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Dark Voyage: A Novel (Paperback)

by Alan Furst (Author) "IN THE PORT OF TANGIER, ON THE LAST DAY OF APRIL, 1941, THE FALL of the Mediterranean evening was, as always, subtle and slow..." (more)
Key Phrases: speaker tube, bridge wing, eleven knots, Santa Rosa, Van Dyck, Maria Bromen (more...)

3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (41 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
A new historical espionage thriller by Alan Furst is always cause for celebration, and in his eighth novel, the talented writer who's made a particular time and place his own--Europe on the eve of World War II--takes his fortunate readers aboard the tramp ship Noordendam. Its captain, E.M. DeHaan, is recruited by Dutch Naval Intelligence to smuggle arms and spies past the watchful eyes of the German Navy. Like most of Furst's protagonists, DeHaan is at first a reluctant hero, certain that disguising the Noordendam as a Spanish freighter flying the flag of a neutral nation that won't attract the attention of the Nazi authorities will never work. The plot takes DeHaan, his crew and a handful of passengers that include a refugee family, a beautiful woman, and a mysterious Russian through the dangerous waters of the Mediterranean, the North Sea, and the Baltic. Putting DeHaan ashore in the exotic port cities affords Furst an opportunity to evoke the sights, smells and atmosphere of Alexandria's waterfront alleys, Lisbon's intrigue-filled cafes, and Tangier's shadowy souks, which he does with consummate skill. Maintaining a measured but never lagging pace, Furst takes the Noordendam on its final dangerous voyage past the Baltic Fleet in a tour de force by a writer who's inherited the mantle of Eric Ambler and Graham Greene and wears it as if it had been custom tailored for him. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
It's no secret by now that Furst is a superlative chronicler of World War II, and his new novel is a splendid addition to an accomplished body of work that includes The Polish Officer and the bestselling Blood of Victory. His mastery of the atmosphere of that era—its brusque heroes and heroines, its sudden explosions of violence, its strange black glamour—is the fruit of tireless research and an empathetic imagination. His hero this time around is a blunt Dutch sea captain, E.M. DeHaan, whose sturdy but aging merchant vessel is pressed into service on behalf of the British Navy by the exiled Dutch naval intelligence group in London. Disguising his boat as a neutral Spanish freighter, DeHaan somberly and grudgingly takes it several times into harm's way, ferrying British commandos on a North African raid, taking munitions to the beleaguered British garrison on Crete and then, most dangerous of all, on a secret mission to Sweden's Baltic coast. The marine details are so authentic the reader can smell the oil and the brine, and the characters who come aboard and into the captain's life—a valuable Polish naval officer in exile, a Jewish refugee who becomes the ship's doctor, a Russian woman journalist fleeing the Soviets, with whom DeHaan enjoys a brief and dry-eyed romance—are sketched with concise brilliance. The book casts such a spell with its exact evocations of time, place and language that one could swear Furst was a Brit writing out of his own experience in 1941 rather than an American writing today.
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.

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Product Details

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks (May 31, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0812967968
ISBN-13: 978-0812967968
Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (41 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #42,786 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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First Sentence:
IN THE PORT OF TANGIER, ON THE LAST DAY OF APRIL, 1941, THE FALL of the Mediterranean evening was, as always, subtle and slow. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
speaker tube, bridge wing, eleven knots, mess boy, port office, radio room

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Santa Rosa, Van Dyck, Maria Bromen, Cap Bon, Hyperion Line, Leutnant Schumpel, Miss Bromen, North State, Royal Navy, Major Sims, North Africa, Rio de Oro, Royal Dutch Navy, Divine Service, Herr Kolb, Reina Cristina, Villa de France, Finally Kees, Great War, Mexico City, North Sea

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 22 books:

Night Soldiers: A Novel by Alan Furst in Front Matter, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
Kingdom of Shadows by Alan Furst in Front Matter, and Back Matter
Dark Star: A Novel by Alan Furst in Front Matter, and Back Matter
Red Gold: A Novel by Alan Furst in Front Matter, and Back Matter
Blood of Victory: A Novel by Alan Furst in Front Matter, and Back Matter

See all 22 books this book cites

2 books cite this book:

Night Soldiers: A Novel by Alan Furst in Front Matter, and Back Matter
Dark Star: A Novel by Alan Furst in Back Matter

Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Memoirs of Service Afloat During the War Between the States by Raphael Semmes

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Customer Reviews

41 Reviews

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3.8 out of 5 stars (41 customer reviews)

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33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Furst's Dark World at War Goes to Sea, October 20, 2004

By	Leonard Fleisig "Len" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Dark Voyage: A Novel (Hardcover)

Dark Voyage represents something of a departure from Alan Furst's previous series of historical spy novels set in Europe just before and during the Second World War. Typically, Furst's novels are land-based and are set in cafes, bars, and furtive meeting places in Bucharest, Prague, Berlin, and Paris. His protagonists are typically Polish, Rumanian, Russian, and French �migr�s or refugees caught in a tangled web of espionage, and counter-espionage as the NKVD and other underground groups do battle with the Nazis. Deceit is the rule, not the exception. It is a world of night and dark shadows.

