Spandau Phoenix: A Novel
by Greg Iles

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Book Reviews of Spandau Phoenix: A Novel

Book Review: Very Disappointing
Summary: 2 Stars

I hardly know where to begin to describe this mess. There is not one memorable character, good or bad, in this book. There is also no real hero either. Characters seem to come and go without purpose. A number of individuals who seem destined to play major roles either get killed or just disappear. It is not enough that the villains are Nazis, they also have to be sadistic and, in one notable case, child molesters. The "good guys don't fair much better other than, perhaps, Ilse, her grandfather, and a Berlin detective who doesn't really have all that much to do. (Question: since the name Ilse has the same letters as Iles, does she represent the feminine side of the author?) Also, no one walks or runs in this book. Everyone is too busy sprinting and dashing from place to place. Please!

Then there is the so-called plot. Anyone who doesn't spot the real Hess as soon as he appears in the book needs to go back to junior high school. Everyone is chasing the Hess diary, which, of course, is not written by Hess, but by the end of the book there are all sorts of copies of it floating around. People are being killed so they can destroy or publish it, and yet everyone seems to agree that no one will reveal what it says anyway. I guess none of the characters have heard of the New York Times or the National Enquirer, two publications that have probably never been mentioned in the same sentence in the entire history of Western Civilization. My personal favorite part of the book involves a character who has found the diary, hidden it in his apartment, and is worried about his wife finding it. So what does he do? He goes to the movies. Wouldn't you?

The last quarter of the book is pretty much a running gunfight. I found it especially hard to read because I had to stop every few minutes to roll my eyes in disbelief. Is everyone in this book stupid, or what? For example, one person is a sadistic killer, but when he is captured, no one bothers to check to see if he has a gun hidden on him. Also, it isn't clear why the Nazis don't win out in the end since the "good guys" keep turning on and, in some cases, killing each other.

I guess disbelief is the key for me here. I don't expect to believe everything I read in thrillers, but I do expect to be able to suspend reality. I never was able to do that.

So, if you want to read a good novel by Iles, try "Mortal Fear". If you want to read something good about Nazis, try one of Robert Ludlum's early novels, but forget about "Spandau Phoenix".

Summary of Spandau Phoenix: A Novel

Comics & Graphic Novels Books

• Subjects > Comics & Graphic Novels
• Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > War
• Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers > Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue