Customer Reviews

Blood of the Reich: A Novel

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

What a great adventure read! We have Nazis (past and present), a search for a lost city, a rich explorer, a lady pilot, a lost heir, Buddhist monks and nuns, the wonderful land of Tibet, the Pacific Northwest, a hidden cabin, the CERN supercollider, ancient technology. What is not to like? And Dietrich does it so well.

The action is fast, the science is credible, the descriptions of countrysides are dazzling. Character development was good - I felt like I could pick most of his characters out of a crowd. I especially ended up liking Sam Mackenzie. I ended up disliking LOTS of characters as the story progressed.

My two other favorite books of Dietrich's are Dark Winter (great Antartic adventure) and Getting Back (a futuristic Australian survival saga).

This is the first book I've read by William Dietrich. So I really had nothing to compare it to with previous writings. But if all of his books are like this, I'm hooked!

As any "bedtime reader" knows, a book is good when you start reading it and then look at the time and see an hour has passed! And when you take notes to search online the next day to find out more on something you read, like an experiment, expedition, etc. Well this is one of those books.

This book takes you around the world. Germany, America, China. Then add in new characters (Americans, Nazis, Chinese) along the way. It's one of the few books that I've reviewed in the past where I was really looking forward to getting extra time in to read the book.

THEN add in the modern day CERN supercollider. Some real fascinating stuff here.

I'd like to compare the (journey, new characters) to Koontz "Strangers" and Kings "The Stand" but this book is not the horror type. It's a definite thriller.

This is another book that I'm sure will be turned into a movie. But again, as book readers know, very few movies are better than books. Most of the time all the movie does is ruin the ending of the book.

And again be warned, this book will keep you awake reading!

Based on the intriguing premise of a Nazi expedition to Tibet, this book had many elements that could have made it great, but as a whole, it didn't deliver. Kurt Raeder is sent to Tibet by Himmler to uncover a long lost power, and in America, Benjamin Hood is recruited to stop Raeder and his team from success. Intertwined in this decent historical drama is the current day plot of Rominy Pickett, who is conveniently rescued from a car bomb by a mysterious stranger who explains her ties to the quest that occurred generations before. This "hero" Jake is too well informed and prepared to not be suspicious and Rominy is too trusting and complacent for her to be a strong protagonist. Their dialogue is corny and the author uses their witty banter to explain sub-atomic physics, spirituality and other complex issues. This modern-day adventure seemed too contrived in relation to the captivating historical component. The one-dimensional characters of both plots tended to make poor decisions that were frustrating. The conclusion could be open for a sequel, but if not, it ended too abruptly. I commend the fast pace and the pre-WWII Nazi aspect, but when the past and present plots come together at the end, it did not feel cohesive. If one can look past the flaws, this book will appeal to fans of the genre, but I wish it had been better developed to offer a more profound experience.

This book was written to be read on the beach or by the pool or on an airplane. It was written for Clive Cussler-type action/thriller fans. It was written for those who can overlook a whole bunch of fantastical nonsense and just enjoy the ride. If can't put reality on hold when you pick up a book like this, then just put it down and move on; this book is not for you. That said, even though while reading "Blood of the Reich," there were enough eye-rolling moments in the book that I had to take out my contact lenses, I still had fun.

The story is focused on a Nazi expedition into Tibet that took place in 1938 when the Third Reich was looking for the hidden city of Shambhala. It is a place of legend that holds a mystical, magical power that Himmler believes will make the Germans invincible. The Americans send a lone museum curator, who happens to be a millionaire, who happens to have unfinished business with the leader of the Nazi expedition, to stop this from happening. Intertwined with these adventures in 1938 is the present day story of Rominy Pickett, a bland woman leading a bland life in Seattle. A total stranger, Jake, saves her from a car bomb and tells her that she is related to this millionaire American, but her life is threatened and he is the only one who can help her. The only one. Don't pick up the phone and call the police, don't use the internet to check this guy's story, don't call a friend for advice, don't consider he has been actively stalking you, just follow this hot stranger to the ends of the earth (literally) without question.

