Volk's Game [Preloaded Digital Audio Player]

Brent Ghelfi (Author), Stephen Hoye (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2008

A firefight reverberates through Moscow's dark, rain-soaked streets; shattered glass and screams echo in the air. In the lawless ways of Russia's capital city, the gunmen melt away into the night. Two men are dead, the targets not what they seem. A shadowy figure lopes along the riverbank outside the Kremlin walls. Known to all as Volk, a battle-hardened veteran of Russia's brutal war in Chechnya, he prowls Moscow's grim alleyways, a knife concealed in his prosthetic foot at all times. As both a major player in the black market and a covert agent for the Russian military, Volk serves two masters: Maxim, a psychotic Azeri mafia kingpin with hordes of loyal informers; and a man known only as the General, to whom Volk is mysteriously indebted. By his side is Valya, an exotic beauty charged with protecting her lover from his unsavory associates. Valya is the most dangerous weapon in Volk's arsenal. Together they are commissioned to steal a long-lost da Vinci painting called Leda and the Swan from St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum. Leda's ethereal radiance is undeniably captivating and incalculably dangerous. Volk must choose which powerful man he will betray in order to escape with the painting-and with his life. With the high-octane rush and vivid intensity of a feature film, Volk's Game delivers at every turn, announcing Alexei Volkovoy as the boldest hero of a new generation.

--This text refers to the MP3 CD edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Former attorney Ghelfi's impressive debut introduces a compelling antihero, Alekei "Volk" Volkovoy. A brutal killer maimed in Russia's war against Chechnya, Volk leads two lives—one as a powerful gangster with a hand in virtually all underworld rackets, the other as a covert military operative. When Volk gets the chance to steal a previously unknown Da Vinci painting, Leda and the Swan, which has been concealed beneath another painting in a St. Petersburg museum, Volk enlists the aid of Valya, a beautiful assassin, in plotting the theft. After an ostensible ally sabotages the operation, Volk seeks vengeance. The twists and turns accumulate at an almost dizzying pace, building to a satisfactory resolution. Frederick Forysth fans will appreciate the crisp writing. This thriller could mark the start of a successful long-running series. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Brent Ghelfi writes like Dostoevsky's hooligan great-grandson on speed. Volk's Game is hard, fast, and a truly excellent debut.  Highly recommended."—Lee Child, New York Times bestselling author of The Hard Way

“Volk’s Game is no ordinary thriller: it’s a 500-horsepower Mercedes blasting through the Moscow night. Alexei Volkovoy is the most original thriller character to come down the Russian pike since Arkady Renko, yet he inhabits a Russia that Renko might have difficulty surviving. Volk moves through this frenetically paced novel like an avenging angel in the employ of both God and Satan. Brent Ghelfi’s insights are rapier-sharp, and his prose seems to illuminate the page. Be glad, because you’ll be finishing this novel at four a.m. I’m ready to read the next installment NOW.”—Greg Iles, New York Times bestselling author of Turning Angel

"Everything we look for when we read – freshness of setting, intriguing characters, vivid prose, new understandings – is well and truly here.  Brent Ghelfi may not know Vincente Huidobro’s work, but in his own he does exactly what that poet counseled: Invent new worlds, and be careful what you say."—James Sallis, author of Drive

"Hypnotically suspenseful and ballistic paced, Volk’s Game by Brent Ghelfi is a fascinating journey into the dark world of international intrigue.  From a plot full of surprises to crackling dialogue and often lyrical prose, this masterful debut novel belongs on every thriller-lover's bookshelf."—Gayle Lynds, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Spymaster

"It's rare to find a thriller this fast paced and breathlessly dangerous that is also beautifully written. Ghelfi hits as hard as his hero Volk. Like staring down the barrel of a Sig-Sauer, you ...

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Preloaded Digital Audio Player
• Publisher: Tantor Audio; Unabridged edition (February 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1605146161
• ISBN-13: 978-1605146164
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brutal but engrossing, July 9, 2007

By 

L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Volk's Game: A Novel (Hardcover)

First Sentence: "What do you know about art, Volk?"

Alexei Volkovoy, "Volk," must balance between to masters; Maxim, a Russia mafia kingpin, and The General, to whom Volk is indebted. They command Volk to steal a painting newly found behind another in the basement of the Hermitage. But the theft quickly goes bad. Men are killed, Volk's lover kidnapped and being tortured. Still Volk must retrieve the painting before they kill his lover.

Ghelfi draws a picture of Russia and Red Square that has changed my way of looking at those areas. Alexei Volkovoy, "Volk," is an interesting protagonist. Ghelfi has also done an excellent job in creating Volk, making him a fully-developed character in spite of brutal nature of the story. Volk may not have many scruples, but he does have them. Volk, and his ladyfriend, Valya, are what life, war and survival have made them. The story is unrelentingly dark and does include torture of women but the characters are not nice, law-abiding people. This is not a pleasant book, but it is a good one and I'm not sorry to have read it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fast and thrilling., July 3, 2007

By 

Daniel A. Scott "Just honest!" (Philippi, WV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Volk's Game: A Novel (Hardcover)

This is a fast and thrilling tale of drugs, sex, murder and mayhem. If you like action with intelligence thrown in, then this is for you. Volk is not only tough, he's also smart and a little sadisitic as well, just what this book calls for. Can't wait for his next rampage!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Ambitious Thriller, June 27, 2007

By 

R. Rinaldi (Salt Lake City, UT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Volk's Game: A Novel (Hardcover)

This is a cool thriller -- an action-packed story in an exotic setting with compelling characters. But it is way more than that too. The writing is so good it almost transcends the genre. The author's insights about good and evil in this contradictory "post-postmodern" world are powerful and thought provoking. This novel is almost literary in its ambition to reveal what it means to be human, even in a place and time where just about everything and everyone works to strip humanity away.

And Ghelfi's way with language is hypnotic. Corruption of the soul and human degradation has rarely been so evocatively, even lyrically described. So when reading Volk's Game, you find yourself in the middle of a fast moving page turner, anxious to find out what happens next, but at the same time you want to slow down and linger with each vivid paragraph. It's like stopping for a quick bite at a dingy eatery in the concourse of a faraway airport and discovering a four-star quality meal. To extend the analogy, this novel is a juicy, blood red filet mignon, a carafe of hearty Bordeaux, and a dark (very dark) chocolate soufflé dripping with gooey raspberry sauce. It is so richly rewarding you don't mind taking your time. You can always catch a later flight -- rarely do you get to savor an edifying guilty pleasure like this.