As in the original novel, the story follows two relationships: the tragic adulterous romance of Anna Karenina and Count Alexei Vronsky, and the much more hopeful marriage of Nikolai Levin and Kitty Shcherbatskaya. These four, yearning for true love, live in a steampunk-inspired 19th century of mechanical butlers, extraterrestrial-worshiping cults, and airborne debutante balls. Their passions alone would be enough to consume them—but when a secret cabal of radical scientific revolutionaries launches an attack on Russian high society’s high-tech lifestyle, our heroes must fight back with all their courage, all their gadgets, and all the power of a sleek new cyborg model like nothing the world has ever seen.
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"I liked the twist of adding robots to the story of Anna Karenina, but beyond that Winters even updates the social statement. Questioning our reliance on technology was a great eye opener for me. Romance and heartache still go hand in hand with this classic and I look forward to Quirk's next endeavor."
— Denise (4 out of 5 stars)
" If you, like I do, love a book in the "steampunk" genre try this new one by Ben Winters. It's so much fun and wonderful to read. "
— Deborah, 2/16/2014" I had hoped that perhaps Ben H. Winters would have tacked on a happier ending. Alas, whether or not it's got reptilian aliens, groznium and Russian-style steampunk, this will not end happily. "
— Erin, 2/4/2014" Steanpunk!, Romance!, aliens!, and Tolstoy! What's not to love about book. "
— Spenser, 1/30/2014" This was very well done. The story flowed and if you didn't know that it was a Quirk Classic you'd think it was meant to have androids. I haven't read Anna Karenina yet but Android Karenina actually made more excited about finally getting to it. Excellent read!! "
— Amy, 1/18/2014" I didn't like the ending. "
— Umm, 12/23/2013" Interesting modification of a classic. It did motivate me to revisit the original "Anna Karenina". "
— Kmac, 10/30/2013" It is a fun decent book. Part of the book can be hard to read, but it does pick up the pace in certain areas. "
— Steven, 10/14/2013" A brilliant twist on a classic tale. "
— Hannah, 12/19/2012" Overall a good adaptation of the original story but the themes started getting slightly repetitive by the end. "
— Alistair, 6/27/2012" Awesome, awesome, awesome. And I don't think you need to have read Anna Karenina to appreciate it, or like sci-fi either. "
— Erika, 6/7/2012" I actually preferred this version to Tolstoy's original. The original had big sections of politics that I skimmed through, but this version cut all that out. "
— Jennifer, 5/9/2012" Having never read the original, I still greatly enjoyed this book. So far, all of the Quirk Classics have been great joys to read. "
— Sophia, 6/18/2011" to my credit, i did get through the first paragraph. "
— Jeremy, 5/10/2011" Not a big fan of science fiction so when combined with a classic...well, you do the math. Having real difficulty getting into this book and only perseveringly because it's required reading for a book club I'm in. "
— Yvonne, 4/23/2011" Very disjointed and unsatisfying at the end. Characters never "listen to each other", and are constantly misinterpreting each other's feelings and motives. It's maddening. A discredit to Tolstoy. "
— Violetta, 4/3/2011" Interesting modification of a classic. It did motivate me to revisit the original "Anna Karenina". "
— Kmac, 3/19/2011" All in all, a lot better than I thought it would be. Fifty times better than P&P&Z. Drags thru the middle but ends up pretty well. "
— Laura, 2/25/2011" A little slow at points, but I blame that on Tolstoy. Otherwise a GREAT read. Again, another awesome way to get me to read a classic. "
— Shawna, 2/17/2011Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) was born about two hundred miles from Moscow. His mother died when he was two, his father when he was nine. His parents were of noble birth, and Tolstoy remained acutely aware of his aristocratic roots, even when he later embraced doctrines of equality and the brotherhood of man. After serving in the army in the Caucasus and Crimea, where he wrote his first stories, he traveled and studied educational theories. In 1862 he married Sophia Behrs and for the next fifteen years lived a tranquil, productive life, finishing War and Peace in 1869 and Anna Karenina in 1877. In 1879 he underwent a spiritual crisis; he sought to propagate his beliefs on faith, morality, and nonviolence, writing mostly parables, tracts, and morality plays. Tolstoy died of pneumonia in 1910 at the age of eighty-two.
Ben H. Winters is the author of World of Trouble, the concluding book in the Last Policeman trilogy. The second book, Countdown City, was an NPR Best Book of 2013 and the winner of the Philip K. Dick Award for Distinguished Science Fiction. The Last Policeman was the recipient of the 2012 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America.
Susan Duerden is an actress and an Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator. Her reading of The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht earned her an AudioFile Best Voice Award and a Booklist Editors’ Choice Award. She has won ten AudioFile Earphones Awards. Here career spans film, television, theater, voice-overs, and animation. She has played critically acclaimed and award-winning theatrical roles on London’s West End and Off Broadway; acted in the features Lovewrecked and Flushed Away; and held a recurring role on ABC’s Lost.