Red Traitor

Alexander Vasin #2

by Owen Matthews

'This is Robert Harris storytelling territory and is told with equal panache and authenticity. There could be no higher praise.' Daily Mail

One the least known but most terrifying moments in modern history - when the fate of the world lay with a lone, nervous Soviet naval officer one hundred meters under the Caribbean sea - lies at the heart of this breathtaking new Cold War thriller from the author of the acclaimed Black Sun .

The year is 1962, and KGB Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vasin is searching for for evidence of the long-rumoured existence of an American spy embedded at the highest echelons of Soviet power. But it's while on this wild goose chase, a high-stakes espionage race against a rival State agency, that Vasin first hears whispers of an ominous top-secret Operation Anadyr.

As tensions flare between Nikita Khrushchev and President Kennedy over Russian missiles hidden in Cuba, four Soviet submarines - each carrying tactical ballistic missiles armed with thermonuclear warheads - are ordered to make a covert run at the U.S. blockade in the Caribbean . . .

Genres: Historical Fiction, Thriller, Fiction, Espionage, Russia, Mystery, Suspense

464 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2021

About the author

Owen Matthews is a British writer, historian and journalist. His first book, Stalin's Children, was shortlisted for the 2008 Guardian First Books Award, the Orwell Prize for political writing, and France's Prix Medicis Etranger. His books have been translated into 28 languages. He is a former Moscow and Istanbul Bureau Chief for Newsweek Magazine. Matthews has lectured on Russian history and politics at Columbia University's Harriman Centre, St Antony's College Oxford, and the Journalism Faculty of Moscow State University.

Reviews

[Paromjit · Rating 5 out of 5]

After Black Sun, Owen Matthews gives us a another cracking historical thriller, this time focusing on the Cuban Missile Crisis, set in 1962, an impressively researched blend of Cold War fact and fiction. It sees the return of the now promoted Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vasin facing the repercussions of previous events, with his failing marriage to Vera, and a son, Nikita, who has now joined the paths offered to the offspring of the Russian elite. His boss, General Orlov's hooks in him are stronger, Vasin becoming a native of Orlov's shadowlands where lies and secrets are weapons to break human beings. Here he hunts for evidence of a Soviet traitor, possibly mythical, believed to be Colonel Oleg Morozov in the military intelligence's GRU, headed by General Serov.

Orlov has every intention to use this to bring down his long term enemy Serov, both men sadistic monsters, big beasts who create their own realities, with Vasin caught up in the heart of their intrigue as he gets his hooks into the GRU's feisty, independently minded, Sofia Guzman to help him. He begins to hear whispers of the secret Operation Anadyr, the more he learns, the more worried he becomes at the all too real possibilities of a nuclear war as tensions flare between the United States and Russia over Cuba. Captain Vasily Arkhipov is on one of four covert submarines heading towards the Caribbean, each armed with ballistic missiles with thermonuclear warheads, the use of which is under personal command. Matthews provides intricate details of the espionage and spycraft of the period, tuning into the escalating tensions and anxieties between the 2 superpowers led by President Kennedy and Nikita Khrushev, and within the two sides too.

If you are aware of this period of history, then you will know how it will all end, but despite knowing this, the author had me completely invested in his historical storytelling, and his characters. I was particularly captivated by the complex and flawed Vasin who is willing to put his life on the line and the incredible determination and bravery of Arkhipov within the submarine's claustrophobic atmosphere and mounting conflicts. Arkhipov's past history and trauma fuels his humanity in the face of the most challenging of circumstances. This is a entertaining, compulsive, and engaging read, of how close the world came to nuclear war, and for those wanting to know more about the Cuban Missile Crisis, this is both informative and insightful. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red Traitor is Owen Matthews’ masterful new historical thriller featuring a blend of fact and fiction and a fictionalised account of the Cuban missile crisis (1962) from the Soviet perspective. Summer 1962 in Moscow and Alexander Vasin is a Moscow homicide detective seconded to the Special Cases Directorate of the KGB. With his reputation as a spy-catcher preceding him, he has been directed to find a high-ranking US mole within the Kremlin. His suspect, Colonel Oleg Morozov of the GRU, is surveilled around the clock as he is believed to be passing secrets to the Americans, but won’t — or can’t — reveal a double life. As Vasin learns to his cost, Morozov has redoubtable friends. As the pressure on Vasin to expose Morozov becomes unbearable, he finds himself in the middle of a vicious knife fight between powerful Kremlin factions. One group is alarmed by the decision to send Soviet atomic weapons to Cuba. The other believes that a pre-emptive nuclear attack on the United States wouldn’t be the end of the world. This is a riveting, enthralling and masterfully woven piece of historical espionage based on terrifying, little known real events.

It confirms Matthews as a major new talent and places Red Traitor among the finest crime thrillers of the year, in my opinion. Impeccably researched Cold War fiction is no easy feat to write, and the author has got the balance exactly right between the build-up and historical backstory underpinning everything and the unfurling of a fast-paced plot complete with devious twists and wickedly misleading misdirection. Ripe with palpable tension and interestingly told primarily from the Russian point of view, there is all you need here and more to satisfy the detail-orientated reader when it comes to espionage and geopolitical intrigue. You quickly become completely immersed in the struggles of a dangerous era, and I found Matthews’ focus on the often-overlooked role of Soviet submarines, all equipped with nuclear missiles, that were heading to Cuba in the days leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, thoroughly absorbing. All in all, this is a scintillating, insightful and entertaining novel about just how easily the course of history could've been different had the crisis ended in nuclear catastrophe. Highly recommended.

