The Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry

                I mentioned with my post about The Amber Room that I have an interest in Russian history.  While some like to read about the entire history, I tend to concentrate more on the time of Tsar Nicholas II.  It has always interested me more than any other time in Russian history and I have a tendency to perk up when I hear that time mentioned.  This is why when I saw that Steve Berry had a novel titled The Romanov Prophecy, and it involved Tsar Nicholas II and his family, I knew I had to pick it up.  It would have been hard for me not to.    

                After years of struggle, the Russian citizens have decided it is best to go back to tsarist rule.  The problem is, with the 1918 assassination of Tsar Nicholas II and his family, there is not a direct descendent to claim the throne.  To solve this problem, a commission has been created to determine who else in the bloodline should become the next tsar.  Even though there are many candidates, there is a clear frontrunner.  Miles Lord, a lawyer, is in Russia, researching if there is anything that could cause this man to become disqualified from the proceedings.  For quite awhile Lord does not find anything that would prevent the frontrunner’s rise to the throne.  Then, thanks to a chance meeting with a professor, Lord discovers a long held secret that may make that no longer the case.

                It’s pretty obvious right away that this meeting of the professor was not truly a product of chance.  For Lord it was, but for the professor it wasn’t.  The professor believes Lord is part of a prophecy that will help bring the true Romanov dynasty back to rule.  It is believed that two of Tsar Nicholas II’s children survived the assassination and have been hiding ever since.  The professor wants Lord to find the two children, along with the help of a Russian acrobat, and put the true Romanov tsar on the throne.

                After hearing the story, Lord is not convinced.  He does not believe in the prophecy and has a hard time imagining how two of the children, even if they did survive, could still be living.  However, Lord’s curiosity is piqued, and with men trying to kill him for an unknown reason, Lord will do pretty much anything to get out of town. 

                The search will not be easy.  As this has been a deeply held secret for years, the only way to the truth is to decipher riddles and go to various locations to receive the next clue.  He must also rely on the help of others who hold this secret, but they will not give up what they know easily.  Their knowledge and role in this situation has been passed down through generations, and they will sacrifice their lives to keep what they know from getting in the wrong hands.

                This book has a lot of action.  Lord does not stay in one place for too long, which is probably good since someone is trying to kill him practically wherever he goes.  In my opinion, there were too many attempts on Lord’s life and I started to become irritated when another one of those parts showed up.  I was much more interested in the history and the adventure Lord was on than any attempts on his life.  There was one attempt that really irritated me in particular because (I’m going to spoil something here) dogs were hurt.  This is something I always have a problem with.  The hurting of animals never sits well with me, even if it is in a work of fiction.  Fortunately this only happens in a short part of the book leaving me with the ability to enjoy the rest. 

                  The end of the book did not wrap up as neatly as others do. Yes, Lord finishes his adventure and finds the truth to what he was seeking, but Lord’s fate remained unclear. The character himself even talked about how he was unsure what he was going to do with his life. This makes me wonder if there may be another Miles Lord book in the future.