Spies of the Balkans

By: Alan Furst

Narrated by: Daniel Gerroll

Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Greece, 1940. Not sunny vacation Greece: northern Greece, Macedonian Greece, Balkan Greece, the city of Salonika. In that ancient port, with its wharves and warehouses, dark lanes and Turkish mansions, brothels and tavernas, a tense political drama is being played out. On the northern border, the Greek army has blocked Mussolini's invasion, pushing his divisions back to Albania, the first defeat suffered by the Nazis, who have conquered most of Europe. But Adolf Hitler cannot tolerate such freedom; the invasion is coming; its only a matter of time, and the people of Salonika can only watch and wait.

At the center of this drama is Costa Zannis, a senior police official, head of an office that handles special political cases. As war approaches, the spies begin to circle, from the Turkish legation to the German secret service. There's a British travel writer, a Bulgarian undertaker, and more.

Costa Zannis must deal with them all. And he is soon in the game, securing an escape route from Berlin to Salonika, and then to a tenuous safety in Turkey, a route protected by German lawyers, Balkan detectives, and Hungarian gangsters. And hunted by the Gestapo.

Meanwhile, as war threatens, the erotic life of the city grows passionate. For Zannis, that means a British expatriate who owns the local ballet academy, a woman from the dark side of Salonika society, and the wife of a local shipping magnate.

Declared an incomparable expert at his game by The New York Times, Alan Furst outdoes even his own finest novels in this thrilling new book. With extraordinary authenticity, a superb cast of characters, and heart-stopping tension as it moves from Salonika to Paris to Berlin and back, Spies of the Balkans is a stunning novel about a man who risks everything to right - in many small ways - the world's evil.

©2010 Alan Furst (P)2010 Simon & Schuster

Can't wait to listen to more Alan Furst

I enjoyed the story and the way it was told. I think the author captured the human experience of people caught up in world changing events who live them as their daily experience without the drama of thriller novels.
I enjoyed the narration and thought the narrator was an excellent match for the tenor of the story.

Casablanca with a happier ending

A sympathetic protagonist and interesting supporting cast are set against WWII in eastern Europe. On a personal level, it is a fascinating world to visit. Adventure and romance, fight and flight, everyday life, happen as the characters react to and counter fascist Germany's war machine. At the same time the novel gives insight into the politics of the region.
If it was a physical book, it would be one that you'd stay up all night to read. As it is, Daniel Gerroll carries the listener away, and the story is too soon ended.

Capturing the moment

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. Alan Furst writes a great story that evokes the time and place and Daniel Gerroll provides the perfect voice to tell the tale.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Costa. Hearing a story that conveyed how WWII came to the Balkans -- and why -- through his eyes is a revelation.

Have you listened to any of Daniel Gerroll’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes -- also an Alan Furst -- Mission to Paris. Both equally as good.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Costa's trip back to Paris.

Any additional comments?

Alan Furst introduces his readers to World War II, and the run up to it, in places that aren't always thoroughly covered in general history books. Listening, as opposed to reading, to these captures the moment in history. For one thing, Gerroll knows the pronunciation of the names and places! Very helpful.

Engrossing story, well told and read

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, we have actually given it as a gift to a friend and recommended it to others. The story is complex and as it unwinds, you get deeper and deeper into the central character, a wonderfully drawn complex man.

What did you like best about this story?

The pacing and details give you the feeling you are there while the story unfolds.

Which character – as performed by Daniel Gerroll – was your favorite?

The police inspector.

Any additional comments?

This was a perfect road trip book, we listened to it in long sections while were were driving across the west and the time flew by. The variety of characters and their many motivations kept us guessing what would be next. Once or twice the story took a turn and seemed to jump too far, but in a few minutes we understood where the story was at. Keep listening if you feel lost.

Spies of the Ba lkans

I l oved this book - the characters really came alive and helped me understand life in Greece and the Balkans before and early into WWII - the story covered so many of the problems that the war created and Costos and his family and even his dog were very real. The narrator was great. The role of the British and their spies added another dimension as well as the escape line for Berlin's jews.

moody and atmospheric

I have read most of his books--some on audible and some "regular" reading. This is his best in a long time. His books are not thrillers in the customary sense. They are more about people caught up in unalterable events out of their control and not of their making and how they deal it with as the situation evolves. If you want more straight mystery thriller type, look elsewhere. This one did have a large element of "how will this all turn out" to it. Elegantly written and the narration went well with the book. Highly reccommended.

Starts off dull and fades away....

I am a fan of both the genre this book represents, and Alan Furst (usually), but this book just didn't cut it. After almost 10 hours of listening I was still waiting for the story to get going, when suddenly the book was finished. The reader, Daniel Gerroll, has a voice that is better suited to hypnotherapy than audio books and I found myself wandering off on mental tangents way too often. I understand the need to concentrate hard when listening to audio books, but one shouldn't have to work this hard at staying involved with the plot....

Disappointing

Night Soldiers was entertaining. This book seemed to go on and on. It did not hold my attention and I had to hit the back button on several occasions. I began well but became tedious.

Inferior story

This has to be the least engaging and least interesting audiobook I have ever listened to. There really isn't a plot, and the characters are poorly drawn and developed. It was almost a chore to listen to this book all the way through.

Weakest in the series by far

As a fan of the Night Soldiers series, I was quite disappointed with Spies of the Balkans. Nothing really happens! And unlike the other books, the love story is central (even more than The World at Night) but more than that, it's an uncomplicated love story. The ending is boring. This book just has so much less substance than I have come to expect from this series. To compound matters, Daniel Gerroll is fine but he doesn't compare with George Guidall.