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Operation Napoleon
Operation Napoleon
Operation Napoleon
Audiobook9 hours

Operation Napoleon

Written by Arnaldur Indridason

Narrated by George Guidall

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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About this audiobook

Scandinavian crime writer and international literary phenomenon Arnaldur Indridason pens compulsively readable mysteries that have shot to the tops of best-seller lists around the world. When the U.S. Army attempts to secretly remove a plane from an Icelandic glacier, World War II intrigue erupts in the present-and threatens to engulf everyone in its path. "Indridason fills the void that remains after you've read Stieg Larsson's novels."-USA Today
LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 14, 2011
ISBN9781461846987
Operation Napoleon
Author

Arnaldur Indridason

ARNALDUR INDRIÐASON won the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Silence of the Grave and is the only author to win the Glass Key Award for Best Nordic Crime Novel two years in a row, for Jar City and Silence of the Grave. Strange Shores was nominated for the 2014 CWA Gold Dagger Award.

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Reviews for Operation Napoleon

Rating: 3.5999998831249997 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

160 ratings17 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Good story. I will try more books by this author.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It is worth noting that this was originally written in Icelandic and the translation occasionally mixes in something that I wouldn't expect to find in a thriller such as this. There was nothing incorrect in the translation, perhaps more just the opposite where the word choices are technically spot on, but not normally used in this context.



    The strengths of the book are the character development and the tempo. The lead character, Kristin, is well written and her back story is well developed so that I wasn't left to try and fill it in myself. The other characters have enough depth to be memorable and credible.

    Indriðason keeps the pace up throughout the book and kept me turning the pages. The notion of a thriller seems to invite all sorts of improbable coincidences. The events that happen simply for the sake of a good romp, and Indriðason seems to take full advantage of this in this book. It’s interesting, and exciting, but not really credible. The ending is simply ludicrous. I won’t say anything to avoid spoilers, but however history might have unfolded it most certainly would not have resulted in this ending.

    Overall, a fairly entertaining book.

    This was a first-reads selection of an ARC copy.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    An intriguing thriller set in Iceland that keeps the pace up throughout to a great ending.

    The US have been searching since WW2 for an aircraft that crashed into a glacier with a dark secret . Satellite shows the wreck had reappeared however the US doesn't want the locals nosing around

    I understand that the author also writes detective novels so I might have a try with one of those on the basis of this book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Translated from Icelandic to British English. A good story with some twists on mystery/thriller cliches.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Just before the end of World War 2 a plane of mysterious origins crashes on the the Vatnajökull glacier in Iceland during a fierce blizzard. Although it is thought to be a German plane the search that is mounted some days later is carried out by the American army which has a base in the country. However only a single wheel is discovered and the search is called off. More than 50 years later satellite images of the glacier seem to indicate the plane’s location and a new search is mounted by the US Army which still has a presence in the country. Several local civilians become unwittingly caught up in the search to find the plane and hide its secrets once and for all, the most notable of whom is a young lawyer called Kirstin whose love of her brother forces her to stand up to some truly nasty individuals.

    This stanadlone novel from the author of the Erlendur police procedurals is at heart a fairly standard thriller. There is a big secret that some people will go to any lengths to hide, a few innocent people stumble across the secret’s existence and are unable to extricate themselves from events and then a race to see which side will overcome the myriad of obstacles to achieving their goal which in this case was permanent cover up for one side or survival and exposé for the other. The story certainly stretches the bounds of credibility at some points, especially with respect to Kirstin’s ability to get out a succession of near-death scrapes while around her the body count mounts, but it is by no means as far-fetched as some I have read and its internal logic is pretty sound. It is also well-paced and, particularly in its second half, is brimming with genuine tension and intrigue. The secret, when revealed, is just this side of plausible and is one of those that makes you wonder ‘what if’.

    As with Indriðason’s other fiction however there is more to the book than a simple plot as it explores several themes in some depth. The most obvious of these is the complicated relationship between Iceland and the US Army. The reluctance of the Icelandic people to accept the foreign army in their country informs Kirstin’s behaviour towards a former beau, Steve an American, who she turns to for help when she is caught up in the events taking place on Vatnajökull. At a government level there are economic and popularity considerations which compete to be taken into account before action can be taken. Although it’s fairly clear where Indriðason’s heart lies on this issue it is pleasing that he provides a strong character in the form of Steve to display an alternate view to the ‘Americans are evil’ theme.

    A theme that doesn’t crop up terribly often in fiction but one Indriðason does seem to be particularly interested in is the relationships between siblings. Here Kirstin only becomes involved in the story and goes well beyond her comfort zone of physical endurance because she fears for the life of her younger brother and as the book progresses we learn more about why she feels so duty-bound to look out for Elias. In addition, one of the Americans who was involved in the very first search for the lost plane turns out to have had a similar reason for maintaining his interest in the search until the present search. There are glimpses too of other ideas that interest Indriðason such as the military hierarchy’s willingness to accept that torture is a legitimate means to an end as long as they can claim deniability (quite insightful given this novel was written long before newspaper headlines about gruesome torture being sanctioned at Gunatanamo Bay) and a hastily explored crack at privacy.

    I knew absolutely nothing about this book when I bought it and found myself a bit skeptical when learning it was a thriller involving war-time secrets. However I found it a thoroughly entertaining yarn with the added bonus of more depth than you usually find in a thriller and far fewer explosions (which for me is a good thing).
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the first Nordic novel I have read that it more an historical thriller than a mystery. Thriller's are usually not my genre yet the historical storyline was so enticing that I had to read it. Read it and really enjoyed it. Towards the end of World War II, as Russia is advancing on Berlin, a mysterious plane goes down in an Icelandic glacier. It is a German plane but camouflaged in US colors.Witnessed by two Icelandic farmers, a search is mounted but the airplane disappears into the glacier. Who and what was on the airplane is the basis for the story, a story the US government want covered up at any cost. If you love historical novels and conspiracy theories this is a book you will relish as much as I did.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This seems like an earlier novel newly translated to take advantage of the popularity of the excellent Erlendur series.Fast-paced and fairly interesting, this is more of a thriller than a mystery. It's not as good as the Erlendur books, though an unnamed Erlendur seems to have a small role in the story. It's not bad, but it's nowhere near the first Indridason book I would recommend. It is more likely to entertain pre-existing fans than convert new ones.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    this book was fast paced. However i think this book is the only sub-par book written by this otherwise great author.It included, in my opinion, too many heroic and implausible actions way past any connection to reality, and bordering on the ridiculous.I do not look for total reality but i would like to think i am not reading a comic book.I loved all his other books.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Operation Napoleon is a great suspense thriller that spans from the waning days of WWII to the present. A plane carrying German and American officers crashes onto a glacier during a blizzard at the end of the second world war and quickly becomes swallowed up by the glacier. A search for the downed plane is unsuccessful, as are successive searches over the years. When satellite photos reveal that the plane is once again emerging from the glacier, a race is on to recover the plane and its secrets before the rest of the world discovers it.This story is a great action story as well as an intriguing mystery. Comparisons to Alistar MacLean and even Clive Cussler are fitting. The Icelandic setting means plenty of tongue-twisting consonant-heavy place names, but aside from that, the translation from Icelandic is nearly perfect. The story is different from many American thrillers in that while the bad guys have weapons, the protagonists do not and rely on wit, courage and determination. The characters are interesting and complicated and the mystery is equally intriguing and ultimately satisfying. The perspective of an Icelandic protagonist and her views on America add an interesting dimension to the story. The action is steady and builds to a satisfying conclusion. This was my first exposure to Icelandic author Arnaldur Indriðason but I look forward to reading more of his work. Any fan of action/adventure thrillers will enjoy this book, which I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of. Highly recommended.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book is a great action/adventure story. It is a quick, easy read. Unlike many books translated into English, this book is clear, concise and easy to follow. The story is mostly plot driven, not character driven. Although I did want to know some of the characters a bit more deeply, I did not feel that the story line suffered from a lack of character depth. The story begiins in WW2 when a plane crashes into a glacier. The plane holds a dark secret, which could have significant political ramifications even today. The story is about the cover up and there are a number of assasination attempts throughout. Lots of action follows! If you are looking for a good solid story that moves quickly, this is a good read for you. Reader received a complimentary copy of this book from the Good Reads First Reads program.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Veteran thriller-readers know that a “suspension of disbelief” is often part of the game. Without a willingness on the reader’s part to cut the author a little slack, the plots of many (if not most) thrillers would fall apart very quickly. Sometimes, however, an author’s plot narrative will stretch the willingness of his readers to suspend their disbelief beyond the breaking point. That, unfortunately, is the case with Arnaldur Indridason’s Operation Napoleon.This recently translated 1999 novel was written relatively early in Indridason’s career and it is still the only standalone novel he has produced. The author is known for his well received Inspector Erlunder series and this book, in fact, appears to have been written between the second and third books in that series (there are now eight Erlunder books, although only the last six have been translated to English). Operation Napoleon begins in 1945 just after a military plane has crashed onto an isolated Icelandic glacier. Despite horrendous weather conditions and the isolation of the crash site, the area is soon swarming with dozens of American soldiers in search of the wreckage. Two bachelor brothers who live at the base of the glacier, one of whom saw the plane as it passed low over their farm, unhesitatingly become guides for the soldiers. But, despite the hard work of the American military and the efforts of the brothers to point them in the right direction, the rescue mission ends in failure. Only a tiny portion of the plane, with German markings on it, can be found. Flash forward to 1999 and the resumption of the search. Certain people deep within the American military and its government desperately want to find the airplane that crashed in 1945 before anyone else spots it. Modern satellite technology now makes it possible to monitor from afar any changes to the surface of the glacier that swallowed the airplane and, because glaciers are known to cough up lost objects every so often, these men hope to spot the lost aircraft that way. That is exactly what happens.Unfortunately for Kristen, a young Icelandic public servant, her brother and his friend happen upon the wreckage not long after the American searchers have finally gotten their hands on it. At the exact moment that soldiers spot the two young men, Kristen is on the phone with her brother who barely manages to describe what he sees before a group of armed soldiers surround the two young men. Sensing that something is very wrong, and unable to reconnect with her brother, Kristen begins a quest to find the truth – and her brother – before it is too late. Thus begins a wild ride during which this young female civil servant outwits, outruns, and outthinks the villains chasing her (keep in mind that these are super-villains of the exaggerated James Bond school of villains, no less) - not to mention her thwarting of their efforts to kill her and anyone to whom she might have inadvertently leaked her suspicions. In other words, Kristen somehow becomes superwoman, even though she does manage to get a few innocent people whacked along the way. The sheer unlikelihood of Kristen’s numerous escapes from certain death, combined with a weak surprise ending and the book’s obvious tinge of anti-Americanism, makes this one I wish I had avoided.Rated at: 2.0
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This story has a lot of action in a smooth flowing storyline. A World War II plane trapped for decades under the ice of a glacier in Iceland, has risen to the surface. The secrets frozen inside the German Fokker trimotor plane are thawing out and threatening to heat up the political world. The heat is already felt in Washington D. C. where spy satellites have recorded the emergence of the plane thousands of miles away. Clandestine forces are ordered to swing into action, letting nothing stand in the way of recovering the plane while keeping it's secrets buried. On the small island nation situated in the cold north Atlantic, things are about to heat up. Elias, a young member of the Reykjavic Air Ground Rescue Team, disappears while separated from his team on the glacier. His last contact was by cellphone with his sister, Kristin, after he spotted some strange activity on the ice. Within minutes, Kristin is assaulted while in her apartment in Reykjavic. Two armed men with American accents interrogate and threaten to kill her, while trying to find out what she knows about the plane. Kristin may be from a nation without an army, but she has plenty of fight in her and manages to escape. Her search for answers, while evading both the Americans and the Icelandic Police, make for a lot of action. There is also some very interesting speculation on what might have happened had World War II ended differently. Provided for review by the well read folks at Amazon Vine.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    An unusual book for this author. A very good, gripping thriller.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoyed this book because of its’ action sequences. There’s quite a few chase scenes, several fighting scenes, and you can’t leave out interrogations! so I flew through this book eagerly and thought it was pretty good. What I really thought was well done, was the translation job. Most books that have been translated have a tendency to be haphazard, and at times certain passages have to be read a few times over to get the gist of it. With this book there is no problem and the writing is clear, concise,and easily readable. I had a hard time trying to like Kristin. It’s not that she’s not likable she’s just, there for the story I suppose. I guess the action is just so intense that you don’t really care about characters and development so no attachment is formed to any characters in the book. It also bugged me a lot that her ex boyfriends are lying about for convenience. Really??? an ex boyfriend would lend you his car without asking what you’re going to do??? how is that even possible with a main character that seems to have barely any feelings at all?? I understand how she came to rely on Steve, it looked as if he still had feelings for her. However with her other ex, it just felt like he (and his car) was conveniently there to get the plot going. It’s a little too good to be true for me. The storyline is good, with enough suspense and action to get you going. The pace is actually quite quick and reading through the book will take no time at all. The main mystery and the ‘what if’ plot that’s central to this entire novel is interesting. What was a little irritating was trying to figure out what it was. It was almost every time Kristin and Steve were getting closer to knowing the secrets, the characters they were questioning suddenly clammed up and refused to talk further. It was frustrating and I was almost tempted to skip the pages just to find out what the big secret was. Once it was revealed, and you got to the ending, it left you thinking; “Could it be possible?”