The Last Reich

Rating:
Summary: Good plot, very bad writing
Review: Alternate history has to stand on a believable premise and good writing and in my opinion this book has only one leg. I found the premise believable, a German victory in WWII through poor US leadership because of the early death of Roosevelt. The writing looked like a first draft, and a bad one. I find it hard to believe even the author proofread this book, much less the editor. Often, a new paragraph will start to describe a different character in a different country with no new chapter or section or even introduction. The characters are wooden with no depth. The conversations are not believable.

I give it two stars because I found the plot interesting. However, the writing was inexcusably bad.

Rating:
Summary: Good plot, very bad writing
Review: Alternate history has to stand on a believable premise and good writing and in my opinion this book has only one leg. I found the premise believable, a German victory in WWII through poor US leadership because of the early death of Roosevelt. The writing looked like a first draft, and a bad one. I find it hard to believe even the author proofread this book, much less the editor. Often, a new paragraph will start to describe a different character in a different country with no new chapter or section or even introduction. The characters are wooden with no depth. The conversations are not believable.

I give it two stars because I found the plot interesting. However, the writing was inexcusably bad.

Rating:
Summary: Yuk!?!?!
Review: Don't buy this book. The storyline is very inconsistant with history and it makes very invalid assumptions.

Rating:
Summary: Yuk!?!?!
Review: Don't buy this book. The storyline is very inconsistant with history and it makes very invalid assumptions.

Rating:
Summary: Tank you, Mr Rhodes
Review: For alternate history buffs, this one rocks!


It makes me sqeamish, though, having tank battles in the heartland of America, but if history had gone that way, I suppose it would have happened.


There are some uneven patches, but all in all a fun read. For battle action, the only recent title that might compare is Hopp's Dinosaur Wars, where intelligent dinosaurs return from space to battle our troops in M1A1 Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles.

Rating:
Summary: Really, really bad!
Review: I'm beginning to think that the positive reviews were written by the author. There is nothing good about this book. He doesn't have a story to tell, he cannot write conversational dialog, the story jumps all over the place within a chapter and he has absolutely no character development skills. The worst part is that he has developed a non-believable version of a Nazi-controlled America.

He did construct a believable scenario of how Germany won the war, but it goes downhill from there. The examples are too numerous to mention all of them, however, the most glaring is that after ten years of occupation, the Nazi's still allows Jews to live in America and they allow Asians to serve as officers in the military.

So let me get this right ... within a few years after starting WWII (and in the middle of conducting a massive war effort), the Nazi's were able to murder almost all of the Jews in Europe. However, after 10 years of occupation of America they still allow Jews to exist? The author makes a token reference to Death Camps but it's obvious that the author doesn't really understand the nature of the Nazi regime.

Also, one part of the story has a Korean Panzer officer. Huh? Do you mean to tell me that the most racist regime in history would allow a non-Aryan like a Korean to be in the military, much less an officer???

For a book like this to succeed the author has to construct a believable scenario. He does not do this. The examples of his lack of understanding appear on almost every page.

Please do not spend money on this book. It has no value whatsoever.

Rating:
Summary: poorly written and overpriced
Review: The Last Reich is a book that fails to develop. The characters have no real demension or depth. I am astonished at how easily the new U.S. Govt gears up after the Nazis leave and how our new U.S. Ambassador finds the perfect pipline for info.
My main problem is that everybody falls into patriotic lockstep after winning a few urban battles. Common sense states that with the secret police and methods the Nazis had and would have perfected by the 1960's a nationally coordinated attack would have been impossible. Additionally, there was no problems of colaborators trials, brainwashed Americans soilders or even reprisals. How did the President get elected in such a short time and who voted for him? Isn't America lucky that after a full generation of occupation, we were able to have leaders with no character flaws or hidden agenda's!
I did enjoy the descriptions of the battles, however, Mr. Rhodes has a long way to go. A previous reviewer stated that a second novel may be forthcoming. I hope that the author has a better editor.
All in all, I feel that this could have been a much better book and at a price of app $20.00 is VASTLY overpriced.

Rating:
Summary: The Last Reich
Review: The Last Reich is a novel with a twist on World War II. Germany wins the war but America reacts with fury and fire. Arthur Rhodes is at his best with his description of the four battles. He writes crisp and cunning plots, a complex thriller. He is not one to go into great detail, but moves the story along at footrace pace to the final battle. Older readers will recognize many of the famous names in the book, and why the Normandie Invasion failed with General Clark in command not General Eisenhower. Mr. Rhodes waves the flag a great deal and appeals to the young and young at heart. I especially was taken with the young Commander Iberson who wins the battle at the Golden Gate Bridge and the Rio Grande with his amazing feats, and courage. He is a man who can inspire Captains to carry ammunition.

Rating:
Summary: Great idea... my kingdom for an editor!
Review: This book is the classic example of how good ideas could be completely ruined. The author came up with a good premise... which included how the war could have been won, and how battles could have been fought on American soil... even how the internal conflicts within the Reich could have affected its control of the world.
But that is it; there are no more good qualities to the novel. Sadly, the author cannot write. (...) His punctuation and grammar make it difficult to read; I only finished the novel because I was interested in how it would end... such a pity.
It is obvious that Mr. Rhodes used a small printing company, and possibly his own money, to publish this novel; it is a pity that a major publisher did not pick it up, because this book would be a bestseller with the help of some major editing.

Rating:
Summary: What if the Nazi's prevailed?
Review: What if FDR died in 1942? What if America had not been able to muster all her resources to aid the allies in defeating the German and Japanese war machines? Arthur Rhodes took me on a journey through history that is at once plausable and quite disturbing.
"The Last Reich" is a legitamate page-turner, quite honestly, much more so than I expected. The story moves quickly, the characters are defined without being cumbersome. The author's research was obviously thorough yet not over-whelmingly detailed.
I found it an easy book to read, although the publisher should be embarrassed by the horrendous gaffs found through out the novel. In fact that is the very reason I deprived Mr. Rhode's a fifth star, sorry Arthur!
I have heard rumors that "The Last Reich" may not be the final chapter of Mr. Rhodes' revised history lesson; I for one hope that this is true. I highly recommend this book and anxiously await the follow-up.
Bravo, Mr Rhodes!