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The Assassins

Alan Bardos

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May 06, 2019 Gary Haynes rated it really liked it

Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, are assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914. This fascinating novel takes this momentous historical event, which led to the outbreak of the Great War, as the framework upon which to construct layers of well-researched historical background and entertaining fictional analysis. But Bardos does so much more than mixing historical fact with fiction to bring about his punchy plot. There is real tension and laser-like insight here.

Woven into the ill-fated lives of th Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, are assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914. This fascinating novel takes this momentous historical event, which led to the outbreak of the Great War, as the framework upon which to construct layers of well-researched historical background and entertaining fictional analysis. But Bardos does so much more than mixing historical fact with fiction to bring about his punchy plot. There is real tension and laser-like insight here.

Woven into the ill-fated lives of the archduke and the assassins, is the fictional story of Johnny Swift, a member of the British Diplomatic Corps. Swift is a somewhat flawed hero, who has both nail-biting run-ins with Balkan revolutionaries and entertaining discourses with the likes of Leo Trotsky. After he is sent on the impossible task of infiltrating the cell plotting the assassination, following an affair with his superior’s wife, his dangerous mission uncovers what for me was the most interesting aspect of the novel. Although many people know the basic historical facts, I for one had no grasp of the detail, especially in respect of the rationale for the assassination, the characters involved, nor the manner of its planning. What is also interesting is that it almost failed and could have been thwarted, and the reader is left pondering how many lives would have been saved if the assassins had failed.

Swift’s exciting exploits, which do not dampen his penchant for gambling and womanising, get to the bottom of the assassins’ revolutionary zeal in a satisfying manner. Although he is somewhat unsympathetic, he is nonetheless favourable in comparison. But even the assassins are not drawn wholly without sympathy. There is much nuance and shades of grey in respect of all the main characters, fictional and otherwise, and this gives the novel a real sense of believability. This is not an alternative history; but even though we know the outcome, the playing out of in the narrative is no less thrilling.

Bardos writes rhythmically and passionately about his subject, and not without a fair smattering of welcomed humour. The novel works not least because the author clearly has a firm grasp of the underlying historical detail. It appears, in fact, flawlessly researched. My one minor criticism is that infrequently the historical detail could have been brought fully to life via a more lyrical style.
Part historical fiction, part thriller and part love story, this is a compelling and entertaining read.
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Aug 20, 2021 Zare marked it as to-read

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