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majkia's review against another edition
4.0
Alan Furst's series is about normal, everyday people stuck in the middle of Hell, when Europe goes to war. Some of them survive, some don't. Some find a way to work in the resistance, some try to escape, some help with that.
He presents the situation, not idealized with brave, beautiful people who are incredible spies, but instead as people who barely manage to find ways to survive, and do what little they can to help the cause of defeating Hitler. Fear is always present and one never knows who is knocking on your door, or who will be knocking it down.
He presents the situation, not idealized with brave, beautiful people who are incredible spies, but instead as people who barely manage to find ways to survive, and do what little they can to help the cause of defeating Hitler. Fear is always present and one never knows who is knocking on your door, or who will be knocking it down.
brack's review against another edition
5.0
Just finished the second of Furst books. No pun intended. The power here is in the non-sentimental telling of his story. Taking the reader into Paris and France in the early 40s.
mulveyr's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable, but unlike the other books in the series, I found it difficult to keep track of the characters. Some of this is probably intentional - it is a story about espionage cells, after all. But the interrelationships between the characters ended up feeling like the author took everyone and threw them into a blender.
left_coast_justin's review
4.0
Another better-than-average spy story from Alan Furst.
Furst is the master of the little telling detail that reminds you life was very, very different seventy years ago, when Europe was at war. Little things like cars having running boards, the US having 48 states, commercial airliners having propellers still; things like that.
Red Gold is set primarily in France, dealing with resistance to German rule. Another thing Furst describes well is that humans can be nasty little creatures; and the small day-to-day humiliations that keep accumulating upon the Jewish population. We learn about people who suddenly find (and abuse) power over others, using German rules to further their own greedy ends. You want to keep reading in hopes that these pricky little tyrants suffer for their sins.
An interesting question arises: If your soldiers simply cannot beat the enemy's soldiers, is there any way to win the war? As it turns out, there's lots of ways to render an enemy powerless other than shooting them. This book has fun with that idea, and I had fun reading it.
Furst is the master of the little telling detail that reminds you life was very, very different seventy years ago, when Europe was at war. Little things like cars having running boards, the US having 48 states, commercial airliners having propellers still; things like that.
Red Gold is set primarily in France, dealing with resistance to German rule. Another thing Furst describes well is that humans can be nasty little creatures; and the small day-to-day humiliations that keep accumulating upon the Jewish population. We learn about people who suddenly find (and abuse) power over others, using German rules to further their own greedy ends. You want to keep reading in hopes that these pricky little tyrants suffer for their sins.
An interesting question arises: If your soldiers simply cannot beat the enemy's soldiers, is there any way to win the war? As it turns out, there's lots of ways to render an enemy powerless other than shooting them. This book has fun with that idea, and I had fun reading it.
smcleish's review
4.0
Originally published on my blog here in February 2001.
Following on from [b:The World at Night|919231|The World at Night (Night Soldiers, #4)|Alan Furst|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320530898s/919231.jpg|245710], Red Gold continues to chronicle the exploits of Hugh Casson, one time film producer, as he becomes reluctantly involved with the various anti-German factions of occupied Paris. While definitely wanting the Germans ruling France, Casson is not a hero and probably would have kept his head down and stayed far away from de Gaullists, disgruntled Vichy Regime secret service and certainly the Communists if circumstances has allowed.
As in The World at Night, two components of Red Gold lift it above the usual level of Resistance thrillers: the characterisation of Casson and the atmospheric depiction of wartime France. Red Gold is basically more of the same, as you might expect of a sequel; The World at Night set a high standard which is maintained here.
Following on from [b:The World at Night|919231|The World at Night (Night Soldiers, #4)|Alan Furst|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320530898s/919231.jpg|245710], Red Gold continues to chronicle the exploits of Hugh Casson, one time film producer, as he becomes reluctantly involved with the various anti-German factions of occupied Paris. While definitely wanting the Germans ruling France, Casson is not a hero and probably would have kept his head down and stayed far away from de Gaullists, disgruntled Vichy Regime secret service and certainly the Communists if circumstances has allowed.
