Night Soldiers

By: Alan Furst

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 18 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times bestselling author Alan Furst is widely recognized as master of the historical spy novel. Furst’s works are vivid evocations of long-forgotten heroes and feature plots that unfold to the inexorable cadence of history. Night Soldiers is a simultaneously thrilling and illuminating tale of espionage set in 1934.

In Vidin, Bulgaria, where the flow of the river Danube has always brought thieves and conquerors, Khristo Stoianev witnesses his younger brother kicked to death by fascist militia. These are simple men of a backwater town, costumed in fresh uniforms emblazoned with a flaming cross insignia. But behind their barbaric actions stands the swastika.

From the terror-plagued Balkans, Khristo, a virgin in the ways of the outside world, is drawn east, toward Moscow and a new life as a Soviet spy.

©1988 Alan Furst (P)2004 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"Furst shows a remarkable talent in his fifth novel, integrating details about the cultures of Spain, France and Eastern Europe with a fascinating story." (Publishers Weekly)
"Night Soldiers has everything the best thrillers offer, excitement, intrigue, romance, plus grown-up writing, characters that matter, and a crisp, carefully researched portrait of the period in which our own postwar world was shaped." (USA Today)
"Intelligent, ambitious, absorbing....The history is deftly incorporated; the viewpoint civilized; the characters and the settings picturesque; the adventures exciting; the writing pungent." (The New York Times)

BF825

I am ruined for all other authors. Having read the spies of the Balkans first and out of order, I decided to begin the night soldier series in order. How in the world a book can paint such a mental picture of the location people and circumstances before and and during world war two, I can’t imagine. The rock courage, the desperation, and the bonds of brotherhood formed during trials is so clearly detailed in this book.They deep sadness experienced by the characters and the motivations surrounding their survival are a story worth telling. And a story worth reading however difficult that may be.

Can’t Be Distracted While Listening

I thoroughly enjoyed this listen. I believe it was my first book by Furst that I’ve read or listened to; surely it won’t be my last.

It was an excellent Spy novel, providing lessons in history, an understanding of what some of the people in this period endured, and how they felt and coped. It was a bit complicated in that the various characters would pop in and out of chapters. But all were important in the big picture. Furst interweaves these characters and subplots really nicely. It was a long book but I believe that was necessary in order to support characters’ motives and actions, thus making the story very realistic.

I have to admit at one point I grabbed a scrap of paper to jot down names of characters and link with a couple of words so I’d remember who was who to who and what their roles were, mostly because I couldn’t remember these Polish, Russian, and other names.

The personal impact of the occupation was emotional

Personal insights into sights, sounds, and emotions of the early years of the occupation are very insightful.

OK, but nothing really special

To be fair to this book, I had just finished Woud's "War and Remembrance" and so there are very few books that could even come close to the power. However, my opinion doesn't change when I think of it relative to some other fiction (historical fiction) I've read. It's an OK story. It's well told and it takes place (at least in part) in a part of the world (Bulgaria) with which I am less familiar. But it didn't really grip me. When it ended, I had to listen to the last two chapters again to be sure I hadn't spaced out and missed anything. It's the first Furst novel I've read and I'm not rushing to add others. I do like Guidall in general.

Best Furst book I've heard

I've listened to 5 or 6 of Alan Furst's books and this is the best. Guidall is exceptional as always.

good

good story good narration I guess I was expecting to much after reading all the reviews.

agggg

this one of those books where I had a real hard time finishing the storyline seem to be changing from chapter to chapter and unless I spent an hour or more listening I wasn't able to pick up and follow the story from where I left off

Good Until the End...

Fun listen with twists, turns, and characters that I liked. It had me hooked...and then it felt like the author couldn't find a way to end it and it just puttered out.

Interesting.

More of a sweeping 1930s 1940s novel than a spy novel. Gripping in many spots but feels a wee bit contrived here and there. The reader is tremendous though as usual. I hung in there as it does give a perspective from lots of sides - Russian Balkan French Spanish American. If you like that period of history it’s a good reconstruction of interesting global events. And a good portrayal of the resilience of humans.

Extraordinarily good

I had heard this was a very good book and tried to read it a few times but could never get past the foreign names and strangeness of the writing. Listening to the narration instead instead of reading was a revelation. This is a wonderful book. The narration unpacks each person's way of thinking perfectly. The story is so real it is painful and joyous. I loved this book.