Reviews for Against a Crimson Sky, sequel to Push Not the River

Against a Crimson Sky

Debuts as a BookSense pick, one of only 20 titles selected for August 2006!

“An enticing blend of history and fiction set in 19th-century Poland, with characters you come to care about as you share their joys and disappointments. James Conroyd Martin will please readers who might not usually consider historical fiction." --Nicola Rooney, Nicola's Books, Ann Arbor, MI, for BookSense, a network of 1200 independent booksellers

An “entertaining sequel that follows Anna through the chaotic years of the Napoleonic wars. . . . Martin provides a panoramic view of Europe during a time of enormous change and in all its sanguinary excesses.” Readers “will find much to enjoy in this sprawling epic.” ~ Publishers Weekly

“Polish history buffs will be riveted.” ~ Kirkus Reviews

“With Napoleon Bonaparte’s ill-fated campaign to conquer Russia as a backdrop, Against a Crimson Sky manages to turn the wily emperor’s exploitation of Polish patriotism into a classic read that lovers of Push Not the River will devour. James Conroyd Martin brings back the characters that made his first novel so compelling, deftly weaving their daily lives into the panorama of war and turmoil that consumed Poland in the early nineteenth century. What’s remarkable about Martin’s work is its authenticity, rooted in the actual diary of a Polish noblewoman. Martin creates a romantic canvas of epic proportions, bringing vividly to life seldom-invoked events in European history. He portrays a world of hardship and heart in marvelously rendered ‘little pieces of happiness stolen from a tapestry of turmoil, war, and separation.’”
~Leonard Kniffel, Editor-in-chief of American Libraries and author of A Polish Son in the Motherland: An American’s Journey Home

“I was both enthralled and educated by this story of a changing family in a changing Poland. You don't have to have read Push Not the River to get the most from this sequel, but after finishing Against a Crimson Sky you'll want to—just as you'll be rooting for another book from James Conroyd Martin.”
~Suzanne Strempek Shea, author of Hoopi Shoopi Donna and Around Again