[J TC · Rating 5 out of 5]

A crise dos mísseis de Cuba em 1962 foi até ao presente a momento mais próximo que humanidade esteve do Holocausto nuclear.
Não fora a intuição dos Kennedy e o papel de Anatoly Dobrynin, embaixador da União Soviética nos EUA, e John Scali, jornalista da ABC News, que em 23 de outubro de 1962, num primeiro encontro discutiram uma solução originalmente gizada por Aleksandr Feklisov, como forma de ultrapassar o impasse, resolver a crise “salvando a face”.
Nesta sua ficção, Owen Matthews ficciona discretamente uma realidade que só por continha todos os elementos de um fascinante thriller.
Ao ler esta história há pontos da realidade que desconhecia e cujo relato é indispensável para uma melhor interpretação da realidade.
O primeiro destes é a inferioridade balística Russa que em 1962 a colocava em grande desvantagem com os EUA.
O segundo ponto, prende-se com a espionagem não só como vantagem do que conhece como também uma vantagem para quem dá a conhecer. Tem características win-win. E este é um aspecto muito curioso do mundo da espionagem.
Um outro ponto importante e também novidade foi o facto dos submarinos detidos na quarentena virem armados de ogivas nucleares. Era algo que desconhecia, foi algo que pôs o mundo à beira do holocausto global e eventualmente algo que surgiu da disputa entre pombas e falcões de ambos os lados.
Por último achei curioso que o bloqueio tenha sido designado por quarentena numa altura em que a Rússia invade a Ucrânia e lhe chama uma “operação especial”. A história nunca deixa de nos surpreender e O Matthews tem aqui um trabalho de investigação muito ao nível do seu “O Espião Perfeito “, o que faz deste livro uma recomendação não só pela forma como nos prende e cativa, mas também pelo trabalho de investigação que denota.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always excited to read the work of an author new to me, I reached for this series’ second novel by Owen Matthews. A stunning story of the Cuban Missile Crisis told from the Russian perspective, Matthews depicts the development of a missile set-up in Cuba, facing the unwitting Americans. While the USSR has been working to build new and powerful nuclear missiles, it is their placement off the American coast that could create added tensions between the two superpowers. What follows is a tension-filled event that could, with one false turn, change things for the world, on multiple fronts. Matthews delivers another strong story that keeps the reader in the middle of it all.

In 1962, KGB Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vasin finds himself trying to find an American spy secreted within the Soviet hierarchy, but it seems futile. While he leaves nothing to chance, he soon realises that it is useless. However, he discovers whispers of a new and troubling plan, Operation: Anadyr. This could be something even more stunning than revelations Vasin made a year ago, with added drama and even more danger.

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev has been slowly creating a new and dangerous plan to turn the tables on the Americans. With the help of Cuba, a newly-minted fellow communist state, Khrushchev has been sending missiles to the island nation off the American coast and has the nuclear warheads ready to launch. US President Kennedy is having none of it and tensions mount, as the two leaders beat their chests with the Cold War ready to turn hot.

A naval blockade by the Americans may not be enough and there is no stopping the two powers if they want to move forward. With military submarines ready to take an action that could topple the dominos in another manner, there is little time to waste. Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vasin Can only hold his breath and watch, hoping that this is not the end of everything and everyone. Who will blink first? Matthews delivers another stunning story that sheds light on one of history’s darkest times.

Many of the Cold War thrillers I have read tell things from the West's perspective, but this refreshing look by Owen Matthews helped pull me in from the opening page. There is certainly a punch in this book that keeps the reader eager to learn more, even if they might know their history. Characters shape the story well and keep the reader trying to eke out a few pieces of the story through the eyes of the Soviet perspective. Plot points keep things on edge and provide a wonderful set of surprises that shapes the larger piece and adds something to the history on offer. I am eager to see how the final novel in the series will work and what impact it will have!

Kudos Mr. Matthews, as you never fail to impress me!

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not know about a previous book by this author in which KGB Lt. Colonel Alexander Vasin was featured.

“Red Traitor” is a look into the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 told, for the most part, from the perspective of Russian intelligence and naval personnel.

It is a different kind of spy novel only because it is so closely knitted to truth rather than fiction. Even some real names are used.

Chapters that relate events playing out on the Russian subs in the Caribbean heading towards Cuba carrying nuclear weapons is as tense as one can get without passing out in the claustrophobic confines of a submarine.

It presents a taut and chilling look at how close the world really came to annihilation if not for the very clear head of Soviet Navy officer Arkhipov who saw what was possible and decided, at his own peril, to take extraordinary steps to abort it.

I found the unfamiliar Russian names very hard to follow (through no fault of the author) and the only ones I got a real feel for was Vasin and Soviet Navy officer Vasily Arkhipov. But that was enough.

This is the kind of spy story that will take your breath away most especially because it portrays an event that really happened!

The Author’s Note is especially informative and should not be missed.

