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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mini-Review - "The Bormann Testament" by Jack Higgins, July 17, 2006
This review is from: The Bormann Testament (Paul Chavasse) (Mass Market Paperback)
Regular readers of The White Rhino Report will recognize the fact that I have become a big fan of Jack Higgins's page-turners of spy craft and adventure. In the past few months, I have offered brief reviews of several of his books, including "Dark Justice," "The Wrath of God" and "Without Mercy."
http://whiterhinoreport.blogspot.com/2006/04/mini-review-dark-justice-by-jack.html
http://whiterhinoreport.blogspot.com/2006/01/mini-review-wrath-of-god-by-jack.html
http://whiterhinoreport.blogspot.com/2005/10/calling-all-jack-higgins-fans.html
"The Borman Testament" offers an interesting backstory. During the Cold War, Higgins served in Berlin as a member of the Royal Horse Guards. In addition, an uncle of his had been held by the Nazis as a prisoner of war. Higgins developed a fascination with the Third Reich, and particularly with Hitler's right-hand man, Martin Bormann. Out of that fascination, "The Bormann Testament" was created in 1962. At that politically charged time, Higgins' publisher was reluctant to publish a fictional work about Bormann, so the character of Bormann was changed to an entirely made-up Nazi leader by the name of Schultz, and the novel was published under the title, "The Testament of Caspar Schultz."
Times have changed, the Berlin wall has fallen and Higgins felt it was time to republish this work in its original form. The action and plot of the book center around the premise and rumor that Bormann escaped from Hitler's bunker during the final days of the war, and has been living in hiding ever since. Word comes to a British publisher that Bormann has written his "Testament," naming names of Nazi collaborators, and is looking for someone to buy the manuscript through an intermediary by the name of Muller. Special agent Paul Chavasse is sent to Germany to find the manuscript, and to bring Bormann to justice - if the ex-Nazi is indeed still alive. Along the way, double agents, Israeli Nazi hunters, German police and neo-Nazi terrorists lead Chavasse and his colleagues on a merry chase. The stakes are high, since many influential business and government leaders fear that they may be named in the book as Nazi collaborators.
In his inimitable and straightforward way, Higgins dishes out death and double dealing at a double-time pace. After reading a Jack Higgins novel, I always feel as if I have completed a mad dash through the pages of the story, since I find it hard to put the book down until the last loose end in the plot has been tied up.
"The Bormann Testament" is not only a good novel; it is also a helpful reminder of the forces of human nature that made the Third Reich and the Cold War such perilous times. It is a quick and worthwhile read.
Enjoy.
Al
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
1962 Reprise, July 15, 2006
This review is from: The Bormann Testament (Paul Chavasse) (Mass Market Paperback)
A reprinting of "The Testament of Caspar Schultz" by Martin Fallon is now called THE BORMANN TESTAMENT published under Jack Higgins' name. Since 1962 the book has lost little of its impact, being very readable. Giving evidence of what Jack Higgins was as an author then and how he has fallen off a bit in older age.
This novel takes off right from the start, and if one isn't aware of historians generally agreeing that Martin Bormann, though in the Furher bunker at the end, met his death only a few hundred yards away as he and others, after Hitler's death, tried to break out. Knowing that, however, takes nothing away from this splendidly crafted novel, for it reads as non-fiction.
I am one who prefers WWII novels from Mr. Higgins, his recent string of 5 books all of series, gets on my nerves. They have gone on far too long, and poor Hannah, as myself, just couldn't hold out. I do hope, as other reviewers too have hoped, that he returns to his earlier type writing offering us a 'dirty dozen' style WWII novel. Afterall until THE EAGLE HAS LANDED not many readers or reviewers took much note of Mr. Higgins. I always feel you need stay with what you do best.
This particular novel moves along smoothly, and is a joy to read. However, the template Mr. Higgins uses for most of his other writings is in place. We have his boss, we have the token love interest, we have the Israeli agent who works with him, and we have a plethora of bad guys, who all get theirs in the end.
Escape reading at its best, so pick up this formulaic WWII novel and enjoy a couple night's reading from the pen of Martin Fallon, er, I mean Jack Higgins. Or do I mean Harry Patterson; you know after all these years of reading Mr. Higgins's works, I am still unsure of his correct name!
Semper Fi.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jack Higgins Classic, July 15, 2006
This review is from: The Bormann Testament (Paul Chavasse) (Mass Market Paperback)
Jack Higgins has a way of developing his characters with simplicity. I thoroughly enjoy his books when there are Nazis involved. And I also love his superhuman main character. In this book it is Paul Chavasse, who takes on the Nazi underground. This book is one of my favorites by Jack Higgins.
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