One to keep my eye on - see how the ratings pan out.
:O)

[K.E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read my full review on The Crow’s Caw: http://thecrowscaw.com/2012/06/13/dav...

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was initially hesitant to buy this book, intriguing as it sounds, because the author is a horror writer and I'm not really into horror. But this book is definitely not horror. WHAT it is is another question entirely; the only point of reference I can give a potential reader might be the kind of stuff China Mieville writes: gritty, sometimes disturbing stories that take reality and turn it on its head while packing in imaginative concepts from a dozen different genres.

In Rasputin's Bastards David Nickle gives us a Soviet cold war psychic program, giant squid, Russian folklore, a secret submarine base, sensory deprivation tanks, brainwashing programs and so much more. The mysteries of the plot pull you along. It's not really spoiling anything to say that almost no one in the book is who they think they are (this is strongly implied fairly early in the proceedings). The book follows an assortment of characters as they unravel their true identities (and abilities) while confronting a world-devouring entity.

I have to say that at the end of the book I had more questions than answers, which is kind of frustrating. I'm not sure if this is because I just wasn't reading carefully enough to put all the pieces of the puzzle together or if the ending is just sequel bait. Or maybe it's all supposed to be ambiguous. I wish the author had made the rules of the psychic abilities that are the core of the plot more explicit. I think that would have cleared up a lot of confusion on my part.

Regardless, the journey is enjoyable even if the destination is less than satisfying. If you're looking for something different and well-written I recommend it.

[Lynne Nunyabidness · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damn. Just damn.

Nickle has a lot going on in this book, with layers upon layers of reality and not reality, such that you should probably not do what I did and go a long period between chapters, if you want to grasp everything happening here. As it is, this novel is the sort that lends itself to re-reading because the second and subsequent readings will provide much more depth (and recollection of which character is which and the relationships among them) than the first go-round. But the result is worth the effort: Nickle weaves a fine story here that dips into everything from Cold War-era spying to the nature of reality itself. Or at least that's what I got from it -- I have a feeling that different readers will have different takeaways. Some will focus on matters of mind control, others the mystery and suspense, still others will meditate on the dangers of true believers, whether they believe in a deity, power, or simply the lining of their own pockets (or, heaven forbid, all three). And therein lies the brilliance of the book -- its complexity while nonetheless telling a fascinating tale that will capture readers attention and imagination.

[trickgnosis · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing read if this sort of thing appeals. There are a couple of missteps plot and pace-wise but I enjoyed it. Note to the author: Glocks do not have a safety. A small thing it's true but for anyone knowledgeable about firearms it immediately spoils the suspension of disbelief.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I thought this was a knockoff of Midnight's Children, but the more I read, it got deliciously weird.

[Ian McKinley]

I find it's difficult to get through a long tale like this when there are no sympathetic characters. For me, if everyone is a complete jerk, I don't care about them, I don't care what happens to them - unless its comeuppance - and I have a hard time following them through their challenges and through their conflicts with their adversaries. There are some interesting ideas in this book, but on the balance, I'm glad to have completed it so I can move on to something else.

[M Tat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having picked this book up out of 'dire need to read something while on the bus', I was pleasantly surprised.

This is not a novel cut & dried easily for review, rather it (the novel) benefits from the layered approach: mental constructs, referred to as 'metaphors', provide some rather interesting opportunities for interpretation.

Suffice to say, reading this work _is_ a little jarring. There is some jumping around that may cause the reader's head to spin. It seems essential, then, to note the Dramatis Personae from start, and to refer back to them as the reader constructs these characters based on Nickle's telling. We are, much like the characters in the novel, a result of our programming.

The novel does require one to have _some_ familiarity with World War II as well as The Cold War, else fairly reasonable situations within the novel may play too hard & fast (requiring even greater suspension of disbelief) than what the reader may handle.

One of the strengths of this work is the character development. Nickle does well in constructing his characters not only in the forward, linear momentum (of which most novels make), but throughout their own personal chronology. Flashbacks are _essential_ to this work, and play up one theme: that human memory is highly subjective (for most) and confabulation of that memory is an inherent human weakness.

There are a number of other thematics present, some subtle, some fairly boldfaced. It can be difficult to fully know whether Nickle asserted these in his writing or if this is simply the formulaic interpretation as a result of so much literary criticism in the post-modern age.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Rasputin's Bastards and there is no doubt after reading this book that David Nickle is a very talented author. The story is elaborate, meaty and well written. It however confused me a great deal.

The story based on a dozen or so central characters about Russian sleeper agents, psychics, puppet masters and of course their puppets. Who that is frequently is a mystery. Which gets to the confusion. The story is told in bursts from a variety of characters point of view. When changing you often wonder wait who is this and what is their role in the story, just when you remember and start to get going off you go to the next person and where they are or their flashback or well you get the picture.

Rasputin's Bastards is a highly intelligent story and I am only pleased to have read it however I think the length of the story which after a point just made me impatient and the extensive character list and frequent switching back and forth which confused me made me not love it. Like it, enjoy it, admire it for it is good yes but no I didn't love it.

I do recommend the book just be prepared. I for one look forward to David's next book I will indeed be reading more of his work.

[Leadie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flash back to the cold war era and add a twist. Agents who are able to get in other people's minds and use them as puppets. Many sleepers may or may not have been sleeping over many years. Then add a couple levels of this technique and mix it in with jealousy, power and greed. These are Rasputin's Bastards.
While the novel is long with many story arcs it is possible to follow it. If you want an easy read, this isn't it. This is one for when you have time to register the characters and what they can and can't do. I can honestly say I wasn't happy with the ending but I'm not going to post any spoilers. It's just my opinion.

