Evan Kail

There is Historical Fiction and there is Alternate History. This story falls into the second category.

It is a tale about a group of Jewish Nazi hunters who covertly pursue their prey behind the Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe and in the jungles of South America, especially the latter. It is a very entertaining story that is well written, intriguing, and keeps you turning the pages. What it may lack in character development, it more than makes up for in adventure. It reminded me of Mission show more Impossible with the James Bond theme playing in the background. Rambo would fit right in.

When reading Alternate History, one has to be able to accept the unlikely, and even sometimes the absurd, to enjoy the storyline. And I'm good at that. (Well, maybe not equipping Robert E. Lee's army with AK-47s, but that is a whole different book by a different author). But I found one incident which was just inexcusable due to a lack of simple and basic research. It described a strafing incident wherein the bad guys had acquired a P-39 (it was their entire Luftwaffe - you'll have to read the book). While the good guys were trying to escape, this fighter aircraft was brought down by a bolt-action Springfield rifle. The P-39 was an early war American fighter designed to take a lot of punishment, but the incident was described thusly: "Three cracks rang out from his Winchester. On the last shot, the fighter took a hit dead center in the propeller. The .30-06 copper-jacketed lead split on impact and savaged the engine." (p. 221). Oh my. To begin with, if the bullet had hit the propeller of a P-39 dead center it would have struck a 37 mm cannon. The engine in a P-39 is located in the center of the aircraft behind the pilot, not behind the propeller. But since most of us don't know that, including, apparently, the author, it probably won't be a distraction for most readers. Unless, of course, you're interested in World War 2 related subjects - like Nazi hunting. Perhaps he should have selected a Sturmovik or a Yak, for example.

But back to the story line. Let me just say that their mission to South America hit the motherlode. But you'll need to read the book to find out. Interesting plot and story line.

I won this book free as a Kindle Fire download from Goodreads.com and this review was strictly voluntary. show less