The Curse of the Romanovs [Hardcover]

Staton Rabin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 10, 2007

Alexei Romanov, heir to the Russian throne, is in deadly danger.

It¹s 1916, the struggling Russian people are tired of war and are blaming their Romanov rulers for it, and some are secretly plotting to murder the young heir and his family. But nobody outside the palace knows that Alexei suffers from a terrible bleeding disease, hemophilia, which threatens to finish him off even before the family¹s enemies can. The only person able to help Alexei is the evil and powerful religious mystic Rasputin -- and now Rasputin is trying to kill him too! Desperate, Alexei flees through time to New York City in 2010, using a method taught to him by the mad monk himself.

In New York, Alexei meets smart and sassy Varda Rosenberg, and discovers she is a distant cousin. Varda is working on a gene therapy cure for hemophilia, as the disease still runs in the family. When Alexei learns that history shows that his entire family will be assassinated in 1918, he and Varda travel back in time to the Russian Revolution, with Rasputin hot on their heels. Will they be able to rescue Alexei¹s family before it¹s too late?

Staton Rabin lets Alexei tell his own riveting story in a rousing adventure with stunning surprises -- a movingly authentic look at royalty and revolution in the days of the tsars.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6–8—Historical fiction, fantasy, and horror are woven together with hints of sex and romance in this improbable story of Alexei, the last heir to the throne of Russia. Tsarevich Alexei suffers from hemophilia, and his frequent bouts with this painful disease often bring him to death's door. Fortunately Father Grigory, otherwise known as Rasputin, using horrifying hocus pocus, has been able to save him. In one of his cures, he tells Alexei that his "blood-river" can move him back and forth in time and place, a useful bit of knowledge. After Alexei secretly sees Rasputin intimidating the tsarina, he confides in a relative who makes an assassination attempt—Rasputin is poisoned, shot, declared dead, and thrown into a river. Unfortunately the dead man climbs out of the river and chases Alexei, who tries the trick of time travel and ends up in one of New York City's rivers in 2010. He's resuscitated on the riverbank by a future relative, a high school girl who just happens to be researching hemophilia. Of course, Rasputin appears as the high school janitor and the story lurches on. Everyone time travels back to Russia where Rasputin is finally killed, and Alexei and his future relative attempt to rescue the royal family, now imprisoned. It's all too much. In the end, history kind of takes over, but not quite. Except for Alexei, the characters are flat, the writing confusing and clunky, and the plot more suited to a genre movie than a book. Clearly the author did a great deal of research; the end matter is copious and interesting.—Barbara Scotto, Michael Driscoll School, Brookline, MA
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Review

"Š(A) fine historical time-travel adventureŠThis is a great trip for lovers of historical fiction." --Publishers Weekly

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books; First Edition edition (July 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416902082
• ISBN-13: 978-1416902089
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #844,727 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, July 2, 2007

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Curse of the Romanovs (Hardcover)

THE CURSE OF THE ROMANOVS by Staton Rabin is an absolutely spell-binding story of Alexei Romanov and the Russian Revolution.

The story begins in Russia in 1916, where Alexei Romanov is the hemophiliac heir to the Russian throne. As a hemophiliac, Alexei cannot stop bleeding, and the only person who can seem to heal him is Father Grigory, otherwise known as Rasputin. So many of the Russian people despise Father Grigory and spread gossip about his drinking and womanizing, but Alexei's mother, the Tsarina, comforts Alexei by telling him that these are all lies and that Father Grigory is their dear friend.

Alexei believes his mother, until one night when he hears a conversation between his mother and Father Grigory that challenges everything he has been told. Not knowing where to turn, Alexei confides in his cousin, who decides to murder Father Grigory. But killing Father Grigory is not as easy as it appears, and when Alexei fears for his own life, he flees to the year 2010, using a method that Father Grigory himself taught Alexei.

In the future, Alexei meets a distant relative, Varda Rosenberg, who is currently working on a cure for hemophilia. When Alexei learns about the Russian Revolution and the fate of his family, he is determined to travel back to the past and rescue them from a horrible death at the hands of the Bolsheviks. With Varda's help, Alexei travels back into the past in a desperate attempt to save his family, his honor, and his way of life. But will he be able to change the course of history?

Staton Rabin somehow mixes the genres of science fiction and historical fiction to create a novel unlike any I have ever read. So much of the story is fact-based that you will find yourself believing every word. Rabin captures the voice of a young Alexei so well, as the book is written in diary form. At the end of the novel, author's notes clear up any misconceptions and separate fact from fiction.

So many stories have been written about the Romanov family, including the Disney movie Anastasia (Family Fun Edition w/Bartok the Magnificent). But Rabin's take on this famous story is so different than all of the others, it is definitely worth reading!

Reviewed by: Amber Gibson

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book for anyone over the age of 10!, November 29, 2007

By 

V.Uribe "movie enthusiast" (USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Curse of the Romanovs (Hardcover)

This book is a work of art! It combines science fiction, non-fiction and fiction to create a wonderful tale, another perspective of the Romanovs! This book is not just for teens!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but nothing special, June 26, 2010

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small review - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Curse of the Romanovs (Hardcover)

The story follows Alexi Romanov as he suffers from hemophilia, describes his family and "Our Friend" Rasputin, and eventually learns how to time travel to modern times where a cure for hemophilia is being researched by none other than Alexi's great-great-great-great-whatever cousin. He and his cousin then travel back in time again as they attempt to change history.

The "twists" of the story that were supposed to be shocking were instead predictable and silly. They also had no real significance to the overall story, and were instead more like side trivia than great revelations. On a positive note, the book appears to be well-researched. Almost all events from the Romanov Russia parts (except the obvious fantastical elements) of the book were based on actual events, and only a few were slightly altered.

Overall, The Curse of the Romanovs was a quick and interesting read. I would recommend the book to someone interested in starting an education on Romanov history, especially someone younger than myself who might appreciate the story part of the book more than I did.