The Time of the Assassins

The Time of the Assassins by Godfrey Blunden is a gripping historical novel set against the backdrop of Nazi-occupied Ukraine during World War II. Through the eyes of various characters, the truly nightmarish aspect of the experience of a terrorist war between the NKVD and the Nazi SS is explored through themes of fear, betrayal, and moral compromise. As the protagonist becomes entangled in the lives of resistance fighters, collaborators, and ordinary citizens struggling to survive, he is forced to confront the harsh realities of occupation and the moral ambiguities of wartime choices.

There was no safe situation in this scenario: side with either the Soviets or the Germans and you risked being killed as the other's enemy. Attempt to remain neutral and focus on surviving, and you risked being wiped out by either side's blind adherence to its ideology. Blunden's masterful storytelling and keen psychological insight make The Time of the Assassins a haunting meditation on human resilience and the complexities of loyalty in an era of unprecedented brutality.

The Time of the Assassins is more a matter of reporting than of invention. Mr. Blunden was in Russia during the war, and he was one of the correspondents who entered Kharkov soon after it was first retaken from the Germans. From the things he saw and heard among the ruins, and the things he learned later, he has constructed a convincing account of what happened in the town.