Dark Voyage, at least on the surface, is a bit different. Dark Voyage is not set amongst the smoky bistros of occupied Paris, Bucharest, or Warsaw. The action is set at sea, on board the M/V Noordendam, a Dutch cargo ship captained by Eric deHaan. The Noordendam, an aging tramp steamer nearing the end of its useful life at sea, is pressed into service by the Royal Navy. DeHaan and his crew and and passengers, including a Polish engineer, a Jewish medical orderly fleeing the Nazis, a beautiful Russian `journalist' fleeing in fear from her Soviet bosses, and others are asked to undertake three missions, each one more dangerous than the last. The Noordendam, repainted and sailing under the colors of a sunken, neutral Spanish merchant ship, the M/V Santa Rosa delivers munitions and supplies to the British Expeditionary Forces in Crete; transports British commandos to conduct a raid on the North African Coast in Tunisia; and then up through the Baltic Sea on a secret mission that could save Britain from annihilation during the blitz.

Despite this difference in setting the essential elements that render Furst's novels so downright enjoyable remain in place. First, Furst has never painted his characters in a superficial black-and-white way. His `heroes' are flawed and their motivation is often as self-interested as those of the `villains'. Furst's evocation of his characters is both subtle and nuanced. The Nazis were, in fact, true villains but the battles waged against them were not always undertaken by knights in shining armor but by incredibly flawed, if well-intentioned human beings. Second, Furst's prose is not at all tendentious or overly self-important. He paints extraordinarily vivid word pictures that capture not just the light but, more importantly, the shadows of a world engulfed in a horrible war. Third, life is not full of happy-endings. Not every story has the type of closure one might hope for. Furst does not go for cheap endings. The story may end, not always happily, but it is clear that the life of his characters will go on. The reader may hunger for more as he or she hits the last page, but for Furst at least, our endings are ahead of us. The war goes on and so must the lives of his characters.

Some have expressed disappointment in this novel or indicated that it does not quite live up to the high standards one has come to expect from Furst. I respectfully disagree. Heightened expectations often lead to disappointment. I think the high expectations one sets for a writer of Furst's caliber often leads to disappointment when each novel is not markedly better than the last. I, for one, enjoyed this book as much as his previous work. The setting and cast of characters was different to be sure but the quality of Furst's writing and his ability to tell a compelling story remains unchanged. I enjoyed this work.

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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark, shadowy, excellent -- and nautical, August 6, 2004

By	Bruce Trinque (Amston, CT United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Dark Voyage: A Novel (Hardcover)

Alan Furst's literary domain is Europe -- mostly eastern and central Europe -- in those few years on either side of 1939, when Europe stood on the brink of World War Two and then plunged headlong into chaos. What is most enticing about Furst's works is that he creates such a convincing atmosphere that breathes with the life of that place and time. I am one of those readers who habitually translate the printed page into mental picture, and in the case of Furst's novels I find the movie playing in my mind to be appropriately in cinematic black and white. I half expect Peter Lorre to be lurking in a dark doorway or Sidney Greenstreet to be behind that beaded curtain.

Alan Furst's new book, "Dark Voyage", is from the familiar period and area -- 1941 Europe -- but there is something of a departure this time around in that the primary setting is a ship, the Dutch tramp steamer Noordendam under the command of Eric DeHaan, ship and captain pressed into the service of the Naval Intelligence arm of the Dutch Government in exile, clandestinely transporting under false colors people and material to wherever orders require. The cast of characters, as always, is a mixture of diverse and uncertain nationalities, appropriate in an era when nationalities themselves were shifting at the whim of events. I found "Dark Voyage" to be a compelling, if episodic, reading experience as the weary Dutch freighter and her weary crew go about the dark business of a shadow war.

Furst's book are not a series, although a minor character in one book may turn up as the central figure in another, and can generally be read without any particular order. And for those of you who are familiar with Furst's novels, yes, Table Fourteen at the Brasserie Heininger in Paris does make its customary appearance.

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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Furst Rate!, March 8, 2005

By	Larry Scantlebury (Ypsilanti, MI United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Dark Voyage: A Novel (Hardcover)

You have to like this period of time. I don't mean "like" in the sense that it held the permissive excitement of the roaring twenties or the emotional promiscuity of the sixties, but 'like'as in fascinated. Like as in haunted. Like as in troubled.

