Blood of Victory

De: Alan Furst

Narrado por: George Guidall

In the autumn of 1940, Russian émigré journalist I. A. Serebin is recruited in Istanbul by an agent of the British secret services for a clandestine operation to stop German importation of Romanian oil—a last desperate attempt to block Hitler’s conquest of Europe. Serebin’s race against time begins in Bucharest and leads him to Paris, the Black Sea, Beirut, and, finally, Belgrade; his task is to attack the oil barges that fuel German tanks and airplanes. Blood of Victory has all the heart-pounding suspense, extraordinary historical accuracy, and narrative immediacy we have come to expect from Alan Furst.

Not Furst's Best But Worth Listening To

Vague storyline and too familiar protagonist predicaments, but very interesting locale as usual. and as usual, wonderfully read by George Guidall.

What was the point

No suspense to speak of.This was a slice of time early in the war . Not much happening , confusing story
Hardly worth the. Time

Good Furst

Betrayal. Intrigue. Atmosphere. Suspense. Geography. History. Relationships. Wartime Romance. Plenty of money. Sex. Mystery. Unanswered questions.

France and Eastern Europe with Nazi occupation

Excellent historical fiction from the point of view of an Operative. Your caught in war.

Much better

I’m in these for the long haul. Some books o don’t care for the protagonist, but this is not one of those. Well done. More action than his previous.

Shadows and hard-boiled misfits

'Blood of Victory' is an oblique sequel to 'Kingdom of Shadows' and the seventh novel in Furst's 'Night Soldiers' series. This novel, however, is set more in Romania and deals with the intrigue around the travels of Ilya Serebin a Russian emigre who runs a organization for Russian exiles and gets caught up in trying to slow Hitler's march into Romania and eventually, inevitably Russia. It is a story about Romanian oil, Hitler's dark creep and the shadows and hard-boiled misfits that wander around, without a home, trying to stop him.

I don't know if it just sepia-fatigue but Furst's novels just aren't hitting me as hard as they once did. 'Blood of Victory' was better written than his last novel, and Furst's plots and characters are still inovative, but just not brilliant. I know I'm asking a lot, and perhaps I'm just weary of the cinematic, hard-boild schtick. I might need to put Furst to rest for a bit. He is too good a genre writer to give up on, but I might have just over-dosed on the Furst world's war.

Excellent story of WWII

If you could sum up Blood of Victory in three words, what would they be?

Rising to threat

What did you like best about this story?

The story of ordinary people's response to extraordinary circumstances

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

He is one of five best out there. I think he likely has the broadest range of any narrarator. He is amazing!

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

The whole circumstances of finding yourself in a war that you really weren't ready for

Engaging

As expected an engagingly story and stellar performance by George. Guidall. Set in the Balkans, it reflects the tumultuous politics of the Balkans that persists today.

Poor Showing By Furst

The only thing that was suspenseful about this story was, was anything going to finally happen. Too much dialog, like a movie that had nothing but the interaction of characters to keep it going, and the characters were not all that interesting. The only thing that was consistent (and dubious) was that the women were all ready and willing to hop into bed; are there really that many women like this?

Its enduring quality was that it is a good book to listen to if you have insomnia because it will put you under quite quickly!

Guidell is a good reader, however, I actually found myself getting tired of his voice in this one.

Not his best effort

I made it through chapter 11 before giving up on this one. At this point, it is still unclear what is going on. Thus far, sort of a BORING ex-pat travelogue. Gave up on waiting for something to happen to keep my interest.