[Gram · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping Cold War thriller based on historical fact. This is Owen Matthews' follow up to "Black Sun" and is set during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 which brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. The action switches between Moscow and the Sargasso Sea where Russian submarines are set to break the US Navy's blockade, with possibly devastating consequences.
Black Sun's main character - newly promoted KGB Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vasin - is ordered to hunt down a traitor within the upper ranks of the GRU, Russia's military intelligence.
During his investigation, Vasin uncovers a top-secret operation which shows that four submarines have been sent to the Caribbean, each armed with a nuclear torpedo, with orders to fire if attacked.
As the stand-off between the USA and Soviet Union escalates, Vasin finds himself on the horns of a dilemma - how to warn the USA without betraying his country.
Own Matthews expertly weaves fact and fiction to produce a nail-biting suspense novel.

[maskedbookblogger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Der zweite Band mit dem Titel „Red Taitor“ um Alexander Wassin entführt uns als Leser*In wieder in die kalte UdSSr nach Moskau im Jahre 1962. Wie schon im ersten Band, ist Alexander weiterhin ein Agentenjäger des KGBs. Im Kreml soll er nun einen Verräter aufspüren. Parallel dazu spannt sich die Lage auf der Welt an. Die Kubakrise steuert auf ihren Höhepunkt und Kennedy und Chruschtschow können die Füße nicht stillhalten. Als wäre dies nicht schlimm genug, muss Alexander schnell handeln, bevor ein Kapitän eines sowjetischen U-Boots einen fatalen Schritt macht.

Wie schon im ersten Band, beruht der Plot dieses Buches auf wahren Gegebenheiten. Ich finde es mal wieder gelungen, dass man Hintergrundinformationen auf den letzten Seiten findet, um mehr über die damaligen Ereignisse zu erfahren.

Die durch den Autor entworfene kalte bzw. düstere Atmosphäre, die ich schon im ersten Band gelobt hat, kommt von Beginn an des Buches auf. An Seite von Alexander stürzt man sich in die Machenschaften sowie Mächte der sowjetischen Union. So wird die Geschichte aus verschiedenen Sichtweisen geschildert. Ein Highlight dieses Buches waren auf jeden Fall die Kapitel, welche auf dem U-Boot gespielt haben. Diese hatten einen starken Einfluss auf das Geschehen und waren somit sehr spannend zu lesen. Wassins Sicht war auch spannend und ich hatte die Möglichkeit ihn weiterkennenzulernen, da ich nach dem ersten Band das Gefühl hatte, dass man ihn als Figur nicht durchblicken kann. Dies wäre damit zu begründen, dass er im ersten Band einen zwiespältigen Charakter aufwies. Folglich kann ich nach dem Beenden des zweiten Bandes behaupten, dass ich ihn immer noch nicht komplett durchblickt habe…. Ahja..

Darüber hinaus lässt sich sagen, dass ich im Vergleich zum ersten Band diesen zweiten Band spannungstechnisch schlechter finde. Mir fehlte das gewisse Etwas, was ich im ersten Band empfunden hatte. Zudem war - wie beim ersten Band - hier der Genrebegriff in meinen Augen fehl am Platz, da es in meinen Augen eher ein Krimi war.

Fazit: Mit „Red Traitor“ entwirft der Autor eine gute Fortsetzung. Hinsichtlich der Spannungsgestaltung kann ich sagen, dass dieser Band ein bisschen schwächer, dennoch aber lesenswert ist. Es ist auf jeden Fall kein leichter Plot, da es an manchen Stellen sehr politisch werden kann. Jedoch thematisiert der Autor Matthews ein Stück sowjetischer Geschichte, welches beim Lesen den ein oder anderen Leser schocken kann. Ich bewerte das Buch mit starken 3 Sternen!

[Fin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Owen Matthews brings Alexander Vasin back with a bang in this Cold War thriller regarding the Cuban Missile Crisis. I very much enjoyed this book, which overcame the linear delivery in the previous book of the series - 'Black Sun' - in my opinion. 5 stars!

[Brian Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the previous book in the series and while I didn’t love it, I thought it was pretty good. This book was written in the same vein from Russia’s point of view with the main character, Vasin, using his connections to find out what is happening in Latin America. I did not really like this book. The writing was good and the story was good but I just didn’t really care about any of the characters. I got through the book but didn’t care what happened. It will probably resonate more with other readers but this story wasn’t for me.

[Dustin Lovell · Rating 5 out of 5]

“There was not a moment of Vasin’s waking or sleeping days...where Vasin was not surrounded by reminders of the power of Lieutenant General Yury Orlov. He felt as trapped as a dragonfly in glass.”

Set in 1962, less than a year after the events of Black Sun in which KGB investigator Alexander Vasin narrowly averted a nuclear disaster, Red Traitor by Owen Matthews follows Major Vasin as his successful rise in the KGB has meant just so much more scrutiny from among its ranks. Following the threads (real and invented) established at the end of Black Sun, Vasin must maneuver GRU Colonel Oleg Morozov into revealing himself as a possible American spy while the Cuban Missile Crisis unfolds in the Caribbean, all the while keeping himself abreast of the machinations of his own boss, General Yuri Orlov. The Moscow-based espionage plot that makes up half of the novel incorporates many of the themes, suspense, and gambits that made Black Sun excellent.

