Format: Hardcover, 400 pages
Release Date: June 11, 2024
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Source: Publisher
Genre: Thrillers / Historical
From New York Times bestselling authors Steve Berry and Grant
Blackwood comes an action-packed adventure: in the waning days of the
Cold War, Luke Daniels embarks on a quest in search of the legendary
library of Ivan the Terrible—the unlikely key to ending a looming threat
orbiting two hundred miles above the earth.
Wrapping up
his latest assignment for the Magellan Billet, Luke Daniels receives a
surprise visit from the head of a former-CIA operation named
Sommerhaus — a failed attempt to assemble an espionage network within
the Ukraine on the eve of the Russian invasion. Sommerhaus ranks high
on Luke’s list of painful regrets for it was during this mission that
his friend, CIA case officer John Vince, was captured by Russian
operatives and supposedly executed. But Luke is provided some shocking
news. Vince is alive, in failing health, locked behind the walls of
Russia’s brutal Solovetsky Island prison, and has a critical message
he’ll give to no one but Luke. Needing no further convincing Luke vows
to bring Vince home.
However, just as he manages to extract
his friend from prison Vince tragically dies and his final words are
rambling and incoherent. Just bits and pieces. But enough to plunge
Luke into a hunt for something lost since the 15th century. The
legendary library of the first Tsar of All Russia, Ivan the Terrible.
Within that priceless collection of rare manuscripts is the key to
unraveling a modern-day cipher and stopping a secret Soviet satellite
program that still exists. But Luke is not the only one on the trail.
Others, both inside and out of Russia, want the library for a totally
different reason — to re-start the Red Star program and finally unleash
its destructive potential. Luke’s mission is clear. Find the lost
library, solve the puzzle, and prevent Red Star falling.
"Two Romes have fallen (Rome, Byzantium), but the third stands (Moscow), and a fourth there will not be.”
Red Star Falling, by co-authors Steve Berry, Grant Blackwood's, is the second installment in the Luke Daniels series. This novel features a character from Berry's Cotton Malone series, Luke Daniels, a thirty-something Magellan Billet agent Malone has jokingly nicknamed "Frat Boy." This story involves fascinating historical events regarding Ivan III, the Russian Civil War, the Tsarist White Army, a convent destroyed by Stalin, the Russian covert space program, and the infamous UVB-76 Russian numbers station.
Wrapping up his latest assignment for the Magellan Billet, Luke Daniels receives a surprise visit from Sean Fernando, the head of a former-CIA operation named Sommerhaus; a failed attempt to assemble an espionage network within the Ukraine on the eve of the Russian invasion. Sommerhaus ranks high on Luke’s list of painful regrets for it was during this mission that his friend, CIA case officer John Vince, was captured by Russian operatives and supposedly executed.
But Luke is provided some shocking news. Vince is alive, in failing health, locked behind the walls of Russia’s brutal Solovetsky Island prison, and has a critical message he’ll give to no one but Luke. Needing no further convincing Luke vows to bring Vince home along with Vince's lover Danielle Otero formerly of the Russian FSB. However, just as he manages to extract his friend from prison Vince tragically dies and his final words are rambling and incoherent.
Just bits and pieces. But enough to plunge Luke into a hunt for something lost since the 15th century. The legendary library of the first Tsar of All Russia, Ivan the Terrible. Within that priceless collection of rare manuscripts is the key to unraveling a modern-day cipher and stopping a secret Soviet satellite program called Red Star that still exists. But Luke is not the only one on the trail.
Others, both inside and out of Russia, including those you will likely surprise you, want the library for a totally different reason to re-start the Red Star program and finally unleash its destructive potential to take out the current President of Russia who has launched invasions against George, Crimea, and Ukraine. Luke’s mission is clear. Find the lost library, solve the puzzle, and prevent Red Star falling.
*Thoughts* This is one those stories that is filled with historical events, and people including a former Russian President who was responsible for the end of Soviet Russia. While there is a lot of focus on historical events, I don't think I found it painful, or boring. As I said, this is the second of three Luke Daniels adventures. The first dealt with the Kennedy assassination. The authors claim the next book will release in 2026 because of their commitments to writing more Cotton Malone books, and Blackwoods own series.
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