Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Writing of History!
Review: This book gave a new twist to history. Eric Syess,a German olympic star becomes a vivious German SS officer. He is imprisoned by the Allies for committing an atrocity. Syess escapes and is pursued by Devlin Judge whose brother was killed in the atrocity. This begins a race across Germany. Along the way Judge inherits Syess's former girlfriend.In the meantime you are introduced to the "Circle of Fire" who wants the rule of the Nazis to continue. There is also a plot introduced to influence world events as they are about to unfold. One of the main line
conspirators will surprise you. All of this makes for a very good book. Action packed from start to finish. You will enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Stalking The Elusive Nazi War Criminal
Review: The author writes well and the characters in his novel are well drawn and interesting. The problem I had with this book is that, plot-wise, almost all of it has been done before. The time of the novel is just after the second world war and the action takes place in Germany. The bad guy is a dedicated SS officer who escapes from prison. He plans to assasinate one of the big three (Truman, Churchill, Stalin) in order to shape the political/economic future of Germany. The hero of the piece is an American officer (former policeman/lawyer) whose priest/brother was killed in cold blood by the Nazi. He pursues the bad guy. My interest flagged three-quarters of the way through. Maybe you'll do better.
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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: Thrilling From Start To Finish........
Review: After reading "Numbered Account", which was one of the most thrilling fiction novels I've read in many years, I wondered why Reich would switch from a financial thriller to a WWII plot. Nonetheless I had to buy the book, and I was far from disappointed. Christopher Reich has a knack for writing novels that keep you enthralled from start to finish. Not only was this book exciting it was also a small lesson in history with a most stunning and thought provoking ending. It was one of those books that I wished would not end. I can strongly recommend this as a wonderful read!
Rating: 
Summary: Exciting but flawed
Review: As much as I love both the unusual setting (post-war Germany) and the thrilling tension throughout the book, the multitude of inexcusable mistakes spoiled the enjoyment of this novel somewhat, at least for for me. Even though as a native German speaker I usually couldn't care less whenever international authors use the odd foreign language phrase incorrectly, Mr. Reich (who's presumably spent a few years in Switzerland) does not get a single German phrase right in this book; sometimes it's so bad that the remarks don't even make sense. Sorry, but this gets really annoying once you're past page 100 or so. On top of that, there are some pretty strange factual errors as well, mainly of geographical nature that could've been avoided by simply checking a cheap map.Other than that, "The Runner" is a good thriller, comparable to "The Needle" by British author Ken Follett (who is a much better researcher, though). Next time Mr. Reich should hand his novel over to an editor who knows his business if he intends to venture out into a foreign setting again.
Rating:
Summary: Flat out - A Great Read!!!
Review: Danial Silva did this kind of novel well - a World War II piece where we know the outcome from reading history, but not how it came about...the nitty gritty...the dirty little secrets. Christopher Reich takes it to the same level with this effort. By the time the central character in the book, Devlin Judge, gets to page 298, a question has occurred to him...and to most readers, I suspect..."Why were members of the American military assisting a fugitive SS officer and a scion of Germany's most powerful industrial family to carry out a heinous scheme whose success would ensure only personal heartbreak, national mourning and political instability?" The answer takes many more pages and involves a very plausable conclusion. This book is a departure from the previous notable first effort by the author, Numbered Account, but it stands on its own as a first class piece of writing which I recommend without hesitation.
Rating:
Summary: A Rip Roaring Ride Through Post WWII Germany
Review: I found this novel to be extremely entertaining and informative. Reich writes persuavively and knowingly about the murky and volatile era that followed the closing of hostilities of the Second WAr. I always like manhunts..when there are plenty of twists and Reich serves up a bunch of them. The story was believable and teh characters were all well rounded, especially the White Lion, Erich Seyss. All in all, I can say I truly enjoyed this work.
Rating:
Summary: Another typical end of WWII thriller
Review: This is another typical end WWII thriller of which you probably have read dozens. Its been done before and better. The book is lightweight fun yet you can't help feeling like you have read the same thing before... kind of like all romance novels seem to be the same. It is easy to right about the "good" war where Germans are devils and Americans are angels (usually) even if while we know things are never really this black and white. In this way the story is very predictable and one dimentional yet if this is the way you like your stories then this one is for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Easily the worst book I've read in years
Review: I picked up this book while on vacation because I absolutely needed something to read and pass away those hours one inevitably spends waiting in airport lounges and the like. In any event my expectations were fairly low to begin with but this piece of trashy fiction even managed to fall below those. The plot is completely improbable and reads more like a poor attempt at a second-rate screen play than a stab at writing something that might belong to the genre "literature" or even "fiction". The German language used is riddled with errors of spelling and syntax and led me to ask myself, on more than one occassion, whether Reich really knows what the hell he's talking about. One can practically see the end coming a mile away and I had to literally force myself to not put down this book in sheer boredom during what was suppossed to be the really big and suspenseful build-up to the last scene. The characters lack any real depth, despite Reich's repeated attempts to go into some detail in regard to their respective pasts. Basically I am thinking that if this sort of thing is typical of Reich, then he can join the parking lots full of contemporary (and predominantly American) writers who are churning out such large amounts of unreadable garbage these days, and who would better serve this world by putting down their pens forever. With guys like Grisham, Clancy, Crichton and Alex Garland, he will be in the best of company. I mean for God's sake boys, the Malaysian rainforests could use a break. Somebody pass me the latest Le Carre novel, at least THAT man knows what he's talking about and writes English like it's his first language. Simon Lacey currently roaming free in Santiago de Chile
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but don't recite the authors german quotes..
Review: The story is not bad, the plot fast, but despite of some german-speaking ancestors of the author, he's quoting of german phrases is FUBAR (f.. up beyond all recognition). Although the story is quite beefy; if I would be a relative of General Patton or Field Marshal Montgomery, I would sue the author.
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