Russian Amerika is a strikingly original tale of resistance fighting, with an Alaskan setting. SF author Eric Flint has described the book as “an exciting story of war and revolution.” The setting is 1987 Alaska, but it is an alternate history story: the Communist Revolution never happened, and Alaska is still in the possession of Czarist Russia. Moreover, North America has evolved into nine different nations.

The author, Stoney Compton (www.StoneyCompton.com), though born in Nebraska, lived in various parts of Alaska for over thirty years. While there he worked at an astonishing variety of jobs, including clerk, gandy dancer, emergency firefighter, tour operator, and stints with the Department of Fish & Game and with Health & Social Services. Naturally he became very familiar with the Native Americans who live there, including many in the interior, and he acquired a deep appreciation for their sense of community, their way of life, and their resentment of colonialist mistreatment. I like to think of this novel, his first, as a tribute to the admirable peoples of Alaska whom he came to know and respect.

The hero of the story is Grigoriy Grigorievich, and he is in every sense a hero. Grisha, as he is known, is unfairly cashiered from the Czar's service, spends ten years operating his own charter boat, then suddenly gets caught up in a resistance movement he did not know existed. His path takes him through slavery, living with the Dená people, and many violent confrontations with Russian Cossacks and regular troops. His activities involve him with several nations and eventually take on epic proportions. The writing is so vivid that every character and every scene seems breathtakingly real. It is a hard book to put down.

Russian Amerika is a story that will appeal not only to libertarians but to anyone who loves freedom and is moved by the difficult struggles that are often necessary to sustain it. This book is engaging, edifying, and fascinating. It deserves—and will gratify—a wide audience.