A review by newishpuritan
Kingdom of Shadows by Alan Furst

4.0

3-and-a-half stars. The plot is more episodic even than The Polish Officer. That book reads as a series of short novellas, but at least each of its sections has a clear shape, whereas here the scenes are all largely inconclusive. Obviously this is a feature in Furst, by means of which he is saying something about the nature of intelligence work – or indeed, all work, or even all of human existence. But I find those novels of his with a clearer overarching structure like Dark Star or Blood of Victory most satisfying. The protagonist here is also unique among Furst's heroes in his level of aristocratic privilege, and I personally prefer the novels with shabbier and more marginal figures, again like Dark Star, or the Casson of Red Gold. Also I found the sex scenes here more male gaze-y than usual. But in other respects the writing is superb, and the scenes, while floating separately from each other, are all powerfully and vividly rendered.