Undiscovered Scotland

 

Some of the best stories ever told revolve around a very simple two word question: "what if?" It's the basis of entire genres of literature, from science fiction to horror, and crops up at the heart of many other stories too.

The "what if?" at the heart of Russian Doll by Lucy Lloyd is set out by the author in her note at the end of the book. "In 2014 I wandered along to an open meeting discussing the merits of {Scottish} independence... I felt very alone as I sat, watching this optimistic spectacle and the few differing views shouted down by the crowd, too intimidated to ask the question that had dominated my mind over the previous few days. What would we do if we were invaded? Realistically, if Russia were to lay siege to an oil rig or an island before we were stably ensconced in NATO or the EU, could we withstand them? The thought grew and developed, and became Russian Doll."

So here we are in a newly-independent Scotland. The central character is Anna Aitken, who works as a a radio producer in the Scottish Broadcasting Corporation, the post-independence spin-off of the BBC. The author is herself a radio producer, so the settings, characters and day-to-day events have an utterly convincing feel (and, to an outsider, just a hint of W1A). But then the Russians take an interest in the isolated and uninhabited island of Rockall, far out into the Atlantic. One thing leads inexorably to another and before long there are Russian military aircraft based at Lossiemouth and Russian naval ships and submarines in Scottish waters and ports: and NATO begins to assemble troops on the English side of the border. Meanwhile, at the SBC, Russian broadcasters and diplomats move in to "advise" on how the new-found "friendship" between the two nations should best be reflected over the airwaves.

The result is to place demands on individuals like Anna that stray far beyond what is acceptable to her, and she begins to get herself noticed by her new Russian colleagues for all the wrong reasons. And then, despite her best intentions, she falls in love with a Russian diplomat playing a leading role in Scotland's subjugation by Russia and life begins to get really complicated: and dangerous.

The real test of a "what if" story is how well the author causes the reader to suspend their disbelief. It doesn't matter if you believe that a Russian takeover of Scotland is a likely outcome of independence, what if it did happen? Lucy Lloyd is very successful in transporting her readers seamlessly to her alternative near-future reality. The story flows well, the characters are believable, and you never stumble over anything that feels wrong or out of place that disrupts your enjoyment of the story. As we neared the climax of the book we did begin to wonder how the author was going to be able to construct an ending that did justice to what had gone before, but she succeeded in a very satisfying way. This is an excellent debut novel that can be highly recommended.