The Svalbard Passage: A Novel

This is quite a good adventure/espionage novel. Nothing stunning here though. We have Cold War adversaries, an interesting setting, a love story in the middle of the confrontation, and small, but exceptional, people making a different in geopolitical matters. Not sure how popular this book was in the day, but I see copies from time to time. Interest in Svalbard got me to read the book. It's a quick read, good for the train or airplane.

This book to my thinking does something revolutionary: it synthesizes the best of British, American and European fiction. Perhaps this is because it has two authors, one European and the other American. Before I get into the book, let me give you an idea what I mean. British spy novels are often very well written and most amusing. But they are so British and so quirky that if you haven't spend a great deal of time in England, you will be reading a lot of things that seem a bit meaningless. European fiction is always well written, but it tends to be so deep and demanding of the reader that when you are tired and in need of entertainment, you often feel as if you are being asked to take part in a mental iron-man competition. Then there's American thriller fiction. It's certainly entertaining in the sense that you keep turning the pages. But the bestselling authors I've read are appallingly bad writers, the stories are contrived and banal, the characters are cardboard vehicles for the action, the plots follow a predictable formula and you finish the book wishing you had done the iron-man thing after all. Here's where the Svalbard Passage is different. You keep on turning the pages, you're never bored or forced to think too hard when you wish to relax. Yet when you finish you realize you've been taken on an incredible journey - and I mean, in every sense. This novel is like Thirteen Days in that it gives you a glimpse into the way politics really is. It's fiction, of course. There are Norwegian and American officials that avoid the stereotypes, there is an American professor and an obstinate but beautiful German journalist, there are two Russian characters whose descriptions are on a par with those done by the best British authors and there's the spectacular scenery of Svalbard. I, as a Norwegian, know this part of the world well, as do the authors. But most incredible is the story. It has the entertainment quality of an American thriller, the fine writing and unforgettable if quirky descriptiveness of an English story and the real-life depth (no predictable formulas here) of a work of European literature. You can't do a whole lot better than this. I commend the authors and urge you to read the novel. It's an experience you won't soon forget.

As someone who has daily contact with theWashington bureaucracy, I have to say, this is a very realistic and scary novel. I don't know Norway at all, but I feel after reading this book that I've spent years there. In fact, I intend to go now. You will too, I imagine, after you immerse yourself in these incredibly vivid and scenic descriptions of a place so beautiful I can only hope it's for real. The book is about how we almost went to war, due not to any fierce desire on anyone's part but as a result of misunderstandings. The action reminded me of a couple of trains going opposite directions on the same track. The problem was, both drivers had died and no one could control the trains. There was a wreck coming, and you didn't know like you usually do in a thriller type book if it would happen or not. The love story was pretty terrific. It was an American guy and German girl. I think I'm going to try my luck with European women! The Russians were absolute incredible. I'll never forget a guy named Obruchev and you won't either if you read this book. I hope you will. It's a thriller that comes back to haunt you day after day. It makes you realize a lot can happen out there you probably consider impossible. You have a great time while you're reading but you don't walk away when you've finished wishing you had done something else! Wow, is all I can think to say.