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Summary: The other side of revenge
Review: If you are looking for a thriller that incorporates the best of suspense and history, then "The Runner" is the book to read. Mr. Reich spins a tale of revenge in which the hero must become something he detests in order to avenge his father's death. Much like his earlier thriller, "Numbered Account," Mr. Reich steeps his book in history, which helps to add authenticity and color to his story. There are also many interesting sub-plots to the book as well, but I don't want to ruin the story by mapping them all out. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who appreciates history, quality prose, set in the desparate post nazi era. Mr. Reich is an author with a great gift for storytelling.
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Summary: Intelligent and Exciting
Review: It is not very often that I find myself enjoying a book as much as THE RUNNER and at the same time feeling that I learned through the use of vivid detail and obvious research about history in the process. Chris Reich does an outstanding job of building a great plot and story through use of historical detail and character development. All the research sure paid off as the book is both intelligent and exciting from front to back.The main characters are complicated and believable. Some of the characters like Patton are historical and you find the two wound tightly together to tell a compelling story. Judging from the two books that Reich has written to date he will have a very successful future. Everybody has a few authors where you wait for their next book, Reich has been added to my list. Highly recommended.
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Summary: The Runner
Review: It's exciting to find a new author like Christopher Reich, who writes in the genre of Ken Follett and Robert Ludlum (at least the way Robert Ludlum used to write). I really liked this book-couldn't put it down. I especially liked the Patton scenes (hilarious) and could feel the "heat" between Ingrid and Judge when they finally meet. This book would make a great movie! Christopher Reich is an extremely talented writer and I wholeheartedly recommend the book.
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Summary: Move Over Robert Ludlum
Review: Like Daniel Silva, Christopher Reich leads a new generation of intrigue thriller authors. "The Runner" is steeped in historic background that brings the post-WWII period to life at the same time as it provides an electrifying read. What's more it dares to provide a possible explanation of what really happened to General Patton at the end of the war. He was a man who had outlived his time and usefulness, and the convenience of his death has to raise the kind of "what-if" questions that are grist for a gifted storyteller like Reich. Now I must read his other two novels for I have become a fan.
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Summary: Another winner
Review: Like his first novel, Numbered Account, Chris Reich has written another fabulous book, this one a sophisticated, smart period piece. I'm waiting for screenplay adaptations (and the movies) for both books.
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Summary: The Trashing of an American Hero
Review: Mr. Reich could have written an excellent story concerning the immediate aftermath of the war in Europe, however he spends most of the book making Gen. Patton a traitor and common murderer. His attempt to take Patton's warnings about the intent of the Soviets and the need to push them out of Eastern Europe (we might ask some of those left behind the iron curtin if Patton was correct) have been converted to his being a traitor, this is going to far, unfortunatly the courts have ruled that you cannot slander the dead.
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Summary: What About Bad Writing?
Review: My review is my title, above.
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Summary: Been there, done that. . . Way too familiar
Review: Not a terrible book, but it's marred by the feeling of familiarity -- it's been done by better writers (Ken Follett, Jack Higgins, others) and seems not just derivative but sort of rote. The author is a workmanlike prose stylist with a tendency to overuse big words; the characters are pretty thin and not so easy to identify with. The author's first book at least had the virtue of a setting (inside a Swiss bank) that we hadn't really seen much of before. This one's OK, but I recommend instead getting a copy of "Eye of the Needle."
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Summary: Weak Beach Reading
Review: Nothing in this thriller distinguishes it from countless other airplane/beach conspiracy potboilers by authors like Robert Ludlum, Ken Follet, Jack Higgins, et al. Hang on, I take that back, it does have one of the most awfully written sex scenes I've ever come across-I wish I had the book here so I could transcribe some of it. Set in July 1945, as Germany is being carved up by the Allies, the story concerns Erich Seyss, an SS officer (and former Olympian) who breaks out of POW camp and embarks on a desperate scheme to assassinate the Allied leaders when they meet in Potsdam. He is pursued by the heroically named Devlin Judge, an American lawyer (and former NYC cop) who's in Germany to prosecute Nazi war criminals. And, as so often happens in these types of books, Devlin's brother happens to have been one of the victims of a mass murder ordered by Seyss! From there, things get pretty paint-by-numbers: villain is always just barely one step ahead, beautiful women enters and becomes caught up in chase, no one can be trusted, tables get turned, hunter becomes hunted, etc. None of the characters rise veer from their basic motivation-they come across as clichés, despite Reich's attempt to provide a detailed backstory for each. Seyss's portrait as the lethally cunning Nazi machine is particularly weak. As noted elsewhere there are a number of minor gaffes in the details that cry out for more rigorous editorial attention, not to mention mangling of spelling and grammar in both German and English. Despite these flaws, Reich manages present a reasonably plausible portrayal of Germany just after surrender. Indeed, the novel's only somewhat intriguing theme is Reich's deliberate portrayal of the callousness of the average American occupier toward German civilians. However readers looking for a more sophisticated and well-written look at postwar Germany might try Philip Kerr's A German Requiem, the last volume in his "Berlin Noir" trilogy. Finally, it should be noted that while this is a work of fiction Reich's use of U.S. General George Patton and OSS chief "Wild" Bill Donovan would be completely libelous were they not dead and thus fair game for fictional reimagining. Those intrigued by Patton should check out Carlo D'este's biography, Patton: A Genius For War. For the story of Donovan and the origin of the OSS, check out Thomas Troy's book, Wild Bill and Intrepid.
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Summary: Conspiracies Abound
Review: Now I like a super hero as much as anyone. But I like him to be believable.. I think the character of Devlin Judge moves beyond reality. Much more realistic to me is the character of his foe, the German officer Erich Seyss. This novel is a reasonably good read. But.I think, not compelling.
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