. I thought that was a perfect way to end the book! my mind was all dizzy with all that fast paced action, and yet it got me thinking as well. It certainly was an adrenaline rush with a great ending. Do pick this book up if you feel like an action packed book with a very curious ‘what if’ to certain points in history. (Those who are into the Second World War might enjoy this.)
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Reactions to an author taking a detour away from a much loved series, or style (or both for that matter) can vary. Some readers love the chance to head into new territory, others find that departure too much of a step, and long to return to the familiarity of the series, the known characters or the styling. And as with everything, for this reader, it all depends. OPERATION NAPOLEON is a thriller, set in Iceland, but based around the mystery of a plane that went down at the very end of World War II. To take this that little bit further again from the Erlendur Sveinsson Crime Fiction series, this book also has a central female character. Kristin is pulled into a dangerous world of secrecy and power games when all she is trying to do is discover the truth behind her brother's fate - there on that remote glacier.I suspect that whether or not a departure from the known works is often to do with the quality of the storytelling. OPERATION NAPOLEON is, undoubtedly, a thriller. There are lots of nefarious goings on, there's danger and conflict, there's the unknown of what was in that plane, why there is so much desire to find it, and claim what it is carrying. So whilst there are many of the elements that a thriller requires, and the pace and plot that supports the discovery of those elements, there are some quintessentially "Indridason" elements to the story. There are some wonderful characters that the reader can identify and sympathise with - it always helps to have somebody to be "barracking for". There is also the way that this author always manages to weave the landscape and the culture of Iceland into his books, and the way that he uses family relationships as a basis for characterisation and exploration. In this case we have Kirstin and her brother, and the two brothers whose farm sits at the base of the glacier. The relationship between both sets of siblings is interesting - perhaps more tantalising in the case of the farmers, but undoubtedly the motivation for Kirstin's involvement.There is a bit of a twist in the tail of this story though, and fans of alternative history may find the final proposition a little difficult to swallow or even maybe a little confronting. Given that the book declares itself pretty well as a thriller, this reader found OPERATION NAPOLEON less problematic than other stories of the same nature, having said that, alternative histories do make me twitch.The good thing about OPERATION NAPOLEON is that it has the basic structure, and many of the required elements of a thriller, but with sufficient characterisation, and a great sense of place and culture that would make the book appeal to readers less fond of the pure thriller format, provided that aspect of rewriting history isn't too firmly in your pet hates listing.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I didn't enjoy this as much as Indridason's Erlendur novels. I kept wondering if Erlendur would make even a cameo appearance. There was a detective (There have been some funny goings on here,’ observed the scruffily dressed detective in his early fifties ) but his appearances really came to nothing.OPERATION NAPOLEON reminded me of thrillers that I used to read back in the 70s by writers like Jeffrey Jenkins, Alistair MacLean and Clive Cussler. The difference between those and OPERATION NAPOLEON is the character of Kristin. Those earlier thrillers rarely had capable women.It reminded me also of another novel I reviewed: THE MASK OF ATREUS by A.J. Hartley, mainly I think because of the idea of a secret cargo.One interesting element was the discussion of Icelandic dependency on US funding and assistance.Kristin is talking about why her friendship with the American Steve collapsed: It’s partly political. I oppose the presence of the American army on Midnesheidi. I could understand its strategic significance during the Cold War, but that didn’t mean I agreed with its presence. I’ve always regarded it as a blot on the landscape. It’s as simple as that. The Icelanders shouldn’t have an army and they certainly shouldn’t get into bed with one. Far too many people have prostituted themselves to the Defense Force already – businessmen, particularly. I should never have allowed things to go so far between us but . . .’
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was a good novel from Indridason. I've read a few of his other novels and this is his style.It's about an old plane that crashed on an Icelandic glacier and the US government needs for it to be uncovered and make sure that the secret of the plane stays a secret.It's very odd to be reading a novel in which the American's are the bad guys, so it was quite a twist from my normal reads. There is a lot of action and I was kept on the edge of my seat for most of the book. I wanted to know what this big secret was and what was going to happen next.I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes foreign mysteries.