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Amber War #1
Amber Wolf
How do you fight an unbeatable enemy?
In 1944, the Russian Red Army marches through Eastern Europe, ravaging the countryside and terrorizing the people. A young Lithuanian woman, Ludmelia Kudirka, witnesses a Soviet military officer order her mother killed. Terrified, she escapes to the safety of the forest. Vowing vengeance, she joins the partisan resistance, the Brothers of the Forest, in a hopeless struggle against Stalin's mighty war machine.
His mission to crush the resistance, Soviet officer Lieutenant Roman Zabrev is enraged that Ludmelia, a mere woman, has escaped. He pursues her and her fellow warriors into the forest where he encounters the fight of his life.
In Book One of the Amber War series, the farmers and office workers in Lithuania exchange their pitchforks and pencils for stolen weapons to fight the largest military force in the world.
"Amber Wolf is a compelling story of bold resistance in the face of insurmountable odds. Wong skillfully paints a portrait of the hidden and mostly forgotten people who struggled to survive behind the front lines of the cataclysm of World War II."
-Guntis Goncarovs, author of Telmenu Saimnieks – The Lord of Telmeni and Convergence of Valor
In 1944, the Russian Red Army marches through Eastern Europe, ravaging the countryside and terrorizing the people. A young Lithuanian woman, Ludmelia Kudirka, witnesses a Soviet military officer order her mother killed. Terrified, she escapes to the safety of the forest. Vowing vengeance, she joins the partisan resistance, the Brothers of the Forest, in a hopeless struggle against Stalin's mighty war machine.
His mission to crush the resistance, Soviet officer Lieutenant Roman Zabrev is enraged that Ludmelia, a mere woman, has escaped. He pursues her and her fellow warriors into the forest where he encounters the fight of his life.
In Book One of the Amber War series, the farmers and office workers in Lithuania exchange their pitchforks and pencils for stolen weapons to fight the largest military force in the world.
"Amber Wolf is a compelling story of bold resistance in the face of insurmountable odds. Wong skillfully paints a portrait of the hidden and mostly forgotten people who struggled to survive behind the front lines of the cataclysm of World War II."
-Guntis Goncarovs, author of Telmenu Saimnieks – The Lord of Telmeni and Convergence of Valor
- GenresHistorical Fiction
ebook
Published June 25, 2016
8 people are currently reading
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About the author
Ursula Wong
21 books13 followersUrsula Wong writes gripping stories about strong women who battle impossible odds to achieve their dreams. Her work has appeared in Everyday Fiction, Spinetingler Magazine, Mystery Reader’s Journal, and the Insanity Tales anthologies. She is a professional speaker appearing regularly on TV and radio.
Wong’s debut novel, Purple Trees, and the enchanting Peruvian folk tale, The Baby Who Fell From the Sky, are available on Amazon and other online retailers.
Her World War II thriller Amber Wolf, the first in the Amber War Series, is about a young Lithuanian woman who joins resistance fighters. Amber War, the second in the series, tells a little-known story of post-World War II Eastern Europe and the continuing fight against the Soviet occupation. Amber Widow, third book in the series, matches Eastern European radicals against Russia in a vicious game of nuclear chess.
Ursula is available for speaking events and lectures on writing and publishing. For more information, contact her at urslwng@gmail.com and sign up for her popular Reaching Readers newsletter at http://ursulawong.wordpress.com.
Connect Online:
Website: http://ursulawong.wordpress.com
Email: urslwng@gmail.com
Wong’s debut novel, Purple Trees, and the enchanting Peruvian folk tale, The Baby Who Fell From the Sky, are available on Amazon and other online retailers.
Her World War II thriller Amber Wolf, the first in the Amber War Series, is about a young Lithuanian woman who joins resistance fighters. Amber War, the second in the series, tells a little-known story of post-World War II Eastern Europe and the continuing fight against the Soviet occupation. Amber Widow, third book in the series, matches Eastern European radicals against Russia in a vicious game of nuclear chess.
Ursula is available for speaking events and lectures on writing and publishing. For more information, contact her at urslwng@gmail.com and sign up for her popular Reaching Readers newsletter at http://ursulawong.wordpress.com.
Connect Online:
Website: http://ursulawong.wordpress.com
Email: urslwng@gmail.com
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 6, 2018
This WWII-era story chronicles Ludmelia Kudirka’s transition from a young Lithuanian girl who aligns herself with the resistance and grows into a leadership role, fighting for freedom. Hidden in an attic crawlspace, young Ludmelia commits to memory the voice of the commanding officer who ordered her mother’s rape and murder. Each skirmish by the rebels is richly handled by Wong as she weaves the tales of a country struggling for its freedom. We see Ludmelia commit to finding the man responsible. This is an exciting read, filling in an absent history of Lithuania’s struggles in WWII.
December 25, 2020
Another view of World War II
Ludmelia is a strong female character who is driven by all she has lost at the hands of the Russians, who once again occupy Lithuania. This is a lesser known history of partisans battling the Russian, during WWII. I recommend it for those who enjoy stories of strength and perservence during the most trying times in history.
