Dark Star : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly set and paced novel of Europe just before WWII
Review: I had read "The Polish Officer" first and wanted more of Alan Furst's evocative pre WWII novels of espionage. "Dark Star" surpasses the later novel, it simply hits on all cylinders. Historically accurate, with a twisting plot, vivid characters, and settings that make the reader feel the darkness and gloom enveloping Europe on the eve of WWII. This novel goes beyond the genre of espionage and paints a differently humane approach to the times. The main character, Andre Szara, while heroic, is "everyman" in that he fears, struggles and fails and succeeds and gets lucky at times. Truly the opposite of the Tom Clancy, James bondish type spy, Alan Furst offers us a hero who we can understand without suspending our disbelief. "Dark Star" is a wonderful piece of work by an author who amazes with his breadth of knowledge on Central Europe in the 30's

Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly set and paced novel of Europe just before WWII
Review: I had read "The Polish Officer" first and wanted more of Alan Furst's evocative pre WWII novels of espionage. "Dark Star" surpasses the later novel, it simply hits on all cylinders. Historically accurate, with a twisting plot, vivid characters, and settings that make the reader feel the darkness and gloom enveloping Europe on the eve of WWII. This novel goes beyond the genre of espionage and paints a differently humane approach to the times. The main character, Andre Szara, while heroic, is "everyman" in that he fears, struggles and fails and succeeds and gets lucky at times. Truly the opposite of the Tom Clancy, James bondish type spy, Alan Furst offers us a hero who we can understand without suspending our disbelief. "Dark Star" is a wonderful piece of work by an author who amazes with his breadth of knowledge on Central Europe in the 30's

Rating:
Summary: Alan Furst's Dark Star is Excellent
Review: I have been reading "thrillers" and spy novels my entire reading life and this is this book is the best one of the genre that I have ever read. It is not the literature that LeCarre strives for, nor does it have the mass market appeal of a Ludlum type novel but it is a great story. The plot is tight, the attention to detail is superb, and the characters well drawn but the main attraction of the book lies in the atmosphere, the mood, and the "feel" of the book. The book requires some effort on the part of the reader but like anything you have to work for, it is more satisfying in the end.

Rating:
Summary: Good history & emotionally compelling.
Review: I have enjoyed all of Mr. Furst's novels but Dark Star is my favorite. I suppose, in part, this is true because I read it last and was thus fully immersed in Mr. Furst's textured recreation of wartime Europe. Mr. Furst's talents are enviable. He is able to describe things such as a Polish officer witnessing the Wehrmacht invade his country without any cliche or melodrama. In all his other novels, he deftly weaves facts and historical figures into his narrative without allowing the history (and what history it is!) to overtake his story; and he can tell a good suspenseful story. I particularly enjoyed Mr. Furst's depicition of the NKVD in Dark Star and in Night Soldiers - factually accurate and emotionally devestating.
Comparisions are made between Mr. Furst and Mr. le Carre on these pages - that alone should tell you how talented Mr. Furst is. However, in my opinion, comparisions between the two are quite unfair. Yes both write (or have written) about the intelligence services and both have wounded, battered protagonists who are more or less unwilling participants in the game. Both depict the dehumanizing brutality of intelligence services (be it the NKVD (Dark Star; Night Soldiers), the Circus/the Friends (SWCIFTC; Karla Trilogy; SP; OG), the Mosssad (LDG), etc.) and the feats of will, love and strength one needs to survive (somewhat) intact. But the similiarities end there - Mr. Furst has his own unique voice and substantial talent - plus I don't think he is as angry as Mr. le Carre is/was; he doesn't appear to have an axe to grind or an ideological motive. Although he depicts the NKVD as ruthless and brutal as it really was and the Soviet regime as muderous as it really was, it does not seem to be personal to Mr. Furst. But if it is - if, for example, his family is from Poland and suffered under the Soviets, then he seems content to have hostorical fact speak for them.
In sum, I recommend his books to anyone who enjoys history of the Second World War, Soviet history, and good suspense/spy thrillers.

