Deeply disappointed after all the exuberant reviews. I didn't like his writing style which consisted of far too many sentence fragments, or incomplete sentences, or whatever you call them. Used sparingly they can have an effect. But used all the time they become annoying -- at least they did to me.

The plot was OK, ho hum. It started out so-so and then petered out. Why go to so much trouble and loss to save that sargeant if only to learn his story? It wasn't much of a story -- certainly no useful information. Many plot elements didn't hold up well. I guess that's the price you pay for reading so many non-fiction secret agent/spy stories. The real ones make the fictional ones look very pale. I did get to the end, but it was a race to finish so I could go on to something else.

I must add something after reading some of the other reviews. What this book does do is give a background of the war that many others do not -- what the Polish government and people did, how Poland and Russia and Germany related to each other. Most books written from the viewpoint of the West do not bring in the viewpoint of the East. ( )

Alan Furst is the King of the noir World War II espionage novel. His characters, brave, cynical, but still full of human compassion are unforgettable, and he captures the murky atmosphere of Eastern Europe perfectly. In this novel we follow Captain Alexander de Milja from transporting all the gold in the Polish treasury to the West, to working as a spy in occupied France, to a desk job with the Polish government in exile in London, to finally back on the Eastern front taking a last stand against the Whermacht. It’s not going to end well for him we sense, but we know that he is a brave man of principle. I can’t wait to read another one of his books. ( )

Good, but not up to the best in this series. The coincidences are a little too improbable. The character depth is not a strong. ( )

Excellent story about a Polish military officer who becomes a spy during WW II. The details paint scenes and actions well without being too obtrusive or overly done. The characterizations present characters, even minor characters, in enough detail to get a real impression of them. The action moves all across Europe during WW II and tells a compelling and suspenseful story. ( )

A little more eventful than "Dark Voyage," but choppy, meandering, many intense scenes and people left hanging. "Night Soldiers" was so good, I've given Furst more of a chance. But, these last two have left me uninterested, Voyage and Officer. Still, will always recommend Soldiers. ( )