Rating: 
Summary: Martin Cruz Smith Did It Again!
Review: All I have to say is if you are thinking of buying this book, do it. If you have not read Gorky Park or Polar Star first, then I strongly suggest you do so. The excellent aspect, I believe, of this book is its connection with the past two. While I enjoyed Gorky Park, Polar Star is where I fell in love with reading about Renko. By the time I read through Red Square, I came immediately online to see if there is another Renko novel to read. There is, Havana Bay, thank goodness, I don't know what I would have done if there wasn't. This is the perfect series of books to read, for anyone who does not mind a little challenge. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Mystery and History By a Master of Mood and Suspense
Review: Although Havana Bay has been out a few years now, its predecessor Red Square and the two previous Arkady Renko mysteries should never be forgotten. Martin Cruz Smith is a master of place and mood. He is absolutely convincing that he's personally been in the places he describes and has absorbed the atmospherics of the setting. With a background of deprivation and impending chaos, the predominant mood of this book is suspense. Arkady himself is never safe, even when working the murders at hand with his own staff. Every sentence contributes to the feeling that only one's mental alertness and puny physical skills stand between survival and disaster.It would be a serious understatement to refer to a "crime" in this book. As the Soviet Union dissolves and, with it, law and order, the spoils of the former Communist state are being gobbled up by the most nimble of the mafias. Among these, the most vicious are the Chechens, but every neighborhood of Moscow has spawned its own. Where is there not crime? As the story opens, Arkady has been reinstated as investigator in good standing in the Moscow police. Once he has launched a murder investigation in the normal course of his duties, however, he is forced to continue, not so much in the name of justice, of which there is very little hope, but to keep a step ahead of palpable threats to his own career and safety. With action taking place in Russia and Germany, Red Square will appeal to readers with a taste for spy fiction. Although this book is fiction, it describes Russia in the turmoil of USSR collapse as well as any piece of non-fiction could. Creating a new society in Russia will be one the great events of the early 21st century. Smith takes you there, to be present at the conception.
Rating:
Summary: Mystery and History By a Master of Mood and Suspense
Review: Although Havana Bay has been out a few years now, its predecessor Red Square and the two previous Arkady Renko mysteries should never be forgotten. Martin Cruz Smith is a master of place and mood. He is absolutely convincing that he's personally been in the places he describes and has absorbed the atmospherics of the setting. With a background of deprivation and impending chaos, the predominant mood of this book is suspense. Arkady himself is never safe, even when working the murders at hand with his own staff. Every sentence contributes to the feeling that only one's mental alertness and puny physical skills stand between survival and disaster. It would be a serious understatement to refer to a "crime" in this book. As the Soviet Union dissolves and, with it, law and order, the spoils of the former Communist state are being gobbled up by the most nimble of the mafias. Among these, the most vicious are the Chechens, but every neighborhood of Moscow has spawned its own. Where is there not crime? As the story opens, Arkady has been reinstated as investigator in good standing in the Moscow police. Once he has launched a murder investigation in the normal course of his duties, however, he is forced to continue, not so much in the name of justice, of which there is very little hope, but to keep a step ahead of palpable threats to his own career and safety. With action taking place in Russia and Germany, Red Square will appeal to readers with a taste for spy fiction. Although this book is fiction, it describes Russia in the turmoil of USSR collapse as well as any piece of non-fiction could. Creating a new society in Russia will be one the great events of the early 21st century. Smith takes you there, to be present at the conception.
Rating:
Summary: The best of the first three Arkady Renko novels.
Review: I can't speak for the latest Arkady Renko novel, "Havana Bay," having not read it yet, but for me, the finest of the first three is the magnificent "Red Square," one of the most gripping and memorable thrillers I've read in a long time. For those that have never read any of Martin Cruz Smith's novels featuring modern fiction most's unique detective (the others being "Gorky Park" and "Polar Star"), you might be surprised by what you find. Smith is no Mickey Spillane--he is a literate, cerebral writer and a first-rate novelist with an unusual gift for both probing, insightful characterizations and heart- pounding, edge-of-your-seat storytelling. His Renko novels can best be described as Saul Bellow meets Robert Ludlum, and Smith's voice is distinctive and unmistakable. "Red Square" finds Arkady in post-Cold War Russia, investigating murder and intrigue in a society rife with corruption and desperation. He also reunites with his great love from "Gorky Park," and Smith's description of the reunion is among his very best writing. "Red Square" also features Smith's characteristically convoluted plotting, which can at times get confusing, but eventually resolves itself with the most satisfying ending he has yet written for a Renko novel. All in all, "Red Square," despite a rather slow first 40 pages or so, was one of the most fascinating and unforgettable thrillers of the decade. Outstanding.
Rating:
Summary: The best of the first three Arkady Renko novels.
Review: I can't speak for the latest Arkady Renko novel, "Havana Bay," having not read it yet, but for me, the finest of the first three is the magnificent "Red Square," one of the most gripping and memorable thrillers I've read in a long time. For those that have never read any of Martin Cruz Smith's novels featuring modern fiction most's unique detective (the others being "Gorky Park" and "Polar Star"), you might be surprised by what you find. Smith is no Mickey Spillane--he is a literate, cerebral writer and a first-rate novelist with an unusual gift for both probing, insightful characterizations and heart- pounding, edge-of-your-seat storytelling. His Renko novels can best be described as Saul Bellow meets Robert Ludlum, and Smith's voice is distinctive and unmistakable. "Red Square" finds Arkady in post-Cold War Russia, investigating murder and intrigue in a society rife with corruption and desperation. He also reunites with his great love from "Gorky Park," and Smith's description of the reunion is among his very best writing. "Red Square" also features Smith's characteristically convoluted plotting, which can at times get confusing, but eventually resolves itself with the most satisfying ending he has yet written for a Renko novel. All in all, "Red Square," despite a rather slow first 40 pages or so, was one of the most fascinating and unforgettable thrillers of the decade. Outstanding.
Rating:
Summary: the finale gives me goosebumps
Review: I read that finale over and over. The apparatchiki put down their briefcases and build barricades. I was there at EDSA in Manila when the kids and the nuns stopped the tanks with flowers and rosaries. Yet only when I read the MCS description do I get the full impact of People Power as a transformation and triumph of the human spirit.
Rating:
Summary: a gripping portrait of the new Russia
Review: If you're reading this review it's probably because you haven't read Martin Cruz Smith's Red Square yet. And that'stoo bad, because you're missing a vivid glimpse into both the mafia-riddled new Russia and the loyalties of the human heart. Arkady Renko, the homicide detective hero of Smith's earlier books Gorky Park and Polar Star, returns to Moscow and finds himself battling an international crime ring in a story that crosses the German border and brings him face-to-face with his longed-for lost love. The gripping plot and Smith's masterful ability to capture the nuances of these complex geographical and psychological landscapes make this a book you will remember every time you pick up a copy of your favorite news magazine.
Rating:
Summary: In a word ... elegant
Review: Martin Cruz Smith is no more a thriller writer than Steinbeck or Hemingway, indeed he is a master craftsman. Red Square is yet another example of his elegant use of the English language. He shows us how it should be done. America is indeed fortunate to have a writer of the caliber of MCS, in France they would have named boulevards after him (even whilst still alive). In the UK I would cite John Le Carre and the reclusive (and criminally underrated) John Templeton Smith as being in the same league as Martin Cruz Smith. One thing is for certain; the future will show who the quality writers of this generation were. As an English teacher of thirty years I know whereof I speak.
Rating:
Summary: Much more than a thriller
Review: Martin Cruz Smith's latest in the trilogy of Arkady Renko, one of the more fascinating characters I have come across. It is an understatement to call this novel merely a thriller, because it opens the reader to certain aspects of Russian life both at home and abroad. I enjoyed this book as much as "Gorky Park", and Smith's research and experiences in Russia show in his writing. The novel is rather bleak at times, but I don't feel that should be a dertiment to any work of art. While the myriad of minor characters can be confusing at times, it shows many different opinions and views rather than just limiting its viewpoint to that of Renko. One of my favorite passages in the book was the following, as Smith describes a prostitute from the region of Uzbekistan: "She set her face and started walking again, wobbling on her heels. Uzbeks had once been the Golden Horde of Tamerlaine that had swept from Mongolia to Moscow. This was the end, stumbling on the autobahn."
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Summary: Please don't read this book before...
Review: Please don't read this book before you read Gorky Park and Polar Star. And please read Havana Bay after this book.
There is no relation between the books. But you have to follow the love story of Arkady and Irina. Each book introduces a stage in this relation.
A love between two people can be sensitive this much.
After reading first 3 books, when you turn the last page of Havana Bay, you will thank me. Not for the books, but for the love story I reminded you.
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