Additionally, it is the true Armageddon of our memory, of our time. Hitler and Stalin ARE the evil empire and should they be victorious, the world would be oh so different than it is now.

Finally, I think if you read about that time, whether it's the novels of Deaver or Diehl or Woods on the one hand or the extraordinary Beevor's "Stalingrad" and "The Fall of Berlin," or Ambrose' "Easy Company" or Ryan's "D-Day," one gets the sense that for the Europeans, it wan't all black and white and no, John Wayne and Robert Mitchum didn't epitomize it. Nor Metro Goldwyn Mayer.

So Alan Furst brings to the table a series of novels not in black and white but in gray. Where the characters are motivated by doing the right thing but, where is that damn right thing? And how much of this morality do I have to extrapolate? And are there situational ethics that no one's written about? And do my handlers really care if I win or not, or just that I put on "a bloody good show, mate." And what is winning, anyhow? Is it living? On some days, is it just surviving?

Here Eric DeHaan, Ship's Captain, is seduced by Dutch Naval Intelligence. Well, "seduced" implies some volition on his part and clearly, if at all, there is little. His ship, the M/V Noordendam, will be used not so much for tramp steaming but to change it's name to the Santa Rosa, a South American steamer bearing an uncanny resemblance to the Noordendam, and carry men and material to be used against the Nazi effort. Which by now is most of Europe. Captain DeHaan needn't worry about this duplicity because the Santa Rosa, the real one, is stuck in port in South America with repair work taking at a minimum of several months. So right off the bat, you have to know both women are going to go to the same Oscar party wearing the same gown. At some point.

DeHaan sails off to join a British convoy which as you recall from your history is the chickens strolling before the foxes, ripe, target rich plucking for the German Wolfpack. DeHaan's crew is very well described not as misfits but, let's use the current phrase, diverse.

There's actually three stories here, the British convoy trip followed by two others. I didn't mind this. Although loosely related they all carried the common thread of DeHaan sucked along this vortex of espionage that he is uncertain if his handlers understand.

DeHaan is as "everyman" as Captain John Miller in "Ryan" or Lieutenant Winters in "Easy Company." Every once in awhile he wants to ask 'how did I get here?'

Bars on the waterfronts of Alexandria and Lisbon, love affairs with compromised women and friendships with on again off again friends. Like the old gameshow, Who do you Trust?

Excellent work by Mr. Furst. Well worth the read. 5 Stars. Larry Scantlebury

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4.0 out of 5 stars Great writing ...
A friend gave me this book to read and I thought it was great writing throughout ... the author is no novice ... Read more

Published 8 months ago by Charlie Stella

4.0 out of 5 stars a good read
For those wishing a good WWII historical/spy yarn, this is a good one. Not a racy, slick style or superhero characters, but a good, thoughtful story about a time and a place worth... Read more

Published 9 months ago by L. Blachar

1.0 out of 5 stars Too Slow
I had high expectations after reading reviews of Furst books, and chose Dark Voyage. I gave up after page 30- nothing had happened- lots of dialog from people sitting around-... Read more

Published 12 months ago by A. B. Waugh

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Rigorously Researched Spy Novel
Alan Furst's books are all set between 1935-1945. Although technically "spy" novels, Furst's novels might just as easily be considered historical fiction. Read more

Published 13 months ago by Donald Gallinger

4.0 out of 5 stars Time reading this novel is time well spent
Slow and atmospheric in the first half. Then picks up speed and excitement in the second half. Reminds me a lot of the Jan de Hartog sea stories. Read more

Published 22 months ago by Kathryn R. Sullivan

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Novel
Very genuine for this reviewer, who was a WWII tanker and freighter merchant marine seaman. Of course I never had any exerience like those in Dark Voyage but the book rang very... Read more

Published on June 7, 2007 by Robert H. Silk

4.0 out of 5 stars The common destinies of small lives in a big war
Let's stipulate that this is not Alan Furst's best novel. I think Furst did himself a great disservice with a truncated and inelegant last page, but maybe what I am about to write... Read more

Published on December 7, 2006 by Riley P.

4.0 out of 5 stars Furst 'at sea' on the water
Alan Furst takes his story away from his usual haunts to the deck of the Dutch tramp steamer the Noordendam and the waters of the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas. Captain E. Read more

Published on July 15, 2006 by Douglas S. Wood

4.0 out of 5 stars Adventure of a Tramp Steamer During WW2
Sometimes you find it hard to explain to other people why you read a certain author. Alan Furst is one of these authors. Read more

Published on June 15, 2006 by Grey Wolffe

4.0 out of 5 stars Espionage at Sea
"Dark Voyage" takes readers to uncharted waters in this edition of Alan Furst's tales of espionage in Europe. Read more

Published on April 12, 2006 by Prauge Traveler

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