The Best Book Review of the Decade...so far.

Hi,

So the other day I finished up Dark Star by Alan Furst. I'd heard some buzz that if you wanted some WWII espionage fiction, Mr. Furst was your man. The buzz was pretty darn accurate.

Dark Star is the second of Mr. Furst's Night Soldiers series of books. The series is comprised of standalone novels that share characters from time to time each one peering into various secret services operating prior to or during WWII. So being the second book wasn't a handicap. This particular book focuses on Andre Szara, Polish-born Russian Jew who works as a foreign correspondent for Pravda. From time to time, the NKVD comes along and asks him to do a couple of favors. As the book opens, he's been asked to find out where a fellow traveler to Belguim is staying. He complies and thus gets drawn into the world of espionage. Eventually, he is recruited full-time into the NKVD and is placed in charge of a spy network operating out of Paris. Szara's position is delicate as Stalin's purges back home and inter-service rivalries combine to make his life difficult.

The book was quite good. There was a fair, but not tedious depiction of tradecraft and the intricacies of running a spy ring. There was a wealth of geographic and historical detail which gave rise to lots of wonderful passages that really put you in a place and time. The strains on Szara, both physical and mental were well handled and gave you a good insight into the man. There was even something of a happy ending which isn't something you really expect from a lot of spy fiction.

Overall it was a fun read and I'd certainly pick up some other books in the series.

later
Tom

The Best Book Review of the Decade...so far.

Hi,

So the other day I finished up Dark Star by Alan Furst. I'd heard some buzz that if you wanted some WWII espionage fiction, Mr. Furst was your man. The buzz was pretty darn accurate.

Dark Star is the second of Mr. Furst's Night Soldiers series of books. The series is comprised of standalone novels that share characters from time to time each one peering into various secret services operating prior to or during WWII. So being the second book wasn't a handicap. This particular book focuses on Andre Szara, Polish-born Russian Jew who works as a foreign correspondent for Pravda. From time to time, the NKVD comes along and asks him to do a couple of favors. As the book opens, he's been asked to find out where a fellow traveler to Belguim is staying. He complies and thus gets drawn into the world of espionage. Eventually, he is recruited full-time into the NKVD and is placed in charge of a spy network operating out of Paris. Szara's position is delicate as Stalin's purges back home and inter-service rivalries combine to make his life difficult.

The book was quite good. There was a fair, but not tedious depiction of tradecraft and the intricacies of running a spy ring. There was a wealth of geographic and historical detail which gave rise to lots of wonderful passages that really put you in a place and time. The strains on Szara, both physical and mental were well handled and gave you a good insight into the man. There was even something of a happy ending which isn't something you really expect from a lot of spy fiction.

Overall it was a fun read and I'd certainly pick up some other books in the series.

later
Tom

PAX-East question

Hey,

So my impression of PAX (and hence PAX East) is that it's a gaming convention with a video game focus, but, overall a geeky gaming convention type thing.

Can you register to run games? Is it too late for that? I'm mildly curious.

later
Tom

PAX-East question

Hey,

So my impression of PAX (and hence PAX East) is that it's a gaming convention with a video game focus, but, overall a geeky gaming convention type thing.

Can you register to run games? Is it too late for that? I'm mildly curious.

later
Tom