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On the Table Read, “the best book magazine in the UK“, cold war novel, Viktor, by Jo Calman and Casey J Smith follows a KGB officer who travels to Washington in the 1980s.
Written by Jo Calman and Casey J Smith, ‘Viktor’ is a stunning true story, as told to the authors over a period of several years. The novel follows Viktor Gumnov, a KGB officer who travels to Washington in the 1980s, when tensions between the USA and Soviet Union were at a boiling point. With chilling parallels to today’s invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces, ‘Viktor’ is thrilling, unpredictable and a much-needed reminder that no matter what, there are always good people in the world – just trying to do the right thing.
Known for his breadth of knowledge on the subjects of international intelligence, the Soviet psyche and ‘agent tradecraft’ (the handling of intelligent and espionage agents), Jo Calman has once again utilized his expertise to release ‘Viktor’, a novel that is as timely as it is riveting.
Set in the calamitous 1980s, with the United States and Soviet Union on the cusp of nuclear war, ‘Viktor’ is based on the true story of a KGB agent who spoke anonymously to the authors about his experiences.
While Viktor may have been on the ‘wrong side of history’ according to some perspectives, his actions tell the tale of a true patriot, who worked behind the scenes to avert a global disaster.
In the early 1980s the world was on the brink of a nuclear Armageddon. Trust between the USA and the Soviet Union was at an all-time low; suspicion and fear ruled. Each side believed that the other was planning an imminent surprise attack. Viktor Gumnov, a KGB officer with a background in marine science, is sent on a secret mission to Washington charged with the task of finding a way in which the Soviet Union could defeat America and the West.
Based on a true story, Viktor is a tale of high-stakes espionage as it really happened, and of how a potential global catastrophe was averted. It is a story of courage and ingenuity, morality, and of the eternal quest for understanding.
“We’ve seen the rhetoric from the Kremlin since the invasion of Ukraine, and it so closely mirrors how they addressed the world in the 1980s,” says Calman. “The complete shattering of the trust between Russia and the NATO alliance seems a foregone conclusion. That’s what makes ‘Viktor’ so worryingly prescient – but we have to hope that there are others like the real Viktor, toiling in the background to avoid catastrophe.”
Continuing, “Viktor was truly an honest and considerate man, and he wanted to tell his story for many reasons, but I think that he wanted to show that it’s individuals like him who shape the actions and intentions of states and their leaders. He was trying to do the right thing – and how that shifted over time is the most crucial part of the story. He had honour and integrity, and it’s in that spirit that I will be donating my earnings from sales of the book until the end of July to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian appeal.”
Jo Calman is a UK-based author. He has written five novels, including ‘Viktor’ as a collaboration with Casey J Smith.
After a long working life in shipping, law-enforcement and industrial risk management, Jo Calman was an active consultant and mediator when the first pandemic lockdown hit the UK. He took the opportunity to make the most of enforced inactivity to fulfil an ambition to write novels which is what he does now.
Apart from Viktor, he has written four novels in his ‘Kelso’ crime-thriller series. The central theme of the series is a perceived need by the three central protagonists to use unorthodox methods to tackle complex and deep-seated corruption. The result is a series of high-speed exploits entangled with an intricate relationship between the central characters. The books are, in order, ‘A Transfer of Power’, ‘A Price for Mercy’, ‘An Inner Circle’, and ‘An Undeclared Contest’. More will follow.
Calman lives and works in Sussex.
‘Viktor’ is available now: https://amzn.to/3ap0UEl
To learn more about the author, visit: https://www.jo-calman.com/
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