Spandau Phoenix: A Novel [Paperback]

Greg Iles (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1994

"A scorching read."--John Grisham

From the depths of World War II, a buried Nazi secret comes to terrifying life...

"An avalanche of action. . .an incredible web of intrigue."--Clive Cussler

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A neo-Nazi/South African cartel plots to destroy Israel. BOMC selection in cloth.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Rudolph Hess--Spandau prisoner number 7--dies in 1987. When a secret "Hess diary" is found at Spandau by a West German policeman, the various police and intelligence agencies stationed in Berlin become even more interested in Hess's 1941 flight to England. Did Hess have highly placed contacts there? Was he alone? Was his well-trained double captured instead? The chain reaction from the diary's discovery explodes around West Germany, England, and South Africa, uncovering secret alliances and double agents. This first novel, which attempts to fill in history's blanks and to tie the past with the present, has action, characters, and violence to spare. But the body count is high, even for this genre, and the novel loses its impact long before the end of the drawn-out plot. An optional purchase for large popular fiction collections.
- V. Louise Saylor, Eastern Washington Univ. Lib., Cheney
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 704 pages
• Publisher: Signet (April 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451179803
• ISBN-13: 978-0451179807
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #91,848 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #67 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > War

More About the Author

Greg Iles was born in 1960 in Germany where his father ran the US Embassy medical clinic during the height of the Cold War. After graduating from the University of Mississippi in 1983 he performed for several years with the rock band Frankly Scarlet and is currently member of the band The Rock Bottom Remainders. His first novel, Spandau Phoenix, a thriller about war criminal Rudolf Hess, was published in 1993 and became a New York Times bestseller. Iles went on to write ten bestselling novels, including Third Degree, True Evil, Turning Angel, Blood Memory, The Footprints of God, and 24 Hours (released by Sony Pictures as Trapped, with full screenwriting credit for Iles). He lives in Natchez, Mississippi.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Action-Packed Thriller With Too Many Pages!, September 22, 2003

By 

Jana L. Perskie "ceruleana" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Spandau Phoenix: A Novel (Paperback)

Greg Iles really packed the action into "Spandau Phoenix." I would have rated the book higher, but it is way too long and goes off on many unnecessary tangents. A tighter narrative would have made a more suspenseful, and enjoyable read. However, if you have the patience to hang-in through almost 700 pages, you may find this suspense thriller very worth while.

Berlin's Spandau Prison, where WWII Nazi war criminals were kept, was the last residence of Rudolph Hess, Prisoner #7, and Hitler's one time second in command. Hess left Nazi Germany in 1941 and flew a plane to Great Britain. His reasons, or mission, for going to the UK were never revealed. Hitler publicly called Hess insane for making the flight and parachuting into enemy territory. When Hess supposedly committed suicide in his prison cell in 1987, he was Spandau's last occupant. The prison was then scheduled to be destroyed. As crowds gathered to watch the demolition of this famous building, Berlin police were assigned to maintain crown control. KGB agents diligently photographed the crowd for later identification by the East German Stasi. Among the observers was an Israeli agent. A German police captain, in charge of the contingent guarding the rubble, unexpectedly finds mysterious papers hidden in what was Hess' cell. The papers were all written in Latin, a language he does not understand, except for the first paragraph, which is in German. The paragraph interested the police officer enough for him to bring the papers home to his wife to translate.

Thus begins a desperate and brutal quest by the Soviets, British, Americans, and an Israeli agent for the Spandau Diaries - a search which leaves many dead bodies in its wake. Was Rudolph Hess really Prisoner #7, or did he have a double? Did Hess have a political agenda when he parachuted into Great Britain or was he really insane? Were members of the British nobility involved in a subversive plot with Hess and Hitler?

This novel involves Germans, Russians, Israelis, British, Americans, South Africans, and Libyans. Iles' extraordinary tale takes the reader on a terrifying adventure into the past, which leads to the chilling realities of the present, that could very well result in worldwide nuclear war. His action scenes are so well written that they are almost visual, and certainly bring this drama to life. The main characters are complex and well defined, individually and in their relationships to each other. The ending will have you on the edge of your seat.

In spite of the book's unnecessary length, and a confusing narrative at the beginning, I do recommend "Spandau Phoenix" to fans of mystery-thrillers and espionage novels. Bottom line - great plot and characters overcome any flaws.
JANA

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, fast paced, scorcher., June 13, 2001

By 

Kevin Hogan "Author - Psychology of Persuasion" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Spandau Phoenix: A Novel (Paperback)

Rudolph who? Who knows. The story is sooooooo fantastic that you will have a hard time distinguishing reality and fantasy in this amazing work of fiction. This is easily one of my favorite books of all time. Iles paints brilliant characters who move quickly in an intricately woven plot. How does the "evil spirit of Facism" continue 40 years after the war is over? This book is convincing in it's presentation of this idea (and many other subtle and not so subtle political ideologies) that will have you thinking and rethinking your views of the current geopolitical scheme of the world. There is nothing negative to say about this book except that it ends... Absolutely brilliant. Kevin Hogan, ...

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complicated but thrilling., January 2, 2000

By 

Davy (Royal Oak, Mi United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spandau Phoenix: A Novel (Paperback)

This is simply an outstanding book. Right from the get go Iles grabs you and doesn't let loose. The book flies by as you gobble up the words, which lead from scene to scene. Parallel timeframes are traced up to the same moment but through a different set of eyes. Iles juggles many balls in the air at the same time but manages to keep them separated and suspended together. A very carefully woven fabric of intrigue entices the reader to keep going. The violence in the book is appropriate to the subject matter and is never gratuitous. There are some nasty people in the world and Iles is writing about the nastiest. There are no super heroes. Many times it's hard to tell the good guys from the bad. There are no writer's crutches, gimmicks, or supernatural ploys to spoil the suspense. You don't know what will happen next and that makes for an excellent book. The sheer volume of events and characters make this a book inappropriate for readers with a short attention span. This book is not the mindless, pulp fiction pap that fills so many best seller lists today. This book has some meat to it, which is so much more satisfying than most of the formula novels churned out for mass consumption. When I finished the book I felt I had read my money's worth. Mr. Iles has another satisfied customer.