Rating:
Summary: extraordinary
Review: I love historical novels. I now include Furst in a list that would include Robert Graves, Mary Renault, and Patrick O'Brian.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Stuff
Review: I picked this up immediately after tearing through Furst's "The Polish Officer," which is similar in setting (WWII-era Europe), episodic construction (this book is divided in 5 sections of almost exactly 80 pages each), and loner hero (here, a Russian Jew journalist/spy attempting to survive the Stalinist purges while working in Europe). It's equally well-written and researched as "The Polish Officer," but slightly less enjoyable. This can be attributed to the previous book putting more emphasis on set piece clandestine military operations (which I find fascinating), whereas this book is more concerned with the mental and organizational challenges of staying alive as a Soviet spy. To be sure, there is a lot of neat spycraft here, but less of what I would call for lack of a better word "action." That is certainly just a personal preference of mine however, and in no way reflects on the overall quality of the book-although at times, keeping track of the various Soviet factions interferred with the flow. Furst does a great job of recreating European society of the time, down to the smallest details. I'll certainly be looking for more of his work.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books of any genre I have read.
Review: I read Dark Star because it was there. I don't normally like spy novels, with their difficult to understand lingo and acronyms and often unbelievable plots, but Dark Star is in a whole other bracket. Its plot is episodic and the spy's assignments are rarely earth-shattering, as in most inferior blockbusters, but they are a true depiction of what a real spy might do. The story contains realistic characters whose moral and ideological convictions are hazy, as in real life, and it perfectly evokes the paranoia of life as a Soviet spy.

Rating:
Summary: A Rich Story
Review: I read this book and wondered where was this author going? You could not see all the plot turns; he kept me interested in the book the whole time. This book was very rich in the atmosphere; you really could see the streets, cafes, and people on the street. There are just so many details that it truly feels like you are watching the action as it unfolds. This is not a fast by the numbers book, you have to be involved with the book but the pay off is a very good story that keeps you thinking about the characters and plot after you have put the book down each day. I am happy to hold on to this one and reread it again.

Rating:
Summary: Best espionage novel of this century.
Review: I used to think that John Le Carre's The Spy Who Came in from the Cold was the best espionage novel of the twentieth century. But it is not: Alan Furst's Dark Star is better. Part of what makes Dark Star better is its historical setting: central Europe in the late 1930s. The old--bourgeois--order of Europe has collapsed economically into the Great Depression, and is collapsing politically as weak democracies are replaced by strongmen and strong democracies dither in the face of potential nazi and communist threats. But Hitler in Germany and Stalin in Russia are alive, aggressive, brutal, and cruel: two spiders between whom the people of Europe are like flies, to be trapped and digested. Andre Szara is a Jew, a Russian, a journalist working for the Soviet newspaper Pravda as a foreign correspondent, and a friend of one faction--not Stalin's faction--in the Soviet secret services. He tries to survive, and to make a difference. But whose side should he be on? Should he work against Stalin whose purge-pogrom is ongoing when the novel begins? Or is Stalin the last best hope of earth and the only person who can stop Hitler? I believe that Time compared Dark Star to "seeing [the movie] Casablanca for the first time." But Dark Star is a better book than Casablanca is a movie. And the only reason I can see not to read Dark Star is that then Furst's other books (including the excellent Night Soldiers, possibly the third best espionage novel of our century) will come as somewhat of a letdown.

Rating:
Summary: Convincing atmosphere, strong story, believable characters
Review: If you are jaded by spy novels in which the protagonist outshoots, outfights and outfornicates all the bad guys in paridisical settings, saves the President's life, secures the future of the whole world and emerges in the end without a scratch on him and with the playmate-of-the-month on his arm, maybe you should look at this. The pre-WWII atmosphere, particularly the parts about middle-Europe, is convincing (the author has done his research!), the characters are believable (they're scared and who wouldn't be) and the story is interesting.