China Star

by Bartle Bull

Bull's new erotic swashbuckler revisits Count Alexander Karlov, the dashing and sensual young Russian hero from Shanghai Station. Picking up the action four years later in the Paris of 1922, we find Alexander, now 22, searching for his twin sister, Katia, who at age 17 was raped and kidnapped from the Trans-Siberian train by the Karlovs' bitter enemy, Soviet Commissar Viktor Polyak —-- the same assassin who murdered their mother and later killed their father in Shanghai.

Alexander doesn't know that Polyak is already in Paris and awaiting the arrival of Katia, who — now the mother of Polyak's son and thoroughly brainwashed by the best Party training schools adept in the art of assassination — is carrying out a mission to kill a Party enemy in Poland. Miraculously, the siblings reunite and flee for Shanghai on the steamer China Star while Polyak relentlessly chases them through Cairo, Bombay, Ceylon and to Shanghai.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Russia, Fiction, Mystery, China

442 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 2006

About the author

Bartle Bull was born in London and educated at Harvard and at Magdalen College, Oxford. A student of the China coast since he first worked in Hong Kong over thirty years ago, he is a member of the Royal Geographical Society and the Explorers Club. He is the author of Safari: A chronicle of Adventure and the novels The White Rhino Hotel, A Cafe on the Nile, and The Devil's Oasis.

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the follow-up book to Shanghai Surprise, a book I liked a lot. This book started off good, but I became disillusioned with it by the middle and only finished it to find out what happened to the charactors I grew to love and hate from the first book. This book was a repeating cycle of: lots of drinking, hero has sex with exotic lady, drinking, villian murders someone, hero has more sex, villian murders or rapes someone, drinking... and on and on.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story including visits to what seem to be fascinating parts of the world: back in the 1920s in colonized countries. Learned about growing tea. Some interesting characters. Will look for other books by Bull.

[Shotgun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stejně jako u Nádraží jde o příjemnou zábavu a minimum "umění". Většina věcí zůstává. Koumouši zabíjejí, znásilňují a kují pikle. Alexovu sestru nakonec zbaví rudých bludů švarný Japonec a on sám se zakouká do exotické MILFky. Sem tam je to proloženo pasážemi o práci bolševické tajné policie, pěstování čaje, o dražbách a životě na Rusi před rudým morem. Dozvíme se, jak zabít člověka pomocí slona a spoustu dalších užitečných věcí. Arcibolševikovi je nakonec osudná jak jeho nenasytnost, tak ještě víc nenažranost. Finále s akvarijními rybičkami je prima.

[Michael]

A sequel to Shanghai Station, and not nearly as good, because the whole thing takes place elsewhere as Alexander rides a boat around. The plot Draaagggsss. Which is too bad since the characters were already established, and they were interesting.

[Jest · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhere I heard this book described as a 'swashbuckler' which is actually pretty apt. It's all outrageous action-adventure taking place in exotic historical settings.

Very entertaining.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of killings but liked the characters and the atmosphere.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've enjoyed these books by Mr Bull. I hope that he's working on more. He left just enough loose ends to make wonder what happens next.

[E.R. Yatscoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

1920's intrigue and adventure around the globe from Paris to Shanghai with Communist assassins tracking down their renegades. I found it an interesting escape with no cellphones anywhere.

[John McKenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is exciting, relentless, and throughly entertaining.

[Dan Piette · Rating 4 out of 5]

second in a series about Russians in China and France