Volk’s Game
by
Brent Ghelfi
Alekei “Volk”
Volkovoy is a complex antihero. He’s known as serious player
in the Russian underworld; a violent and dangerous man who deals
in pornography, as well as, anything else which will turn a fast
buck. Fewer people know him as an heroic Russian Army officer who
distinguished himself by his courage and cunning while fighting
in Chechnya. Volk moves back and forth between the two characters
throughout this story.
Volk is commissioned
to steal a priceless painting, a previously unknown work of the
master, Leonardo DaVinci. The painting, known as Leda and the Swan,
is hidden in a St Petersburg museum. Maxim, the top man in the Russian
Mafia, wants the painting but so does a powerful Russian Army officer
known simply as “The General.” The scheme sours when
treacherous cohorts betray Volk and make off with the painting.
The chase becomes
frantic and the stakes go up as other players enter the fray. Valya,
Volk’s partner and lover, valiantly fights by her man’s
side and pays a major price for her loyalty. The pursuit takes them
from Moscow to Prague to New York and back. The hunt is so complicated
I won’t even try to explain it here.
There is certainly
no lack of action in Volk’s Game and no lack of blood
either. Volk kills at least a half dozen people in the course of
this story and most of them cold blooded murders. None of his victims
seemed particularly nice people so I suppose that makes it okay.
The violence in this book can be extremely graphic at times and
is not for the timid. Some of the interrogations involve carefully
detailed torture and some of the murders are described quite clearly.
I’m not convinced the vivid description of an autopsy really
adds anything to the story either.
Brent Ghelfi’s
prose is brilliant throughout this book and helps explain the mosaic
personality of Alekei Volkovoy. I’m not sure I would have
felt particularly sad if Volk had been killed at the end but he
survived and I suppose that’s a good thing.
If you like
action and adventure, this book is overflowing with both.
|