[Katia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really didn't think that I would enjoy the story line as much as I did; psychic spies from the Cold War. Really? As fantastical as the story got at times it was fun taking those twists and turns, and remarkably grounded given the plot. I had a lot of fun reading this. The author had a great story to tell and executed it with thoughtful and well rounded characters. Would recommend.

[Tone · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lot of cleaver ideas in here, the use of the post-Cold War for settings and characters and psychic warfare. Nickle avoids the telepathy trap of just having characters stare at each other and shake, ala Scanners, by having them navigate thought each others psyches through their memories.

[Susan Batho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the constant jumping through time and space of this book, it gathers speed and finally takes you to a strange, yet fascinating climax. Taking the hypothesis of the Cold War development of psychic powers - both in Russia and the States - and adding Rasputin's own reputation as a psychic and womaniser (perhaps using his mind-powers to do so?), the program was much assisted by blood lines - which are "encouraged". At one point, I was thinking it smacked of "Village of the Damned" with all these children that look alike with their black hair, and having special "powers" that are more hinted at at first, than used, Or were they? And, sleepers - something we hear about in spy novels about the Cold War - but are these the same? Or people that did not "turn on" without psychic help.
It's also about megliomania - maybe inherited from the original Rasputin? Which brings sleepers, physics and the old world of the Cold War together into one place for a violent ending.

[Brian Gaston · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give this a3+. It was an interesting premise with many interesting characters. My only quibble is the length. 450+ pages to cover a topic such as this may be a tad too many. I found the pacing couldn't keep up with the length.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a deeply weird book, and it might take me a while to decide if I liked it or not.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I dont know. This really isnt my genre. It's my fault. I really was thinking there would be, well, more mentions of Rasputin.
So, my fault.

[Madelaine Shaw-Wong · Rating 4 out of 5]

A long and complicated plot, but well worth the read.

[Lorina Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is no disputing David Nickle's ability as a strong story-teller with an aggressive style. If you're looking for subtle and lyrical, Rasputin's Bastard's is not it. If you're looking for a Clancy-ish SF, you've found your writer.

Set in the confusion of post-Cold War Era, Nickle's story unfolds around a large cast of characters, all working toward the same end, to either prevent, or create, world domination not through force of arms, but through aggression of a far more insidious and devastating means, that of mind control.

In the utopia of the villains of this story, humans would exist as vehicles for the consciousness of their overlords. In the utopia of the heroes, those with the ability to dream-walk others would simply be able to exist in harmony, without fear of persecution or harm.

The story itself, although not particularly new, is a good one, and Nickle tells it in a style very much mirroring the implacable reasoning of the Cold War mentality.

And this is where we get into personal taste in this review, something I'm always loathe to do, but usually succumb, because so much of the interpretation of art is subjective.

Although I understand Nickle's artistic paradigm, to mirror tone and word choice to the atmosphere one attempts to create in a story, in this case I think he fell just a tad short of what could have been a brilliant novel. The voice, or the tone if you will, is so married to the impersonal insouciance of the Cold War, that much of environmental detail, of the minutia that draws in a reader and invests them emotionally, was missing. In the end the reader, like the super-beings that inhabit this story, wander through a metaphor which is described, but never realized. It is a dream, and therefore without substance. And therefore without emotional impact. And so without reader investment.

The cast of characters in the novel is enormous, and while it's perfectly acceptable to have a huge cast (I am often guilty of this myself), of necessity for we plebian brains who are reading, many of those characters could have been relegated to walk-on roles only. I believe that part of my problem with being unable to connect to the narrative is that I'd entered a convention and couldn't get to know anyone.

Is Rasputin's Bastard's worth the investment of your time to read? Absolutely. But will it be one that leaves you transported and translated? Not likely. Still and all, a good novel to embrace on one of summer's dog days, or winter's solitudes.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a novel about some kind of secret Soviet program of what I would call psychic vampirism. I gather that the author was working off of the old remote viewing programs that were all the rage in the early 70's. In this book that is taken too a whole new level. And another level, and another, and so forth and so on. This is where the book faltered for this reader. It started out bizarre and slowly built to a point where the author began to explain the story. And then went even more bizarre to another point of some explanation. And at the end it really started off to the deep end of the pool, and I did not even have my water wings on yet! Overall not bad but not the greatest either.

[Derek · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the premise of this book and the concept was compelling and very creative. The story carried me along well for the first quarter, but it began to become too complex for me as a reader as perspective and plains of reality changed constantly. The characters did not develop well and the ending left me feeling extremely dissatisfied. It's like the author got caught up in tangled plot lines and just decided to end the book rather than cause himself more pain.

[Tyrannosaurus regina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was certainly well-structured, well-written and well-paced, and for fans of thrillers and cold war espionage with added speculative elements it will probably be just their thing, but it kept me at a distance and I never really connected with the characters. Good book, just not to my taste.

[J Wren · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh.

I applaud the effort and original ideas here but I have to admit that I just wanted it to be over around the 2/3rd mark.

there was a certain amount of drag and complexity and several characters about whom I couldn't care less. I just felt no attachment to any part of it. still, interesting premise, and decent writing.

[Benjamin Kahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, but my god, was it complicated and confusing. I kept losing track of who was on which side. This took away some of my enjoyment of the book, and there were so many twists and turns towards the end that it kept threatening to lose me. In the end, it was a fun ride, but not for the faint of heart.

[Christa Seeley]

Have to mark this one DNF though it pains me to do so.

It's not that the writing isn't good - because it is. And the story is pretty interesting. But after reading almost half of the book I just can't get into it.

May have to try again at a later date.