Customer Reviews

The Berkut

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4 star:		(4)
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2 star:		(1)
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Joseph Heywood's novel 'The Berkut,' is a fast-paced thriller set in the aftermath of World War Two. SS Colonel Guther Brumm arrives in besieged Berlin by glider to do the impossible- fake the death of Adolf Hitler and take the Fuhrer from the war torn capital of the Reich to safety. And that's the easy part. Brumm, along with Hitler and a small group of followers, makes his way south through Germany. But close on Brumm's tail is Vasily Petrov, leader of a team of Soviet investigators who will stop at nothing to find Hitler- or face Stalin's wrath. The story that follows is one of action and terror as Brumm plays a deadly game of cat and mouse with Petrov through the bombed-out wastelands of Europe. Author Heywood's research is first rate as he re-creates the end of the Second World War. Though the basic premise is a little far-fetched, Heywood successfully pulls it off with flying colors. The characters are many but mostly well-drawn and the story's anti-hero, Brumm, is a creation that brings to mind another cold blooded adventurer, Frederick Forsyth's 'Jackal.' If World War Two era intrigue is something you enjoy you might want to check this one out.

I found Heywood's "The Berkut" in a used-books store, thrown in a corner, gathering dust, forgotten. I bought it because the synopsis seemed interesting, and because the cover had a great rendering of Hitler's face. Given these circumstances, I wasn't expecting much, but once I noticed the praise in the reviews at Amazon.com and I started reading it, I was instantly captivated.

Heywood goes from the premise that we don't really know what happened to Hitler and his body once he noticed his war was over. The author tells the story of a back-up plan made up by Hitler and his trusted SS major, Günther Brumm, where they deceive everybody, escaping Soviet-occupied Berlin and running through the Austrian Alps. But Vasily Petrov, the Berkut, confident of Joseph Stalin and head of a Special Operations group, knows something is not right. "The Berkut" is the fast-paced, interesting and thrilling narrative of this pursuit, that lasted exactly one year.

Heywood was in no hurry writing his masterpiece. He details everything, from Hitler's cover-up death to intimate portraits of his characters. The sequence of events is logical, with no unbelievable plot twists, nor deus-ex-machina thrown in in the middle of the story. The epilogue is one of the most gruesome, horrible, yet plausible book-endings I've come across in my life.

"The Berkut" is a great story, unfortunately almost forgotten by the editing companies and general public.

Grade 9.1/10

This is one of the best books ever written. A story so believable - the way it's described. Hitler escapes his bunker during the last moments of WWII with the aid of special SS team. Stalin sends his own to find Hitler and bring him alive to Moscow. The pace is furious, character study amazing. The ending is incredible. A great gem, a great achievement in fiction, a great book. GET IT!!!

I read this book as a Marine sergeant stationed in the Philippines during Operation Desert Storm. Not only are the SS Men, Soviet spies, and American agents, all totally believable, the weapons systems are detailed and the characters are brutally real and fascinating.

My one complaint is that there was not enough of one particular character -- Rosemary Wilson, a WAC officer who stumbles across one of the Hitler Youth girls sneaking Hitler out of Germany. The author seems to have put her into the book just to have a bit of titillating lesbian excitement, then killed her off in a hurry. Frankly, though Heywood is a master at writing a taut, military thriller, his view of lesbians seems to be very old hat, almost stereotypical. Rosemary Wilson is predatory, blundering, greedy, and stupid -- she's so busy drooling over the mysterious blonde fraulein she misses the obvious hints that the girl is on some kind of secret mission!

I loved this book, but why couldn't Rosemary Wilson have gotten the upper hand? Heywood could very easily have written the opposite scenario -- the repressed German girl falls into the arms of the rich American woman and ends up giving away vital clues! That would have been just as sexy and just as exciting, and we could have done without the cheap and really pointless lesbian-bashing that comes out of nowhere.

But make no mistake -- this is a sizzling thriller!

About 11 years ago a friend of mine picked up a book at an airport. He immediately told me about it and gave it to me. This book was The Berkut by Joseph Heywood. I could not put this book down once I started. Heywoods narrative was so incredibly vivid and the characters so well done that I would have to say it has become my all time favorite. The meld of fact and fiction was incredible. It wasn't just a pure action thriller but a thought provoking masterpiece. Bravo Joseph Heywood!

A friend mentioned that I should take this book with my on my European vacation. So I grabbed it at the local library 3 days before my flight. That night I started reading the book. I couldn't put it down. It was so captivating. Anyway, I finished the book in 2 days and returned it to the library before my flight. After the trip, I bought the book - it is a rare gem.

I read this book about 10 years ago and loved it. I still remember it vividly. I can't say that about most thrillers I've read, which all seem to fade into one big, mushy "web of international intrigue". Anyway, Barnes and Noble has a fantastic interview from about 6 years ago with Mr. Heywood. Go to their site, locate the author and click on "biographical information". Finally, he evidently has written a couple other books: "The Domino Conspiracy" and "Taxi Dancer".

Great book! I have read a number of books about this time period of the war and this is a new story. I just could not wait to get to the next page. Great characters and a really well through out story. This is a very well done what if story that mixes in a good deal of facts. The hard part about books like this is that they take a very well known hard and fast fact and change it for the story line. This author pulls it off. I read the next book he put out and this is the better of the two.

A very good WWII alternate history/thriller, with a great deal of violence and abundant sex. Well done and engaging, this novel is a well considered "what if" story with randy, cold blooded characters and some nteresting speculative touches.

Although skeptical at first, I found this book to be an excellent work of World War Two fiction. It is both fast paced and fast reading and is one of the few books of this type that I have read to the end.