Rating: 
Summary: A fast paced novel that looks into the soul of russia
Review: In his latest novel, Harris truly makes an admirable attempt to illustrate the deep and lasting effect Communism marooned upon modern day Russian society. Archangel accurately and in great detail isolates the true origins of Communist thought and cleverly incorporates it in a successful and fast paced plot of a modern day mystery.
Harris takes the reader on a journey into the heart of Russia, modern day Moscow, and then for a look into its soul, the far north. The reader follows an unlikely set of characters as they attempt to solve a decade old mystery involving the private writings of J.V. Stalin.
Although the novel is generally well written, the characters come off as stereotypical. They include a pesky, obnoxious reporter, a geeky, eccentric professor, and a street hooker attending law school.
The authors descriptive abilities are outstanding, and combined with thorough research, leave the reader just short of standing along side the characters every step of the way.
What personally amazed me the most was the author's ability to make historical figures come to life. The lives and personalities of Stalin and his Politburo jump out at the reader, leaving a lasting impression.
The plot, although rich in detail and historical fact, at times seems to travel off into absurd or unrealistic, which in my opinion simply makes it that much funner to read.
A great book for history buffs, mystery lovers, and all other Harris fans.
Rating:
Summary: A genuine page-turner
Review: Okay, I have read the other reviews that have already been posted on this book, and I think the important thing to remember is that this is a novel and not a textbook on Russian History. Robert Harris does an excellent job of putting together all the elements of past and modern Russia to make you feel like you are there, and though I admit that his ending is a little bit beyond the realm of believability, that's why this is called historical FICTION and not historical FACT. As an historian, I have several colleagues who despise any work of art or literature which presents itself as the absolute truth (i.e. "J.F.K.") but I don't see any footnotes or endpaper from Robert Harris making any such suggestions and the book does in fact keep your interest for the simple matter of finding out how it ends. The last book I read this quickly was some Agatha Christie mystery, and like those works "Archangel" demands that you find out how it ends and quickly. If you really have more of a problem with endings that fail to support strong set-ups, then I suppose you could deduct another star, but I think you would be denying yourself a decent glimpse into Russian culture and history.
Rating:
Summary: Revival of Stalinism
Review: Robert Harris adroitly weaves together historical fact and a healthy dose of fiction to create a perculiar sequence of events that compose the backbone of "Archangel".British Russian history professor and Stalin expert Christopher "Fluke" Kelso is attending a symposium in Moscow with fellow academicians. Kelso, in his room at the Ukraina hotel is listening to a story being told to him by an elderly Russian septagenarian Papu Rapava. Rapava was once an army lieutenant and driver to the Chief of Secret Police and member of Stalin's inner circle, Lavrenty Beria. Beria was summoned to Stalin's residence to learn that his boss, the general secretary had been felled by a debilitating stroke. While lying on the floor semi comatose, Beria pilfered a key around Stalin's neck and opened his safe. He seized a black oilskin writing book which contained the murderous and suspicious despot's most personal correspondence. Beria with the help of Rapava buried the book in a secret location. Beria had soon been executed in a power struggle for the reins of leadership in the Soviet government. Rapava was sentenced to 15 years hard labor in the Siberian gulag. The book remained hidden. Rapava's tale motivated Kelso to search for the legendary book. Using Rapava's daughter Zinaida, a part time hooker, part time law student, Kelso against the wishes of varied Russian agencies schemed to recover the prized book. Harris did a nice descriptive job in his depictation of present day Russia, stuck between the old ways of Communism and the bleak incomplete democracy that exists today.
Rating:
Summary: Revival of Stalinism
Review: Robert Harris adroitly weaves together historical fact and a healthy dose of fiction to create a perculiar sequence of events that compose the backbone of "Archangel". British Russian history professor and Stalin expert Christopher "Fluke" Kelso is attending a symposium in Moscow with fellow academicians. Kelso, in his room at the Ukraina hotel is listening to a story being told to him by an elderly Russian septagenarian Papu Rapava. Rapava was once an army lieutenant and driver to the Chief of Secret Police and member of Stalin's inner circle, Lavrenty Beria. Beria was summoned to Stalin's residence to learn that his boss, the general secretary had been felled by a debilitating stroke. While lying on the floor semi comatose, Beria pilfered a key around Stalin's neck and opened his safe. He seized a black oilskin writing book which contained the murderous and suspicious despot's most personal correspondence. Beria with the help of Rapava buried the book in a secret location. Beria had soon been executed in a power struggle for the reins of leadership in the Soviet government. Rapava was sentenced to 15 years hard labor in the Siberian gulag. The book remained hidden. Rapava's tale motivated Kelso to search for the legendary book. Using Rapava's daughter Zinaida, a part time hooker, part time law student, Kelso against the wishes of varied Russian agencies schemed to recover the prized book. Harris did a nice descriptive job in his depictation of present day Russia, stuck between the old ways of Communism and the bleak incomplete democracy that exists today.
