Masaryk Station

A John Russell Thriller, Book 6

By: David Downing

Narrated by: Michael Healy

Berlin, early 1948: The city, still occupied by the four Allied powers, still largely in ruins, has become the cockpit of a new Cold War, and as spring unfolds its German inhabitants live in fear of the Soviets enforcing a Western withdrawal. Here, as elsewhere in Europe, the legacies of the War have become entangled in the new Soviet-American conflict, creating a world of bizarre and fleeting loyalties, a paradise for spies.

John Russell works for both Stalin’s NKVD and the newly-created CIA. He does as little for either as he can safely get away with, and between the tawdry tasks they set him - assessing dubious defectors in Trieste, running a spy ring in a Berlin VD clinic, rescuing ex-Nazis who might prove useful from Czechoslovakia - he seeks a way to cut himself loose.

His partner Effi Koenen has an easier time, starring in a popular radio series and looking after their adopted daughter Rosa, until a woman she helped save in the War turns up on her doorstep, and admits to a child she left behind all those years before, a child now trapped behind the new iron curtain.

©2013 David Downing (P)2013 AudioGO

Poor narration

Michael Healy has a perfectly good speaking voice, but his performance did not suit the material. Too much upspeak—not emotive enough. He sounded like he was narrating a children’s book.

Deserves a better reader

I can't imagine a narrator less interested in the material he was reading than this one. He made almost no effort to differentiate among the characters with voice, inflection, accent, dynamics -- i.e., acting. Nor did he even try to properly pronounce the myriad of foreign names and phrases sprinkled throughout the book.I've read all of David Downing's excellent John Russell novels that depict the intrigues, human and political, that formed, deformed, and reformed the German experience before, during, and after World War II. This latest installment stands tall among them.

the narrator is OK

Any additional comments?

The narrator, Michael Healy, has been severely criticized by other listeners. I could find fault with his performance too. His pronunciation of German words is terrible, which is forgivable in a foreigner, though I can't imagine how he gets "Luther" out of "Lothar" and not only because the "h" is not pronounced in that context in German. But he is certainly not "droning," as one reviewer put it. I, too, was somewhat put off at the beginning, but I think that was only because his style was different from the earlier, excellent narrators. Or maybe it just took him a while to get into the story. In any case, he did get into it and made the story interesting.

Regarding the story itself, it becomes clear that Russell (and probably Downing too) is an ardent socialist. As a free market capitalist sharply opposed to socialism, I was offended by the moral equivalency drawn between Soviets and Americans. Although that comes out to some degree in earlier novels, it is the principal theme of this one. That was ideologically offensive to me, but don't let it turn you off. If you are not a fan of socialism already, you learn a lot about how those of that persuasion think and, most importantly, how that played into mid-20th century history.

Worst narrator ever: couldn't tell Effie from John

Worst narrator ever: couldn't discern Effie from John. He seemed bored. The many transitions were poorly done. I loved all the previous books in this series, but will quit if Healy is the reader.

Much better than the 3.7 average review

First, this is the last book in the series. Book 7 is actually a prequel and really should be read first. I was expecting the narration to be monotone and poor based on previous reviews. The story is compelling enough to overcome any adjustment the listener has to make with this narrator. Five minutes into the story, I had completely adjusted to the narrator. For American readers, it is sometimes difficult to hear that your country is less than perfect - this book has a British overtone and typically the Brits tend to have a superior perspective on their place in the world, perhaps justifiably so. This is a good story overall and provides insight into Germany’s experiment with socialism, communism, and eventually, the supernationalist Nazi party. A lot to learn here.