Night Soldiers

I had to include Alan Furst, the absolute master of historical fiction of the pre-WWII era. The first book of Furst’s Night Soldiers Series, this book introduced me to a new sort of spy thriller: instead of secret agents, these are ordinary people swept up in history.

I do love a makeover, but this is a life-and-death self-reinvention. When Khristo is targeted by the local fascist gang in 1934 Bulgaria, it’s time to run. When his first reinvention becomes dangerous, he reinvents himself again. And again. And finds love on the way. I was inspired at every turn… show more.

Another master, Alan Furst’s 1st novel (of 15 so far) is a great place to start. His stories are so well researched you might think you were reading a travel guide.

Filled with intricate details of the conflict between Russia and Germany as World War II begins, Khristo Stoianev is a young man recruited to work for the Russian secret service, the NKVD. From his recruitment in Bulgaria through training and successive secret missions, Khristo must survive not only the Nazis, but his own employers, who decide he too must be killed.

Furst builds both the pace and tension as… show more.

God help me, along with my fascination with espionage I am a history buff. I long to discover how things became what they are today and Furst does it in this series. While seeing the forces that launched the Second World War unfold, he shows you see the seeds sown for the cold war that follows. While I picked book one from my bias toward watching a world being born, all the books in the series are a great read.

Alan Furst has long mined a rich vein of espionage stories centered in France and Central Europe under the shadow of Adolph Hitler. Unlike the weary cynics of John Le Carre and other authors, Furst’s spies are doomed idealists trying to stop an avalanche. Night Soldiers carries the claustrophobic menace of a vampire story and the sweep of an epic as we follow its protagonist across Europe before and during the great struggle. A great introduction to Furst’s work.

Night Soldiers is the first in the Night Soldiers novel series written by Alan Furst. This is a novel that I assigned to one of my classes, and my students really liked it. Furst wove a complicated story that followed the main character – Khristo Stoianev – from before the war when he was recruited to join the Soviets’ NKVD, to spy training, a mission to Spain during the Civil War, to betrayal and finally his efforts to escape from the bondage imposed by his Soviet masters. I recommend this book not only because my students enjoyed it, but also… show more.