Reviewed by Jason

The Last Night is the story of Olhas struggle to survive in the Ukraine under Stalin's regime.

An excellently written story. The imagery is vivid. The plot is well structured.

The story is possibly a trifle slow for some readers. Even the two high action scenes in the story are written with a slow and elegant grace.

Some of the charcaters could do with greater development. I didn't find the inspector, Nikolai entirely convincing. He is introduced with a name yet spends most of the story being referred to as the inspector. He is one of the story's principle characters and is deserving of greater definition.

Ivan almost seems superfluous. If it wasn't for the final fight scene I'd say write him out altogether. Due to his necessity there I think he needs a greater role in some of the earlier scenes. Perhaps have him driving the wagon and talking to Olha. Give his thoughts about their activities, how he met Petro or some such.

For Zhukov's peripheray nature he is well developed, although I failed to see the artistry in him.

The only other problem with the story is a few passages of information dump. Most of the detail is woven into the story, but I did notice occassional parts which just gave detail without advancing the story. These need to be worked into the story better.

This is an excellent story that I would definately recommend people read.