The Romanov Prophecy

Once again Berry takes a piece of history and fictionalizes it using good vs bad. A wonderful and entertaining read.

The Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry

Ever since 1991, when the royal remains of the Romanov family were exhumed from their anonymous grave, there has existed a great debate as to which two children's bodies were actually missing. DNA analysis concluded that the bodies missing are those of Alexi and either Maria or Anastasia. Berry chose Anastasia because of the fascination that has developed around her. With this background, our story begins.

It is present day in Russia and a commission of 15 has been formed to anoint a czar. Tired of the mafia, oligarchy, and absence of rule of law, the Russian people have decided to restore the monarchy.

At the same time, a secret chancellory is formed: Taylor Hayes partner of the firm Pridgen & Woodworth and his American investors, Dimitri Yakoyley--Stalin--representing the mafia, Georgey Ostanovich--Lenin--representing the military, Maxim Zubarev-- Khrushchev,--representing the military, Vladimir Kulikov--Brezhnev--representing the oligarchy, and Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church.

This chancellory has chosen Stefan Baklanov as their candidate to succeed as the next Czar of Russia--a candidate they will manipulate as they desire to guarantee their respective interests. Funded by Hayes, he has brought with him from Atlanta Miles Lord, an African American lawyer fluent in Russian and its history, to investigate any claims any of the other candidates may have with the commission. The commission consists of fifteen elected officials and the final vote must be unanimous. The chancellory intends to buy whatever votes they can't convince.

In his research, Lord comes with some documents both from Anastasia--about the Rasputin prophecy--and from Lenin itself noting that there are indeed two direct descendants of Czar Nicolas alive. Felix Youssoupov, who killed Rasputin, had a direct involvement in saving two of the children.

When Lord learns of this possibility, he reports it to Hayes--thus Lord becomes a target. In a train he meets Akilina Petrovna, a circus acrobat , who saves his life. Faced with chasing thugs, Lord takes refuge in the circus where again he is saved by Akilina.

They meet Seymon Pashenko, Professor of history of the Moscow State University who happens to lead the Holy Band--a society charged with restoring the monarchy as per Rasputin prophecy. The prophecy requires a raven (Lord being black) and an eagle (Aquilina is eagle in Russian) so they embark in a series of steps, a puzzle set in motion many years before, which takes them first to San Francisco, then Genesis, North Carolina, their only guide being a cryptic utterance of Rasputin--implying that the infamous massacre of the Romanov family was not the last chapter of their history. The prophecy's implications are earth-shattering--not only for the future tzar and Mother Russia, but also for Lord and his future.

Once again Berry takes a piece of history and fictionalizes it using good vs bad. A wonderful and entertaining read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not a Berry fan

Loved this book!

Excellent

A great read. Fast moving and historically sound.

BY FAR my favorite Berry book!

This is my absolute favorite Steve Berry book! It is the only one of his books I've ready multiple times - I read it almost once a year. I love the story line and the ending is fantastic!

Great Read!!!

This is the only Steve Berry book that I loved. Its fun, exciting, intriguing, and dramatic. I loved this book. I wish he would ditch Cotton Malone and do more things like this.

Excellent Read

Could not put the book down. A real page turner. Berry really knows how to draw the reader into the tick of things.

History comes alive!

If you are into History -- and want more on the Romanov family and their last days - then this is the book for you. Lots of history tied into a mystery and adventure. Easy reading - don't want to put it down. Enjoy!

Steve Berry does it again!! This book is excellent.

Mr Berry did a superb job with this novel. It is obvious that he did a great deal of research on the subject which makes it hard to tell the difference between fact and fiction. As with most of Mr Berry's books, it was hard to put down and when I completed it, I couldn't wait to start the next book.

