Contemporary
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In the early 1980s the world was on the brink of a nuclear Armageddon. Trust between the USA and the Soviet Union was at an all-time low, suspicion and fear ruled as each side believed that the other was planning an imminent attack. Against this background Viktor Gumnov, a KGB officer, is sent with his family on a secret mission to Washington charged with the task of finding a way in which the Soviet Union could win such a war.
While there Viktor comes to the conclusion that if the American people could be provoked into mass panic, it would be possible to initiate a series of manufactured natural disaster to take out most key parts of the eastern United Staes.
Despite planning America’s defeat, his fear that a forthcoming NATO exercise would be seen by Moscow as cover for a genuine attack prompts Viktor to try to get a vital message to the Soviet leadership. He emphasises that his well-placed contacts insist that the NATO exercise is just that, not cover for the real thing. Moscow is sceptical but the world survives.
Based on a true story, this is a tale of high-stakes espionage as it really happened, and of how a potential global catastrophe was averted. It is a human story of courage and ingenuity, and a quest for understanding.
Here's what readers have to say about this book....
Viktor is a Russian academic in a specialised field who is recruited to the KGB by order of the Politburo of the Communist Party headed by Leonid Brezhnev. He has a specific task to carry out and we meet him as he travels with his small family to Washington to take up a cover post at the Soviet Embassy. We are introduced to a range of characters, most under deep cover, who help Viktor with his task, but as he and the family become accustomed to the American way of life, priorities change and doubts creep in. This is such a good story. Viktor is a sympathetic character, even though his assignment is pretty dastardly, and the ways the author shows us the strong relationships in Viktor's family reinforce the perception that he is a principled, honourable man. A great strength of Jo Calman's writing is his vast knowledge of international intelligence and agents' tradecraft. This expertise enriches the story and gives fascinating insights into the mind of a spy and the motivation that drives them in their lonely, often despicable activities. I have read other books by Calman, and with this one, he has grown as a writer and this new direction is intriguing.
Two days ago my copy of Victor arrived and i had to read it almost at once. Very well written story, exciting, deep understanding of the authors and highly relevant. Need to get the other books :)
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