City Of Thieves

By (author) Benioff, David; By (author) Benioff David
Short description/annotation
From the co-creator of the HBO series Game of Thrones and critically-acclaimed author of The 25th Hour, this is a captivating novel about war, courage, survival and a remarkable friendship that ripples across a lifetime.
Description

From the writer of the award-winning Game of Thrones series for HBO based on the books of George R. R. Martin.

''David Benioff is an exceptional storyteller . . . CITY OF THIEVES is tender, illuminating, and, be warned, often shocking.'' Khaled Hosseini

Four months into the siege of Leningrad, the city is starving. Seventeen-year-old Lev fears for his life when he is arrested for looting the body of a dead German paratrooper, while his charismatic cellmate, Kolya, a handsome young soldier arrested for desertion, seems bizarrely unafraid.

Dawn brings, instead of an execution squad, an impossible challenge. Lev and Kolya can find a dozen eggs for an NKVD colonel to use for his daughter''s wedding cake, and live. Or fail, and die.

In the depths of the coldest winter in history, through a city cut off from all supplies and suffering appalling deprivation, man and boy embark on an absurd hunt. Their search will take them through desolate, lawless Leningrad and the devastated countryside surrounding it, in the captivating journey of two men trying to survive against desperate odds.

Review quote
David Benioff is an exceptional storyteller. With humor, heart, and at times relentless suspense, he has written a riveting war novel and an engaging coming of age story. City of Thieves is tender, illuminating, and, be warned, often shocking. It is the kind of compellingly readable book that lingers long after it is read.
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Benioff is a skilled creator of atmospheres . . . Told with compelling power
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The latest master of the zippy, punchy, knee-to-the-groin story is David Benioff . . . Wonderful
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A fast-moving adventure story . . . it had me gripped
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The research never stands out because Benioff weaves it in so deftly. He shifts tone with perfect control -- no recent novel I''ve read travels so quickly and surely between registers, from humour to devastation
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Expert tone . . . fine sense of pace.
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Complex and compelling . . . a thought-provoking novel that leaves its own lingering, haunting presence in the reader''s imagination
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A hard-to-put-down novel . . . Benioff blends tense adventure, a bittersweet coming-of-age and an oddly touching buddy narrative to craft a smart crowd-pleaser
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This gut-churning thriller will sweep you along
Biographical note

David Benioff is the co-creator of the worldwide massive hit HBO TV series Game of Thrones, based on the books from George R.R. Martin''s A Song of Ice and Fire series. He is also the writer of the screenplays for the films Troy, Stay, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Kite Runner.

He adapted his first novel, The 25th Hour, into the screenplay for Spike Lee''s popular feature film of the same name. His historical fiction novel City of Thieves and short story collection When the Nines Rolled Over received critical acclaim.

He lives in Los Angeles and New York City.

Promotional headline
A thrilling novel from the critically-acclaimed author of THE 25TH HOUR and one of Hollywood''s brightest screenwriting stars.
Review quote: previous work
Complex and compelling . . . a thought-provoking novel that leaves its own lingering, haunting presence in the reader''s imaginatio