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

Another great book by Furst

Strong characters; plot moves along; fascinating information about Eastern Europe’s experiences in WWII.
Strongly recommend

Intriguing story with captivating characters

A good story about some good people in a very bad time. Not much has been written about this particular theater of the war, so this book is a good contribution.

Most Enjoyable

Most Enjoyable to be sure. Daniel Gerroll's reading was suburb and the story is a good yarn about a slice of WWII that takes place mostly in Thessaloniki, Greece. I've recently spent some time in the Balkans, mostly Albania but always a neat feeling when the story takes place in cities one is familiar with. It's got suspense, love, and danger with the familiar cast of characters you should know and love if you've read other war novels. And there are some great passages of prose mixed in with all the drama. A good read to be sure.

Smart and understated

A very enjoyable read. The historical backdrop is the real star of this book, and you can't help but become involved in the uncertainty and fear that permeated the months leading up to the occupation of Greece. You get a fantastic sense of the relationships, the dynamics and pasts of Balkan countries and the psychology of their peoples. I enjoyed the narration a great deal - a very unusual reading style that you will learn to appreciate as you absorb the book.

Very REAL!!

As you listen to this one, you can practically "hear" the Nazis coming. Character development is exceedingly well done. The "action" is subdued - but completely realistic and believable - as if the writer were actually THERE at the time of the story.

Mr Furst has lost whatever edge he had

I am actually commenting on two books, Mission to Paris and Spies of the Balkans, because my comments are essentially identical. I read quite a few Furst novels over a few years. Then they started feeling a bit stale, so I set them aside. Recently, I tried the two mentioned here. I got through Spies with effort, but had to stop reading Mission. Mr Furst has settled into so much of a pattern that it's impossible to stay interested. Some aspect of European confict in or around WWII. A suave, sophisticated, male European protagonist. A succession of sexually available women. The characters, taken individually, lack real emotional resonance and depth. And taken together they are very much from the same few cookie cutters. Too bad. His first two or three Midnight Soldier novels promised more.
The narrator does his best, but even he seems a little bored on these recent outings.

Terrific Spy Story for Balkan Enthusiasts

Furst leads the reader into multi-cultural, multi-ethnic pre-Second World War Thessaloniki (Salonika) with a fascinating spy story. One can almost taste the grilled octopus and retsina wine, and smell the Aegean Sea. The Swastika looms large as the characters face the inevitability of war.

historical insights, not much suspense/tension

I'm familiar with The Polish Officer and Dark Star and I was incredibly disappointed with this book. Admittedly, I am interested in spy/espionage/thrillers with tension and suspense driving the characters. This book seemed mired in historical details piled upon details, most of which led nowhere, dramatically speaking, but more a statement by the author about his take on events past. A comparison, though perhaps not a perfect one, would be a very knowledgable history teacher telling a story set in the past in another locale, only to abandon storytelling frequently and elaborate on historical events at that time and place.

Perfunctory bits about the protagonist recalling women brushing up against him, musing about their name, sketching a past event with them, never had me engaged in relationships with them, therefore no sense of loss when things didn't work out, when they were left behind and lost.

Long sections attempting by the author to get into the heart of darkness of a man at odds with his environs and associates, felt like verbal angst from the author, not from character actions and resulting reactions. There were so many characters that in depth exploration was usually a stated opinion of the first person speaker, not displayed by characters Events were introduced in a way that built predictability of their outcome, drained suspense from one section to the next.

It was an effort to stay with this reading until the end, though the reader's character interpretations were captivating in tone at times. I'm not sure of the primary interest of readers who praise it but it's not a book I recommend for hounds of spy, thriller, espionage stories against international and historical backdrops..

Alan Furst's usual high quality, well narrated

This time most of the action is in Greece, an unusual locale for WWII thrillers, which makes it all the more interesting. Furst's intelligent, realistic approach to espionage at its best.

Another triumph.

Not one to be fascinated with war stories, I've become a serious fan of Furst ' s stories about various participants in the espionage involved in WWII Europe. He weaves fascinating tales that draw you into the action, sprinkles just enough factual history to make it real while providing perspective and populates with rich, real characters. Much suspense, wit and masterful dialog make his stories a pleasure to experience. Mr. Gerroll is superb. His delivery and nuanced performance is everything. Hooked after the first book I heard, I purchased every one in the collection that he performs. Bravo!