Great Review of "Cossacks" at Atlasphere

Cossacks In Paris has received a very intelligent review at The Atlasphere by Michael Moeller. Atlasphere review Here's an excerpt:

[T]he plot structure feels like a series of chess moves. Can Breutier convince Alexander that Agripin has betrayed the Coalition’s cause? Will Agripin’s espionage affect the outcome of the war, and thus allow him to acquire Kaarina as a trophy? Will Agripin fall for the ploy when Kaarina’s twin sister, Kaisa, stands in for her?

As each of these moves reconfigures the prospect of certain outcomes, one realizes that the war is a backdrop — almost as if a distraction — to the central conflict of Breutier retaining his queen, not acquiring Agripin’s. With each move and fleeting advantage before the opponent makes his next move, the reader is left gritting his teeth for a resolution, yet paradoxically wanting the drama to continue.

The struggle of Breutier and Kaarina to be together against the milieu of war machinations and a barbarous foe is portrayed best by Metternich’s following statement after observing the animosity between Breutier and Agripin:

"Those rulers [Napoleon and Alexander] are merely fighting over a continent. The two young men over a woman. I daresay the latter will always be more passionately pursued than the former, much as it defies logic."

It may defy logic for somebody like Metternich, who is embroiled in political deceptions and a cunning pursuit of power, but it does not defy logic for those who seek the goal of a fulfilling romance. … [T]he reader finds himself tightly gripping the pages as the union of Breutier and Kaarina is constantly undermined by the political calculations of rulers, the switching allegiances during the uncertainty of war, and a Cossack intent on winning the prize, even though the prize has no desire to be his bloodlust trophy.

So intense is the rivalry between the two that Agripin actually saves Breutier’s life during one of the battles — all so Agripin can preserve his desire to kill Breutier with his bare hands, as he tells Breutier. … During the succession of battles and chess moves leading up to the synchronized climax of a fight over a woman intersecting with a war for that era’s center of civilization — Paris — a question seems to continually beat at the back of the reader’s mind: Will a man’s passionate pursuit of a woman prove more powerful than a ruler’s quest for an empire?

Perren’s economical style keeps the pages turning and the reader craving a resolution.

Link to CL Gammon Radio Program Interview

Here's a link to my recent radio interview on the CL Gammon show.

It was great fun! Give a listen and see why. Among other things, you'll learn a little bit about 19th century European history.

CL Gammon Radio Interview May 25th, 2013

I'll be appearing on the CL Gammon radio program on May 25th, 2013 - 10 a.m. Eastern (7 a.m. Pacific). I'll be discussing Cossacks In Paris, the novel and the historical events. Tune in to listen to the interview. Or, better still, call in!

Cossacks In Paris Highlighted at English Epochs 101

Cossacks gets a nice mention... Check out all the historical novels at English Epochs 101, including Debra Brown's "The Companion of Lady Holmeshire."

Cossacks In Paris, Now In Paperback

Cossacks In Paris is now available as a paperback.

There are multiple ways to buy it, including going to Amazon's link. But, please use this one, if possible:

Cossacks In Paris, eStore

 
And, if you have a well-trafficked blog or any other wide audience, I'd be happy to send you a free copy in exchange for a review.

Thanks! 

 Jeff

Cossacks In Paris Gets Rave Review

A recent review of Cossacks In Paris posted on Amazon says:

When reading Tolstoy's War and Peace, although stylistically brilliant in many respects, one gets an overwhelming sense of the lack of purpose. The lead characters drift aimlessly through the trials and tribulations of the Russian aristocracy, seemingly destined to a fate outside the control of their individual decisions.

Cossacks in Paris covers the same historical period, but adds a sense of purpose that breathes life into the drama. Breutier Armande, the protagonist intent on reshaping the future with his engineering perspicacity, finds his ambitions thwarted by Napoleon's grandiose - and ill-fated - designs to expand his power by conquering Russia.

But all is not lost for Breutier. During Napoleon's march to Moscow, Breutier meets a beautiful Finnish Countess, Kaarina, on a scouting trip to St. Petersburg. Timing proves once again a double-edged sword for Breutier, as his chance encounter with the woman of his dreams clashes with Alexander's plans for the young beauty - to marry her off to a brutal Cossack adept at war named Agripin.

Alexander discovers a ready accomplice in Agripin whose Rousseauian lust motivates him to have Kaarina - by any means necessary.

The struggle of Breutier and Kaarina to be together against the backdrop of war machinations and a barbarous foe provide a central purpose that is lacking in novels like War and Peace. As Metternich remarks after having seen a confrontation between Breutier and Agripin:

"Those rulers [Napoleon and Alexander] are merely fighting over a continent. The two young men over a woman. I daresay the latter will always be more passionately pursued than the former, much as it defies logic."

It may defy logic for somebody like Metternich who is embroiled in political deceptions and a cunning pursuit of power, but it does not defy logic for those who seek the rational goal of a fulfilling romance.

Indeed, the reader finds himself tightly gripping the pages as the union of Breutier and Kaarina is constantly undermined by the political calculations of rulers, the switching allegiances during the uncertainty of war, and a Cossack intent on winning the prize, even though the prize has no desire to be his bloodlust trophy.

Mr. Perren's economical style moves one quickly from page-to-page while leaving little for interpretation, and everything to purposeful conquest.

And the reader is driven by one overriding question: will a man's passionate pursuit of a woman prove more powerful than a ruler's quest for an empire?

If you enjoy that review, please click the Yes button on Amazon.

Cossacks In Paris, A Novel

Cossacks In Paris is available at Amazon.

Synopsis:

Rebellious Breutier Armande, a rising young civil engineer in Paris, is drafted into the Grande Armeé on the eve of Napoleon's 1812 Russian campaign.

On a scouting mission in St. Petersburg he meets Kaarina, a Finnish mathematician and daughter of the counselor to Tsar Alexander I. The pair soon fall in love. But Kaarina is betrothed to Agripin, a vicious Cossack and a favorite of the Tsar.

When she refuses him, Agripin kidnaps her, aided by Kaarina's envious twin sister, Kaisa. At a time of Europe's brief, uneasy truce Breutier deserts Napoleon's army and the Tsar's employ to reclaim Kaarina. Dodging the vengeance of the world's most powerful rulers sends Breutier on a perilous quest to hunt down the era's most ruthless Cossack.

Interweaving the characters' personal dramas with the epochal events of the following two years forms the core of the story. Historically accurate, the novel climaxes at the moment when, for the first time in 400 years, foreign armies invaded France, leaving behind Cossacks in Paris.