Dad likes Furst so I thought I'd give it a go. This was an excellent book start to finish, and I'm excited that it's the first in a series. Furst seems to have first-hand knowledge of WWII spy craft and is an excellent storyteller. I love how he will create side characters to forward the narrative, that appear and then disappear without a trace, but who also have compelling stories and appear as three dimensional people with rich lives and real character. I also loved the time period in which this story takes place, starting pre-war and going through WWII. Furst creates that crazy pre-war turbidity swirling around Europe at the time and really makes it engagingly real. His characters all speak a dozen languages and all are smart. You have to be to survive very long in the world of NKVD, Gestapo, fascists partisans, communists, and every other kind of ruthless fifth column organization you can think of. He really pulls it off with amazing detail and story craft.
I listened to this on audio book, so my attention wasn't always what it should be, but even so, I could appreciate that this was a remarkable book. ( )

Intricately woven plot but the pace was rather plodding and there were too many details. By the end of the book, you can hardly recall Khristo's meandering journey that took him to the U.S. And if you like clarity, you won't have it (or maybe Furst explains but I didn't catch it). Somebody seemed to be tracking Khristo all the time, wherever he went, he could be found. I know it's either NKVD or his BF825 brotherhood but isn't that creepy? ( )

This was closer to a 3.5 star for me. Parts of this book I really liked but others were tough. There were large sections of the book that I felt were an information dump. Here is the world my characters live in. It made the pacing tough and I never fully connected with the characters because of it. Having said that, this is the first book. I liked the writing enough to continue in the series and see if the Furst gets better at delivering the history (which I do love) more integrated and smoother into the story.

One thing I will say is that it reminded me how much I like spy novels. I read them a lot as a kid and have strayed away from them as an adult. It might be time to read a few more of them. ( )

3.5*
This first book of Furst's Night Soldiers series was headed for a 2.5 - 3 star rating until about halfway through. The description of how Khristo Stoianev was recruited into the NKVD & his training there didn't enthrall me. I am sure that it is excellent historical fiction but it is of a time & place that was grim. However, I am glad that I perservered because eventually I did become caught up in the plot and wanted to find out what would happen. ( )

Here's what I wrote in 2008 about this read: "Not MGA's usual genre, but now and then choices are limited to have a book in hand. That said, interesting and enjoyable . . . With good exposure to Eastern Europe (Bulgaria) and beyond, and communism before & during WWII." ( )