The Runner

Growing up during the Cold War I had heard a number of times that the best thing the US could have done at the end of World War II would have been for the US Army to march on past Berlin and go all the way to Moscow, defeating both our wartime enemy and our ally-cum-adversary all in one fell swoop. Fleshing out this hypothetical possibility is the motif for Christopher Reich’s post-war thriller, The Runner.

Reich creates characters, some directly from history and others as fictional composites, and situations both real and hypothetical, and weaves them together in a compelling story. The key characters are a Nazi villain, a reluctant American hero and a woman with multiple forces pulling at her. There are many lesser characters, whose show more loyalties and motives are rarely as they first appear. The action is fast and seldom predictable. As a needed diversion from my usual reading, which is nearly all non-fiction, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. show less

A fun bit of alt-history, but too many coincidences needed to make the plot work. Outstanding characterization, and quite outstanding narration. The main characters remained unresolved - we found out a lot about who they were, and how the story impacted them. I wish we could have found out who they bacame.

Quite an exciting thriller set in immediate post-war Germany. The wreched state of Berlin and the German people in general is well described. I did find some of the plot twists rather unbelievable and none of the characters truly likeable, though.

De voormalige Olympische sprinter, nu Duitse oorlogsmisdadiger Erich Seyss ontsnapt uit krijgsgevangenschap. Hierbij doodt hij twee mannen.

Devlin Judge, een Amerikaans aanklager bij het Tribunaal, vraagt om overgeplaatst te worden naar de eenheid die deze ontsnapping onderzoekt. Hij heeft daar een speciale reden voor; zijn broer was eerder door deze Seyss vermoord.

In een race tegen de tijd moet Devlin proberen Seyss te stoppen, want zijn plan is om zowwel Churchill als Truman in het door de Russen bezette deel van Berlijn te doden.

Persoonlijk vond ik het jammer dat de auteur het nodig vond om een bekend figuur (Patton) neer te zetten als een samenzweerder.

Well-written and researched post WWII thriller, it was pretty much as I expected and I enjoyed the ride it took me along. There were a few draggy parts but overall a very enjoyable read.

The Runner is a different story path from Reich. Unlike his previous financial based thrillers, this is a historical fiction thriller based in the immediate post WWII Germany. At its core, the story is essentially a former detective's search for his brother's killer. There is much more that core story with a myriad of twists and turns, & Reich sprinkles in just enough of a historically acurate depiction of prominate World War II figures like George Patton to make you want to go dig up those history books to find the truth. An overall great romp thru 1946 Germany.

Set after the collapse of Germany, The Runner is basically a ww2 era detective story.

An SS prisoner held for war crimes escapes aided by a shadowy group. An ex-policeman now military lawyer seeks retribution for his dead brother whilst aforementioned shadowy group tries to advance a conspiracy to protect their own interests within the newly forming framework of post nazi Germany.

It's not terrible, however nor is it particularly outstanding in any particular way.