Rating: 
Summary: Good WWII thriller, but not Furst's best
Review: Nicholas Morath, a Hungarian national living in Paris just a couple of years before the start of World War II. As the nephew of a Hungarian count, Morath finds himself mired in the intrigue and futile battles to prevent Hungary from aligning with the Axis. I've now read four Furst novels, including Kingdom of Shadows. I have to say, this was my least favorite. While it is still great, there was a certain complexity missing here. Morath is a good man, who's only discernable flaw is that he smokes too much. He's a victim of history, not a maker of history, which is true of all of Furst's heroes, but he's not terribly complex. Unlike some of the protagonists of Furst's novels, Morath know from the get go what is right. He doesn't grow much, and that detracts from the novel. However, Furst is still excellent in his descriptions. The action does move reasonably well, and the settings are vividly evoked. It's also a testament to Furst's talent that he can make known historical events (e.g. Austria's annexation or Stalin's overtures to Hitler) and make them feel "enormous" and surprising. Overall, good enough, but not my favorite Furst book.
Rating:
Summary: Good WWII thriller, but not Furst's best
Review: Nicholas Morath, a Hungarian national living in Paris just a couple of years before the start of World War II. As the nephew of a Hungarian count, Morath finds himself mired in the intrigue and futile battles to prevent Hungary from aligning with the Axis. I've now read four Furst novels, including Kingdom of Shadows. I have to say, this was my least favorite. While it is still great, there was a certain complexity missing here. Morath is a good man, who's only discernable flaw is that he smokes too much. He's a victim of history, not a maker of history, which is true of all of Furst's heroes, but he's not terribly complex. Unlike some of the protagonists of Furst's novels, Morath know from the get go what is right. He doesn't grow much, and that detracts from the novel. However, Furst is still excellent in his descriptions. The action does move reasonably well, and the settings are vividly evoked. It's also a testament to Furst's talent that he can make known historical events (e.g. Austria's annexation or Stalin's overtures to Hitler) and make them feel "enormous" and surprising. Overall, good enough, but not my favorite Furst book.
Rating:
Summary: Highly intriguing
Review: Ordinary people doing extraordinary things in the face of world-changing events. If you like that set-up, then Kingdom of Shadows is a book you would enjoy. The writing is spare but evocative, the setting highly intense and the espionage is engaging. The hero Nicholas Morath tries to live the "normal" life of a successful advertising executive in Paris under the shadow of the impending World War II. At the same time, he does favors for his uncle, a Hungarian spymaster, in a vain effort to thwart Nazi designs, maintain Hungarian independence and slow Hitler's inexorable march toward conquering southeastern Europe. Furst's writing and settings have been described as historical noir novels. This is pretty accurate -- the scenes flit by, the tone is dark, the concepts are interesting, the day-to-day is gritty, and despair gnaws at the back of each character's mind. Good stuff for those interested in fiction displaying the mood of Europe during the coming of the darkness before WWII. I look forward to reading the others I have -- Polish Officer, Dark Star -- and to the upcoming-release Blood of Victory.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent "spy" novel
Review: Perhaps the title of this review is a bit misleading, for I'm not sure this book should be classified as a "spy" novel. It might be better to call it a novel that happens to contain spies and other folks who dabble in espionage. In any event, whatever it is, this book is excellent! The setting is Europe in 1938, and the mood is somber, the motivations of many of the characters ambiguous, and the story line episodic and, a tad, confusing. Everything does come together, basically, at the end, even if the end is somewhat vague. The characters are finely drawn, even the minor ones. Reading the story gave rise to thoughts of what "might have been" if some of the schemes of the characters had come to a successful conclusion, but there is a knowledge by the reader that, unliike the actors in this drama, their activities will not turn out the way they had hoped. It's a melancholy work, but a masterly piece of writing. This is the first book I have read by this author, but I know for certain that it will not be the last!
