From Russia with Lust: The Nikolai Dante Omnibus

This is an omnibus of the three Nikolai Dante novels:

The Strangelove Gambit
Imperial Black
Honour Be Damned

Nikolai Dante had a mentor - James Di Grizoz, apparently a very slippery thief.

Not slippery enough to get past the Tsar forever, apparently, unlike his protege.

There are also eggs, and eggs - the particular Faberge in this volume is a genetic engineer - and has an elite finishing school for girls at his disposal.

So, Dante and friends have to go undercover, to see what Faberge and his twin Fury daughters and staff are actually up to with this Strangelove Gambit.

3 out of 5

A pretty straight adventure tale. Super enhanced Russian noble bastard, in the wedlock sense, escapes, and is on the lam.

However, he is caught, in a brothel, no less, while being pursued by kabuki porn stars and laser shuriken armed ninjas, while swimming in a sake vat!

A shafted conspiracy sends him on a mission to save a living goddess in a vast Himalayan mystical invisible fortress full of monks.

He is, of course, pursued by his sadistic bastard-in-the-adjectival-sense war enemy and his book titled regiment.

There is a decent twist at the end involving the head female ninja, and the second in command of the Imperial Black.

3 out of 5

This one is definitely more light hearted, and pretty much a straight spoof-of-the-poms. The monarchy, Douglas Adams, The Professionals, James Bond, etc., etc. Oh yes, and To The Manor Born. With bondage gear. Very scary.

Very amusing, laugh out loud funny at times. Again ND is up for execution as someone frames him for the assassination of the Queen Mother.

His friends here, while in the Tower of London, are basically putting on a Monty Python/Black Adder routine for most of the book.

3.5 out of 5

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2009/11/from-russia-with-lust-david-bishop.html ( )

Save your money

The writing here is juvenile. Paragraphs are incomplete. Chapters don't scan well. Has the author ever had a writing class?

But wait there is worse.

The author stole!!!!!!

He has plagarized a character!!!!!

If you want to read about a thief that is well written and well done, go to Harry Harrison and get the Stainless Steel Rat books.

But wait if you pick this piece of drek up, you'll see that there is a chracter called James di Grizov who is the best thief in the galaxy. But you should know that Harrison's thief was named Jim diGriz... A coincidence? Or this author too weak to be original... ( )