binstonbirchill's review against another edition
4.0
This is the second Bernie Gunther novel I've read and I'm starting to like the series quite a bit. Of course there are a few cliches 'love interests abound' but the strength of this book is the historical context. Gunther travels all over Europe and each and every stop is littered with period details and, of course, Nazis & Bolsheviks.
jimmypat's review against another edition
2.0
The worst Bernie Gunther novel yet, by a long stretch. The last few books have been middle of the road, but still entertaining. This book was drop dead boring and read like nonfiction and not hard boiled crime. Very disappointing.
jefecarpenter's review
3.0
Loved the first 20 pages. Got bogged down then, and skipped through to the last 50 which were great.
didactylos's review
2.0
Too disjointed a narrative and way way too complicated. This one overreaches itself.
tuomosuominen's review
4.0
"Field Gray" left me with three major takeaways: a filling in of gaps previously left open in the Bernie Gunther timeline; a cold war spy game in John Le Carré’s or Len Deighton’s tradition; and the realisation that Bernie Gunther must be the most unfortunate protagonist of crime thrillers ever.
Although technically book #7 in the currently nine part series, this is the conclusion of the Bernie Gunther series. Philip Kerr leaves the ending open enough to allow for a continuation of the post-WWII story arc of the "rebooted" series consisting of "The One From the Other" (#4), “A Quiet Flame” (#5) and ”If the Dead Rise Not" (#6). Personally, I would welcome one more volume that would conclude Bernie’s and Elisabeth’s story.
"Field Gray" continues the new structure of the rebooted series, using interplay between earlier and later plot lines. Picking up where “If the Dead Rise Not” ends (Cuba, 1954), the book switches between the years 1940-1946 and a quite fantastic Cold War story set in Europe, 1954.
Since I was reading the series in the order of the year the books are set, I had a couple of wishlist items for Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series. “Prague Fatale" (book #8 in the series, set in 1941) included references to Gunther having been stationed in Paris after the German occupation in 1940, and "Field Gray" fills that gap. I also hoped Kerr would cover Gunther’s end of WWII, the gap between 1943-1947 left open in earlier books, and now that’s also done.
Having already read “Prague Fatale” and “A Man Without Breath” (book #9, set in 1943), I have now finished the Bernie Gunther series as published up to now, and apparently there will be a new Bernie Gunther book in 2015, apparently to be called “The Lady from Zagreb”, set in 1942. Although I haven’t been too excited by “Prague Fatale” and “A Man Without Breath”, I’ll of course be reading “The Lady from Zagreb” as soon as it’s available.
Until then, sadly letting go of one of the greatest thriller series I’ve read.
And this being yet another Audible release, kudos to Paul Hecht for a great reading!
Although technically book #7 in the currently nine part series, this is the conclusion of the Bernie Gunther series. Philip Kerr leaves the ending open enough to allow for a continuation of the post-WWII story arc of the "rebooted" series consisting of "The One From the Other" (#4), “A Quiet Flame” (#5) and ”If the Dead Rise Not" (#6). Personally, I would welcome one more volume that would conclude Bernie’s and Elisabeth’s story.
"Field Gray" continues the new structure of the rebooted series, using interplay between earlier and later plot lines. Picking up where “If the Dead Rise Not” ends (Cuba, 1954), the book switches between the years 1940-1946 and a quite fantastic Cold War story set in Europe, 1954.
Since I was reading the series in the order of the year the books are set, I had a couple of wishlist items for Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series. “Prague Fatale" (book #8 in the series, set in 1941) included references to Gunther having been stationed in Paris after the German occupation in 1940, and "Field Gray" fills that gap. I also hoped Kerr would cover Gunther’s end of WWII, the gap between 1943-1947 left open in earlier books, and now that’s also done.
Having already read “Prague Fatale” and “A Man Without Breath” (book #9, set in 1943), I have now finished the Bernie Gunther series as published up to now, and apparently there will be a new Bernie Gunther book in 2015, apparently to be called “The Lady from Zagreb”, set in 1942. Although I haven’t been too excited by “Prague Fatale” and “A Man Without Breath”, I’ll of course be reading “The Lady from Zagreb” as soon as it’s available.
Until then, sadly letting go of one of the greatest thriller series I’ve read.
And this being yet another Audible release, kudos to Paul Hecht for a great reading!
myrdyr's review against another edition
4.0
3.5/5 stars. While I still enjoy reading about Bernie, this latest edition to the series has really gotten away from its roots. Some of the classifications Goodreads uses for Field Gray are mystery, crime, and thriller. I don't know if I would really consider this book to be any of these. It's definitely not a mystery; crimes happen, but I don't think I would classify it as a crime book, and, in my opinion, the action didn't really make it into thriller territory. This book also felt incredibly long. I would read and read and read and think I must be close to the end only to discover I still had about 2/3 left to go. This seemed to happen every time I picked the book up. This book would appeal to people reading through the series who are happy to learn more about Bernie's life and experiences or to people interested in historical fiction covering this time period. Otherwise, I don't know how captivated the average person would be.
capital_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
beuckelssen's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
graff_fuller's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The continuing travails of Bernie Gunther. Unfortunately...I had to skip one book to get to this one. Our library has eleven of the fourteen book series. I really cannot complain. I will circle back, eventually...to read the three other books.
This story takes place mostly in Europe, but I was surprised to see that Bernie got to New York (sort of).
The Americans in these stories are not seen as the highest in quality, but then again, he's dealing with the CIA and the FBI...so I doubt we'd feel kindly to them either...being put in Bernies' shoes.
I really enjoyed the twist/reveal in this story. So often, Bernie is the butt of the most of the jokes, and this time, it was good that there was some payback.
Bernie is not a perfect person, and I have to say that I don't agree with him in a number of areas, but he is a moral person...which gets him in trouble a LOT of the time...but then again, it is what keeps him on the side of RIGHT, more often than wrong.
Will be picking up the next book, soon.
This story takes place mostly in Europe, but I was surprised to see that Bernie got to New York (sort of).
The Americans in these stories are not seen as the highest in quality, but then again, he's dealing with the CIA and the FBI...so I doubt we'd feel kindly to them either...being put in Bernies' shoes.
I really enjoyed the twist/reveal in this story. So often, Bernie is the butt of the most of the jokes, and this time, it was good that there was some payback.
Bernie is not a perfect person, and I have to say that I don't agree with him in a number of areas, but he is a moral person...which gets him in trouble a LOT of the time...but then again, it is what keeps him on the side of RIGHT, more often than wrong.
Will be picking up the next book, soon.