“‘That’s how our glorious Soviet Motherland works. Punish the innocent, leave the guilty at their posts.’”

To the investigative spy plot of Moscow, Matthews adds another plotline following submariner Vasily Arkhipov, who a year previous was among the only survivors of the K-19 submarine nuclear reactor accident that left most of his crew dead and him with a promotion. Selected for his prowess of surviving the traumatic ordeal of K-19, which has left him cautious of all things nuclear, Arkhipov is given fleet command of a secret group of submarines sent to run the US blockade of Cuba and, if threatened or cornered, to use the “secret weapon” of a nuke carried by each submarine. Paralleling Vasin’s “integrity vs party line” conflict from Black Sun, Arkhipov must avoid running afoul of the Party, embodied in his rival Captain Savitsky, while shrewdly trying to disobey orders and prevent nuclear war.

“In politics, there are things you do for show and things you do that really matter. The R-12 deployment? That matters.”

Though its deuteragonists never meet, Red Traitor moves back and forth between them to form a plot that is suspenseful and multi-faceted. Compared to Black Sun, which focused on the single location of secret nuclear facility Arzamas-16 to no less excellent effect, Red Traitor incorporates much more of the “historical” in the historical fiction, and the cinematic feel of the scene shifts—each foregrounded by place and date—shows Matthews deftly expanding his narrative style to meet the needs of his subject matter. Drawn from Matthews’s non-fiction work and from accounts of those who lived through the ordeal, the frequent details of KGB and GRU spycraft and the detailed descriptions of life on Soviet diesel submarine B-59 form a consistent setting that conveys one easily into the characters’ experiences. Though the scene-shifting form took a bit of getting used to, it ultimately made the dual-plot work well, especially nearing the book’s climax, and while the climax was not as cathartically hard-hitting as was Black Sun’s (possibly due to Red Traitor’s being more closely based on the history than the former book—and there, thankfully, NOT being a nuclear blast in the Caribbean), the book’s ending prepared the way for the Vasin trilogy’s third installment superbly.

“[An] idealist or a pragmatist, Sasha...What is your diagnosis of yourself, please?”

If Black Sun was a novel about Vasin’s discovery of the immorality of the system in which he is a cog, Red Traitor is a novel about his trying to uphold his own already compromised principles against the guttural, impulsive, self-centered chaos embodied by his boss Orlov—whom he is now fully aware he could become without difficulty. The book has many parallels, both within itself and with its predecessor: just as Vasin has his Orlov, Morozov has his boss Serov (no less unprincipled than Orlov), and Arkhipov’s conflict very much resembles many of the issues experienced by Vasin in Black Sun. All of these serve to reinforce the sense of oppressive, ever-watchful weight inherent in the Soviet system, where every success and favor comes with a hook (a consistent motif through the book).

Paradoxically, the frankness and irony with which Vasin and others admit the faults, if not malignity, of their system yield an air of dark humor to the book, even in its most tense moments. Drawing on his mother’s Russian humor described in Stalin’s Children, Matthews captures and maintains the fact that the Russian people and the Russian Soviet system were not synonymous. Another motif I found similarly endearing was the camaraderie of the sailors, whose easy manner, salutary superstition, and genuine friendship stood in stark contrast against the self-consciously forced comradeship of the book’s other relationships.

Though I have not read many Cold-War-Era spy or submarine novels, Red Traitor was an excellent read. I loved seeing Matthews’s utilizing elements from his non-fiction work for dramatic effect, as well as his expanding his novelistic style. The Author’s Note, wherein Matthews lays out exactly how much of the book is historically based (a vast majority of it is), was particularly fascinating; it made up for the less cathartic ending (again, the history predominates over the novelistic fiction elements, and I'm more than willing to read the book through that lens) and pushed my review from 4 to 5 Stars. I plan to recommend the book to my history students, as well as to anyone else who asks.

*Disclaimer: I received advance copy of the book from the publisher for review*

[Rita Costa (Lusitania Geek) · Rating 5 out of 5]

O Traidor Vermelho é um triunfo absoluto no género do thriller histórico. Owen Matthews oferece-nos uma narrativa intensa e magistralmente construída, fundindo com mestria factos históricos e ficção num enredo que nos transporta ao coração da Crise dos Mísseis de 1962, vista por uma perspectiva fascinanten naquela Era Soviética.

Com a personagem principal, Alexander Vasin, um detetive de homicídios de Moscovo lançado nas intrincadas teias da KGB, seguimos uma investigação que se transforma num jogo letal de espionagem, traições e confrontos ideológicos no seio do Kremlin. O autor consegue equilibrar com perfeição o rigor histórico e a tensão narrativa, conduzindo o leitor através de reviravoltas inteligentes e momentos de suspense quase insuportável.

A descrição minuciosa das facções em conflito, a tensão crescente em torno do envio de armamento nuclear para Cuba e o foco pouco explorado nos submarinos soviéticos tornam este romance não apenas empolgante, mas também esclarecedor. A escrita é bastante fluida, inteligente e capaz de prender do início ao fim, transportando-nos para uma época em que um único erro poderia mudar o destino do mundo.

