A vividly rendered, meticulously researched, and often engrossing read for war buffs and historical suspense fans.
Conspiracy, espionage, and historical suspense prove a heady combination in this debut thriller about Nazi war crimes and big pharma.
Carlson puts the international pharmaceutical industry in its cross hairs in this novel. The story begins with Adolf Hitler as a bright, young pupil in Austria in the late 19th century under the tutelage of a monastery teacher who predicts that the boy would “steer the history of Germany and the world.” Hitler’s incremental rise to prominence continues with the help of secret societies and dignitaries, including a clairvoyant channeler of spirits. These events nicely dovetail into the main narrative involving present-day married couple Dake and Emma Engvall. Emma’s grandfather, psychologist Gunther Ludolf, was recruited from a university in 1945 to assist in mind-control experiments for Dr. Josef Mengele at Nazi concentration camps. After the war, Ludolf changed his name and continued his experiments at the LabUrnum pharmaceutical company but soon regretted his former work, married, and had a son. Upon his death, he left behind an incriminating diary and a collection of film reels, all read and watched by Dake and Emma, who become incensed that the complicit laboratory still thrives. What ensues is a determined search for the truth and a tale built upon the ideal of achieving justice for those who suffered in an “evil plot to subjugate mankind.” Carlson’s story also poignantly captures Emma’s shattered illusions as she comes to terms with the secrets of her grandfather, who also guided her to a faith-based life. In short, clipped chapters, the novel sweeps the protagonists through a fast-moving narrative with serpentine historical roots. The narrative is excessively busy, however; Babylonian cuneiform and a Vatican payoff come into play, along with a supernatural conclusion. Readers may also find the book’s correlations between the “origins of sorcery and modern pharmaceuticals” too convoluted and conspiracy-laden. That said, this will be a page-turner for those who enjoy historical fiction with overtones of subterfuge, heavy-handed biblical references, and governmental propaganda.
A vividly rendered, meticulously researched, and often engrossing read for war buffs and historical suspense fans.Pub Date: April 22, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5127-3782-0
Page Count: 294
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 26, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
These letters from some important executive Down Below, to one of the junior devils here on earth, whose job is to corrupt mortals, are witty and written in a breezy style seldom found in religious literature. The author quotes Luther, who said: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." This the author does most successfully, for by presenting some of our modern and not-so-modern beliefs as emanating from the devil's headquarters, he succeeds in making his reader feel like an ass for ever having believed in such ideas. This kind of presentation gives the author a tremendous advantage over the reader, however, for the more timid reader may feel a sense of guilt after putting down this book. It is a clever book, and for the clever reader, rather than the too-earnest soul.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1942
ISBN: 0060652934
Page Count: 53
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1943
This first novel, ostensibly about the friendship between two boys, Reuven and Danny, from the time when they are fourteen on opposing yeshiva ball clubs, is actually a gently didactic differentiation between two aspects of the Jewish faith, the Hasidic and the Orthodox. Primarily the Hasidic, the little known mystics with their beards, earlocks and stringently reclusive way of life. According to Reuven's father who is a Zionist, an activist, they are fanatics; according to Danny's, other Jews are apostates and Zionists "goyim." The schisms here are reflected through discussions, between fathers and sons, and through the separation imposed on the two boys for two years which still does not affect their lasting friendship or enduring hopes: Danny goes on to become a psychiatrist refusing his inherited position of "tzaddik"; Reuven a rabbi.... The explanation, in fact exegesis, of Jewish culture and learning, of the special dedication of the Hasidic with its emphasis on mind and soul, is done in sufficiently facile form to engage one's interest and sentiment. The publishers however see a much wider audience for The Chosen. If they "rub their tzitzis for good luck,"—perhaps—although we doubt it.
Pub Date: April 28, 1967
ISBN: 0449911543
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1967
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