Ludmelia is a strong female character who is driven by all she has lost at the hands of the Russians, who once again occupy Lithuania. This is a lesser known history of partisans battling the Russian, during WWII. I recommend it for those who enjoy stories of strength and perservence during the most trying times in history.
January 11, 2017
Wong takes us through war-torn Lithuania during the late- and post-WWII occupation by Russia. After Russian soldiers murder her family, young Ludmelia determines to fight for her country. She joins a band of freedom-fighters who resist Russian subjugation, not realizing that the revenge that drives her arms her with leadership qualities. With deep love of country, she and the other partisans espouse the stealth and cunning of the heroes of the old Lithuanian legends. As they employ tactics drawn from the country’s ancient lore in repeated attacks on the local Russian garrison, the garrison commander learns the hard way that no amount of oppression can destroy the patriotism that runs in the blood of Lithuania.
Most of us know nothing of Lithuania, nor of her sister states, Estonia and Latvia. Many of us have never heard of them. But like in Poland after the war, the Russian occupation was no relief from the German invasion to these small countries. Wong’s concentrated lens focuses on a small part of this tumultuous time, offering an easy read with uneasy concepts to contemplate. War brings out the worst in some, the best in others. Wong’s story shows the conflict of both, often within the same individual. Despite losing everything they’ve known, Ludmelia and her tattered partisan comrades trek into the future with hope, beyond the last page of “Amber Wolf.”
Most of us know nothing of Lithuania, nor of her sister states, Estonia and Latvia. Many of us have never heard of them. But like in Poland after the war, the Russian occupation was no relief from the German invasion to these small countries. Wong’s concentrated lens focuses on a small part of this tumultuous time, offering an easy read with uneasy concepts to contemplate. War brings out the worst in some, the best in others. Wong’s story shows the conflict of both, often within the same individual. Despite losing everything they’ve known, Ludmelia and her tattered partisan comrades trek into the future with hope, beyond the last page of “Amber Wolf.”
February 25, 2017
This is an unconventional story, based on the legendary resistance by Lithuanians to both German and Russian invaders. It's told through the life of a young woman forced to grow up when she witnesses her mother's murder and flees to the woods, where she encounters the opposition fighters.
In addition to being a harrowing, absorbing recounting of the pain occupation these people endured during World War II, Ursula Wong's book is personalized through the life of a girl who grows into the bold moniker of "Amber Wolf" in a determined effort to overcome the forces of hate and terror in her region.
The book is very hard to put down--so well written that each chapter draws your attention down a turbulent vortex of action and neatly captures the reader's imagination.. I was absorbed, which doesn't happen often enough, even in a best-selling book.
I highly recommend Wong's novel; it has all the drive and fascination of "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."
The story will be continued in its sequel, "The Amber War"--not yet published.
In addition to being a harrowing, absorbing recounting of the pain occupation these people endured during World War II, Ursula Wong's book is personalized through the life of a girl who grows into the bold moniker of "Amber Wolf" in a determined effort to overcome the forces of hate and terror in her region.
The book is very hard to put down--so well written that each chapter draws your attention down a turbulent vortex of action and neatly captures the reader's imagination.. I was absorbed, which doesn't happen often enough, even in a best-selling book.
I highly recommend Wong's novel; it has all the drive and fascination of "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."
The story will be continued in its sequel, "The Amber War"--not yet published.
February 9, 2017
My measure of a good book is one that sticks with you even after you've finished it. Does it make you think about the human condition? Did you learn something new?
Amber Wolf is a historical fiction tale set in Lithuania during the Soviet occupation of World War II and is a book I will not soon forget. It is lushly written, impeccably researched, and the story is superbly conceived and executed.
After witnessing her mother raped and murdered by Russian soldiers, Ludmelia vows revenge. With little more than the clothes on her back and a fierce will to live, Ludmelia vanishes into the wilderness and joins with the partisan resistance movement.
Wong teaches us that the best and worst of humanity may coexist inside the heart of a single person. She forces us to examine how evil is born by crafting life stories for her characters with heartbreaking insight. Life's hard knocks and impossible choices are chiseled into her tale with a mad surgeon's precision.
Amber Wolf is a book you will not soon forget.
Amber Wolf is a historical fiction tale set in Lithuania during the Soviet occupation of World War II and is a book I will not soon forget. It is lushly written, impeccably researched, and the story is superbly conceived and executed.
After witnessing her mother raped and murdered by Russian soldiers, Ludmelia vows revenge. With little more than the clothes on her back and a fierce will to live, Ludmelia vanishes into the wilderness and joins with the partisan resistance movement.
Wong teaches us that the best and worst of humanity may coexist inside the heart of a single person. She forces us to examine how evil is born by crafting life stories for her characters with heartbreaking insight. Life's hard knocks and impossible choices are chiseled into her tale with a mad surgeon's precision.
Amber Wolf is a book you will not soon forget.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews