Sevastopol, The Third Defense, 2013-2014

R H Auslander has used his considerable knowledge of Russian culture and Russian Armed Forces to skillfully weave a tale of people, places and happenings in to a fictional story of the world shaking events of late 2013 through early 2014 in Sevastopol and Krimea which led to the Russian Spring of late February, 2014. The narrative starts with the bucolic retirement life near Odessa of the veterans of 317 Spetznaz Regiment from the author's epic novel Never The Last One, and their realization that there is trouble on the horizon. The reader will recognize many of the characters from the novel and their story is woven in to the fabric of this narrative with a deft hand. New characters appear as the story progresses, their back stories quite believable and blending in to the fabric of this story seamlessly as the veterans settle in to a new life in a small village in Sevastopol Region, all the while knowing they will be called back to service as the storm clouds gather. With real events, real locations and real actions placed in front of the reader, some readers have asked the question of is this story fictional or true. In Soviet times, readers of the news were adept at reading the news and finding the nuggets of truth. That skill is useful when reading this tale.