A conclusão que cheguei foi que este livro é uma obra brilhante, carregada de tensão e intriga geopolítica, que se impõe como um dos melhores thrillers históricos do ano. Sinceramente não admirava nada se num futuro próximo, esta série convertesse numa série televisiva através num dos principais streamings.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Keith Currie · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the Brink

The second Sasha Vasin Cold War thriller focuses on the Cuban Missile Crisis and a much more shadowy affair, Operation Anadyr, which involves the deployment of nuclear armed Soviet submarines in American waters.

Vasin has been employed with finding a traitor among high-ranking Russian intelligence officers, a man passing secrets to the Americans. He believes this work to be a wild-goose chase which he had himself initiated for his own reasons in the first book of the series. But perhaps there really is a spy. Perhaps the Americans are better informed about Soviet strengths and weakness than they should be. And perhaps, too, there are Soviet Hawks who want nothing more than a military showdown with the capitalist foe.

Vasin walks a deadly tightrope throughout. He already has enemies and he manages to make more, Even his boss, KGB general Orlov, ultimately will find him dispensable, although he is more difficult to dispose of than expected. Vasin, too, is more ruthless and cruel, and less idealistic this time round. Perhaps only that way can he survive, but he sacrifices much of the reader’s sympathy in the use he makes of other, nobler, but weaker figures.

A gripping, page-turner this, I look forward to Alexander Vasin’s next (albeit remote) outing.

[Ruthia Portelinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Livro interessante, para perceber o crise dos misseis de Cuba. Do ponto de vista literário, não é brilhante, mas o ritmo acelera nos capítulos finais, criando um crescendo que nos prende.

[Greville Waterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second Owen Matthews thriller that I have really enjoyed. I have always been fascinated by the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 and this excellently written and researched book sheds further light and insight into that potentially cataclysmic time. I loved the portrayal of Vasin and admired his nerve and ability.

All in all this was an excellent thriller and highly recommended.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set during the Cuban Missile Crisis, this was an interesting work of historical told from "the Russian perspective." Actually, it is about both the Cuban Missile Crisis and the search for a spy working for the British and the Americans. It starts out quite slow, to be honest, but it does build up steam until the end. The ending was quite unexpected for me, on the one hand, and I thought the author did a nice job of "generating suspense" even though the outcome of the Cuban Missile Crisis portion was already known (actually, both outcomes were already known in regards to "history", but the submarine portion was more suspenseful). It is funny - some of the descriptions (depictions?) of Russia and its various intelligence/security agencies really reminded me of some of the technothrillers from the later 80s and early 90s. That did surprise me.

The character development was decent; I do not know that I really cared for the main character but I was happy he did not die at the end of the book . Actually, as I am thinking about it, the character development was probably quite excellent, considering how much I came to despise some of the characters in the book (regardless of their historical authenticity). Based on the strong emotions the author was able to generate inside of me regarding some of the characters, he did a great job in that respect. Probably the character I came to care about the most was a character whose name is Sofia Guzman. She was a Spanish orphan sent to Russia for safety during the Spanish Civil War with her younger brother and grew up a proud communist. She was separated from her brother upon arrival and did not know he was able to escape to America and live a life as an anti-communist protestor. She was the most sympathetic character to me because of how she was lied to and used by Vasin (the "hero" and main character of this story) in order to prove another Russian Army officer was a traitor and spy.

There is a decent-sized "Author's Note" at the end of the book that gives the historical background to the story; it is quite interesting to read and helped explain elements of the story. Granted, if it had been placed "at the beginning" of the book, it would have spoiled the plot. Comments are made in the book about how weak the U.S.S.R. actually was during that time, that it had maybe four ICBMs that actually worked and could be launched, so the ploy to put nuclear missiles in Cuba was partially to ensure American targets could be hit, but also to be used as a bargaining chip to get the intermediate-range nuclear missiles out of Turkey. I found myself wondering how true those statements were about the relative nuclear weakness of the U.S.S.R., considering how American history claims they were far ahead of America in terms of nukes, ICBMs, and other military hardware.

I also had no idea that there was a flotilla of four Russian diesel submarines heading for Cuba with nuclear-tipped torpedoes onboard with the express order to use them against U.S. Navy warships. That was interesting and fascinating to find out as well. Thankfully the situation was "peacefully" resolved without actual warfare breaking out.

So, yeah, had I stopped reading it after the first few chapters, I would have rated it 2 stars. The ending I would rate maybe 3.5 stars, so I will average it at 3 stars. If the author writes another book about Vasin, I could see myself reading it (as well as the first book, Black Sun). Even thought it took me a while to finish it (because I read it over breaks at work), it still held my interest throughout the course of the entire book, and it was an interesting experience reading about espionage and spies from a Russian perspective (as much as it can be, all things considered). As it is, it was an interesting entry into "submarine thrillers" even though it is more of an "espionage thriller" than about submarines. Even though it was not what I expected, I am glad I took a chance on reading it all the same.

[Vassilis Xanthakis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Θα αρέσει στους λάτρεις των κατασκοπευτικών βιβλίων του Ψυχρού Πολέμου καθώς αναφέρεται στη φάση που ο κόσμος έφτασε πιο κοντά από ποτέ στον πυρηνικό Όλεθρο με την κρίση στην Κούβα. Γλαφυρό και μεστό, κρατάει τον αναγνώστη μέχρι το τέλος.

