海角大神

In light of drone strikes, cyber terrorism, religious extremists, and morally ambiguous international policies, it鈥檚 easy to look at World War II and say, 鈥�罢丑补迟鈥檚 how to fight a war!鈥� Which is of course why World War II stories are so popular still. They have become real-life reflections of the greatest story ever told: the battle between good and evil, glorified in fiction and history alike as our finest hour.

But what if we hadn鈥檛 won?

罢丑补迟鈥檚 the premise behind Guy Saville鈥檚 debut thriller The Afrika Reich, set in an alternate-history 1950s. Pearl Harbor never happened, the US never got involved, and the British were massacred at Dunkirk, leading to a truce that divided the African continent.

Richard Burton, British ex-Foreign Legionnaire-turned-mercenary heads up a squad to travel to the heart of Nazi Africa. The iron-fisted Walter Hochberg, sadistic head of the African SS, is the target for a secret assassination attempt. Hochberg killed Burton's father and possibly his mother, and Burton wants revenge. But 鈥渟omething鈥� (down with spoilers!) goes wrong during the mission and Burton and his former Foreign Legion commander Patrick are left in the middle of Nazi-held Africa. Finding themselves in the middle of a growing international conflict, their only chance to survive is to get out of Africa.

The Nazis have interned all of the Africans within their borders to a Saharan camp called 鈥淢uspel.鈥� (Subtle Norse mythological hints abound throughout the book.) Vicious supporting-lady/child-soldier Neliah has flashbacks to the horrors of the Herero genocide, which fuels her rage and makes her a perfect partner for Burton and Patrick. Her weapon of choice is a dull, rusty machete, which she refuses to sharpen 鈥� it makes the cuts worse.

In an epic of 鈥�Die Hard鈥� (or maybe 鈥淧redator鈥�) proportions, the remaining team members wade through a sea of Nazis in the jungle. The remorseless main characters have no compunction about killing hundreds of other people. There's tons of huge explosions, and bloodthirsty bad guys so insane that they make The Red Skull look like ... something not so insane. Saville never lets up on the gas as this book busts some major blocks.

Saville鈥檚 debut tries to rise above the average middle-grade thriller novel and his meticulous research does stand out amongst the explosions and blood. But "The Afrika Reich" never quite rises above the level of an airport bookstore bestseller 鈥� a fun read, but not truly outstanding. It rests too much on fast-paced action sequences to pull the reader through the plot. (I also dislike being purposefully mislead; it feels "gimmicky.")聽

鈥淭he Afrika Reich鈥� takes its premise of alternate history at face value, letting the reader pick up on the overarching scheme of what changed when and who are now the world's major players. (Hint: one of them rhymes with 鈥淢itler.鈥�) No long expositions break the flow of action in this book. To Saville鈥檚 credit, I was never confused by the complicated alternate political back-story. His writing is smooth, and the book is structured well.

Because it's revealed that his archenemy is still alive (gaah! spoiler 鈥� sorry!), Burton is never in any real danger, which allows Saville to insert him in more and more cartoonish battle sequences, leading up to the final inevitable confrontation. It makes for an arresting read, but there鈥檚 a sense of distance from the killing that feels like, well, watching an '80s action flick 鈥� complete with the 鈥淚 should鈥檝e retired/realizing that revenge isn鈥檛 worth it鈥� emotional scenes.

As the first novel in a planned trilogy, 鈥淭he Afrika Reich鈥� sets up the coming epic conflagration well. (Seriously, get cozy with your Norse mythology.) Saville's knowledge base and skill do much to bolster this book. But as a fast-paced read in the style of Dan Brown (lots of plot twists, cliffhangers, etc.) it doesn't quite make the leap from pretty good to great.

-Ben Frederick is a contributor to 海角大神