Karl Marlantes (b. 1944) served as a Marine in the Vietnam War. He received several awards, including the Purple Heart insignia twice. He made his debut in 2010 with Matterhorn, on which he worked for 30 years, about his experiences in this war.
After his books What It Is Like to Go to War, a nonfiction work about the moral and social objections to war, and the 2019 release Deep River, a narrative about the pioneering years in the United States, he is now back with a new book: Cold Victory.
In this novel, we follow American couple Arnie and Louise Koski, who move to Helsinki just after World War II to take up a diplomatic post. Finland is officially neutral territory, but peace with the Soviet Union is shaky, and the Soviets and Americans are constantly trying to expand their influence. At a party, they get talking to Russian Mikhail and Natalya Borovsky. At that moment, the two couples do not yet know that their interaction will have far-reaching consequences.