Rating: 
Summary: Tragic tale with a shocking twist at the end
Review: Kitchen Boy was a slow read for me, because of the atmosphere that Alexander produces in this book. We follow along as a man nearing 100 spills out the tragic tale of the last days of the Romonovs to his granddaughter. He is the only one who knows what really happened to Alexei and Maria. We get to know him, and his tortured mind, but then, we find out that we know next to nothing about him at the end of the story.(Great ending..won't spoil it. Hint: pay attention to the guard with the blond beard). Its about 228 pages long, and can be read in a few days. Really captures Nikolas II and his wife, warts and all so to speak. Highly recommened
Rating: 
Summary: Reads like a fairy tale!
Review: "The Kitchen Boy" is the story of the Nicholas II and the last days of the Romanov family. It is told from the point of view of Leonka, the kitchen boy that went into exile with the Tsar and his family. The night of the Romanov's brutal massacre, Leonka was sent away, never to be seen again. In this novel, Robert Alexander offers a fictional theory of what really happened to Leonka, as well as what happened to the two Romanov children - Marie and Alexei - whose bodies were never found."In The Kitchen Boy", the last Tsar - and his intense love for his family - is brought vividly to life. Reading this lyrical novel was like visiting with old friends. The author, who spent years in Russia researching the novel, provides an historically accurate portrait of a tragedy, while also offering a believable, bittersweet, yet wholly satisfying ending for those of us who still like to believe in fairy tales.
Rating:
Summary: Reads like a fairy tale!
Review: "The Kitchen Boy" is the story of the Nicholas II and the last days of the Romanov family. It is told from the point of view of Leonka, the kitchen boy that went into exile with the Tsar and his family. The night of the Romanov's brutal massacre, Leonka was sent away, never to be seen again. In this novel, Robert Alexander offers a fictional theory of what really happened to Leonka, as well as what happened to the two Romanov children - Marie and Alexei - whose bodies were never found. "In The Kitchen Boy", the last Tsar - and his intense love for his family - is brought vividly to life. Reading this lyrical novel was like visiting with old friends. The author, who spent years in Russia researching the novel, provides an historically accurate portrait of a tragedy, while also offering a believable, bittersweet, yet wholly satisfying ending for those of us who still like to believe in fairy tales.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyed it a lot
Review: A good book, with an original approach, written with respect for the main characters and easy to read and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent read!
Review: A very mesmerizing story told by interspersing fact and fiction and letting the mind go at will with what took place so long ago. A good writer makes people think and react long after the last page is turned and Mr. Alexander does a wonderful job within it all. A tantilizing story is made even more so with skillful writing and obvious detailed research to bring to the masses an incredible story that should be read by all. Congratulations to the author for such a beautiful piece of writing.
Rating: 
Summary: Charming
Review: As a longtime Russophile, I truly enjoyed this fictionalized account of the last days of the Romanovs. The patina of glamour that surrounds the family is still present in this book, whatever the circumstances. At times, it is tempting to forget that it is fictional. I truly liked the twists at the end, because of what they meant for Russia. The negatives - the writing is at times clunky, particularly when the author moves out of the past and into the present. The endless translation of Russian phrases in conversation got tiresome, but I do speak Russian, so maybe that was just me. What I hope is fixed in another edition is the handful of typos and errors - e.g., 'flare' for 'flair', 'engineerng' for 'engineering'. It made the book seem...unprofessional. I thought this book was charming, and I recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly touching - and quite an enigma
Review: As someone whose favorite member of the Russian Imperial Family is Alexei Nikolaevich, I was bound to ask myself as I looked forward to reading Robert Alexander's new book, THE KITCHEN BOY, whether the author would attempt to pull off the premise that one might predict the book had in store. Having to stop reading in the middle of the book, looking forward to getting back to it, I was sure that while our protagonist did not seem to protest too much about who he was not, there were other things he seemed very anxious indeed to hide. And this sense of anxiety in the 'kitchen boy' - along with only the most honorable, respectful, and insightful characterizations of Nicholas, Alexandra, dear Alexei and the Grand Duchesses I could have hoped for in any fiction - kept me reading with much approval to the end. Besides this, Robert Alexander shows PROFOUND insight into the Russian soul through the words of his tortured narrator. I felt almost as if I had gotten to know the fellow who had hidden those notes, brought those glasses of milk and water and amused young Alexei during those flights of fancy he took in his wheelchair. This, dear readers, is a big ALMOST. I would like this book to have the success it deserves, and so the secret cannot be given away. 'You understand'.... Five stars well deserved on a phenomenal crossover, for which 'R D Zimmerman' deserves congratulations.
