Kingdom of Shadows: A Novel (Night Soldiers Book 6)

After reading other reviews of this book, I was ready for a great, noir-ish spy novel. What I got was a frustratingly vague and unconvincing trip through pre-war Europe with a couple of adventurous interludes in an otherwise flat story. It started out well - who can resist a tale beginning with a man getting off a train at night in Paris? But the man is hollow. There is no sense of conviction about him. What was his past? What drives him to undertake this dangerous work? His diplomatic uncle seems to have no duties outside eating and drinking in louche cafes. His relationship with a rich, useless mistress is sexist and boring. In fact, nearly every woman in this novel is treated with condescension or contempt. That's only a minor quibble, though, about a spy novel that is not gripping, where the stakes, we are told, are high, but where this desperation is not demonstrated in a way that makes us feel the fear of a coming war and the possible consequences to the characters. Instead, these characters seem to be sleepwalking in and out of the narrative with no real purpose or sense of urgency. Who are they? What is at stake for them? Why should we, the readers, care about them and what may happen to them? The author merely describes emotions instead of invoking them. Everything is pat and formulaic, as though the author had selected items from a list of 1930s set pieces and strung them together to create "atmosphere." There's more atmosphere and psychological depth to the characters in Raymond Chandler's detective novels than can be found in this novel supposedly taking place in one of the most fraught and frightening periods of 20th Century history. And the ending is preposterous. Either Furst became bored with the whole exercise and decided to just stop, or, as I think more likely, his imagination and emotional engagement with his subject were too superficial to sustain another word!

Furst is one of my favorite authors. The plot here is, at times, hard to follow - perhaps an intentional reflection of how disjointed life was at that time.

on time; excellent condition.

For Alan Furst, the years from 1937 until 1943 provide a fertile setting for suspense and claustrophobia. Set in Europe from Paris to Odessa, in Kingdom of Shadows we follow the missions of Nicholas Morath, a Hungarian by birth and descent. While his missions are clear and exciting as individual set pieces, their purposes are largely hidden from the reader, almost as well as they are hidden from Morath himself. The contents of a letter, smuggled at great risk across borders, the mission of a mysterious nineteen-year old who disappears by the station at the Gare du Nord, the sudden need for a passport, the non-verbalized questions and the unexpected call for a visit from the Office of the Police Prefecture in Paris, these are all events that form no pattern. The only pattern they form at all must be hidden in the entanglements of Moscow espionage, the SS and the SD, the strong-arm police in Czechoslovakia, and the shadowy local enforcers and spies of all these entities. As readers we are never given to learn those patterns, but the myriad individual escapades roll and unfurl and carry us like a bow-wave through the novel. Add on top of this greatly admirable skill of Mr. Furst with words,and you end up with the age-old questions of why this or that? Who is right and who is wrong? Why did that guy have to get shot in the head, and who is counting anyway? His novels in this series are each a world in which to get lost in, and all the while enjoy the escape.

Took me at least till half of the book to "get into it"..and wondering why I was still reading :-) VERY frustrating not to know at times these characters.. but perservering was good.. I really enjoyed this book after all..I love history and had google right there at most pages and then lost myself in exploring the various places mentioned..fairly obscure places but enjoyed seeing them,reading their history etc..that's what a good book will do for you.lead you on to other facets of history that are interesting.. so the plots have been explained by others here..and I am off to buy another one of Furst's books :-)

Kingdom of Shadows is a contemplative slice of history, rich in characterization and setting. The theme, like other Furst novels, is the common person in uncommon circumstances.The story effectively conveys the anxiety which spread throughout Europe in 1938 and 1939, in the months prior to WWII. People try to go on with their lives under the most trying of circumstances, but the concern about impending events pervades all aspects of life, not just political matters. In that way, I found the story to resonate with the global economic woes of today. Set against this backdrop is a Hungarian diplomat who engages in a series of exploits. Those adventures are in turn, political, romantic, and financial. Throughout, he is faced with the moral and literal ambiguity of political intrigue. This theme is at the heart of the novel. There is a constant uncertainty not only of whether one's actions amount to a hill of beans, but also is that hill of beans morally right? The rapidly shifting political climate of the times brings a whole new depth to that classic dilemma.Furst's style deeply immerses the reader in the atmosphere, with rich descriptions for all the senses. The minor characters play an important role in establishing that atmosphere as they are defined in ways that help paint a exquisite portrait of the time and place. A surprise, for me at least, was the appearance of characters and events from Night Soldiers, another Furst novel. The intertwining of stories in that way was a clever technique to highlight the historical context. Some patience is required of the reader as some story lines seem to be left unresolved, only to unexpectedly come to fruition later. In the end though, Furst succeeds in making you feel the deeply conflicting views and feelings of the time.

All the feeling of a black and white spy movie : But the best One .Alan Furst is a great writer . Perfect details and attention to History. If only he was more careful about French names and expressions ( avenue de La Bourdonnais ! Named after Monsieur le Conte de La Bourdonnais… and the missing articles ! Something difficult to understand for an American speaker …obviously, as we French say ) .

Having read several of Alan Furst's novels, I am inclined to agree with the reviewer who said that they are all a bit similar. So, why do I keep coming back to them? Well, Furst evokes the approach to WWII and the War itself in such an atmospheric way, that you're drawn in immediately. His characters are well-written and believable - yes, the central character needs to be able to move about relatively freely in Occupied zones, so Nicholas Morath in this story might seem a little contrived, but I'm reading a novel and my disbelief is accordingly suspended. I enjoyed 'Kingdom of Shadows' immensely.Each of Furst's novels is very well-researched, and I find I'm learning new aspects of this period in history each time - perhaps because Britain (with the exception of the Channel Isles) didn't experience Occupation - the focus on Continental Europe, and Russia, is edifying. With his depiction of the everyday, mundane moments that contrast with the action and heroism, Furst writes about an era that is incredibly well-documented, yet manages to sustain the reader's interest as if the events are unfolding now. No mean feat.

The enigmatic world of espionage sixty and seventy years ago has attracted a number of novelists: Eric Ambler set standards that have been aspired to, but not often matched, by such as Philip Kerr and David Downing more recently. The problem is, research can only go so far. By contrast, Alan Furst seems to have thought himself into the feel, the sounds and the smells of the era.Kingdom of Shadows has Furst's favourite city, Paris, as its focal point, but it ranges across Europe in a series of tense episodes as the continent progresses unstoppably towards World War Two. Credibility of place extends to credibility of character. Nicholas Morath, the central figure, is a Hungarian emigré torn between duty to his country and the women he loves: the Argentine hedonist Cara, and the vulnerable Mary Day - also easily believable portraits. Morath's ambiguous uncle, Count Janos von Polanyi de Nemeszvar, is a memorable string-puller from the wings.This may not be Aan Furst at his supreme best - the tale's episodic nature and the only half-fulfilled ending militate against a fifth star - but it still overshadows most of its rivals.

The third and last book. I enjoyed all three mainly because of a he historic detail. The story line itself was good and well told though I'm afraid I didn't like jack so much. I am used to a patriotic hero!! However it was a good read and I look forward to the next series

This is one of his early novels and it is engaging from the off and a turn pager throughout. It is much better than his later novels which became very formulaeic.