[Moravian1297 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second instalment of Alexander Vasin (AV) is wrapped around the Cuban missile crisis of the early nineteen sixties.
With particular concentration on the Russian submarines that were involved. Now, having read "Che Guevara, A Revolutionary Life" by Jon Lee Anderson and seen Roger Donaldson's 2000 epic movie "Thirteen Days" starring Kevin Costner a few times, I am aware of the rudimentary basics of what transpired during the stand off between the United States and the Soviet Union in the mid Twentieth Century, but neither of those really go into great detail about the aforementioned Soviet submarines and unfortunately Red Traitor most certainly does!

It would most definitely be the understatement of the year to say there is perhaps a tad TOO MUCH detail of the submarines that goes into the make up of this novel, with sometimes, like, half chapters on torpedo loading, to name just one such submarine over use!
I'm also not talking about the descriptions of submariner events, for example, here, there's a detailed account of the K19 nuclear sub disaster, which was informative as well as harrowingly exciting.
I'm talking about way, way to much technical descriptions, I did mention in my review of the first AV book “Black Sun”, that the descriptions of nuclear science jargon JUST about fell on the right side of tediously boring, well here they most definitely and resoundly crash land on the wrong side of extremely dull! So much so, that when I saw that a next chapter was set in the Sargasso Sea, which meant a chapter on board a sub, I'd inevitably cry, "Oh no!" and visibly deflate!

I also felt the story got a bit silly and far fetched when Vasin's conscience supposedly got the better of him and he tried to contact the Americans!
This move does seem somewhat improbable, because there were just so many variables that could happen and could inevitably go wrong, that someone in Vasin’s position I felt, just would never take such outlandish risks and it all felt just a little bit too Hollywood and rather ridiculous.
However, Vasin’s attempted betrayal is mentioned in the synopsis so I don't think it's a spoiler and besides, the title of the third instalment, "White Fox" would seem to be a spoiler in of it's self, as it implies it’s set somewhere very cold, like say, in Siberia, where the only conclusion to that would be that things didn’t end too well for our newly promoted full Colonel here!

This would also have shades, like I mentioned in my review of "Black Sun", of Martin Cruz Smith's "Arkady Renko", who after the outcome in his first tale, "Gorky Park", finds himself punished and banished on a fishing trawler in the freezing waters of The Bering Sea!
So again, I very much think that “Arkady Renko” is definitely an influential force for these novels.

But putting those couple of criticisms aside, the rest of this story and the novel as a whole, was very readable and mostly, a pleasant ride.
I also very much appreciate the relatively short "diary" style chapters of the book.
Looking forward to the third instalment, the afore mentioned "White Fox", as again, the end sentence here, from his boss General Orlov, tells us exactly where the unfortunate Alexander Vasin is headed!

[Lauren Carlton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both the storylines in Red Traitor (the American Spy and the submarines) were both based on true events, even the characters names. This book is well-researched and a fantastic blend of fact and fiction. I had gotten Red Traitor as a gift for my partner for his birthday as we had both enjoyed Owen Matthews previous novel, Black Sun. Red Traitor is set during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, which I had studied in history during high school which I am glad I did to better understand the historical background the book is set in. I feel if I didn't have prior knowledge of this event in history I would not have been as immersed in the story. It took me about 100 pages before I got my bearings around the characters. The names of the characters were quite similar and swapped between referring to each other by their first or last name. Other than that I really enjoyed Red Traitor and thought it was just as good as Black Sun. Also, I never knew submarines were so big!

Alexander Vasin is tasked with finding the head American Spy Korin reported to (Vasin had made up this lie in Black Sun to cover up his tracks). Orlov, Vasins boss, believe it is Morotov who works under Serov, Orlovs enemy. Vasin hears whispers about Operation Anadyr which involves placing nuclear missiles in Cuba. It does not take long for the U.S to discover this missiles and create a blockade around Cuba, in which an attempt to break it will be seen as an act of war. Without Khruschevs knowledge, four submarines armed with tactile missiles with a nuclear warhead are dispatched to try and break through the blockage. The leader of this flotella is Arkhipov, who was aboard K-19, the first of nuclear powered submarines which experienced a meltdown.

Vasin learns of the flotella who are out of range for radio communication with Moscow and are under orders to retaliate with the nuclear missile if attacked. Vasin risks his life and betrays his Motherland by using Morotov's methods of communicating with the Americans in an attempt to warn them of the nuclear missiles aboard the submarines to prevent a nuclear world war. However they are caught and the message is destroyed. However Arkhipov keeps his cool head and does not attack the American ships.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite liked Black Sun, the first book in a trilogy featuring KGB Major Alexander Vasin, and so was eager to pick this second one up. It's set in 1962, a number of months after the events of the first book, and Vasin is back in Moscow working for his very dangerous boss in the Special Cases department. I would strongly recommend reading Black Sun before this, as some of Vasin's actions in that story have repercussions here, and some of the motivations won't necessarily make a lot of sense if you don't have that backstory.

