"But I'll continue this fight. Without fear, I'll go on,
To the bitter end, I’ll wage war; war over a love song!"
War Over: A Love Song by S. P. Hawkins Black Rose Writing
book review by Annie Laura Smith
As World War III is drawing to a close, Maxim and his Russian military comrades are on the losing side as they fight the enemy in a meadow in the northeast corner of Germany. When the Westerners advance closer, he and two other soldiers leave what they see as a futile battle, desert from the front lines, and head for their homes in Moscow. Their 1,000 mile journey is a perilous one as they encounter hostile forces and devastated villages along the way. The winter weather is brutal, food is scarce, and the Russian Federation is hunting deserters.
An American female soldier, Sydria, who is separated from her squad, joins their group first as a kidnapper and then becomes their hostage. Maxim hopes her presence with them will allow him to negotiate with American troops to help the Russian soldiers and their families evacuate from Moscow. The conflicts among the four escalate as they travel, and make their survival more at risk. The soldiers finally realize that cooperation as a group is essential for their very survival.
Maxim finds his home in Moscow in rubble and assumes his wife and child are dead. His future is foretold well on the last page of the novel while he and Sydria await evacuation by the Americans. "Maxim felt a hand slip into his. He gripped it. He would not let go."
The author draws the reader into the world at war through excellent geographical and sensory descriptions. These descriptions answer the question asked by the author at the beginning of the novel. “"How could there be love here, amongst this darkness, within this emptiness? …And yet the song continues."
RECOMMENDED by the US Review