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Summary: Perfection, thy name is Greg Iles!
Review: This book has everything: history, adventure, espionage, even a dash of romance. It's a page turner, with not a wasted word, and is unbelievably gripping. Definitely worth staying up all night and losing sleep for. It's also thought-provoking. How do you cope with sheer horror on a day-to-day basis without losing your sanity and humanity? Set in the concentration camps of WWII, it answers (in its way) the question of why Hitler never used his stockpile of poisonous gas. Get this book NOW and spread the word!
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Summary: this book gripped me and would not let go!
Review: this was the first book about WWII i read and i must admit that i was a bit timid when i started, but the first line teased my curiosity and i felt compelled to read more. the characters: the angry Jewish terrorist, the american pacifist, the desperate Jewish mother, and the nurse employed by the Nazis were wonderfully and honestly written, which is truly the treasure of this novel. the last 100 pages held me at the edge of my seat as if i were on a rollercoaster and Iles conducted the story like a true master of fiction.
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Summary: A Book That You Couldn't Put Down!
Review: This proved to be an outstanding book by Greg Iles. A Jewish warrior and a doctor from Georgia team up to destroy nerve gas that is bein produced by the Nazis in a concentration camp. This book portrays the toughness of the Jewish warrior by very ably pointing out some of the trauma that the Jewish warrior has been through. In a plan that is devised the warrior is teamed with a Georgia doctor to halt the production of the deadly nerve gas. The race against time will keep you on the edge of your seat.The final ending situation will give you bad nerves. This Jewish warrior shows no fear as he accomplishes his mission. I was very pleased to discover the warrior in old age in Spandau Phoenix. Read this book and you will become a Greg Iles fan also.
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Summary: A ROLLER COASTER RIDE OF TERROR
Review: All eyes were on Europe in January, 1944, waiting for the Allied invasion of Europe. While elsewhere and known only to few a dramatic and life threatening scenario has begun. Winston Churchill has become aware that top Nazi scientists have produced Sarin, a ghastly new weapon, a nerve gas that could kill untold numbers. Obviously, this must be stopped and the one way to do it is chilling and dangerous. An unlikely pair, a pacifist Southern doctor and a Jewish assassin undertake this task. Their mandate is to destroy Sarin, no matter the cost, even the loss of their own lives. From opening words to closing line this author takes readers on a roller coaster ride of harrowing escapades and unimaginable terror.
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Summary: not a bad sophomore effort for Greg Iles
Review: Following the grand success of Spandau Phoenix, Iles tells another tale with World War II roots in Black Cross. This time the story is completely within the wartime context, except for the frame of a doctor discovering the unknown but heroic exploits of his grandfather. That grandfather begins World War II as a pacifist researcher in Oxford, England, looking for counters to poison gas, but he comes out of the war something entirely different. A plan by British intelligence to end the threat of Hitler's poison gas program, the same Israeli operative from Spandau Phoenix, and the characters of a unique Nazi concentration camp join in changing that grandfather forever. With fewer characters than Spandau Phoenix, Iles develops these a bit more but does less with the overall plot. I thought this one moved considerably slower for no good reason. Black Cross is not as good as Spandau Phoenix, but it is still a solid read.
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Summary: A CROSS WORTH BEARING
Review: Greg Iles is a terrific writer. I have read his later books, which are gripping contemporary suspense stories. His career got jump started with this book and the previous "Spandau Phoenix" (which I haven't read yet, but am planning on starting soon).
"Black Cross" is an involving, complex story of trust, greed, love, evil, heroism, and change. As always, Iles' characters are superb, and not black and white stereotypes.
Join Mark McConnell, the pacifist, who joins in a suicide mission only to help defend, and finds himself in the position of having to risk the lives of innocent people to achieve a goal to save the invading Allied troups; Josh Stern, a daredevil Jew, whose bravery and macho charm, are equal to his selfishness and innate brutality; Anna Kaas, an undercover nurse, who has faced the horrors of the concentration camp and who realizes that she too must act to save more than the prisoners; Rachel Jansen, an incredibly brave, level-headed prisoner who watches both her husband father in law murdered, and then desperately tries to save her two children; and Wolfgang Schorner, the head of the camp who falls for Rachel and wants to help her, but who is still a murdering, consciously Nazi.
All of these leading characters are devastatingly real; but the supporting characters are stunning, too: Ariel Weisz, the "weasel" Jew who helps the Nazis; Frau Hagan, the burly woman who befriends Rachel and teaches her the tricks of the prison; Sergeant Strum, a heartless, mindless killing machine; Duff Smith, the arrogant general who recruits McConnell and Stern to do the bidding, lying to them in the process; Avram Stern, the shoemaker who also has another secret; and Ian McShane, the burly Scotsman who trains McConnell and Stern in how to get the gas bomb to the camp.
What a stunning book this is. At first, I thought I wouldn't get involved as I am not a fan of blending historic characters into fictional plots. (We have Churchill and Eisenhower here). But Iles is a genius. This is a great read and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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Summary: Phenominal thriller from this wonderful writer!
Review: Another satisfying, exciting read from Greg Iles. This one has pulse pounding action, suspense and historical drama for hundreds and hundreds of pages...will keep you excellent company from start to finish!
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Summary: Awesome, great, a must read....Loved it....
Review: I absolutely loved this book. Couldn't put it down. Just great....Fast paced and interesting.....can't wait to read his next book.
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Summary: A THRILLING ROLLER COASTER RIDE
Review: Voice performer Jay O. Saunders gives spellbinding reading to this sometimes horrifying always compelling tale of World War II. All eyes were on Europe in January, 1944, waiting for the Allied invasion of Europe. While elsewhere and known only to few a dramatic and life threatening scenario has begun. Winston Churchill has become aware that top Nazi scientists have produced Sarin, a ghastly new weapon, a nerve gas that could kill untold numbers. Obviously, this must be stopped and the one way to do it is chilling and dangerous. An unlikely pair, a pacifist Southern doctor and a Jewish assassin undertake this task. Their mandate is to destroy Sarin, no matter the cost, even the loss of their own lives. From opening words to final tape author and reader take listeners on a roller coaster ride of harrowing escapades and unimaginable terror. - Gail Cooke
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Summary: A GRABBER
Review: This book is one of those that once you start reading it grabs you and you unfortunately have to occasionally lay it down to eat, answer telephone or go to the bathroom. I have now read 4 of Greg Iles books in the past three weeks. He is one of the most masterful and wide ranging authors recently encountered. His novels are reminescent of Robert Ludlum, Ken Follett, Hammond Innes, Allstair MacLean, John LeCarre, Frederick Forsyth, John Grisham and Jeffrey Archer. His varied plots are in many ways more complex and interwoven than those of the other authors of this type of fiction. Outcomes are to a large degree unpredicable and up in the air until the last few pages, making his novels unique and unfogettable.
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