Whenever the story centered around the Nazi expedition and the Americans following them (he has picked up a female plane pilot in China, of course) the adventure is riveting. Yes, the German leader is cruel and regurgitates a lot of Nazi propaganda whenever he speaks. Yes, the American is smart and dashing and sensitive. But these guys make for better entertainment than the present day Rominy and Jake. Whenever the story switches over to them, it's kind of a letdown. The main reason? Rominy. She is, hands down, the most complacent, spineless airhead I have met in an action novel. But I digress.

Dietrich's descriptions of Tibet, past and present, are beautiful and informative. His knowledge about atomic theory is impressive. He can hold your attention. It's a decent novel with a good plot, but at the end of the novel, when all the stories converged into one big silly, convoluted mess, I started missing the Himalayas and their stark beauty.

So, if the author had written this novel focusing only on what happened in the time frame of 1938-1945 it would have been great. But, he didn't and so it wasn't, but I still enjoyed the ride.

When Rominy Pickett is tackled in a grocery store parking lot just seconds before a bomb explosion disintegrates her car, little does she know she is about to embark on the adventure of her life. Jake Barrow, news reporter, has been working on the scoop of his journalistic career and uncovers an unusual tale involving a man named Benjamin Hood who in 1938, along with a daring young female aviatrix named Beth Calloway, flew on a secret mission to Tibet in order to head off the Germans in the search for the secret location of the legendary Shambhala. Jake's research uncovers some pretty colorful facts, one being that Rominy is Hood's great granddaughter and she might be inheriting a fortune in treasure if he can convince her that his story is real, and that she is not who she thought she was. Orphaned as a baby, Rominy Pickett's real name is Hood, and her life is turned upside down as Jake takes her on an adventurous journey that will have the duo playing Sherlock and Watson. Can Rominy and Jake uncover the mysterious clues Benjamin Hood left for his only remaining heir many decades ago? A safe deposit box with a white scarf, three gold coins, and a decapitated finger will point them in the direction of nothing but trouble as they piece together one man's incredible story.

Alternating scenes ricochet from the Himalayan peaks of Tibet to the Cascade Mountains of Washington state. World War II era nasty German Nazi's traipse up and down snow covered valleys led by an enchanting female Tibetan monk as they scour the landscape for the lost city of Shambhala. Known for it's mysterious healing powers and shamanistic wisdom, the Germans have been sent to find Shambhala by Hitler in hopes of uncovering the truth that the Tibetan people are the purest of the Aryan races. In the present, Rominy and Jake have a clever fingerprint shaped treasure map to follow as they stumble through the forests near Seattle, and literally fall into an old mine where they step over a skeleton with an interesting pocket full of mysteries.

Dietrich once again creates an action adventure novel to top the charts. Blood of the Reich is a concoction of mystery, romance, exotic locales, archaeological wonders, and a Pandora's box of chaos and calamity. His usual style of blending history and suspense with a dash of humor never lets this reader down. Two thumbs up for a darn good yarn that proved to be nothing but fun!

Thank goodness I read a library book and not one purchased with my wife's hard-earned money. Portion of book set in 1938 was initially interesting but flash forward to present was distracting and caused me to flip pages to find the next 1938 chapter. Eventually, even the 1938 chapters became ridiculous and I ended the pain on page 247 (out of 420). An interesting initial story idea that failed to deliver. Cutting 100 pages might have helped; maybe not.

The author tries to weave a narrative moving from ancient Tibet through World War 2 to the present day Hadron particle Collider in Switzerland. That is certainly a big job to take on and perhaps none but the greatest authors should attempt something of this magnitude.

Here we are given alternating chapters that move from Nazis in 1938 to Americans in 1938 to American/Nazi confrontations in the present. The book is 417 pages and after a while I found the constantly alternating chapter perspectives annoying. The most interesting parts related to the 1938 Nazi expedition to Tibet in search of the legendary Shambhala and mysterious power sources. Constant interruptions of this narrative to the present day mediocre and aptly self-styled 'cubicle girl' Rominy Pickett ruined the story flow. Much of the plot related to Rominy Pickett was either so cookie-cutter predictable or out rightly bizarre and unbelievable. Sorry to say, but the book would have been far better if the author had been more skillful in plot design and character development.

