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Reviewed by Keith Mbuya for Readers' Favorite
Amid the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022, thousands of Ukrainian children were disappearing. Under command from their top brass, Russian troops were abducting the children into Russia. Among the many abductees are Sergiy and Gleb, the nephews of a Ukrainian Air Force Colonel, Hennadiy Kovalenko. When word reaches Kovalenko about his nephews’ whereabouts in Russia, courtesy of a recently resigned Russian army combat medic, Margarita Romanova, he moves swiftly to seek help from his allies and plan their rescue. Jake Fortina, retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel and former Special Forces officer, now a defense consultant in Italy, partners with his buddy Manny Alvarez, a combat veteran, and Marco Conti, an Italian businessman and Romanova’s lover, to extract the two kids from Konstantinovsk, Russia. Can they pull off this daunting mission? Will they make it out alive of Russia’s tightly surveilled, brutal landscape? Find out in Vital Mission by Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke.
Lovers of military novels flavored with high-stakes action, thrill, suspense, and a romantic tale will find Vital Mission by Ralph R. “Rick” Steinke an enthralling read. Anchoring the plot in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the brisk pace and shifting perspectives weave a compelling story that blurs the lines between fiction and realism. The prose feels visceral and is accompanied by an edge of tension, dread, and hopelessness. The cinematic depictions of the scenes bring the harsh realities of the war to life on the pages. I got a clear picture of Russia’s political terrain and military dynamics, and the horrifying circumstances the abducted Ukrainian kids are forced to deal with. The story explores themes of domestic violence, sexual and child abuse, cultural identity, love, betrayal, family, morality, international relations, and more.