While that book took place entirely in the fascinating closed city of Arzamas-16 (aka Sarov), this one toggles back and forth between Vasin and others in Moscow, and a (real-life) submarine commander in the Atlantic named Arkipov. The latter served on the infamous K-19 during its reactor failure and having seen the effects of radiation first-hand, is more cautious than some of his Naval  comrades. The plot is a fairly convoluted espionage one involving a possible mole in Soviet intelligence being pursued by Vasin, and the unfolding of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Meanwhile, as the world is poised on the brink of catastrophe, Vasin's boss appears to be primarily concerned with taking down his bureaucratic archrival in the GRU.

The story does an excellent job of weaving together historical facts and people (especially Arkipov) with fiction, but the wheels within wheels of counterplots can get arcane at times. I actually enjoyed the book more for the detailed depiction of life in early-60s Moscow and the evocative claustrophobic conditions of the submarine than for the storytelling. That said, readers who enjoy Cold War thrillers should definitely check this one out and I'll certainly pick up the next Vasin book when it comes out.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taking place on the eve of the Cuba Missile Crisis, Owen Matthews constructs two stories based on actual events and people. The first story concerns four diesel powered Soviet submarines travelling from the USSR to Cuba, all armed with a single nuclear powered torpedo . with one quarter the power of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. They are discovered by the US Navy, which, under orders from Kennedy, had established a quarantine zone around Cuba. Stuck underwater, cut off from communications with Moscow, the sub's batteries slowly draining, the sub's senior officers wrestle with the decision whether to use their nuclear weapon.

The second and more complicated story revolves around the hunt by the KGB, which is in charge of domestic counterterrorism, for a spy. When the spy turns out to be the personal driver for the head of the GRU (the USSR CIA, and a department within the Ministry of Defense), a fierce battle ensues between the two agencies. Eventually, these events get enmeshed with the submarine mission to Cuba

There are many good things about this book. The characters are interesting and the settings, primarily the submarine and 1960's Moscow, lead to dialogue superior to a typical action thriller. Matthews has a good handle on the perilous and harsh life in the Soviet Union. From cramped apartments to the use of insane asylums to gain political leverage, the mood is bleak and depicted well without overdoing it. The tension remains at consistent high level throughout. The author's note at the end provides excellent historical context, and might be worth reading before starting the book.

[Jordan Steinhoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book.

It's a solid piece of Cold War spy fiction set during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The fiction is interwoven with actual historical events and personalities and it bring a wonderful level of tension to the book that I don't think would normally be there otherwise.

Without having the backdrop of the Missile Crisis this would be a much more dry book and much less interesting though it does take some great turns. Starting as a standard counter espionage story and then maybe turning into a bit of an Arlington Road situation and the ultimate resolution held until the actual last few pages of the book. There's some great twists and turns along the way as characters try to navigate the politics and pressures of working for Soviet Intelligence services.

Apparently this is the second book about the main character and I was not aware of this but other than a few hints at things that had happened previously, not having read the first book didn't impact this book at all. I just thought I'd missed something in the book as I read it. I'll definitely be going back to check out the first book.

The best part of this for me was that it was told from the Soviet perspective. A lot of this stuff that I've read is always told from a Western perspective. CIA, MI5, etc. It was refreshing.

Definitely Check it out.

[John A. Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having just read a history about the Cuban missile crisis, it was interesting to read a fictionalised account of the events in spy thriller format. I had not read Black Sun (a mistake to rectify) but found this perfectly readable – albeit with what I think are potential spoilers for the first book.
We follow Alexander Vasin, a KGB man searching for an American spy within the Soviet military. Whilst on his never-ending quest, via encounters with friends, hostile acquaintances and rivals within the system, Vasin stumbles on something even more dangerous – Operation Anadyr, the Soviet plan to station nuclear weapons in Cuba. We also follow the senior officers of B-59, a Soviet submarine dispatched to the Caribbean as part of Anadyr. As Vasin digs, he learns of the danger the world faces, because B-59 and the other submarines in the flotilla have nuclear weapons, and the captains are free to use them at their discretion…
Mr. Matthews paints a picture of internal rivalries, the oppressive life of the Soviet system, and weaves in the spy-hunter but from the opposite perspective than usually read in the west. In the authors notes he talks about the numerous real-life sources – it was only long after the events of 1962 that the humanity learned how close it came to annihilation. An excellent read.

[Skip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well researched novel, ostensibly about the Cuban Missile crisis in 1962 from the Russian perspective, with a solid bibliography. There are two Russian generals (KGB and GRU), who hate each other and want nothing more than to destroy each other. The protagonist (Lt. Colonel Vasin) works for one of them, and they are trying to confirm there is an American spy working for the other, by recruiting/blackmailing a Spanish born woman raised in Russia, who is close to Morozov. The other plotline is reminiscent of Tom Clancy's Red October, with four Russian submarines armed with a nuclear missile each, dispatched to run the U.S. blockade around Cuba with orders to use this weapon to defend themselves. On board one of the subs, there is major tension between the captain, the political officer and the mission commander, especially when the U.S. Navy finds two of them and uses light force to being them to the surface. Meanwhile, Vasin has to decide whether to pursue the mole as his KGB boss insists or try to save the motherland by alerting the U.S.

P.S. I was annoyed to see this was the second book about Vasin, especially with the first one already on my TBR list.

