Red Snow: 2

by Edward Topol

Anna Kovina, a courageous and sexy policewoman investigating three murders in Siberia where the Russians are laying a pipeline against the Nenets Eskimos' protestation, encounters a Nenets former lover and a brash American power

Genres: Fiction

306 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Edward Vladimirovich Topol (Russian: Эдуард Владимирович Тополь; real name Topelberg (Russian: Топельберг; born 8 October 1938) is a Russian novelist.

Born in Baku, Topol spent his teenage years finishing local school in Baku and graduated from Azerbaijan State Economic University.[1] He also did his military service in Estonia. He worked as journalist for newspapers such as Bakinskiy Rabochiy and Komsomolskaya Pravda and wrote the screenplays for seven movies, of which two were banned due to censorship under the Soviet government.

In 1978 he emigrated to USA, New York, and lived for short periods in Boston, Toronto and Miami.

Reviews

[Nick Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

{1984} Red Snow by Edward Topol. Russian murder mystery. Sort of. First off this was alot more demanding than my usual pulp fare. Also, it wasn't really a murder mystery. It is about the Trans Siberian gas pipeline, a native uprising, bureaucratic politics and corruption, nationalism, adolescent sex trafficking. . lots of cheery topics. Heavy duty stuff. Not to mention all the Russian names/places/government agencies to keep straight. There were many instances of very familiar occurrences and attitudes in this book that were very eye opening. I'm not gonna go on some big political rant here but I will say that no matter if it's communism, capitalism, left wing, right wing, etc...nationalism is terrifying and you all sound exactly the same just under a different flag. Anyway, the government is building a gas pipeline from Siberia into Europe. There happens to be a prison break right when they are almost done. It seems the escaped prisoners have taken to the tundra and have been killing prominent members of the government and pipeline architects by cutting off their ears and dicks and shoving them in their mouths. Investigator Anna is sent out to look into it. Along with the murders, the native people (Nenetsi) are blowing up Russian buildings and creating havoc. They hate the Russians for destroying their land, raping the women/girls, making them alcoholics, treating them as lesser humans etc. Sound familiar? The story is told through many different characters perspectives. I'd say Anna is the main character but she's not in like 40 percent of it. I could tell the author was taking shots at the Russian government (he wrote this after relocating of course) but me not being Russian, I didn't exactly know the points made but I got the gist. I almost feel this book may be less about the telling of a fictional story and more a vehicle for exposing the injustices done to the Nenetsi. And, it worked. I learned alot from this. I probably wouldn't have read it if I'd known what it was actually about but now that I have, I'm glad I did.

[Jon Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Russian defector wrote this tale set in the oil and natural gas rich frozen tundra of Siberia just prior to Mikhail Gorbachev's ascension to Soviet Premier. Clashes with Indigenous peoples, beyond deadly cold temperatures, the KGB, fossil fuels, the Soviet's complete and utter disregard for the environment, reindeer, murder, rape, international relations..........! A Solid read! And THE GREATEST BOOK JACKET EVER.!

[Suzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 2012 FL beach read - not very fluffy! Learned about the building of the Trans-Siberian pipeline, the money & countries wheeling & dealing behind it, and about the Tundra Nenets (indigenous people in northern arctic Russia).

[Cws]

A Top

[Larkin Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. Excellent description of the cold north of Siberia. Very much a different sort of story than an American would write. Definitely worth the read though.