Red Sky at Noon (The Moscow Trilogy) - Softcover

Montefiore, Simon Sebag

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1681779072 ISBN 13: 9781681779072

Publisher: Pegasus Books, 2018

Synopsis

Together with Sashenka and One Night in Winter, Red Sky at Noon completes the critically acclaimed "Moscow Trilogy," where the love and intrigue, betrayal and fear, war, revolution and terror of twentieth century Russia are brought to life in these compelling stories and unforgettable characters. 

“The black earth was already baking and the sun was just rising when they mounted their horses and rode across the grasslands towards the horizon on fire . . .”

Imprisoned in the Gulags for a crime he did not commit, Benya Golden joins a penal battalion made up of Cossacks and convicts to fight the Nazis. He enrolls in the Russian cavalry, and on a hot summer day in July 1942, he and his band of brothers are sent on a suicide mission behind enemy lines―but is there a traitor among them? The only thing Benya can truly trust is his horse, Silver Socks, and that he will find no mercy in onslaught of Hitler’s troops as they push East.

Spanning ten epic days, between Benya’s war on the grasslands of southern Russia and Stalin’s intrigues in the Kremlin, between Benya’s intense affair with an Italian nurse and a romance between Stalin’s daughter and a war correspondent, this is a sweeping story of passion, bravery, and survival―where betrayal is a constant companion, death just a heartbeat away, and love, however fleeting, offers a glimmer of redemption. 

About this title

About the Author:

Simon Sebag Montefiore's prize-winning, bestselling novels are published in twenty-seven languages. Red Sky at Noon is the last of the acclaimed “Moscow Trilogy,” which includes Sashenka and One Night in Winter, which was long-listed for the Orwell Prize. Montefiore’s nonfiction books include Jerusalem: The Biography, a #1 Holiday Book Pick on the TODAY show and under option with Lionsgate, Young Stalin, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography, and most recently, The Romanovs, which was a New York Times bestseller. He is also the author of the childrens' book series, The Royal Rabbits of London, co-written with Santa Montefiore, which is being developed for a feature film by 20th Century Fox. Visit him at www.simonsebagmontefiore.com or on twitter @simonmontefiore.

Review:

“The worthy conclusion to [the Moscow Trilogy]. The vivid interplay between a war story and a love story, and between the Kremlin and the frontline, grants the novel its momentum. Like so much historical fiction, Red Sky at Noon keeps readers turning pages not to learn the end but to better understand the individuals who brought about this end. A gripping adventure, a compelling history, and a work that adds humanity to stories we thought we already knew.”
- The Wall Street Journal

“Historian, biographer, and novelist Montefiore has garnered critical acclaim and commercial success in each discipline, and his latest demonstrates his deftness in crafting a deeply engaging story that is only enriched by his skills as a historian and biographer. Offering historical accuracy, a fine empathy for his characters, and a story that illuminates the operatic tragedy of Stalin’s rule, Red Sky at Noon is brilliant on multiple levels.”
- Booklist (starred)

“A wonderful novel.  Highly atmospheric. A truly absorbing read.  Red Sky at Noon is like Cormac McCarthy―with Nazis and Cossacks.    ”
- Philip Kerr, author of BERLIN NOIR the Bernie Gunther novels

“Montefiore’s third novel in his Moscow Trilogy (after Sashenka and One Night in Winter) is a stunning World War II story set on the bloody Russian front outside Stalingrad in July 1942. Montefiore’s immersive portrayal of the Eastern Front makes this a gripping, convincing tale.”
- Publishers Weekly (starred)

“The gritty war scenes and the lovers’ pursuit keep the pages turning.”
- Kirkus Reviews

“Montefiore has legions of fans for his histories (The Romanovs), but his ‘Moscow Trilogy’ (One Night in Winter; Sashenka) opens the floodgates to the imaginative re-creation of archival facts. Benya’s story animates a ten-day, desperate struggle in Stalin’s huge gamble against the Nazi war machine. World War II fiction aficionados will want to read this.”
- Library Journal

“Red Sky at Noon is an epic adventure story set against the backdrop of the most awful war in human history. The master historian shape-shifts into the brilliant novelist. Ridiculously good.”
- Dan Snow

“A gripping novel. Montefiore is brilliant at depicting brooding menace.   As the penal battalions are given increasingly risky missions, it is Benya's journey on horseback that we follow behind enemy lines in the grasslands of southern Russia.  An epic tale. The language is arresting. It's all beautifully done: a western on the eastern front.”
- The Daily Telegraph

“Mythic and murderous violence in Russia. . . there are power-drunk Nazis and Soviet traitors, including a particularly memorable villain. Written with brio & deep knowledge of its fascinating subject matter.  Red Sky at Noon is a deeply satisfying page turner. There are atrocities on all sides and a smidgen of love as Benya falls for a brave Italian nurse. A subplot follows the ill-starred affair between Stalin's daughter and a Jewish writer. But Benya's struggle to keep his humanity is the memorable spine of the book”
- The Times "Best of the Month" (London)

“Montefiore's skill with imagery is such that he immerses the reader in an utterly ethereal landscape, only to snap them into horror as men emerge from rippling sunflowers with 'swords streaked with blood and grass,' and that soft horizon is suddenly filled 'squadrons of tanks like steel cockroaches.' Montefiore can effortlessly meld beauty with battle.  Vivid and impeccably researched.  ”
- The Time Literary Supplement

About this edition

• Publisher: Pegasus Books
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1681779072
• ISBN 13: 9781681779072
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416