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a terrific read! The Soviets are moving nuclear weapons to Cuba. The KGB is hunting for a traitor, possibly within the GRU. The world has no idea how bad things could be but Captain Vasily Arkipov, a sub commander, does. KGB Lt. Colonel Aleksandr Vasiin has been backed into a corner by the evil General Orlov after he identified a man he shot as an American spy. IS there a spy? He starts working his way toward answers using Sofia Guzman, a GRU translator who was brought to the USSR as a child in the 1930s. It's a complex novel- not one you can skim- because of the intricacies of the plot. The characters are terrific (I was especially intrigued by Arkipov). Even though we know how things turned out with regard to the missiles, Matthews managed to keep the reader on tenterhooks because this is about those characters, not the geopolitical maneuvering. This is much more sophisticated (and better researched) than many of the genre. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Highly recommend.

[Brig Asay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red Traitor is a well-written thriller that combines historical accuracy with suspenseful storytelling. The book is set during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and it follows the story of KGB Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vasin as he investigates a suspected American spy embedded at the highest echelons of Soviet power.

Matthews does an excellent job of bringing the historical setting to life. He provides detailed descriptions of the Cold War-era Soviet Union, and he captures the atmosphere of paranoia and suspicion that pervaded the period. The characters are also well-developed, and they feel like real people.

The plot is fast-paced and exciting, and there are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. Matthews also does a good job of balancing the suspenseful elements of the story with the historical details.

Overall, Red Traitor is a well-written and enjoyable thriller. It is a must-read for fans of Cold War history and spy fiction.

If you are looking for a well-written thriller, then I highly recommend Red Traitor.

[Kiwiflora · Rating 4 out of 5]

A superb blend of fact - the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 - and fiction - a spy story to beat all others as the countdown to that day in October 1962 when the world could have ended. But didn't. Whew. So even though we all know the outcome, in that we are all still here, the tension and suspense is fantastically well done. I could not put this down as the factual confrontation between the US Navy ships and the Soviet submarines took place, while in Moscow fictional spy hunter Alexander Vasin is in a race against time to prevent nuclear annihilation.

The end of the novel has 12 detailed and interesting pages of Author's Notes describing the Soviet military intelligence and how it works - corruptly and ruthlessly, the submarine flotilla with its nuclear warheads and the instructions it was under, how the actual events of October 1962 unfolded, and how the author came to create his characters.

This would make a great thriller movie.

[Philip B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not great. It starts off great depicting the Cuban crisis and you start to wonder how Vasin is going to intertwine with Russian & American politicians. Nope, nothing like that.

Vasin is described by Matthews as a middle-aged man struggling with fame following his previous success and not knowing how to handle his prestigious new position. How he finds out that Morozov is a traitor comes across as a lucky hunch and apart from drinking and sleeping in his car, he doesn't do much until getting let off (again!) by his boss.

I'll admit that what Matthews tried to do is hard (writing about a historical event we all know the outcome of) but the lack of surprise in this book makes it very tedious. The characters are also quite interchangeable. Maslennikov, Arkhipov... The characters were depicted as different but they just come across as some other miltary soviets trying not to push the nuke button.

Very forgettable compared to #1.

[Margarethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Als ich angefangen habe zu lesen, dachte ich cool mal wieder Kalter Krieg....total uncool ist es derzeit.
Kubakrise von der sowjetischen Seite erzählt, nachdem man das das Namensgewühl durchschaut hat und die einzelnen Protagonisten zugeordnet hat, gab es immer mal wieder spannenden STellen, klaustrophobische Zustände auf/im Uboot und ja man hat die sowjetische Seite doch mehr kennengelernt.
Aber irgendwie hat das große Ganze, der Zusammenhalt, das Runde gefehlt.
Hätte man die Perspektiven nebeneinander gestellt ohne den Versuch einen Thriller zu schreiben, wäre es aus meiner Sicht gelungener geworden.
Vielleicht auch nur weil ich das erste Buch nicht gelesen habe.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this USSR spy thriller set during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
It felt authentic. The author has family ties to the USSR and based a character on one of his relatives. The story was definitely exciting. The author's note explained the true history and how he wove his plot and characters around actual events.
I wish he had not used the casual contraction "gonna" in a dialogue between Soviets. Of course the dialogue is written in English for English speaking readers, but "gonna" is completely unnecessary and detracts from the realism of the dialogue. Fortunately, this only happened in one dialogue. Possibly it just slipped by the editors.

[Jennys Bücherkiste · Rating 4 out of 5]

2022 jährt sie sich zum 60. Mal: die Kuba-Krise. Owen Matthews entführt zurück in die Zeit, in der die Welt kurz vor einem Atomkrieg stand - und zwar auf die sowjetische Seite. Intrigen und Verräter spitzen die Lage immer weiter zu; der Machtkampf zwischen KGB und GRU wird zur Gefahr für die ganze Welt. Wenn Landesverrat der patriotischste Akt ist, der geleistet werden kann, ist atemlose Spannung garantiert. Und so fesselt Matthews Erzählung bis zum Schluss, obwohl bekannt ist, wie die Krise endete. Toll gemacht und ein gelungener Gegenentwurf zu Tom Clancys Politthrillern über den Kalten Krieg.