Spandau Phoenix

Using the enigmatic mystery of Hitler's second in command's reasons for flying solo to the UK in the early days of WWII, this novel expands on the mystery by asking who it really was who took the solitary dare towards Britain. Rudolf Hess, Hitler's right hand man for most of his pre-war political career did indeed land in England on May 10th, 1941. Or did he? When the Rudolf Hess who had been incarcerated in Spandau Prison since the conclusion of the Nuremberg Trials suddenly comes to die under suspect circumstances, a set of events reaching back to Hess's escape from Nazi Germany escalate rapidly taking over most of the novel in a James Bond fashion. Was the man imprisoned in Spandau really Rudolf Hess or as long suspected a carefully show more planted double?

And that's where this book falls apart. The author takes great pain to paint a picture of the chaotic days of internal politics of Germany between 1941 and the end of the war. But at the same time the incredibly out of proportion events, that take the main characters from West to East Berlin and back again all the way to South Africa, reduce the carefully crafted intrigue to a pile of Reichstag rubble. What could have been a subtle and suspenseful political thriller, turns quickly into a dime novel that would make even the most die hard Bond fan shudder. show less

8/10
A complicated plot that takes place mostly in the late 1980's (USSR still exists, as does a divided Germany), with flashbacks to World War II. This is not my favorite type of book (Nazis, KGB, and Stasi), but the author pulled me in and it was quite a ride!

**SPOILERS**

Where have all the Nazis gone?

One thing about the new millenium is that there are no more old Nazi's running around the pages of our thrillers. No more Marathon Man, no more Boys from Brazil! Hell, even Indiana Jones left the Nazis behind with the new (and hopefully) last installment. So, having been Nazi free for quite some time it was interesting to go back and read a thriller that contained Nazis as well as East and West Germany, Gorbachev, Apartheid and no grunge music.

Overall, the book explored an interesting idea that Rudolph Hess lived into his old age, became a billionare and helped not only South Africa but Israel become nuclear powers all the while planning some sort of weird plan to start a nuclear war that show more involved Libya nuking Tel Aviv, Israel nuking the Soviet Union and all the Arabs, the Soviet Union nuking everything else and America taking over the world as the new fascist power.

Make a lot of sense? Not really, but Illes keeps the action popping even though it feels like he's padding the plot a bit too thick to cover the almost 700 pages the book spans. If it had been a tighter half of that I might give it four stars. Regardless, I was racing through the last few pages of the book more intent on finishing it than finding out what happened. show less

Definitivamente este libro ha sido una grata sorpresa, lo he leído para cubrir un reto de lectura, de verdad no creo que lo hubiera leído si no hubiera sido por esa razón. Por eso me encantan los retos, me obligan a leer cosas que de otra manera no leería y muchas veces salgo ganando, como en este caso.

Literalmente desde la página uno el libro me ha tenido en vilo, ha sido impresionante el nivel de adrenalina de este libro, entre la acción, espionaje, secretos guardados, este es un verdadero thriller de conspiraciones de cabo a rabo, si bien el libro tiene sus buenas vueltas de tuerca, ningún giro de la historia me ha sorprendido, supongo que el autor de alguna manera nos va llevando hacía lo que inevitablemente va sucediendo. show more

Gregg Illes ha hecho una novelización sobre un tema que realmente ha sido todo un enigma en la historia Rudolf Hess, aterriza en un avión en territorio inglés y se entrega, se ha especulado mucho, tanto en sus motivaciones, como en lo que realmente pasó (no me refiero a lo que se sabe, si no a la verdad absoluta) Hess fue detenido y fue enjuiciado en Nuremberg y fue condenado a cadena perpetua, lo encierran en la prisión de Spandau, que era custodiada por cuatro países, Rusia, Estados Unidos, Francia y Reino Unido, en esta prisión desde 1966, hasta 1987, fecha en que murió, paso su vida Hess, así pues, no solo fue el enigmático vuelo de Hess a Gran Bretaña, sino también la pregunta de los cuarenta y cinco mil ¿Por qué cuatro países se encargan de la custodia a cal y canto de un solo personaje? ¿Qué esconde este hombre para que merezca tanta seguridad?, bueno como he dicho especulaciones con respecto a este tema son muchos y hay mucha literatura al respecto, tanto histórica como novelada, lo cierto es que nunca sabremos la verdad, pero la teoría de Illes es realmente buena, tal vez de tan imposible que es, resulte que le podría llegar más a la realidad ¿quién sabe?

Una novela que una vez que se empieza es casi imposible soltarla, casi desde la página uno empieza la acción y no se detiene, curiosamente no se hace pesado, no se recrea y por increíble que parezca, también suena bastante posible todo lo que se cuenta. show less

I was looking forward to reading this having read the author's previous WW2 "faction" thriller. The opening sections setting the scenes in WW2 in the UK and in 1987 Germany, just after Hess' death in Spandau Prison, didn't disappoint. However, the final part of the plot in South Africa was less credible subsiding into a James Bond style fanatical world dictator style storyline. Therefore ultimately disappointing, but nonetheless making good use of the Hess rumours, only recently resurfacing - see for examplehttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/adolf-hitlers-nazi-deputy-rudolf-hess-murdered-by-british-agents-to-stop-him-spilling-wartime-secrets-8802603.html.

This is a long book with many details and characters, and it's phenomenally good. I haven't read anything by this author so far that was anything but 5 star, but I still have many of his books to read. Spandau Phoenix is totally different subject matter than Mortal Fear, and yet the author makes every nuance so real.

This story takes place around the time Rudolph Hess disappeared while on a secret mission, and also in the 1980s. It involves several countries and their top brass, and yet it's an engaging personal story, as well. It's one possible explanation of what happened to Hess and his double, a great thriller.

If you like thrillers, read anything by this author. Then maybe read it again. This author's mind is way ahead of most of us.

A very good "what if" tale. What if Rudolf Hess was never held in Spandau prison, but had a double who took his place? This story pits the English, Germans, & Russians against one another while simple folks suffer for the nations' need to protect their images. Not my favorite Greg Iles novel, but that is okay.