Rating:
Summary: Very strong, but not quite Fatherland
Review: I was very eager to read Archangel, both on the strength of its premise and on the basis of Harris' prior work. His earlier novel Fatherland is a true classic that manages to be both suspenseful, dramatic and intellectually provocative. Archangel is a strong work of fiction, but it is not on the same level as Fatherland. Still it is worth recommending in its own right. Where Archangel succeeds is in atmosphere. There is something profoundly and distinctly haunting about Stalin's legacy, and Harris manages to evoke the ghost of the "man of steel" quite well. We are treated to vivid depictions of Moscow and the forested Russian North. Harris does pose a number of troubling points about Russia and Stalin's legacy - what does it mean that a considerable fraction of the Russian public celebrate the life of this monster? Archangel follows the adventures of a struggling British academic, Fluke Kelso, as he pursues Stalin's lost journal. The plot has not nearly as many twists as Fatherland, and the degree of suspense is somewhat less. The tone is, on the whole, far more mysterious. Noone should pick this up expecting a work with a lot of violent action. I'm not certain how I come down about the book's ending. It seems to fit the novel, and yet I was somehow expecting a bit Archangel is a very good novel with a strong sense of history and setting, well worth your time.
Rating:
Summary: Is Stalinism Really Dead?
Review: The search for Stalin's secret notebook brings a British historian, who is definitely not politically correct, to a modern-day Russia struggling to come to terms with its Capitalistic reforms. There the historian finds something more shocking than even he could have imagined hidden away in a far-flung northern outpost of Russia. Perhaps Stalinism is not dead after all. This tightly-written novel will keep you on the edge of your seat right up to the end of the book; I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Clever Soviet thriller blends fact and fiction re Stalin
Review: It's clear that former BBC correspondent Harris either knows or has researched a great deal about Russia: from the life and deeds, many horrible enough to compare to Hitler, of Joseph Stalin, to the modern day "replacement nation" that forms the former Soviet Union. When Fluke Kelso, a Brit historian specializing in Stalin travels to Moscow to attend a minor conference, he gets a tip that encourages him to hunt for the oft rumored lost notebooks in which Stalin supposedly detailed his everyday endeavors. Soon a suspenseful race against the modern day secret police, hardly above brutality themselves given the prize at stake, leads Kelso on a wild chase to find either the notebooks, or could it be, Stalin's lover or her offspring. The tipster's daughter eventually gets involved, much against her wishes, and contributes a great deal to the dazzlingly ironic ending to an incredibly chilling and thrilling story line. Harris demonstrates not merely a command of his subject matter but a knack for writing action scenes that keeps the pages turning quickly. On half a dozen occasions, we found our leading characters twisting into new scenarios just when we felt that neither they nor we could stand any more tension and suspense. Once you get by the strange place and person names, and can keep the roster of characters straight, Archangel becomes a highly entertaining, satisfying story sure to please almost any reader, let alone those with a bent for historical fiction. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: This Book was O.K.
Review: Archangel started out as good novel, but the author couldn't keep it up. There was too much down time and not enough action or mystery. The book overall is not very exciting. And the ending was rushed and incomplete. The author could have expanded more and made a better story. I felt as though he didn't have courage enough to finish the story. This book fell short of my expectations and I would not recommend on the fact that the ending will disappoint any reader.
Rating: 
Summary: Superb
Review: This is a fantastic, precisely paced thriller. It also doubles as alternate history. The writing is crisp and tight. The plot moves fluidly through all the necessary dramatic twists and turns that are necessary to make a very good thriller. This is highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Very different from what I was told
Review: Someone told me this book was the greatest novel on Communist Russia so I thought I'd give it a go. From the first time I saw the book (with it's title standing out on the cover), I realised this was nothing more than a book to read on an airplane. Boy, was I wrong! It doesn't even make a good airplane read! I mean, the story is very well researched, but the main character, Fluke Kelso, is made to look like James Bond, and the situations he faces are even more improbable and involuntarily funny than the ones Mr. Bond has to put up with. When I finished this book, I left it on the plane and erased my name from it.
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