REVIEW: A Waltz with Traitors by A.L. Sowards
The Former Russian Empire, 1918
Czech soldier Filip Sedlák never wanted to fight for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. So at the first opportunity, he defected to the Russians. Now he and others like him have formed the Czechoslovak Legion. Their goal: leave the chaos of Russia, sail to France, and help the Allies defeat the Central Powers, thereby toppling a hated empire and winning an independent Czechoslovakia.
With the fall of the tsar, Nadia Linskaya’s life is in ruins. Her family is dead, her lands are confiscated, and her aristocratic world is gone forever. But Nadia is determined to elude the Bolshevik agent who destroyed her family and find a way to survive in this changed world.
When Nadia takes refuge with the Czechoslovak Legion, the last thing she expects is an ally. But when Filip proposes a sham marriage to ensure her safe passage across Siberia, she takes it. Neither Filip nor Nadia expect real love, not when the legion has to take over the longest railroad in the world—and then hold it against Bolshevik counterattacks, partisan sabotage, allied intrigue, and a set of brutal Siberian winters. At risk is the future of Czechoslovakia, the fate of Russia—and their hearts.
These were taken directly from the book.
CW – A note about content Spoiler: Show
A note about spelling Many of the locations included in this story have more than one possible spelling. Spelling chosen for use in this novel is based on the most common usage at the time of the story and is not meant to form a political statement about current usage and spelling.
Dear Ms. Sowards,
Wow this one took me back to the days of the historical sagas – although it’s far shorter than some of the sagas I used to read. War, famine, death, separation, more fighting, more death, political double dealing, vengeance, reunions, lots more death, pestilence, chaos, shootings, more death, reunions and finally The End. In the past year or so, I’ve seen some books set during wars described variously as “heartbreaking and moving” “utterly heartbreaking” “completely heartbreaking” ‘totally heartbreaking” and a few other adjectives as well. This one fits those descriptions to a “T.”
As I delved into the story, I tried to keep up with the shifting political changes and alliances that seemed to flip from minute to minute much less day to day. 1918/1919 Russia was a hot mess. After a while, I gave up attempting to remember who was with which faction and whose side this group was supporting at any particular moment. I doubt anyone alive or dead could manage to keep everything straight. The main thing was to remember that the Czech Legion (made up mainly of deserters [from the Austro-Hungarian Imperial Army] and freed [from the Russians] POWs) was fighting to get out of Russia, make it to France where they wanted to fight on the side of the French to defeat Germany and the hated/loathed/despised Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Nadia impressed me. When the book starts, she is an aristocrat who doesn’t know how to do much in the way of basic survival. When she’s tossed into the deep end of life, she thinks, she makes her opportunities, then she buckles down, pitches in, and learns what she needs to in addition to offering her nursing services (she volunteered a bit in Petrograd alongside two of the Grand Duchesses). When Something Happened, Nadia engineered her own escape. Filip and his fellow Czechs (and Slovaks) just want to fight on the side which will let them finally have their own free country. To do this, they’ve got to make nice with the Bolsheviks, then the White Russians, then the Bolsheviks, then decide how to get the hell out of this country that is coming apart at the seams. They tried to act honorably even when they were not treated with honor.
I had to keep reminding myself that this was based on real events because honestly, you can’t make this shit up. There is a romance in the book but it’s one of those “slow burn, takes over a hundred pages to be confessed, and the events of the story keep the couple separated far more than they’re together” ones. The book is MUCH more a historical fiction story. As the events proceeded, I kept certain characters in the back of my mind, just waiting for them to pop back up. This often happened. As I got to know and like other characters, I held my breath as the fighting got more intense and diseases raged because I just knew not everyone would survive. Yep, some of them died. I cried foul at one reunion that ended in heartbreak. Really, did we need that, too?
I copied and pasted the warnings listed at the beginning of the book and strongly suggest readers pay attention to them. Nobody is spared in this book. The historical details are fantastic, the effort to ferret out all those details must have been incredibly hard. I felt for these Czech and Slovak men who were just trying to obtain freedom for their homeland after 300 years of subjugation and who wound up being used by all sides. I did care for the characters and wanted to see how things would finish but in the back of my mind, as when I read “Stateless,” I couldn’t help but think ahead to less than 20 years and what will happen. B
~Jayne
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Thanks for your review, Jayne!
Note ~ the spoiler does not show up for me. I’m using a Kindle Fire to read your post.
@Kareni: Okay, thanks for letting me know about the CW/TW. I’m going to put it at the bottom of this comment.
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The following novel contains depictions of warfare, war injuries, disease, miscarriage, kidnapping, off-page sexual assault, executions, and implied intimacy between married couples.
Your review reminds me, also, of the epics I used to read. At this point in my reading life, any “heartbreaking” description receives an immediate No vote from me. I hope I toughen up sometime in the future, because I know I’m missing great stories.
@LML: Usually I shy away from “heartbreaking” books, too, so I understand your hesitation. I know that lots of people adore a good cry as they read about characters put through a ringer but it was the author, setting, and the fact that I didn’t know much about the Czech Legion that made me want to read it.
Thank you, Jayne!