In the autumn of 1940, Russian émigré journalist I. A. Serebin is recruited in Istanbul by an agent of the British secret services for a clandestine operation to stop German importation of Romanian oil—a last desperate attempt to block Hitler’s conquest of Europe. Serebin’s race against time begins in Bucharest and leads him to Paris, the Black Sea, Beirut, and, finally, Belgrade; his task is to attack the oil barges that fuel German tanks and airplanes. Blood of Victory has all the heart-pounding suspense, extraordinary historical accuracy, and narrative immediacy we have come to expect from Alan Furst.
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"A very enjoyable read. The protagonist, a Russian journalist named Serebin, is very appealing and the subject matter (the "blood of victory" is oil) seems particularly timely. "
— Kate (4 out of 5 stars)
“Furst’s achievement is a moral one, producing a powerful testament to fiction’s ability to re-create the experience of others, and why it is so deeply important to do so.”
— New York Times Book Review“[Furst] glides gracefully into an urbane pre–World War II Europe and describes that milieu with superb precision.”
— New York Times“Densely atmospheric and genuinely romantic, [Blood Victory] is most reminiscent of the Hollywood films of the forties, when moral choices were rendered not in black-and-white but in smoky shades of gray.”
— New Yorker“Furst’s spy work is some of the best around.”
— Library Journal" Poetic WW2 spy novel, starring a Russian expat writer in Istanbul, Bucharest, and Paris. "
— Anne, 5/30/2011" Enjoyable enough but seemed to end with a bit of whimper. "
— Lisadlh, 1/29/2011" Not as good as Spys of Warsaw, but still a good read. "
— Jerry, 8/20/2010" Not as good as the other one... the character is not as sharply sketched, and the books meaders a tad too much for my liking. "
— Nishant, 8/17/2010" Classic Furst. He's always readable and an excellent historian. Recently saw him on PBS discussing the 10 Russian spies who were exchanged. "
— Liz, 7/16/2010" I like Furst's books, but this was my least favorite. I thought it was disjointed and hard to follow. True, I was distracted when I read this so could only read a bit at a time, but still... "
— Stacey, 6/10/2010Alan Furst is widely recognized as the master of the historical spy novel. He is the author of Night Soldiers, Dark Star, The Polish Officer, The World at Night, and others. He has written for a number of magazines and news publications, including Esquire and the International Herald Tribune. Before becoming a full-time novelist, he worked as a copy writer for ad agencies in Seattle; he has also lived in New York and France. Currently, Furst lives on Long Island, New York.
George Guidall, winner of more than eighty AudioFile Earphones Awards, has won three of the prestigious Audie Award for Excellence in Audiobook Narration. In 2014 the Audio Publishers Association presented him with the Special Achievement Award for lifetime achievement/ During his thirty-year recording career he has recorded over 1,700 audiobooks, won multiple awards, been a mentor to many narrators, and shown by example the potential of fine storytelling. His forty-year acting career includes starring roles on Broadway, an Obie Award for best performance off Broadway, and frequent television appearances.