Talk:Archangel (Harris novel)

Hoorah for western propaganda!
Seriously, how immature is this story?

-G

Well it is a story, and as such can say anything it wishes. The book is rather a good read as a matter of fact, though the plot is far more heavily involved in what Kelso is going to find at the end of the trail of clues, and it has a pacing social commentary on Russian Urban life in the 1990's with it.

The political retoric is given in a suitible manner, and not over stated as so many storied do try with both Communism and National Socialism.

- Xelous - 20th August 2006. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Xelous (talk • contribs).

Beria who killed Stalin
Was it Beria who killed Stalin? I can remember and the fact that in another fiction I'm reading Beria killed Stalin I might have got confused... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.152.34.35 (talk • contribs).

No, he died of a Haemorrhage. Beria just watched him dying and said he was "sleeping." —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Boomtown Rat (talk • contribs).

An excellent novel
Like Harris's other novels he successfully recreates history, depicting a Russia on the cusp of change from its communist past to a more capitalistic future. The plot is full of suspense and keeps the reader engaged until the final page.

Beria actually helped to kill Stalin by refusing to allow any doctors to attend him until a collective decision was made the following morning, by which time it was obviously too late to save him. Beria, as I researched later after reading the novel, was a victim of his own scheming, meeting his death in the NKVD's Lubyanka cellar with a bullet through the head. As it mentions at one point in the story, Stalin used Beria as Hitler used Himmler. Beria was possibly one of the most evil men in history, and his final torture and death were just desserts for the terrible atrocities he committed on Stalin's behalf.

Anyone interested in this period should read Simon Sebag Montefiore's 'Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar' which offers a fascinating insight into the world of Stalin and his henchmen. Ivankinsman (talk) 10:53, 24 April 2011 (UTC)

Chance of a character list?
Am I the only one who struggled with the myriad of Russian names? Call me slow but a simple list of characters would come in handy. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 118.93.81.83 (talk) 09:43, 24 September 2011 (UTC)

The TV adaptation
Was shown, as a single film, on Drama (TV channel) July 2014. It differs from the novel in that 'young Stalin' is actually shot.

As a general observation = given that 'young Stalin' has no experience in politics and 'political cunning' he would have been a mere puppet of those who had made their way up the usual routes (though he would probably have destabilized the situation). Jackiespeel (talk) 09:29, 11 July 2014 (UTC)