Name: Blayke 's review of Petrograd by Philip Gelatt
Item: Petrograd
Rating: 3
Author: Blayke

Philip Gelatt

Now in paperback and featuring a new introduction from Dr. David Stone, a historian of Russian history, Petrograd tells the untold tale of the international conspiracy behind the 1916 murder of Grigori Rasputin. The year is 1916. The fate of millions of people hangs in the balance, and in Russia’s capital city of Petrograd, corruption rules the day and conspiracy rules the night. But to British intelligence officer Cleary, the Petrograd post is all about relationships and carousing. He drinks and parties with the rich and powerful; he flirts and cavorts with workers and countrymen. His life is all late, drunken nights, bleary-eyed mornings, and the occasional report back to London. However, the city is like a tinder box ready to be set ablaze, and there are dark clouds on the horizon for Cleary. Rumors circulate that the Tsarina’s most trusted advisor is counseling the Tsar to make peace with Germany. Cleary, to his horror, is tasked with ending the influence of that advisor. A man famous for his acts of debauchery; for his heresy and his power: Gregori Rasputin. And so, the stage is set for one of the most infamous and strangest assassinations of all time, and a world that would never be the same. Acclaimed writer and director Philip Gelatt (Europa Report, They Remain) and renowned artist Tyler Crook (B.P.R.D., Harrow County)'s debut comic is back in print, featuring a new cover and introduction from established historian David R. Stone.

Petrograd

Blayke 

André Nóbrega

I got my hands on this re-release today, unexpectedly, right as the Russian ghost of the 20th century haunts Ukraine, and decided to read it immediately.
The book is based on historical evidence around the murder of Rasputin, but mixed with some fictional liberties taken mostly around the character of Cleary, the secret agent.
More than the frosty thriller around the fate of Cleary and the conspiracy, this book shines in the depiction of Petrograd - the city and its people - and Tsarist Russia on the cusp of the 1917 revolution.
The illustration is simple and effective, transmitting the characters' emotions and the contextual mood and season on point.
The cover art is good and the texture is luxurious, perhaps to remind the reader how such a rich covers can hide so much suffering and pain (and maybe a dash of revolutionary anti-imperialist hope?).

"If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.”
― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

| WARNING: This digital A.R.C was kindly sent to me by the publisher via NetGalley after I requested it in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own |


Sometimes It's funny to me, to review books about a subject I probably know more than the author. 
Let's make things clear here, my family is from Russia. I was raised in the myths and traditions from Mother Russia, Russia's History is mine. 
And even if I can salute the work and research conducted by Philip Gelatt, I can only blame the lack of development of the true and only point of view that matters and that nobody seems to have the shoulders to carry on, the royal's family point of view. 

I understand that this graphic novel, with an interesting and well-adapted illustrative style, is centred around the British involvement in the Russian revolution, the events and facts that led to Rasputin's assassination. 
But talking about him without analyzing his place and impact at the tsar and tsarina's level is almost nonsense in my opinion. 

Also, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't think the members of the secret service of Great Britain were really that affected, on an emotional level, by the missions they had to accomplish.

Cleary, a reluctant British spy, finds himself assigned to the most difficult assignment of his career: orchestrate the death of Grigoi Rasputin, the mad monk who is extremely influential over the Russian royal family. To accomplish this he will have to negotiate dangerous ties with the secret police, navigate the halls of power, and tangle with dangerous radicals on the eve of the Russian Revolution.

Blayke &
Petrograd by Philip Gelatt

Reviews

Join the club

Blayke &Petrograd by Philip Gelatt

Reviews

Join the club

Blayke &
Petrograd by Philip Gelatt