Scan barcode
zipperhead's review against another edition
5.0
Another great historical fiction story by Philip Kerr. It has been very interesting reading the Bernard Gunther books and learning about the atrocities of the SS and the Third Reich before and during World War II. I enjoyed the way Bernard Gunther would poke fun at some of the worst men in history.
aharonmims's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
duskk_novels's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
ryno23's review against another edition
4.0
This wasn't my favorite Bernie Gunther book, but it was wild ride.
As an audiobook "read", with all the Russian characters, it was tough to keep everyone straight.
But it was great to hear Bernie audibly go through his thought process, and his always greatly surprising humor.
It was a solid book, but after the midway point, as more Russian characters entered, it got muddled.
But the first half was chilling, and the last couple of chapters were captivating, so it was another very good Philip Kerr novel.
As an audiobook "read", with all the Russian characters, it was tough to keep everyone straight.
But it was great to hear Bernie audibly go through his thought process, and his always greatly surprising humor.
It was a solid book, but after the midway point, as more Russian characters entered, it got muddled.
But the first half was chilling, and the last couple of chapters were captivating, so it was another very good Philip Kerr novel.
jeremyhornik's review against another edition
3.0
Eh... I really was enjoying this for the first 80%. then I put it down for three days, and when I picked it back up, it was a mess. Bernie Gunther, bitter detective, solves some murders around a mass grave in Poland. (The twist... it's not a mass grave of Jews.)
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
RIP Philip Kerr.
A few years ago, my wife and I returned from our honeymoon in Berlin and I discovered the Berlin Noir trilogy. I binged on it and all of Kerr's Bernard Gunther books up to that point, enjoying them at first but eventually getting burnt out of the repetitious coincidences and damsels in distress. The last one I read, Prague Fatale, was probably his best up to that point because it was self-contained instead of spanning decades. Nevertheless, I got a job and discovered other writers and put Kerr's work to the side for a bit.
Then when I heard about Kerr's unexpected death last week, I remembered that I had this book on iBooks and decided to pour into it. It was like meeting up with a long lost friend.
The extended break I took from Kerr's work was good because I found returning to it refreshing. Kerr has a great sense of history and walks a delicate line of ambiguity with his main character. After all, it is impossible to write about a participant in Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht as a good guy and Kerr knows better. Gunther is still presented as a man who has to make difficult decisions to try and do what can be considered the right thing. He doesn't always do it but it's the way he labors that makes these books compelling.
There are still some obnoxious tics. Kerr has never been great at writing women and this one here, existing solely as a love interest for Gunther and nothing more, is weak even by his standards. There's also a bit of a deus ex machina ending of which I was not a big fan of.
But on the whole, I was deeply immersed in this and I'm glad to have rediscovered the series. I look forward to checking out the rest of it, as there is sadly a finite number on how many Gunther books are left.
A few years ago, my wife and I returned from our honeymoon in Berlin and I discovered the Berlin Noir trilogy. I binged on it and all of Kerr's Bernard Gunther books up to that point, enjoying them at first but eventually getting burnt out of the repetitious coincidences and damsels in distress. The last one I read, Prague Fatale, was probably his best up to that point because it was self-contained instead of spanning decades. Nevertheless, I got a job and discovered other writers and put Kerr's work to the side for a bit.
Then when I heard about Kerr's unexpected death last week, I remembered that I had this book on iBooks and decided to pour into it. It was like meeting up with a long lost friend.
The extended break I took from Kerr's work was good because I found returning to it refreshing. Kerr has a great sense of history and walks a delicate line of ambiguity with his main character. After all, it is impossible to write about a participant in Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht as a good guy and Kerr knows better. Gunther is still presented as a man who has to make difficult decisions to try and do what can be considered the right thing. He doesn't always do it but it's the way he labors that makes these books compelling.
There are still some obnoxious tics. Kerr has never been great at writing women and this one here, existing solely as a love interest for Gunther and nothing more, is weak even by his standards. There's also a bit of a deus ex machina ending of which I was not a big fan of.
But on the whole, I was deeply immersed in this and I'm glad to have rediscovered the series. I look forward to checking out the rest of it, as there is sadly a finite number on how many Gunther books are left.
rfkmartin's review against another edition
3.0
spent far too much time in the set up. seemed like it also tried too hard to be hard-boiled noir and suffered from some sort of babel translation. the first half of the book took a month and the last half took less than a week. interesting from a historical perspective but at times it felt like the author was trying to impress the reader with his knowledge of the eastern front. and the romantic fling felt a bit forced.
salomeja's review against another edition
3.0
Kokia atmosfera! Toks geras retro stiliaus detektyvas, iššaukiantis daugybę kinematografiškų vaizdinių. Vos vos primena Raymond Chandler.
