Night of Broken Souls

Rating:
Summary: Interesting premise, poorly executed
Review: I grabbed this book off the shelf after reading The Resurrectionist (so-so) because I was in the mood for a quick, mindless read. The premise was interesting (past lives and souls reborn), but the characters came and went with little thought to plot. It is as if Mr. Monteleone asked all of his friends to come up with horror stories from WWII regarding Jews and included them. Now, of course, if all of these "good" people (read: innocent) who died in the Holocaust were reborn, it only makes sense that the evils ones would be as well. Oooohhh! Spooky!

It is never quite explained if part of the reborn soul is carried over life to life (an opera singer becomes a concert violinist becomes a pop star, etc). None of the "reborn" characters have any of their former life's qualities...so why should we be concerned about Hitler/Mengele/Der Klein Engel? So only the "bad" souls take the evil with them?

Also, I have to agree with the Rabbi's review below (excellent, by the way...please read it). There were quite a few "Jewish" anomalies...Mr. Monteleone's research must have focused on the Holocaust, not the Jewish faith (and culture - to some) in general. And I found his portrayal of the Rabbinical expert as stereotypical (and bordering on offensive), as we all know that Rabbis are either cold and distant (and tall and thin) or fat and jolly...a Jewish Santa Claus!

The romance between the male psychiatrist and his secretary (please) felt false and included only for some legitimate sex (too keep bored readers interested?). The female psychiatrist was cardboard as well.

The ending, which I won't describe, was full of (for me, at least) much eye rolling and "you MUST be kidding"'s. Very warm and fuzzy, with a requiset creepy epilogue.

In general, this book is not THAT bad if you don't read too much into it. Nice for a plane or long road trip. Not for those who want factual information.

Slightly worse than average...

Rating:
Summary: Tedious, inauthentic treatment of very real phenomenon
Review: I picked this up hoping it would be a chilling but illuminating exploration of the Holocaust Reincarnation Phenomenon. It is not for me to say whether or not the experiences of people who believe in this are real but I do know that this author just has not done his homework on the Jewish Holocaust experience in my opinion. This book cried out that it was written by a non-Jew, which is not to say that a Gentile couldn't write well about this subject, just that this one didn't write well on the subject. I was further dismayed by the obvious resemblence of the Fictional Rabbi to the one Rabbi who in real life has spoken out about this issue. For some further and much more literate comments on that, please read his statements below. In conclusion, I feel you would do better to seek out non-fiction works on this subject until such time as a more skilled writer takes up the subject.

Rating:
Summary: Night of Broken Souls
Review: Night of Broken Souls

The book Night of Broken Souls by Thomas Monteleone is exciting and action-packed. This thrilling novel is about the psychiatrist, Michael Keating. A new patient comes bursting into Michael's office about to kill herself because of horrible nightmares she had been having of being a Jewish girl in a consentration camp during the Holocaust. While doing research on his patient he stumbles onto a horrifying phenomenon, people worldwide have been vivid nightmares and blackouts relating back to the Holocaust. Michael realizes that these victims are the reincarnated souls of innocent Holocaust victims. Later Keating discovers that along with the victims, Der Klein Engel, the man destine to murder these victims may has been reincarnated also. Michael and a few select colleagues must stop Der Klein Engle, or "the Little Angel" before the Holocaust happens all over again.
Any one who likes a little action in their life would love this book. I personally enjoyed this novel despite the slightly vulgar language and distasteful sexual content. I would rate this to be a nine on a scale from one to ten. For those who thrive on details and knowledge this book has very detailed scenes of the horrors of the Holocaust. For those thrill seekers out there, there is enough action to full fill anyone's thrive.