Shanghai Station

by Bartle Bull

A masterful storyteller at the top of his form, Bartle Bull follows the successes of his popular Africa trilogy—A Café on the Nile, The White Rhino Hotel, and The Devil's Oasis—with a rousing historical adventure. Shanghai Station is a compelling tale of political terror and personal vengeance that unfolds in 1918 in China's colorful, turbulent port city of Shanghai. Well-born Alexander Karlov arrives in Shanghai with a mission, for the Bolsheviks have brutally killed his mother and abducted his twin sister. Vengeance commands Alexander's soul. It also entangles him in perilous alliances—with the Cossack hit man Ivan Semyonov; with Mei-lan, a woman who knows Shanghai's darkest secrets; with "Big Ear," leader of the city's most powerful Triad; with the French police; and with a spirited young American woman who calls herself Jesse James.

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

394 pages, Paperback

First published December 10, 2003

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

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been a big fan of Bartle Bull's for a while, and loved his Novels set in Africa (White Rhino Hotel, Cafe on the Nile, and The Devil's Oasis). Shanghai Station certainly didn't disappoint. Another fascinating setting in Post World War I Shanghai, which has been described as one of the most exciting cities in the world at that time. Definitely a good story of love and revenge, and a pretty accurate portrayal of the plight of the "well to do" refugees of the Revolution of 1917.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the details of Shanghai at the tail end of WWI, and the setting amongst the White Russians was the most interesting part of the story. Alexander's adventures among the Bolsheviks, the rising Nationalists in China, and the ex-pats of virtually every other country keeps the story moving, and I enjoyed the ride while I was reading. I may pick up the sequel if I'm bored.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

🌟🌟🌟1/2
This was a pretty good action/adventure novel taking place in Shanghai, China, shortly after the Russian Revolution of 1917. The protagonist of the story is Alexander Karlov, a young Russian aristocrat who fled Russia when the revolution takes place. He and his family are attacked by the Reds on the train they are taking to Vladivostok to flee. His mother is killed and his sister is taken captive by a brutal Soviet named Viktor Polyak. Alexander is able to escape by ship and makes it all the way to Shanghai where he meets up with his father. Once there, the Karlovs are able to start their own business by giving fencing and horsemanship lessons but the elder Count Karlov falls deeply in debt to his wife's cousin who owns a casino there. Alexander saves the owner of a Chinese brothel from harm and becomes familiar with Shanghai's bordellos, opium dens, race tracks, and European clubs. But he falls in danger again when Polyak goes to Shanghai to seek out and kill any "White" Russians. Alexander also meets Jessica James, the daughter of American missionaries, who leans towards revolution for the people of China but seems oblivious to the consequences.

This novel was full of action and was great at describing Shanghai and China during this time period in the early 20th century. Jessica is an interesting character who wants to liberate the Chinese from their poverty and traditions including the painful art of foot binding. She is also put off by some of the Chinese delicacies such as eating the brains of live monkeys. (Wasn't this shown in one of the Indiana Jones movies?). She wants a revolution in China similar to the Russian revolution but doesn't realize some of the brutality involved.

I would give this one a mild recommendation overall. Some of the narrative tended to go on too long in its descriptions of fencing and horsemanship but I did ultimately enjoy this. I have had this book on my shelves since it was first published in 2004 along with a few others by Bull that I hope to get to at some point.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

SPOILER ALERT:


This started out great and held my attention for 85% of the story. When it came to Jesse accepting rape for the sake of a cause, I list faith. From there, it played out like a young adult novel. She accepts rape but wants to argue politics with her boyfriend? She just drops the politics that she tolerated a rape for, when she starts helping Alexander? Ridiculous.

Even worse, Alexander never finds his sister. REALLY?!

Very disappointing end and somewhat a waste of time.

[David James · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some good ideas here, but the story drags a bit too much. Every time you think it will get moving, we're back to period details and excessive character development at the expense of plot. There are also some holes in the storyline and some character motivations that are a bit hard to swallow. Most of all, however, this book fails to do what Tom Bradby did so well in 'Master of Rain' with many of the same elements (European expats, Chinese crime bosses, Russian refugees of the Revolution and the Bolshevik assassins pursuing them), it never makes Shanghai itself become a driving force in the tale, and therefore the old city never comes alive like it did in Bradby's masterful hands. And while Bull can describe what people of the time wore, he all but overlooks the steaming humidity of Shanghai that drove so many who took up residence there to drink, drugs, and ruin.

This is probably more of a two-and-a-half star book than just two, and I will read the sequel, because too much is left hanging at the end. But it could have been more. Bull has lots of good ideas, he just never gets them off the ground long enough to keep his readers riveted.

[Michael]

A cool library find. This is an adventure story set at the fall of Tsarist Russia. A young aristocrat and his military father flee to China to escape the Bolshevik Revolution. They start a business and make their way in China's foreign port city- Shanghai, "The Whore of the Orient". (Sweet! Where do I get my ticket?) The more I learn, the more I am loathing the Communist tyranny that ruled so much of the world during the past century. What a load of s***. "Check your neighbor's soup bowl, if he has meat in it then he is a traitor. Denounce him so that he may be shot as an enemy of the people." Well guess what, I see plenty of "the people" at Wal-mart when I go there, and they don't need to be ruling anything. If we didn't have pictures of Lenin I would imagine him with a mullet haircut and a sleeveless t-shirt...

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I chose to read this because of the setting - Shanghai in early 1900's when it was an international community. It was good enough that I'm planning to read the sequel.
Addendum - I started to read the sequel and stopped after about 10 pages - way too violent - detracts from my enjoyment of the setting.

[Devon Start · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty interesting setting. china 1920s. you have white russians, red russians, british adventures and a pretty girl. the usual ingredience for a good adventure story set in shanghai in the 20s.
the book is only ok

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gripping book.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as Cafe on the Nile

[Aj · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read. Historically based and entertaining.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting facts in this book:
Mexican silver dollars were used in Shanghai in 1917.
Black Velvet: champagne and stout
Paper Chase: papers laid in a long trail similar to a fox hunt.