Pagrindinis veikėjas čia yra vokiečių karo policininkas Bernis Giunteris. Jo užduotis – tirti karo nusikaltimus. Tiek didesnius, tiek mažesnius. Jis gali pasiųsti savo šalies karius į kartuves už tai, kad jie išprievartavo ir nužudė „priešų“ valstietes. Ne pats dėkingiausias darbas.
Šioje knygoje Giunteriui tenka ypatinga užduotis, kuriai teoriškai vadovauja propagandos ministras Gėbelsas. Vokiečių užimtame Smolenske atrasta masinė kapavietė ir reikia įrodyti, kad ten palaidoti rusų nužudyti Lenkijos kariškiai. Vokietijai tai yra šansas besti pirštu į kitą ir šiek tiek sušvelninti savo pačios nusikaltimus pasaulio akyse.
Vykdydamas užduotį Giunteris taip pat turi ištirti ir dar keletą žmogžudysčių, susijusių su pasikėsinimais į Hitlerį.
Stiprioji šios knygos pusė yra atmosfera. Tas tamsus noir. Ir Giunteris su savo cinizmu. Tiesa, labiausiai jis reiškėsi knygos pradžioje, po to lyg nugaravo. Stiprus veikėjas, kurio poelgiai jautresnius gali ir šokiruoti. Beje, skaičiau skaičiau ir galvojau, o kur bent viena moteris? Juk tokiose atmosferiniuose kūriniuose turi būti kažkokia, su garbana ant kaktos ir ryškiai raudonomis lūpomis. Atsirado, bet jos vaidmuo taip ir liko miglotas.
Beje, „Bedvasis“ yra devintoji Giunterio serijos dalis. Atrodo, kad jas galima skaityti ir kaip atskiras, bet įtariu, kad per ankstesnes knygas Giunterio personažas turėjo labiau atsiskleisti. Kartais taip būna, kad istorija nutyli, bet iš seniau žinai, kažkokius charakterio bruožus ar esminius gyvenimo įvykius.
Ir dar. Tai dar vienas požiūrio kampas į tam tikrus istorinius įvykius. Noriu dar.
Pagrindinis veikėjas čia yra vokiečių karo policininkas Bernis Giunteris. Jo užduotis – tirti karo nusikaltimus. Tiek didesnius, tiek mažesnius. Jis gali pasiųsti savo šalies karius į kartuves už tai, kad jie išprievartavo ir nužudė „priešų“ valstietes. Ne pats dėkingiausias darbas.
Šioje knygoje Giunteriui tenka ypatinga užduotis, kuriai teoriškai vadovauja propagandos ministras Gėbelsas. Vokiečių užimtame Smolenske atrasta masinė kapavietė ir reikia įrodyti, kad ten palaidoti rusų nužudyti Lenkijos kariškiai. Vokietijai tai yra šansas besti pirštu į kitą ir šiek tiek sušvelninti savo pačios nusikaltimus pasaulio akyse.
Vykdydamas užduotį Giunteris taip pat turi ištirti ir dar keletą žmogžudysčių, susijusių su pasikėsinimais į Hitlerį.
Stiprioji šios knygos pusė yra atmosfera. Tas tamsus noir. Ir Giunteris su savo cinizmu. Tiesa, labiausiai jis reiškėsi knygos pradžioje, po to lyg nugaravo. Stiprus veikėjas, kurio poelgiai jautresnius gali ir šokiruoti. Beje, skaičiau skaičiau ir galvojau, o kur bent viena moteris? Juk tokiose atmosferiniuose kūriniuose turi būti kažkokia, su garbana ant kaktos ir ryškiai raudonomis lūpomis. Atsirado, bet jos vaidmuo taip ir liko miglotas.
Beje, „Bedvasis“ yra devintoji Giunterio serijos dalis. Atrodo, kad jas galima skaityti ir kaip atskiras, bet įtariu, kad per ankstesnes knygas Giunterio personažas turėjo labiau atsiskleisti. Kartais taip būna, kad istorija nutyli, bet iš seniau žinai, kažkokius charakterio bruožus ar esminius gyvenimo įvykius.
Ir dar. Tai dar vienas požiūrio kampas į tam tikrus istorinius įvykius. Noriu dar.
smartipants8's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know why I'm in this slump and reading so slow. I used to blow through a book like this in a few days. Anyway, it was entertaining and better than the one of his I read about Argentina. The old snappy Gunther was back. And I learned some stuff.