Reissued in the terrific new cover style DARK VOAYGE has already sold over 5,000 copies in paperback Alan Furst receives exceptional reviews: 'Competitors despair. Alan Furst's mastery of the espionage novel put him beyond any would-be rival No one does it better than Furst and DARK VOYAGE is about as good as it gets. First class in every department' Literary Review 'The eccentric wanderers with their strange histories, the shadowy life in the wings of the theatre are pure Casablanca tension, excitement and the cat and mouse of naval warfare are Furst's primary business' Observer 'A gripping plot and a galaxy of well-drawn characters.' Daily Telegraph 'The streamlined clarity with which DARK VOYAGE pulls all this together is extraordinary. The Baltic action of DARK VOYAGE is so stunningly intricate and dangerous that the book's map of the region becomes essential reading DARK VOYAGE is vintage cinema already' Scotsman 'Addictive, beautifully humane novelsif you haven't read him yet, DARK VOYAGE is the place to start' Guardian 'Furst is a consummate writer, his style lyrical and elegant, his story-telling taut and suspenseful, his characters authentic' Irish Examiner
Alan Furst has lived for long periods in France, especially in Paris, and has travelled as a journalist in Eastern Europe and Russia. He has written extensively for Esquire and the International Herald Tribune.
It's no secret by now that Furst is a superlative chronicler of World War II, and his new novel is a splendid addition to an accomplished body of work that includes The Polish Officer and the bestselling Blood of Victory. His mastery of the atmosphere of that era-its brusque heroes and heroines, its sudden explosions of violence, its strange black glamour-is the fruit of tireless research and an empathetic imagination. His hero this time around is a blunt Dutch sea captain, E.M. DeHaan, whose sturdy but aging merchant vessel is pressed into service on behalf of the British Navy by the exiled Dutch naval intelligence group in London. Disguising his boat as a neutral Spanish freighter, DeHaan somberly and grudgingly takes it several times into harm's way, ferrying British commandos on a North African raid, taking munitions to the beleaguered British garrison on Crete and then, most dangerous of all, on a secret mission to Sweden's Baltic coast. The marine details are so authentic the reader can smell the oil and the brine, and the characters who come aboard and into the captain's life-a valuable Polish naval officer in exile, a Jewish refugee who becomes the ship's doctor, a Russian woman journalist fleeing the Soviets, with whom DeHaan enjoys a brief and dry-eyed romance-are sketched with concise brilliance. The book casts such a spell with its exact evocations of time, place and language that one could swear Furst was a Brit writing out of his own experience in 1941 rather than an American writing today. Agent, Amanda Urban. (Aug. 10) Forecast: Furst has been rapidly developing both his skills and his reputation as a master of that still-alluring world, and this is arguably his finest performance to date, likely to confirm old admirers and win many new ones. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
In his eighth novel plumbing the shadowy reaches of World War II, Furst (Blood of Victory) introduces DeHaan, a taciturn Dutchman who will lead a merchant marine crew in deeds of thrilling, if unexpected, valor. Within 19 months of the war's start, enemy forces have sunk 1,596 British and other Allied vessels. In a canny campaign to reverse the losses, the Royal Navy's Intelligence Division has enlisted unarmed tramp freighters to haul bombs and other classified cargo to Allied strongholds. DeHaan, whose country has been recently occupied by the Nazis, accepts a secret commission to join the war effort. His crew includes the usual maritime flotsam and jetsam adrift in the eddies of war and one exceptional Russian femme du monde. With profound understanding of the historic panorama, Furst subtly evokes the emotional and mental highs that resided at that time, even within the most ordinary and anonymous of citizens. Fans will not be disappointed by this spare but never terse adventure tale. For every fiction collection. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/04.]-Barbara Conaty, Falls Church City, VA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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