Havana Bay (Arkady Renko Novels, No 4)
by Martin Cruz Smith
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Book Reviews of Havana Bay (Arkady Renko Novels, No 4)
Book Review: best Renko novel since Gorky Park
Summary: 5 Stars
Havana Bay is an excellent novel. Arkady is called down to Cuba to identify the corpse of KGB colonel Pribulda, his would-be executioner turned friend. I was a little torn up about Pribluda's death, because I always liked him. Arkady starts out in the beginning of the book in a bad way Irina, his wife and love, is also dead, of an allergic reation to a shot at a hospital. Irina's death has made life seem futile to Arkady. He attempts suicide, but ends up killing Rufo, who appears to be a hired thug and who has come into Arkady's room to kill Arkady. Later, Arkady pieces together the puzle of Pribluda's death, which is appropriately mixed with Cuban political intruige. I enjoyed Arkady's imaginary conversations with Pribluda and his total disregard for threats from menacing Cuban officials. One of the best things about the book is that, after the pain of Irina's death, Arkady has a chance to fall in love again.Book Review: I Could Taste the Beer!
Summary: 5 Stars
and feel the heat! Smith is fantastic with putting the reader smack dab in the shoes of his protagonist Arkady Renko. Luckily the details of Cuba are equalled by the plot. As the exotic location slowly reveals itself, so too does another brilliant landscape of charachters. Who else but Smith could untangle the complex personal and international relationships of post-cold war Cuba and Russia? The depth of Renko's charachter alone is such a refreshing alternative to the typical hero-stud we usually have to contend with. I would put all of Martin Cruz Smith's Renko novels (as well as Rose) in the intelligent thriller catageory. Reading them feels like a guilty pleasure, yet I also feel as though I have learned so much about the subject matter (Cuba, Russians, English mining, etc.) My only regret with Mr Smith's writing is that there is far too little of it.Book Review: Not his best
Summary: 3 Stars
Since reading a book review about Mr. Smith's latest book in the series, "Stalin's Ghost," I decided to re-read "Gorky Park" and then work my way through the others in chronological order. I just finished "Havana Bay," and found it lacking.
My main complaint with "Havana Bay" is that it seemed, to me, that Mr. Smith was working just a bit too hard to make the plot complex. He succeeded at that, but at the expense of a tighter and more enjoyable narrative.
That said, the character he created in "Gorky Park," Arkady Renko, is delightful to follow. This series reminds me so much of Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo's wonderful Martin Beck mystery series set in Sweden in the 60s.
"Havana Bay" was interesting, but, so far, it ranks as the weakest link in the series.
Book Review: Kind of a let down
Summary: 3 Stars
Perhaps, Mister Smith has become too comfortable with Arkady Renko. I guess I was expecting Gorky Park in Havanna. It just never happened.There are the bad guys that come armed with syringes, baseball bats and machetes. There is a certain amount of deductive reasoning, but I must confess I did not see where the story was going until the last 50 pages.
Without giving anything away, it seems there could have been more fireworks than what occurred at the end of the book. Perhaps that was the intent, but I missed the hints - probably because I never connected with the supporting cast.
The backdrop of Havanna and the missed opportunity for the past half century is compelling, but it is not enough to carry off the novel.
Book Review: Disappointed, but I'd come back for more
Summary: 3 Stars
Like many, I was captivated by Gorky Park, which I read on it's first edition all those years ago. I waited for anxiously, and enjoyed, Polar Star. I thought Polar Star was a good read, but had along way to go to equal Gorky Park. Red Square did as good a job of capturing the chaos that is post Communist Russia as I thought possible. A truly stellar work. I bought this in hard cover thinking it would be an equal. It isn't. Renko is a much a derelict as Cuba itself. The story I thought drifted without the drive that made the others great/good. Still, this is a character that I enjoy and look forward to Martin Cruz Smith taking another trip with.