Book Review: Shadows of Tehran

Reviewed by Lauren Hayataka

A searing life defined by resilience, rebellion, and recklessness

Nick Berg’s Shadows of Tehran is a blistering account of survival, identity, and resistance against the tide of history. 

Inspired by actual events, this historical novel follows Ricardo, a boy born of two worlds—his American father and Iranian mother—who comes of age amid the chaos of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. 

What begins as a story of displacement becomes one of rage as Ricardo, hardened by betrayal and sexual abuse, leads a resistance against the fundamentalist forces that have overtaken his home. But in a country where dissent is met with swift and brutal punishment, his notoriety as the Shadow Rider of Tehran seals his fate. With an execution order on his head, he flees, only to land back in the region years later—this time as a U.S. Special Forces soldier.

Berg’s novel moves at breakneck speed, mirroring the relentless instability of Ricardo’s life. The narrative stretches across continents, from Tehran’s crumbling aristocracy to the urban sprawl of Detroit, from the battlefields of the Iran-Iraq War to covert military operations in the Gulf. 

What makes Shadows of Tehran compelling isn’t just daring sequences but its profound personal exploration of resilience in the face of relentless loss. Ricardo is a man constantly, recklessly, in motion, driven by an almost unconscious need to fight, whether it’s against an oppressive regime, his own traumatic past, or even the constraints of a quiet, settled life. There is a sense that Ricardo is uncomfortable with peace; it is foreign, unwelcome—something he refuses to grasp. 

Berg creates an unflinching picture of the brutal realities of war and political unrest. Ricardo’s transformation from an outcast child to a hardened fighter is shaped by the people around him: his charming yet misguided mother; his cruel stepfather; his revolutionary love; and his elusive father David, whose presence lingers in the shadows of Ricardo’s life. The novel hints at espionage and conspiracy, weaving in the possibility that David, far from being an absent parent, may have orchestrated more of Ricardo’s fate than he ever realized. 

While Berg’s prose is direct and fast-paced, Shadows of Tehran does not sacrifice emotional weight. Some of the novel’s most affecting moments come in Ricardo’s quieter moments—his struggle to belong, his guilt over the lives lost in his fight against tyranny, and his realization that war, in all its forms, is never truly over. Even after finding refuge in America, his battles continue, this time against the fractures in his personal life. His marriage to Martha, a woman drowning in her own demons, becomes its own kind of battlefield, one where Ricardo is powerless to win. 

Balancing intimate storytelling with high-stakes tension, Shadows of Tehran is as much about identity as it is about war. Ricardo’s journey—spanning rebellion, exile, military service, and espionage—is grounded in the struggles of those caught between nations, ideologies, and histories. Berg’s debut is an exhilarating and exhaustive read, unflinching in its compassion and brutality. Perhaps its greatest strength is its refusal to provide easy answers. While Ricardo’s journey is one of survival, it raises a crucial, persistent question: is survival enough?

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