A-Z Challenge Review: Nikolai by Angelia Sparrow

Why I bought the book: My mate Kris recommended it.

Plot: Set in a futuristic world where the USA has been carved into separate states, this story follows Nick, the ex-leader of a gang of children who comes to attention of shadowy figure James Ligatos.  After being set-up, Nick is beholden to James in more ways than one as he has to pass a series of tests before he can join James' elite group.

The futuristic setting was quite fascinating. The state of Memphis where the story takes place is part of the confederation which is a theocracy.  It rather reminded me of Gilead from The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, where woman are treated as second class citizens and minority groups even worse.  Into this comes James who is some sort of politician and yet also so much more than that. The laws of the land do not apply to him, although he keeps up the pretence whilst in public, and he uses his team to manipulate events to his satisfaction. The politics acts as a backdrop to the more personal events which take place with Nick, James and the rest of his team, and involve some sort of border dispute with Kentucky.  Whilst this was interesting within itself, it really only served to create an opportunity for Nick's final test.

The main part of the plot centres on Nick, his tests and the relationship he develops with James and the other Team members.  This takes on a BDSM theme as the dynamics of slavery are explored and also different aspects of D/s style relationships.  There's a lot of sex, but it was all varied and there for a reason.  It was also very well written as it was used to show the development of Nick's feelings for the team and James through their various sexual encounters. Those of you who aren't keen on multiple partners will not find this book to your taste.

Characters: Be warned, these characters are all totally amoral.  Non of them would be considered to particularly be the 'good guy' and some of the things that they do, especially towards the end of the book, filled me with dismay.  I can't even claim that some of the things that happen were for the 'greater good' because I honestly don't think that was the case.  These were flawed men and women and not easy to like.  Having said that, I was drawn into the story, especially Nick's.  He's a victim as well as victor and some really dreadful things happen to him in the story, engineered by James.  I read his development from quick-witted but uneducated street rat to the smooth and confident man he becomes by the end with interest, and I was on his side for pretty much most of the book.  The narrative is mostly from Nick's point of view, but every so often we get into the head of one of the team. I thought this an effective way of showing the different views, but it may annoy some readers.

It was an odd experience for my essentially 'good girl' nature to get involved in a bunch of characters who would normally be deemed the bad guys but I have to admit I really enjoyed reading things from their twisted point of view.  James is a complete enigma, and remains pretty much  like that throughout the book.  He wields a tremendous amount of power, but his origins are only hinted at  and I wonder whether this is given more space to explore in the sequel.  He's a bit of a 'Henry Higgins' in the way he selects raw talent and then moulds it to his own needs and as such has a dangerous benevolence which is enticing and well as slightly off-putting.  The close bond he has with his team is evident throughout the book, as is the special relationship he has with one of the team David and I liked the way that tensions arose with David and Nick over James' attentions.  That was another thread left hanging a little by the end, which may get picked up in the next book.

Overall: Let me say this again: This is not a nice book and these are not nice characters.  Some of things that happen include rape, torture, beatings, degradation and cold-blooded murder.  If that intrigues you then I would recommend this book.  My emotions fluctuated a bit between sympathy and a liking for Nick to almost hating him for his callous behaviour and it shows the skill of the author that he remains mainly a sympathetic character in my eyes.  No matter how you may see things, this was not a dull book!  I found it compulsive reading and I'm looking forward to the next in the series where I hope some of the loose threads will be tidied away.  One final note is to say that there is a short scene of m/m/f sex and another couple of short scenes of m/f sex in this book. I didn't mind this because the scenes were short. You could easily skip over them if it's not your thing.

I have to admit, grading this book has not been easy.  On one hand the characterisation of Nick as a amoral character, willing to do anything for James sent a shiver of repulsion through me, but on the other hand I was heavily invested in him, his training and his relationship with James.  The writing, setting and characterisation are flawless but the themes will not be to everyone's taste.  In the end I'm going for 'Very Good' but with a note of caution that these themes will not appeal to all readers.

Buy this book HERE.