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Dark Star | 
 enlarge | Author: Alan Furst
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy New: £3.45
You Save: £4.54 (57%)
New (9) Used (6) from £1.40
Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 32022
Media: Paperback
Edition: New Ed
Pages: 400
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 1
ISBN: 0006511317
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780006511311
ASIN: 0006511317
Publication Date: February 16, 1998
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new book delivered in the UK in 2-3 days.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
thrilling but flawed February 20, 2008
Trilby (Suffolk, England)
This is a very good read indeed, which brilliantly evokes the atmosphere, uncertainties, etc. of pre-war Europe. Furst is a master at transporting the reader right into the heart of the scene, describing minor details such as a man's wrist watch, or the smell of a woman's perfume. All this makes up for the fact that the plot, such as it is, does not always appear logical, and - as if to compensate for that - the hero, Szara, is kept on the move. One gets the impression that the author's energies have been sapped so much by the fine print that he has no time for greater imagination. I also found it disappointing that, while Furst seems to have spent so much time on detail yet his linguistic ineptitude should have let him down - there are grammatical or spelling errors not only in Russian and Polish (which he might hope no one would notice), but also in French and German. Surely a competent editor should have picked that up?
A convert August 31, 2007
P. McAllister (Britain)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
My first 'Alan Furst' and there will be more. Really enjoyed this novel. With complex characters, interesting plot and ambitious but fairly convincing insights into the history of the 1930s, it is difficult to fault. But I have some reservations - the ending/denouement felt a bit rushed and contrived - all a bit too 'happily ever after' considering the darkness of the subject matter.
 Probably his best one May 24, 2006
Biagio
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
There is something true in saying that all of Furst books are similar, but then again they serve their purpose (high quality entertainment, not literary masterpiece) so well that one does not really mind. In this type of literature, as in Le Carré, one prefers sustained quality rather than novelty. However Dark Star and Night Soldiers differ from the others in that they have some very itneresting historical comments to make. There are two pages in Dark Star where the author goes through the purging of jews from the soviet communist party that are very interesting; how the party went from having a huge jewish presence ("We were in the paradise businnes" as General Bloch, s beautifully penned character, says) to almost none after Stalin took control of things. It is in inserting considerations of these kind (certainly not original) that makes Furst's first books so interesting.
 Bit short on actual plot..... February 18, 2004
Peter Symonds
13 out of 27 found this review helpful
Alan Furst is a brilliant descriptive writer: He can capture a scene perfectly. When reading his books you are instantly transported to late 1930's Europe with all the sights, smells & tension that entails. His research is largely excellent & his characters are strong. Reading his books is the literary equivalent of watching old Maigret films or "The Third Man"Unfortunately his books suffer from a serious flaw- THERE'S NO REAL PLOT. I've read four or five of his books & all are basically the same. The lead character is almost always Eastern European, has suffered a terrible tragedy (death of wife, brother, parents) & for some not very well explained reason is recruited by the NKVD (precursor of the KGB). Along the way he'll be sent to at least 3 or 4 european countries (always Paris) for no especially good reason & will be betrayed by the NKVD at least once. They'll usually have a few goes at murdering him too. The book will end with the character adrift in the ruins of his former homeland. By this stage it's unlikely you're too bothered about his fate. There's no real conclusion to the books, just a feeling that the author has got bored & wrapped things up. Sadly publishers seem to actively encourage succesfull authors to keep churning out repeats of a winning formula, largely because the public buy them. Instead of Furst I'd recommend Fitzroy Maclean's autobiography "Eastern Approaches" which tells of REAL encounters with the NKVD, Stalin's show trials & of life in war time Yugoslavia. For quality WW2 fiction try Robert Radcliffe's "Under an English Heaven" or Derek Robinson's "Piece of Cake".... both will give you a far better read.
Outstanding, dark & literary thriller March 6, 2003
A. Weston (Brighton, UK)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
Alan Furst is a superb writer with a very sure and evocative touch. I have enjoyed all of his books, but Dark Star shines out as the finest. The central character Szara is a complex and compelling one as flawed and interesting as one of Le Carre's heroes.This is an author who should not be pigeon-holed into a genre.
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