Guy Saville's The Afrika Reich begins in 1952--12 years after the war in Western Europe ended with French defeat and a British-German nonaggression pact. Since then, the Third Reich has spread to cover large parts of the globe. The head of Nazi Afrika is Walter Hochburg, a crazed racist notable for his viciousness even by Nazi standards. His Kongo is a scary world of slave labor and the rampant looting of natural resources.
Former mercenary Burton Cole is pulled out of retirement to lead a team to kill Hochburg and protect the few remaining British colonies in Africa. It's supposed to be easy money, and it will enable Cole to support his pregnant girlfriend. But, inevitably perhaps, the mission falls apart, and Cole is forced to flee across thousands of miles of Nazi territory. Desperate to find his way home, Cole will do anything to get to the African coast and kill anyone who gets in his path.
The world of The Afrika Reich is vividly imagined, and horrifyingly plausible, as Saville shows us what the world could have become if the Nazis had won. The Afrika Reich is not for the faint of heart--gruesome and gory, it depicts a continent where racist men have had free reign over the native populace for nearly a decade. Burton Cole must fight not only for his life and those of his comrades, but for the lives of thousands of innocents who will suffer unimaginable torments if he fails.
As I mentioned before, I really enjoyed the creative world of The Afrika Reich. It's a really innovative setting, and I appreciate that a lot. I did not, however, enjoy the detailed violence. Granted the Nazis were extremely violent in real life, so I'm sure that Guy Saville didn't write anything they didn't do... but it was too much for me. I think maybe this is more of a "guy" book.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Should I recommend this to my grandma? Nope. Probably not.
I originally wrote this review for Shelf Awareness. The image is an affiliate link.
