Red Sky at Noon: A Novel (The Moscow Trilogy) - Hardcover

Simon Sebag Montefiore's prize-winning, bestselling novels are published in twenty-seven languages. Red Sky at Noon is the last of the acclaimed “Moscow Trilogy,” which includes Sashenka and One Night in Winter, which was long-listed for the Orwell Prize. Montefiore’s nonfiction books include Jerusalem: The Biography, a #1 Holiday Book Pick on the TODAY show and under option with Lionsgate, Young Stalin, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography, and most recently, The Romanovs, which was a New York Times bestseller. He is also the author of the childrens' book series, The Royal Rabbits of London, co-written with Santa Montefiore, which is being developed for a feature film by 20th Century Fox. Visit him at www.simonsebagmontefiore.com or on twitter @simonmontefiore.

“The worthy conclusion to [the Moscow Trilogy]. The vivid interplay between a war story and a love story, and between the Kremlin and the frontline, grants the novel its momentum. Like so much historical fiction, Red Sky at Noon keeps readers turning pages not to learn the end but to better understand the individuals who brought about this end. A gripping adventure, a compelling history, and a work that adds humanity to stories we thought we already knew.”
- The Wall Street Journal

“Historian, biographer, and novelist Montefiore has garnered critical acclaim and commercial success in each discipline, and his latest demonstrates his deftness in crafting a deeply engaging story that is only enriched by his skills as a historian and biographer. Offering historical accuracy, a fine empathy for his characters, and a story that illuminates the operatic tragedy of Stalin’s rule, Red Sky at Noon is brilliant on multiple levels.”
- Booklist (starred)

“A wonderful novel.  Highly atmospheric. A truly absorbing read.  Red Sky at Noon is like Cormac McCarthy―with Nazis and Cossacks.    ”
- Philip Kerr, author of BERLIN NOIR the Bernie Gunther novels

“Montefiore’s third novel in his Moscow Trilogy (after Sashenka and One Night in Winter) is a stunning World War II story set on the bloody Russian front outside Stalingrad in July 1942. Montefiore’s immersive portrayal of the Eastern Front makes this a gripping, convincing tale.”
- Publishers Weekly (starred)

“The gritty war scenes and the lovers’ pursuit keep the pages turning.”
- Kirkus Reviews

“Montefiore has legions of fans for his histories (The Romanovs), but his ‘Moscow Trilogy’ (One Night in Winter; Sashenka) opens the floodgates to the imaginative re-creation of archival facts. Benya’s story animates a ten-day, desperate struggle in Stalin’s huge gamble against the Nazi war machine. World War II fiction aficionados will want to read this.”
- Library Journal

“Red Sky at Noon is an epic adventure story set against the backdrop of the most awful war in human history. The master historian shape-shifts into the brilliant novelist. Ridiculously good.”
- Dan Snow

“A gripping novel. Montefiore is brilliant at depicting brooding menace.   As the penal battalions are given increasingly risky missions, it is Benya's journey on horseback that we follow behind enemy lines in the grasslands of southern Russia.  An epic tale. The language is arresting. It's all beautifully done: a western on the eastern front.”
- The Daily Telegraph

“Mythic and murderous violence in Russia. . . there are power-drunk Nazis and Soviet traitors, including a particularly memorable villain. Written with brio & deep knowledge of its fascinating subject matter.  Red Sky at Noon is a deeply satisfying page turner. There are atrocities on all sides and a smidgen of love as Benya falls for a brave Italian nurse. A subplot follows the ill-starred affair between Stalin's daughter and a Jewish writer. But Benya's struggle to keep his humanity is the memorable spine of the book”
- The Times "Best of the Month" (London)

“Montefiore's skill with imagery is such that he immerses the reader in an utterly ethereal landscape, only to snap them into horror as men emerge from rippling sunflowers with 'swords streaked with blood and grass,' and that soft horizon is suddenly filled 'squadrons of tanks like steel cockroaches.' Montefiore can effortlessly meld beauty with battle.  Vivid and impeccably researched.  ”
- The Time Literary Supplement