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)

Prelude to the Cold War

Before there was a Cold War, there was a hot war in Europe. Before WW2 there was the Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalin. This book is a compelling look at how Stalin and his subordinates created the clandestine services of the USSR. It begins in the 1930s and carries through until the end of WW2. The level of detail and the author's knowledge of cultural and mevalues and viewpoints in the countries of the emerging Soviet Bloc are amazing. The characters are vivid and credible.
The book is also a timely reminder of what a totalitarian government looks like to those subject to it. Well conceived, meticulously researched and fluently written. George Guidall's narration, as always, is superlative.

Not my kind of book

The book was ok just wasn't my kind of book. I finished tho because it did give an idea of what life might have been like in the WW1 & WW2 era.

Sweeping WWII story

This one really sucked me in. I enjoy historical fiction very much. While there are plenty of WWII references throughout as that is the backdrop, this is really a character driven story and moves all thought Europe and Eastern Europe and Russia. The narrator was excellent and other reviews mention his ability to capture the characters without overacting. Also pronunciation of words in many different languages was great. A grand performance!
Highly recommend if war stories are of interest.

Chilling..Fantastic

Alan Furst creates such a sense of time and place with this novel of a world that has gone mad. The feel of civilization unraveling is quite unnerving, and as always George Guidall ( you either love the guy or hate him..) narrates with what I'd call a determined flair.
I enjoyed this as much as his other Novel, Dark Star, which is set in a similar time and place. The two Stories share the connection of the start of the Soviet Revolution, and although I did not live it- it feels very realistic.
One note: there is much death and violence- after all it is set right before and during World War 2. So, not exactly the "feel good" book of the month- My wife hated it- I loved it!

Jack

Night Soldiers

Pros:
The book is similar to an epic, whereas the main character travels al over the world. From Bulgaria, to Russia, to Spain, to France, to Switzerland, to Czechoslovakia, and so on. It gives an idea of life before and during WWII.

Cons:
The book has tons of unneeded character development. For example it takes a half hour or so to develop three characters, giving historical background and logging years of conversations in the village bar, to have then both arrested and hanged in the very next paragraph, all to no avail. Also, there are so many characters with similar Eastern European names, it was very difficult to keep them all straight.

In the end, I'm glad I read the book, but this won't be one that I'll remember for very long.

The swirl of life between the wars

Wow, the way this book (all three, really), is a wonderful immersion into Europe (especially Eastern Europe) between the wars. So many factions — Communist, Fascist, nationalist, anarchist — mapped across the underlying cultures of bohemian Paris or weathered Polish villages. The writing is fantastic, with humorous evocations of various personas and cultures, universals of bureaucracy, etc., along with light-handed philosophy. You feel like you’ve lived a hundred lives by the time it’s done.

Some historical facts are not correect

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Soviet car "Pobeda" (victory) was only introduced in 1945, after end of the war, and it's name emphasized victory in WW2, even with all power of NKVD it was impossible to use in 1930sRussian (Orthodox) christmas (even in USSR it wasn't a holiday) is celebrated on January 7th, not in December.

Very well done. So many names and places.

Good historical story and characters.
So many names and places, too many pauses in chapter.

Background on some of today’s events

Alan Furst always tells good tale and George Guidall’s narration is spot on. A bit confusing at first, but the story picks up pace and carries the listener along. We can see the operation of Russian intelligence in today’s events.

A stunner

The story is very intense and detailed. Not what I expected but thoroughly engrossing. This is a story I will not forget!