Dark Voyage: A Novel

I don't remember what got me started reading a Furst book but all I know is that I was hooked in no time. In a few months I had read all his books and damn I wish he had more. So this is actually a review for all his historical espionage series. There were all superb. With one exception each one was about a different character. You might say an ordinary person in an extraordinary time doing his or her best. My favorite genre is historical ficion and Furst's books are among the very best. I am a big World War II buff and also enjoy espionage stories, fiction and non-fiction. So for me, Furst writes the perfect books. Europe in the late 30's early 40's, a most dramatic time in history. His research (which I can only assume is accurate) is extraordinary, almost like he was there. I learned things about Europe and that time period that I never had a clue about. It would be difficult to say that one is better than another as no doubt readers of the series would have different favorites. If I was pressed I think I would say I really liked Dark Voyage...........or maybe The Polish Officer...............or maybe?? I am usually a fast reader but found myself saying, "wait a second.....who is that person?" or "what happened again back then?" and I would have to go back and read some parts over again more carefully. Furst doesn't explain every little thing and if you miss it things might not make sense further on in the book. So I learned quickly to read slower and put my old memory to better use. He is a most amazing writer. He draws astounding settings and characters with words in a way that few writers have the abillity to do. I thought Daniel Silva (Gabriel Allon series) was a wonderful writer of the espionage genre and Steven Pressfield (Killing Rommel, Gates of Fire)was even better but Furst is as good as Pressfield. There are a few common threads among the books, primarily Paris. But also Brassiere Henninger and the bullet hole in the mirror above Table 14 and several wonderful minor characters, S. Kolb, Mr. Brown and Count Polanyni. I am still wondering what happened to S. Kolb, last seen running down some street with no pants having given them up to some police official for his freedom since the pants had gold coins sewed in the legs. There are many wonderful reviews for Furst's books.........way better than I can write. All I can say is that you won't be sorry to read Furst. They don't need to be read in order but you should anyway because of the common threads and because there are two Jean Casson books.

Alan Furst is a master. He develops the plot and the characters with care, a bit more slowly than some, but the result is an excellent read. His sense of the times and people he writes about is vivid, and evokes a certain nostalgia. A Dutch tramp freighter captain caught up in a war that takes control of his ship and his life. The war weary spy and the wandering female journalist, both of whom only want to escape the world that surrounds and controls them. Our captain tries to carry on in spite of the forces that draw him towards a climax in the cold waters of the Baltic. It is a dark voyage through troubled waters, and an icy peek into the souls of his protagonists.

Personally, I don't think it makes much sense to review Alan Furst's books one at a time, because what he's really doing is painting an enormous picture of World War Two one brushstroke at a time. I marvel at the amount of research he does in order to create each of the worlds his novels inhabit. And of course the writing itself is simply superb, both in the descriptive power of the language he uses, and the way he chooses to pace the stories, letting you in on the details only when he's good and ready, and you're dying to know what happened twenty pages earlier. I guess because I see all his novels as essentially being chapters in one huge novel, I don't have the issues with this book that several of the other reviewers have mentioned. Yes, it's shorter than I would have liked, but I thought it hung together well. As for the suggestion that Furst is just "a writer of sex scenes", I just think that's ridiculous. I love Furst's books because he gets you into the mood of the period, not because his characters occasionally take a roll in the hay... and by the way, the female characters are rarely stunningly beautiful, as I recall. I just appreciate the fact that Furst is really taking thousands of pages to tell the story of WW2 in Europe from the perspective of the everyday folks who tried to live through it. Furst tells his tale using lots of colors, and he takes his time doing it.

Even while whole-heartedly endorsing the exceptionalism of the first seven (7) volumes in Alan Furst's "Night Soldiers" Series, it is "Dark Voyage," the 8th volume in this "historical fiction" series, that aptly blows the previous seven out of the water. Captain DeHaan is a character with whom the reader can totally empathize. "Dark Voyage" is a living, breathing novel that sweeps one along fore and aft. I do not know if there are any other "Dark Voyage"-related novels in the remainder of the "Night Soldiers" Series, but if it were me, I would immediately be writing a sequel to "Dark Voyage." These characters DESERVE to live on!

One of the joys of reading Alan Furst’s historic novels is being placed in the virtual shoes of various characters during the European turmoil of WWII. In this book, Eric DeHaan, captain of a Dutch freighter, undertakes a secret and dangerous mission on behalf of the British Navy. In order to pull it off, his ship has to be repainted, renamed Santa Rosa and fly the flag of a neutral country. The ruse is initially successful but troubles begin when a German minesweeper notices DeHaan’s ship and decides to make a closer investigation. Furst creates a gripping scene that is rich with detail and steadily increasing tension. You won’t be able to put the book down until you learn what happens to DeHaan’s crew and the mysterious passengers who are trying to escape the dangers of their native country and find a new life elsewhere.

Another great book from Alan Furst-this time he deaparts from the pre war days of plots and counterplots and gets into the early years of the war itself. I have read most of Alan Furst's books and whilst the rest have been good, in my humble opinion this is the best yet.

Apesar de ser um romance, retrata bem um período obscuro da segunda grande guerra. Gosto muito dos seus romances, apesar de apresentar uma melancolia própria do autor Excelente conteúdo.

One of several spy books by this author set in Europe, mainly France, before & during the 2nd World War. Very evocative of the period, a great read.

Magnifico escritor de los Estados Unidos escribe con muchos detalles, todo esta bien investigado, es como entrar en el libro es estar en La Guerra Fría de su tiempo y recuerdos de sus días como reportero. Brian West

A good book