The Last Tsarina

The Last Tsarina is a complex tale of espionage, politics, and personal struggle. North's story begins with her escape from Yugoslavia after surviving the brutal terror unleashed by its disintegration. Her early life is marked by tragedy and survival. Later, North immigrates to the United States where she works as a forensic accountant, becoming highly successful in her field. Her skills and background catch the attention of the CIA, which recruits her for a project involving Russian oligarchs. Despite initial resistance, North becomes deeply involved in the operation, leading to significant personal and professional challenges. As her life progresses, she discovers her true identity and navigates a web of deceit, manipulation, and betrayal. Believing her entire family was killed, North learns her true identity was hidden to save her life and finds the power within herself to manage those who seek to exploit her and to defeat those who would destroy her.

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Authors A.I.'s Marlowe Analysis

Overview -The Last Tasrina is an international thriller spanning multiple countries and decades. The story weaves together elements of royal inheritance, intelligence operations, financial corruption, and personal relationships into an epic tale of political intrigue.

Premise / Elevator Pitch - When a Serbian girl who survived a childhood massacre is revealed to be the rightful Russian Tsarina, she becomes a key player in a covert intelligence operation to bring down the Russian government and oligarchs.

Potential Readers - The Last Tasrina targets readers who enjoy complex geopolitical narratives and espionage fiction.

Archetype -The Last Tasrina is most similar to the Rise and Fall story archetype.

Genere & Story Type -The Last Tasrina is primarily a Political Thriller with strong elements of espionage fiction. The story also contains elements of the following:

• Spy Fiction
• International Intrigue
• Action Thriller
• Legal Thriller
• Romance
• Coming of Age
• Historical Fiction
• Financial Thriller
• War Fiction
• Contemporary Fiction

Analysis of Major Elements - Readers of modern fiction expect stories to hit certain notes, particularly in genre fiction, that build on perennial story elements that harken back to ancient times. These elements provide the structural foundation that makes narratives satisfying and memorable.

• Hook: The opening scene with CIA operatives discussing a mysterious woman who appeared as an employee creates immediate intrigue, though it's somewhat distant from the protagonist.
• The opening: The first chapters effectively establish the complex world of intelligence operations and introduce North's reluctant participation.
• Relatable protagonist: North is successfully portrayed as a reluctant hero who prefers her quiet life investigating fraud cases to the international intrigue thrust upon her. Her scars and traumatic past make her sympathetic, though her rapid accumulation of wealth and power risks making her less relatable to ordinary readers.
• Inciting incident: The inciting incident is North's recruitment by the CIA for the nightclub operation, which sets all subsequent events in motion. However, this occurs relatively late in the opening section after extensive setup, and the true inciting incident might be considered her divorce, which makes everything else possible.
• Call to adventure: North consistently resists involvement in intelligence operations and royal responsibilities, showing clear reluctance that must be overcome through various pressures and revelations. Her repeated attempts to return to her simple life effectively demonstrate this classic element.
• First plot point: The first major plot point occurs when North learns of her true identity as Viscount Dekker's granddaughter, fundamentally changing her understanding of herself and her place in the world. This revelation properly launches her into the larger conflict.
• Midpoint shift: The midpoint shift occurs when North accepts the Russian Tsarina title and begins actively pursuing the oligarchs rather than simply reacting to events. This happens at approximately the 50% mark and effectively changes her from passive victim to active agent.
• Second plot point: The second plot point is North's poisoning at the European Council, which represents the story's darkest moment and forces the final confrontation with the conspiracy. This properly positions the climactic events and revelations.
• Climax: The climax involves the revelation of the complete conspiracy and the Russian President's death, resolving the central conflict.
• Resolution: The story resolves with North accepting her role and the conspiracy's success in toppling the Russian government. Most plot threads are tied up, though some character relationships remain open-ended.

Setting & World-Building - The Last Tasrina spans multiple international locations, from Serbian killing fields to German manors to Venezuelan safe houses, creating a truly global scope appropriate for its political thriller genre. The various settings are well-researched and authentically portrayed, with each location serving specific narrative purposes rather than existing merely as exotic backdrops. The Serbian locations effectively establish the story's historical foundation and North's traumatic past, while The Manor in Germany provides a stable base for the international operations. The financial centers of The Hague and various European capitals create appropriate atmospheres for the banking and legal elements of the plot. The Venezuelan sequences effectively create tension and danger while moving the characters toward the climax. However, some locations receive extensive description that slows pacing, particularly the detailed tours of various facilities and properties. The story sometimes gets caught up in procedural details about how different institutions work rather than focusing on the dramatic events taking place within them. The Manor's transformation into a military compound is interesting but could be shown more through action rather than explanation. The strength of the settings lies in their authenticity and their connection to the characters' emotional journeys. North's return to Serbian cemeteries provides genuine emotional impact, while the formal European settings reflect her transformation from ordinary investigator to international player. The various safe houses and hiding places create appropriate tension for the thriller elements.

Theme Analysis - The primary theme explores the tension between individual agency and historical inevitability, examining how personal trauma intersects with larger political forces. North's journey from victim to empowered actor illustrates the possibility of overcoming historical injustice through personal determination and systematic action.

Secondary themes include:

• The corrupting influence of power and wealth: Demonstrated through the Russian oligarchs and various political leaders who prioritize personal gain over justice.
• The complexity of identity and belonging: Shown through North's multiple identities and her struggle to understand where she fits in the world.
• Intergenerational responsibility: Explored through the grandfather's planning and North's adoption of Dunja, suggesting how trauma and healing pass between generation.

Word Count - The Last Tasrina contains about 81,284 words.

While there are no hard-and-fast rules about minimum and maximum story lengths, there are industry traditions and reader expectations. Here’s a quick reference for typical word counts by genre:

• Adult contemporary fiction: 70,000-90,000 words
• Literary fiction: 80,000-120,000 words
• Romance: 50,000-90,000 words (mostly 70,000-90,000)
• Science fiction/Fantasy: 80,000-120,000 words (longer for epic fantasy)
• Historical fiction: 80,000-120,000 words
• Mystery/Crime: 60,000-90,000 words (cozy mysteries are shorter)
• Horror: 80,000-100,000 words
• Thriller: 70,000-100,000 words
• Westerns: 50,000-80,000 words
• Young adult: 50,000-90,000 words

For genre-bending works, the word count should typically align with the genre that has the higher range (e.g., romantic fantasy would follow fantasy’s 80,000-120,000 words). In some cases, indie authors choose to serialize a story — say, three fantasy novels of 40,000 words instead of one novel of 120,000 words.

Trigger Warnings - The Last Tasrina contains graphic violence including mass shooting of children, torture, assassination attempts, war crimes, sexual references, and detailed discussion of political persecution and genocide. The story also includes themes of childhood trauma and survivor's guilt that some readers may find emotionally challenging.