As in The World at Night, two components of Red Gold lift it above the usual level of Resistance thrillers: the characterisation of Casson and the atmospheric depiction of wartime France. Red Gold is basically more of the same, as you might expect of a sequel; The World at Night set a high standard which is maintained here.
abookishaffair's review
4.0
3.5 stars. "Red Gold" is a sort of sequel to Furst's "The World at Night" although it still a part of his Night Soldiers series. "Red Gold" picks up the story of Jean Casson, the main character from "The World at Night." In this book, we see Casson as more battle-worn than he was in the first book but still committed to trying to help the Resistance movement in France. The stakes are even higher now!
The great thing about Furst's "Night Soldiers" books are that you can really start anywhere in the series without confusion as the books focus on different characters (except for "Red Gold" and "The World at Night." I actually read this book before I read the previous book and still totally understood this one (I do wish that I had read them in the right order merely from the standpoint of being able to see the progression of Casson's character).
Casson is a fascinating character. At first, he starts out wanting to stay out of the fray and to simply live his life without getting too involved. In this book, he cannot help but to be involved. He has a lot of drive and commitment. I really like how Furst is able to change this normal, everyday man into somewhat of a hero. Furst does this with a lot of his characters, which really helps to pull readers into caring about what happens to these people where there is so much more than what meets the eye initially. I did like "The World at Night" a little bit better because we see much more of a change in Casson as well as much greater characterization, another reason that I wish I had read this book after that one.
The world building and setting in this book continued to be one of my favorite things. Furst knows how to do a lot with a little. No description is wasted here!
The great thing about Furst's "Night Soldiers" books are that you can really start anywhere in the series without confusion as the books focus on different characters (except for "Red Gold" and "The World at Night." I actually read this book before I read the previous book and still totally understood this one (I do wish that I had read them in the right order merely from the standpoint of being able to see the progression of Casson's character).
Casson is a fascinating character. At first, he starts out wanting to stay out of the fray and to simply live his life without getting too involved. In this book, he cannot help but to be involved. He has a lot of drive and commitment. I really like how Furst is able to change this normal, everyday man into somewhat of a hero. Furst does this with a lot of his characters, which really helps to pull readers into caring about what happens to these people where there is so much more than what meets the eye initially. I did like "The World at Night" a little bit better because we see much more of a change in Casson as well as much greater characterization, another reason that I wish I had read this book after that one.
The world building and setting in this book continued to be one of my favorite things. Furst knows how to do a lot with a little. No description is wasted here!
darwin8u's review
3.0
A decent follow-up to 'The World At Night', 'Red Gold' continues the saga of Jean Casson's struggle to survive both morally and physically in Nazi occupied and collaborating France.
I prefer Furst's novels that center on Eastern European characters ('the Polish Officer', 'Dark Star', 'Night Soldiers') instead of French, but it is hard to deny that even though it isn't a major Furst novel, it is still a highly readable one. Using Jean Casson allows Furst to explore the world of those French collaborators, profiteers, and elites of Pétain's France who refused to see the German occupiers for what they were. Furst clearly demarks the fragmented France that was left after Germany's invasion and the Vichy collaboration.
This novel should be read closely with 'A World at Night'. Like I wrote about that novel, even though I find this to be a minor Furst novel, it is context that matters. Most spy novelists don't approach the art or the skill of a minor Furst novel. So enjoy.
I prefer Furst's novels that center on Eastern European characters ('the Polish Officer', 'Dark Star', 'Night Soldiers') instead of French, but it is hard to deny that even though it isn't a major Furst novel, it is still a highly readable one. Using Jean Casson allows Furst to explore the world of those French collaborators, profiteers, and elites of Pétain's France who refused to see the German occupiers for what they were. Furst clearly demarks the fragmented France that was left after Germany's invasion and the Vichy collaboration.
This novel should be read closely with 'A World at Night'. Like I wrote about that novel, even though I find this to be a minor Furst novel, it is context that matters. Most spy novelists don't approach the art or the skill of a minor Furst novel. So enjoy.