I just finished Red Equinox on my lunch. I think this has been the best book so far in the DL series. The reappearance of Zimyanin, was good, and I found the post nuclear holocaust Soviet society to be very interesting. I was happy that they didn't run into any unbelievably oversized mutated animals. I wish Rick hadn't been killed off but I liked the way he went, and I thought it was touching the way Doc sang the Star Spangled Banner to Rick as he died. I give it a 10, and I wish LJ was around to write more like it.

Salamat

In this chapter of Ryan's travels, he ends up in a Russian Mat-trans gateway, located under a big house, which is the same one Kane goes to in Destiny Run 100 years later.

This novel is pretty much a yawner through the first two thirds of the story, dealing mainly with the group having to find tools to repair the broken gateway, traveling back and forth from the house and exploring their surroundings.
The action and tension pick up when Ryan is in Moscow, pursued by the same Russian they had met once before in book 2, Red Holocaust, as well as an urgency to get back to the gateway before the "freezie" with his repair knowledge, died from his sickness.

The plot is thin, and the slow start to the story, as well as a little too much "we gotta kill every russian we see cause they will kill us" kind of thing going on in the book, so I consider this overall an average read, nothing more.
I did enjoy the ending, it was well done and with a cliffhanger too.

I still remember the very day that I bought this book while vacationing in the Florida Keys. Reading about a nuclear winter in Russia cooled me down somewhat while I read this great romp sweating in the hot sun and beach.
Mat-trans jumping to Russia was just yet another bold and exciting move for the late great James.
Not only that, but the awesome Zimyanin character was delved into yet again, showing us more of this Russian badass.
I thought him an intriguing and colorful bad guy character, and worthy of one of the top Deathlands villains to date.
I felt like I was right there in Russia with the companions, slogging through the deep snow and ruins. You know what that tells you when you feel like you are right there? GREAT WRITING!!
Rick's death, along with the puppy, was well done and sad - but you knew someone like him could not survive long in this time period!
As usual, I can't wait to re-read this one again for the 3rd or 4th time.

Ryan and co. travel to Russia, its a fascinating story, personally I was surprised by the pre-teen killers and how Ryan and co. dealt with them without any mercy.

Its a showdown between a enemy from the past, and the final showdown in a beat down house is awesome, Its one of those stories where you really feel that Ryan and co will actually lose the fight. I was memorized from start to finish, its a 10 for me!

Great book, very brutal.