Description:
In the tradition of Herman Wouk's sweeping historical war epics, Fallout of War follows Lieutenant Commander James Fairbanks, a career naval submarine officer assigned as a military attaché to the American embassy in Kyiv in late 2021. Fairbanks arrives in Ukraine with his wife, Lucy, a State Department analyst, just as tensions with Russia reach a critical juncture. A thoughtful, disciplined officer known for his strategic acumen and unvarnished assessments, Fairbanks quickly becomes immersed in the complex political and military landscape of Eastern Europe.
Fairbanks tours the Chernobyl exclusion zone, where he meets Ukrainian special forces conducting training exercises amid the haunting ruins of the 1986 disaster. These encounters with hardened Ukrainian soldiers, many of whom fought in the Donbas since 2014, give Fairbanks his first understanding of Ukrainian determination and the existential nature of their struggle. Through a series of diplomatic functions and intelligence briefings, he develops relationships with key Ukrainian officials and eventually meets President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose evolution from entertainer to wartime leader forms one of the novel's central character studies.
When American intelligence detects massive Russian troop concentrations along Ukraine's borders in January 2022, Washington selects Fairbanks to deliver a personal message to Vladimir Putin, hoping that a military officer's assessment might carry weight with the former KGB operative. In a tense Moscow meeting, Putin not only receives Washington’s warning but, in a calculated display of strength, invites Fairbanks to inspect Russian forces massing in Belarus along the Ukrainian border. What Fairbanks witnesses during this extraordinary access shocks him. He recognizes the scale and organization of forces preparing not for exercises but for invasion, and his detailed report to Washington becomes a prescient but controversial document that divides American policymakers between those advocating preemptive support for Ukraine and those counseling restraint to avoid provoking Moscow.
Lucy Fairbanks, meanwhile, has established herself in Kyiv's expatriate community, forming friendships with Ukrainian families and other diplomatics. Her perspective provides the novel's intimate domestic counterpoint to James's military observations. As February 2022 approaches, Lucy's growing anxiety mirrors the city's increasing tension, even as many Ukrainians struggle to believe that full-scale war is actually coming.
When Russian forces cross the border on February 24, James is embedded with Ukrainian special forces near Chernobyl, placing him directly in the path of Russian invading tanks. Within hours, he finds himself with the Ukrainians fighting the Russian elite airborne unit attempting to seize Hostomel Airport.
The novel's middle section chronicles his harrowing escape, his separation from Lucy, and his months embedded with Ukrainian forces as they first defend Kyiv, then launch their stunning counteroffensives at sea. Through James's eyes, readers witness the brutality of modern warfare, the discovery of atrocities in liberated towns, and the remarkable resilience of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians.
Lucy's parallel storyline follows her evacuation from Kyiv, her anguished uncertainty about James's fate, and her eventual work coordinating humanitarian aid from Poland. Their separation and eventual reunion provide the novel's emotional core, while their relationship must weather the strain of war, survivor's guilt, and James's transformation from observer to participant.
James goes back to Washington, where his firsthand experience makes him a sought-after voice in Congressional hearings. His advocacy for robust Ukrainian support places him at odds with isolationist factions and risks his naval career, forcing him to choose between professional advancement and his conviction.
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