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This book is pertinent now only as a historical portal to a time that had moments that were so insanely honorable it was warped by its brutality. Consider the penalty for a thief was beating by the public till dead. The prejudice and racial hatred were the accepted norm and it was senceless and severe. The "Knights" were not in any way chivalrous, merely a marauding army of vigilantes. This was a time when the civilized world was warring in the crusades, the spanish inquisition was in full swing, a kings word was law. When a caste system was reality, when the rom. cath. church was up for the highest bidder,when landlords were reality that ruled over peasants and peasants were everyone not royalty. These people refused to play by any rules save their own. The reality of their system was no less severe than that of the Vikings.Cossaks saw themselves as soldiers of the orthodox church, no differant than french, english, spanish, or italian knights were to the rom. cath. church. All that being said Gogols writing is HIGHLY descriptave and not a little emotional.The sentances, paragraphs, pages, chapters are so "in your face" and wonderfully colorful in descripion you may feel this is a legend in print. "The names of the principal characters have been changes to protect the innocent, but, this IS BASED ON HISTORICAL FACT".No one can point a finger at the times or people and shreik brutality. This was the last age of simple dark ages hospitality and justice. I got this book myself to see what my cossak ancestry was really like knowing full well the movie of the same name was colored by hollywood. I've read other things that, all together, say the same, but, this is in one book, short and easy to read. This is not a historical document of a historical occurance. This book does, however, wash the pink tinted hollywood slosh down the hole. This book does give a bit of insight into a time about 700 yrs. ago. Don't buy this if you like gothic romance or mideval knights of the roundtable legand. This is more akin to the realitys of the days of Alexander the great, Thucidides, et,al. This is discriptive of brutality you can't possibly understand and hopefully will never see. This is descriptive of honor so inflexable you can't imagine it. Your word was in the air, spoken,but, solid and tangible and ABSOLUTLY binding. This book is ,at least in the consideration of honor, necessary for today. Today you're bound only by what your lawyer can't get you out of. Shame on us. Once again THIS BOOK IS NOT A HISTORICAL DOCUMENT, only an insight to a time long, long, ago.Read full review
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