Great Author Great Author

Have read all of this author's books and they are great reads

FRESH AND UNIQUE TOPIC

I read historical fiction and non-fiction extensively but have read little or nothing on Russian history or on contemporary Russia. It would be hard to imagine anyone that has not heard of Nicholas, Alexandra and Rasputin. However, I had never encountered specific details of the murders or disposition of the bodies even though this is relatively recent history and not ancient history. I was also not aware that San Francisco was a hub of Russian emigration, hidden Tsarist gold, and support of the White Russian forces opposed to the Red Bolsheviks. Hence I found this historical perspective and the culture and current conditions in Russia fresh and engrossing. Initially the concept of the Russian people wanting the return of the Tsar and another form of autocratic government appeared far fetched. However, Berry's explanation of this Russian mindset made this idea plausible and convincing. I had not read Steve Berry's early novels without Cotton Malone, but the lawyer Miles Lord is a credible hero without secret agent or military training. He is something of an "Everyman" or as much of one as a well to do lawyer can be. The chase through the North Carolina and Tennessee mountains was of special interest to me since I often vacation in the North Carolina Mountains and my family is from Tennessee. Lord's absolute belief in the integrity of his employer seemed a bit naïve, but again he was not accustomed to intrigue. His numerous close escapes from death and the ineptitude of his pursuers were a bit unrealistic, but by this point I was pulling for him anyway. I liked this book so much that my recent birthday present was a first edition, first printing, autographed copy of Steve Berry's first book, "The Amber Room".

Good audio, bad novel

Good audio, bad novel

Not Steve Berry's best

This novel falls along the same line as his Third Secret, dealing with prophecies. If you're into Russian history and politics you might enjoy this. It took me like 3 months to finish it & I normally finish novels within a week. I just couldn't get into the story. It does pick up towards the end. I highly recommend his Amber Room.

What a way to quicken the pace

My headline may strike you as odd but if you read my review of the Amber Room, then you know what I mean. Loyd Miles is a black man in Russia and if that's not bad enough everyone in Russia reminds him of that. He is there on assignment with his partner Taylor Hayes to research the background of the next tsar to Russia. The novel opens with a shoot out at a corner cafe in which the guy Loyd is eating with is gunned down, Loyd soon finds out that those bullets where ment for him. But why, and in Russia of all places. Mr. Berry does a outstanding job of mixing fact with fiction in this novel. The excecution of the Romanov family is for lack of a better word graphic. Loyd finds himself fixed in the middle of a prophecy detailed by Rasputin one late night in 1916, what the prophecy reveals will be earth shattering for the country of Russia.

Great Read

I really enjoyed this book. I've since tried to read another one of Steve Berry's books and I'm just not liking it, but this one is great. I picked it up right after coming down from the Dan Brown buzz, so there were some pretty big shoes to fill, but this was not a disappointment.

As good as Exile or the DaVinci Code

Wow! Having enjoyed the DaVinci code, and recently having finished 'Exile' by Allan Folsom which also deals with the Romanov's, I was drawn to this title. This is my first Steve Berry Book, and it did not disappoint. Altho some of the action seens were kind of difficult to believe, they did keep me on the edge of my seat. The characters were believable and it was a real page-turner. Give it a try.

A reviewer

I could not put down this book it was great! I have always been interested in the story of the Romanovs, and the author really researched to write this book. I will buy all the other books written by this author. I read his first book 'The Amber Room', and it is also fascinating. I hope they make a movie of 'The Romanov Prophecy' I have even chosen my own cast!

Not a beach read

You'll need to pay attention to this one. This is a fast pace book that needs your complete attention. This was the first book I've read by this writer and boy am I hooked. I'm ordering them ALL!

Very good

Although this book was occasionally predictable, it had a great story line.

Not great

I found the Russian history and Romanov family history that the author included very interesting and that is really the only reason that I didn't put the book down sooner. I felt that the plot and characters were not very challenging. I also found that I was forcing myself to read the mundane just so I wouldn't miss any of the fascinating historic details or the descriptions of the places and buildings.

a wonderful book!

One of the best books I have read in a long time. I had the same reaction to this book as I did when I finished The Da Vinci Code. It was a joy to read. I couldn't put it down.