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 enlarge | Author: Martin Cruz Smith
Publisher: Pan Books
Category: Book
List Price: £6.99
Buy Used: £1.90
You Save: £5.09 (73%)
New (17) Used (3) from £1.90
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 26955
Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 480
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 1.3
ISBN: 0330449257
EAN: 9780330449250
ASIN: 0330449257
Publication Date: June 1, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: (AP54) Minor cover wear, light page tanning
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| Customer Reviews:
 Vigilance Abroad August 15, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Martin Cruz Smith is a former journalist and magazine editor. "Polar Star" was first published in 1998 and is the second of his books - after "Gorky Park" - to feature Arkady Renko.
Renko was once the Chief Homicide Investigator for Moscow's militia - more or less the 'standard' police force, which saw Renko dealing with the 'everyday'. (The KGB dealt with the really interesting cases). However, following the investigation outlined in "Gorky Park", Renko's life and career has taken a major nosedive. He's been dismissed from the Prosecutor's Office, dismissed from the Party for a lack of 'political reliability' and sentenced to a life in Siberia - but only after being kept for psychiatric 'observation'. He's found it difficult to make a new life for himself, as his past has always caught up with him. Usually, that costs him whatever job he happened to be doing. He now works as a Seaman (Second Class) on the Polar Star, a factory ship working in American waters between Siberia and Alaska. The operation is a joint Soviet - American venture : the smaller ships, American trawlers, catch the fish, while the Polar Star processes the catch. The Soviets take the fish, while the Americans take the money.
Four months out of Vladivostock, the nets return a little more than the usual catch : the body of Zina Patiashvili. Zina, a pretty blonde who worked in the cafeteria, was well-known onboard. Slava Bukovsky, the ship's third mate, is put in charge of the investigation into Zina's death. However, despite his lack of political reliability, Renko is appointed Bukowsky's assistant by the ship's captain, Viktor Marchuk. The captain makes it absolutely clear he wants no suggestion of a cover-up or a lack of a proper investigation. Things are made a little complicated, however, by the American fishermen : many of them were onboard the night Zina died, attending a dance in the cafeteria.
While Marchuk doesn't appear too bother with Renko's lack of political reliability, the ship's first mate, Volovoi, isn't quite so forgiving, Volovoi is no sailor, despite his position : he holds his rank as the ship's Political Officer. Therefore, he's responsible for morale and discipline and reports directly to the KGB. It's clear to Renko that Zina was murdered, though it appears that some of the officers would prefer a verdict of suicide. Contrary to the captain's orders, Volovoi wants to be in absolute control : he wants no information to be passed to the Americans and to be briefed before any report is made to Marchuk. Volovoi's duties include writing a report on every crew member for the KGB. He makes it clear that Arkady's only hope of ever setting foot on dry land again rests on a very positive evaluation in that report. Trapped on a ship with conflicting orders from the senior officers and the strong possibility that the murderer is a fellow sailor, this is going to be a difficult investigation.
I enjoyed "Polar Star" a great deal - even more, I think, than "Gorky Park". However, I would recommend starting with "Gorky Park", as there are several nods to Renko's past. Definitely recommended.
Sequel to Gorky Park surpasses the original January 5, 2003
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
This book marks the return of Arkady Renko, Cruz Smith's hero of the original novel Gorky Park. No longer a Moscow investigator, Renko has been in hiding in the depths of Russia for the last two years or so and has finally found himself at the bottom of the worst place in the world that you might possibly be.Where the first novel seemed to meander a bit after a fantastic first half, this novel seems to work better almost as a self-contained unit, although undeniably part of a sequence. The book combines some excellent literary references (in my view, and everyone should check out Anna Akhmatova's poem THE GUEST) and some nice black humour ("There is no unemployment in Russia.") An excellent "Murder Mystery" novel which has been nicely researched and written.
Polar Star - Cold War Whodunnit October 21, 2002
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
What can I say that other more talented reviewers have not? All I can say is that this book is, perhaps, one of Martin Cruz Smith's finest works. Personally I read it before I got hold of a copy of Gorky Park but the plot is presented in such a way that the reader does not feel any loss. I found the descriptions of the ship, the fishing methods and seascape complimented the plot fantasically. But what I really enjoyed was the depth of research that the author has put into the text, not only on matters of seamanship but also what it must have been like to be Russian under the Soviet system. A fantasic read, like all his books, Polar Star is certainly one of his most visually stunning.
Truly thrilling to the end! December 22, 2001
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Arkady Renko, 2nd class seaman, finds himself on the factory ship Polar Star, fishing in the Bering Sea. Though he has been exempt of his title "Special Investigator", he is called to investigate the death of a young girl brought up in a fishing net. Although the death seems like a clear-cut accident, Renko thinks there is more than meets the eye. The twists of this book keep you reading until the very end. An excellent read!
A TRULY CLASSIC TALE February 15, 2001
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Martin Cruz Smith writes with more style than any half-a-dozen other thriller writers. Reading "Polar Star" is living the chilling nightmare on board the factory ship 'Polar Star'. For fans of Martin Cruz Smith try his brother John Templeton Smith's 'Saigon Express'. An equally talented wordsmith. An equally memorable novel.
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