The Siberian Legacy

About the Book

The Siberian Legacy is the compelling story of remarkable strangers who become linked through their search for justice and redemption.

William Benn, a wealthy investor whose life is devastated when his wife and children are murdered near a remote Aegean Island. Unable to cope with his failure to protect his loved ones, Benn seeks anonymity and self-destruction in contemporary Moscow.

Mikhail Petrov, a deep-cover agent with Osiris, a special unit fighting Russia's international crime syndicates. When Osiris zeros in on a Franco-Russian smuggling ring they are lured into a trap and wiped out, except for Petrov. Upon returning to Moscow to find out why they were betrayed, Petrov's son is killed in a bungled kidnap attempt, and he is forced into hiding to survive.

A priest, engaged in his own secret battle for justice, brings the millionaire and rogue agent together. Benn and Petrov form an unsteady alliance, and using Benn's resources and Petrov's guile, they begin to unravel the conspiracies, uncover the truth, and retaliate for the destruction of their lives

Publisher's Notes on The Siberian Legacy

Kevin Rubens has woven elements of a murder mystery, an enthralling spy story and a grand conspiracy tale into an exciting narrative with a wide panoramic perspective.

The novel is set in a world still experiencing the aftershocks and shifting tectonic forces let loose by the break up of the Soviet Union, but its roots extend much deeper. The Siberian Legacy is really a modern Gothic novel. Many of the themes that typify Victorian literature are evident in this work, including the symbolism and metaphors of paranoia, an atmosphere of psychic dread, and an undercurrent of repressed spirituality.

There are other literary touchstones to be acknowledged. The underside of a world in transition is revealed in a way not dissimilar to Graham Greene’s depiction of life in the divided zones of Germany in the aftermath of WWII. As in Greene’s “Third Man”, one encounters murky, multi-layered conspiracies involving evil that transpires from the dark shadows of a decommissioned empire and the remnants of an ancient dynasty.

Rubens writes about Russia with the kind of intimacy displayed by Martin Cruz-Smith and demonstrates an authentic knowledge of the mechanics of foreign intelligence matters, from Cold War competition to today’s shifting global balance.

A compelling sense of place and time are important in any good read, and in the Siberian Legacy, the action pivots between the world’s most affluent and cultured centers, to its most decadent and corrupt. Mysterious corners of Moscow, Istanbul, and Cairo are illuminated along with excursions to secret military enclaves and remote Siberian out-lands. A historical journey is also in store, one that mines the cultural heritage of antiquity and medieval Europe, and winds up exploring today’s competition for nuclear materials.

The plot defies convention, but at its essence, The Siberian Legacy is about strong, well-crafted characters and their transcendence from tragedy to redemption. It’s a journey you will long remember.

You will enjoy The Siberian Legacy.

About the Author

Kevin Rubens was born and educated in Detroit, Michigan. For most of the past two decades, he has worked and traveled extensively in the former Soviet Union, Europe and the Middle East. He is an avid collector of classical antiquities; a dedicated student of medieval art and architecture; and an observer of foreign intelligence matters. After several years living abroad, he now resides in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, and occasionally follows the freighters north to his summer home on the glorious shores of Lake Huron.

His forthcoming novel, Babylon’s Tower is a story of espionage and betrayal within the United Nations.

For more information, please visit www.Archipelago-UnionArts.com.