The Man from Barbarossa, first published in 1991, was the eleventh novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder & Stoughton and in the United States by Putnam.
Gardner has stated on many occasions that this is his favorite 007 novel that he wrote because it was different and had a more creative approach than all previous Bond novels. Additionally, Gardner believes that of all his novels, this was also Glidrose's favorite as well. Critics, however, noted the novel's plot had more than a few similarities with Gardner's earlier work, Icebreaker.
Plot summary[]
Prelude[]
The book begins going over Operation Barbarossa, the Nazi German invasion of Soviet Union. Then, touching about the Babi Yar Massacre in Ukraine, and a (fictional) deputy of the real-life Sicherheitsdienst Commander Paul Blobel, named Josif Voronstov, and his large role in the massacre.
The kidnapping and briefing[]
The story begins in New Jersey, United States -- where an elderly man, Joel Penderek, is kidnapped by a terrorist group called "the Scales of Justice" (or "Chushi Pravosudia" in Russian). The group claims that the man they kidnapped is actually Josif Voronstov of the Babi Yar massacre, and that they want to bring him to justice. That is, to be handed to Russian authorities so that he can tried in a trial. The group gives the Russian government a one week to decide.
M is informed by Boris Stepakov, a member of the KGB, of the opportunity of slipping two British people into Scales of Justice and spy their actions. Christened "Operation Falling Timbers", M assigns James Bond as his choice to infiltrate the group.
Israeli MOSSAD has sent agent Pete Natkowitz to London. There, Natkowitz tells to them that Joel Penderek is not Josif Voronstov. That, the real Voronstov resides in Florida under the name "Leibermann", who is under Mossad surveillance. However, Leibermann too has been abducted.
M is also informed of the presence of two French agents in London, Henri Rampart of the GIGN and Stéphanie Adoré of the DGSE. M sends Bond and Natkowitz to investigate them.
The two agents follow the two French agents to a house, where the French secretly meet with Russians. Bond narrowly avoids being crushed by Henri Rampart, with Bond getting himself hospitalized. Once Bond recovers, he leaves to Russia with Natkowitz.
Russia[]
Upon arriving to Russia, Bond and Natkowitz are welcomed by Boris Stepakov, who takes them to a dacha. There, they receive additional briefing by Stepakov's taskforce, a top-secret group that answers only to the General Secretary and Chairman of the KGB.
Stepakov believes that Scales of Justice have infiltrated every aspect of Russian Government and even its intelligence services. Bond and Natkowitz learn that it was French agents who abducted Leibermann, but not Adoré and Rampart, who are also present at the briefing. It also comes to their attention that Scales of Justice has begun murdering members of Russian Government and intelligence services, and will continue to do so, until they are satisfied.
Stepakov introduces Vladimir Lyko during the briefing, who is now a double agent within Scales of Justice for Stepakov. Lyko is also tasked to bring the two cameramen, of which one having a wife, to Scales of Justice, and introduced this opportunity to Stepakov. Therefore, they have Bond and Natkowitz take the place of them, as well as Nina Bibikova, a woman from Stepakov's taskforce, to pose Bond's wife.
The trio travel to the meeting point with the Scales of Justice and are taken to its headquarters, to an isolated old monastery near the Finnish border. Lyko is murdered right after the group leaves him.
Monastery[]
At the monastery, Bond and Natkowitz are tasked to film the mock trial of Josif Vorontsov. Voronstov is played by Joel Penderek, who turns out to be a Russian agent.
While Bond is busy filming the mock trial (and flirting with Nina), Stepakov is harshly reprimanded by the President of the Soviet Union for the increasing number assassinations by Scales of Justice. Stepakov explains that the group has been infiltrated and their location is know. The President authorizes an operation and entrusts it to a Spetsnaz team led by General Gleb Berzin.
Amongst the actors are Michael Brooks and Emerald Lacy, are actually Nina's parents and claim they have infiltrated the terrorist organization and have a plan, but the British agent has his doubts.
Meanwhile, an important politician of the Soviet Union enters the trial: General Yevgeny Yuskovich, commander in chief of the missile forces. Yuskovich plays the judge at the trial and appears to be the leader of the Scales of Justice. According to Bond's sources, Yuskovich is the cousin of Voronstov.
At the end of a meeting between M and Stepakov, it is decided to raid the monastery. Berzin and his men, accompanied by Stepakov, Adoré and Rampart, raid the monastery. However, Berzin and Yuskovich are in cahoots and take Stepakov, Adoré, Rampart and Natkowitz prisoner. Furthermore, Nina was Yuskovich's lover all along.
A Soviet soldier instead bursts in, declaring that he had found Bond's body horribly disfigured by stray bullets in the fake attack. This causes Yuskovich to think that Bond is dead. A tombstone is engraved with Bond's likeness.
Final battle at Caspian Sea[]
After filming, the group moves to Baku where Yuskovich prepares to ship armaments to Iran with his minesweeper seacraft and two fishing vessels.
The General's aim is to exploit the probable war between the United States and Iraq to ensure that Iran hits Washington with an nuclear missile. By distributing photos of Western agents loading missiles on ships and theb explaining to the world how he put an end to a tragic chapter in history with the mock trial, he is convinced that he will become a new political powerhouse and end Gorbachev-era reforms like Perestroika and Glasnost.
Unbeknownst to everyone, the soldier who had found Bond's body is actually Bond himself. Bond, who was at the toilet during the assault, killed a guard -- taking the grunt's clothes and then disfiguring the grunt's face. Having heard Yuskovich the plan, Bond uses a radio to relay it to the SIS Agent Nigsy Meadows, who was positioned near the monastery, before boarding.
Disguised Bond boards the main ship, with the fleet leaving Baku port. Aboard, Bond frees his companions and they find some armaments. Stepakov dives into the water and manages to sink two ships loaded with missiles before being killed.
Rampart is also killed while lowering himself into a lifeboat. Bond, Natkowitz and Adorè are about to be hit on their lifeboat when Soviet planes arrive, alerted by a message from 007 to Meadows, and bomb the ships. Yuskovich's ship explodes while he is in bed with Nina.
Epilogue[]
Back in London, Bond debriefs with M. The United States has launched Operation Desert Storm and 007 places a box assigned to him on M's desk. Inside the box is the Order of Lenin.
Characters[]
- James Bond
- M
- Bill Tanner
- Miss Moneypenny
- Peter Natkowitz
- Boris Stepakov
- General Yevgeny Andreavich Yuskovich
- General Gleb Berzin
- Michael Brooks
- Emerald Lacy
- Nina Bibikova
- Henri Rampart
- Stephanie Adoré
- Josif Voronstov
- Vladimir Lyko
- Nigsy Meadows
Covers[]
Behind the Scenes[]
The Man from Barbarossa acknowledges real-life world events as it is set just prior to the 1991 Persian Gulf War, as a calendar date of January 9, 1991 is mentioned at one point, as is the date the actual attack on Iraq began including a description of the early stage of the war. No reference to the end of the conflict is made, suggesting the manuscript may have been completed before the war's end. Gardner also predicts that hardliners within the Soviet Union might attempt a coup against the government, which did occur later in 1991 but under different circumstances. The book also strongly suggests that the Cold War was soon to end, which did occur that year.
Trivia[]
- This novel firmly establishes that the "universe" inhabited by Gardner's Bond is not the same as that in which Fleming's version of the character resided, as it is strongly implied that Gardner's Bond was not an agent (or at least a 00-agent) in the early 1960s.
- Part of this novel takes place in Baku, Azerbaijan, which would later be one of the settings of the 1999 Bond film, The World Is Not Enough.
External links[]
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