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Summary: Reading history as it happens
Review: Could not put this book down! This book remains true to the true history and the ending was a total surprise. If it could only be true.
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Summary: The Mystery, Intrigue, and Fascination: End of the Romanovs
Review: Few royal families in history have consistently been the focus of as much discussion, literature, stage plays, movies, and even music as the fall of the Romanovs - the end of the Tsars of Russia. Not only is the period of Russian history fascinating because of the wealth of cultural information now known, but the fact that the fall of the Tsars was due to the influence of Lenin and the birth of the Bolsheviks and the subsequent rise of Communism through the Mighty Revolution to the fall of Communism as late as 1991. The history of Mother Russia is at last celebrated in the great museums of St Petersburg - not the least of which possessions are the much traveled jewels that were the sole surviving evidence of the Romanovs after their brutal slaying in 1918.
Robert Alexander has obviously spent extensive research into this period, uncovering documents of significance and achieving bits of detective work in a quest to explain the still unresolved questions about the July 18th slaying of the Romanov family. To our good fortune Alexander has elected to transform all of his research into one of the more fascinating of the many novels about those perilous times, and in doing so he has created a concise, immensely readable, short novel that breathes new life into Russian history.
Told through the eyes of Leonka the Kitchen Boy, who was 14 years old (the same age as the Heir apparent Aleksei) and observed the night of the slaughter of Nicholas and Alexandra and their five children and few servants, THE KITCHEN BOY is a fresh look at an important event and its sequelae. Leonka (now called Mischa as a very old and soon to die man living in America - the land of his refuge after the fall of the Romanovs) relates the inside story of the daily routines in the Ipatiev House (aka The House of Special Purpose), the final home in Siberia of the royal family. We learn the dynasty tradition and the errors made by Nicholas that lead to his fall, the Rasputin affair, and the idiosyncrasies of all the family members and their servants, forced to dwell in the heat of Siberia without the comforts of even ordinary people. The story of the events leading up to and including the unbelievable slaughter of the members of this household and the subsequent multiple burials of their remains are all part of Mischa's story he is leaving on a tape for his sole survivor Kate, his grand daughter. But the real reason for Mischa's final story on tape is to reveal the truth of what truly happened on the fateful July night in 1918 so that Kate might return the sequestered jewels of the Romanovs to Russia, assured that the Romanovs have been given a proper interment and that Communism has failed.
Thought the entire story is written in such a way that makes putting this book down very difficult, the best is saved for the last few chapters where surprises abound and at least one explanation for all the intrigue associated with the fall of the Tsars is explained. To reveal the ending would be a disservice to the inquisitive reader, whether that reader be an avid Russian history scholar or simply a lover of mysteries and intrigue novels. There is much to learn in this compact book and much to enjoy as a fine read by a talented writer. Grady Harp, December 2004
Rating:
Summary: ABSOLUTE MUST READ!...
Review: I found this book while browsing the net and couldn't wait for the day it arrived in my mailbox. I had to discontinue the novel I was working on, as I couldn't wait a moment longer to start this book. It was everything plus more that I hoped it would be. It puts you inside the book and is like a steam engine going until the explosion of an ending. The amazon[.com] review does no justice to this book. It is by far the best book I have read in years. Even days after I read it, I am still thinking of all the characters as if they are long lost family members. It transported me into Russia 1918 during the bolshevik revolution and hasn't let me out since!
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