William Dietrich gives us a hefty helping of History-Fi, Sci-Fi, and Adventure in his book, Blood Of The Reich. The book is based on the heritage of a young woman protagonist who gets taken advantage of in a variety of ways. I am not going to go too heavy on details because the book has multiple surprises which I could potentially unlock. The story takes us from The Pacific Northwest, to Tibet and onto Europe in the present; while at the same time takes us from nazi germany to Tibet in the past. Things converge in the mythical city of Shambala and at the particle accellerator CERN in Europe. An old nazi gets what he deserves, as does a younger one. Our young protagonist gets what is coming to her in the end as well. This book can be read in one sitting if you are a fairly fast reader, but I took my time with it because it was that well written and enjoyable. There is a surprise in nearly every chapter. There is nothing really risque but seduction does occur. I would like to see a motion picture made of this story. It would make a superb action flick along the lines of Raiders of the Lost Ark, or Against All Odds. Yes, it is that good. Yum!

I've been a fan of William Dietrich since way back when he published Ice Reich. When I read the description of Blood of the Reich, I was hopeful that he was returning to some of his strongest subject matter. Alas, while there is some fun to be had with Blood of the Reich, I have to admit that in my optimism I was disappointed.

The story is told in two times through three narrative threads, two in the past and one in the present. The two narrators of the past are Nazi Kurt Raeder and American Benjamin Hood. The two had met on a joint scientific expedition to Tibet years earlier, but when Raeder's true colors were revealed, they became sworn enemies. What true colors, you ask? Well, there was a woman and "Raeder wanted one to dominate, to hear her cries..." The man's a Nazi; of course he's a sadistic murderous pig. `Nuff said. As for Benjamin Hood, he's struggled to overcome his privileged upbringing, and he can't refuse when his country comes to him for help. The Nazi's are returning to Tibet, and the U.S. wants to know what they're up to.

In present day Seattle, we are introduced to protagonist Rominy Pickett, who, as the novel opens, is trying to evade the good-looking but overly persistent creep stalking her through the frozen foods section. Rominy describes herself like this, "I'm a publicist. I spend my days promoting bug-laden software that will be obsolete six months after we sell it. I'm like Dilbert." She's an everywoman that gets sucked into the adventure of her life after her supermarket stalker saves her from being blown to bits and whisks her away from everything she has ever known.

Rather into go into a great deal more detail about the convoluted plot, I'll simply say that the Nazi's were searching for the mythological city of Shambala, and legends of a secret power source found there. All events from the novel spring from that basic premise, and it's not a bad jumping off place. Unfortunately, I found the execution to be significantly flawed. Where to start?

Let's start with the relationships. They were all extreme. It was all love or hate in this book, and characters tended to be cartoonishly black or white. There were several romantic relationships depicted, all fairly ridiculous, though none more so than the contemporary romance, which was laughable, with dialogue like, "Can't you tell? I've fallen in love with you?" spoken a day after meeting. Ugh. Major plot twists were broadly telegraphed, leading up to Scooby-Doo-ish revelations. And while Dietrich dressed his mystical MacGuffin up in a thin veneer of science, ("Some of the Nazis believed in an energy source called the Black Sun, buried at the center of the earth. Woo-woo, right? Except not entirely different from our ideas of dark energy, an energy so mysterious we can't even detect it.") he never sold me on the basic plot. It was just too far-fetched for me.

And I might have forgiven a lot of the above, had he pulled off a powerhouse ending, but the end of the novel was probably the most disappointing part of all. It all just sort of fizzled, with no firm resolution. God, I hope he's not setting up a sequel. William Dietrich is a fine writer. His prose is above average for a thriller. I know that he can create compelling characters and plots. But somehow he missed the boat this time out. Here's hoping the next novel will be more satisfying.

This was an entertaining novel by Dietrich, as a standalone not related to his Ethan Gage novels, but the main character was a little bit of a bubble-head, which detracted from the story. I guess I simply find it difficult to relate to a protagonist with an obvious lack of perspicacity. The cardboard cutout of a villain didn't help, either.

However, the plot had enough going for it that I was hooked, regardless of the shortcomings.