Rating:
Summary: Artistist spy novel
Review: Some years ago on our first visit to Paris, we purchased a black, white and shades of gray Impressionistic oil painting of Montmarte. If you stare at the painting, it comes alive and gives the impression of this lovely, exciting spot just after a rain. This is how I felt while reading Alan Furst's "Kingdom of the Shadows." It is like viewing a European art film that you want to talk about afterwards. (Actually, there are questions for discussion at the end of the book presumably to be used by book reading clubs.) Some reviews mentioned that "Kingdom of the Shadows" lacks a plot. In the sense of the riveting excitement generated by Ludlum, DeMille or Clancy, you will definitely not find such a plot. However, the book gives an overall impression of the times of pre-World War II in Paris, Sudetenland, Moravia, Romania, Belgium and Hungary. The protagonist, Hungarian Nicholas Morath, is living and working at his business in Paris in 1938. He often used by his uncle, Count Polanyi, a Hungarian diplomat, for spy operations and escapades throughout Europe, notably Belgium, Sudetenland, Moravia, Romania and Hungary. I have enjoyed many pre-World War II novels, including "Winds of World" by Herman Wouk, but I learned much about the geography and political nuance of these troubled times in this book. There is plenty of humor, love scenes and drama along the way, but the real joy of the novel is in the artistic descriptions of people and places and elegant style of Mr. Furst. Thank you Amazon for recommending this book to me. I am now ordering several more Furst novels!
Rating: 
Summary: Relentlessly inept
Review: The adulation being heaped on Alan Furst proves only the extent of the debasement of both literature and history in American letters. His plots meander from one cliché to another, with no care given to consistency, sense, or relevance. His style seems almost willfully poor and is given to gross lapses of grammar. (Fire his editor, I say.) Furst is apparent unable to frame a character that is complex rather than merely opaque, and the words "suspense," "rationale," and "causality" must be foreign to him. The new Graham Greene? Hardly. An ugly American? Certainly.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointingly overrated.
Review: The author should stick to what he knows about (Paris and the French language) or do more thorough research on what he does not. Most references about Budapest and Hungarian customs are incorrect. The poem that he cites is total gibberish: makes no sense is any language, some words are in Hungarian but have no contextual meaning, accents are misplaced, existing words are misspelled. If you know nothing about this language and its culture, this won't bother you. Characters are shallow, underdeveloped. Plotting is superficial. John Le Carre, to whom this writer has been compared, has nothing to worry about.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyed this one
Review: The book jacket touts Alan Furst as "the master of the atmospheric spy thriller." After reading "Kingdom of Shadows," I'm not sure I would say Furst is the master, but he is very, very good. I was most impressed with the individualism of the secondary characters -- men and women caught up my circumstance in Europe as Hitler amassed territory and power. The impending doom was palpable. The plot seemed credible, not as far-fetched and James Bondish as many spy thrillers. Thought and substance are offered here instead of comic book mentality. So many World War II novels have become cliche, swathed in sentimentality. "Kingdom of Shadows" may not be Furst's best novel, but the plot, characterization and writing held my attention and provoked my emotions.
Rating:
Summary: Buy this book
Review: Then buy every Alan Furst book you can find. Then put them on your bookshelf so your friends can see them. Then lend them to your friends, who will go out and buy his books. Then make Alan Furst wealthy. He is beyond good.
Rating:
Summary: Rich details make this a winner
Review: This book is rich with detail, not just of sight and sound, but of the richness of life: music, books, conversation and politics. All this detail is seamlessly and unobtrusively added, bringing this historical espionage into a three-dimensional liveliness that makes it a standout novel. Morath is not your usual spy. In fact, he's not officially a spy. He's just doing a few favors and interestingly and realistically, not privy to the details -- so that the favors he performs aren't always exactly on point -- as far as what he thinks their purpose might be. This is the story of a man moving from casual engagement in a cause to making a decision to become an active player. It's not your typical, solve one dilemma and win the day story. It's about one man actually commiting himself -- and to what, that's for another book another day, or for you to decide.
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