In the dying light of Imperial Russia, one man bears witness to the birth of a new and broken world.From the frozen plains of the Volga to the blood-soaked ramparts of Port Arthur, young Mikhail Sokolov is thrust into the Tsar's war with Japan—filled with apathy and a desire to survive this latest hardship placed upon him by an uncaring empire Mikhail strives to survive. Amid the chaos of the Russo-Japanese War he realises the enemy is not only across the battlefield, but within: corruption, cruelty, and the hollow promises of glory.Returning home after a period of captivity in Japan Mikhail witnesses a country fractured by hunger and unrest, he struggles to rebuild a life as revolution stirs beneath the surface. As the First World War erupts and Russia's foundations crumble, he again is thrust into war where he witnesses comrades fall, cities burn, and an empire devour itself from within.Ashes of the Empire is a sweeping historical novel of courage, loss, and endurance — the story of one man's journey through war and upheaval to the silent moment when history itself changes course.In the end, Mikhail survives — but the world he knew does not.
