As an avowed Russophile, I'm simply a sucker for any thriller that takes place in or heavily involves Russia (especially contemporary Russia). "Tsar" certainly has its moments, setting up a very imaginative crisis that the hero, MI6 agent Alex Hawke and his fellow spooks must rush to solve. The book takes place in some sumptuous settings and Ted Bell really works in some interesting tidbits of Russian history and culture. However, I thought the book was a bit plodding, took way too long for the story to really develop, and definitely had some loose ends. I know it's a thriller and I should suspend my disbelief, but am I really to believe that virtually every single female character in the book is astonishingly beautiful and incredibly rich? The last 100 pages or so were extremely entertaining and action-packed, but the rest is long on description and fairly short on action. Though I know it's certainly not one of Bell's fortes given the nature of his craft, the romantic parts of the book involving Alex's love affair with the beautiful heiress Korsakova is pretty dry and uninspired. Overall, a decent, quick read and probably a good beach book (especially in Sochi) but don't expect a literary triumph.