The Holcroft Covenant

Ludlum is my guilty pleasure that I hate to admit to. His work is not great literature, but wonderful fun vacation reading. Yes, the characters lack deep inner lives, but the action is non-stop and the plots often inovative.With this work, Ludlum offers us up one of his favorite villians, Nazis, here trying to establish the Fourth Reich. Our protaganist goes through twists and turns while romping around the world, trying to understand the sinister web in which he has fallen. He does not know who to trust and neither do we. All we know is that the stakes are unimaginable.Great Fun!

What would happen if in the final stages of WWII, high ranking Nazi officials who knew the 3rd Reich was about to collapse, made a bold move and set the wheels in motion to begin the 4th Reich...but not for a very long time... Sounds interesting, huh? It IS.I read this book many years ago, and recently I began the joyful task of re-reading all of my favorite Ludlum novels, mostly because I was in a slump and couldn't find anything that grabbed my interest--but also because I remembered how much I truly enjoyed these books and was curious as to whether or not I would like them as much all these years later. One of my favorites was 'The Holcroft Covenant' and I have to admit, this one kept me on the edge of my sofa for several days as I absorbed this great conspiracy-theory book for the 2nd time. Noel Holcroft is unwittingly a part of this global project, even though he despises everything the Nazi's stood for. He realizes over time that what is to be set in motion is farther reaching than he thought was even possible. How could it be that an organization as hated as the Nazi's rise again? The answer to WHO is supporting the rise of the 4th Reich is shocking to say the least--and for the reader, immensely entertaining. Let me warn you right away, for those who are hoping for the usual Ludlum launch of action from beginning to end, this might come as a bit of a let-down. He sets the stage early on, but takes his time building to the climax (which is most satisfying). The tension grows gradually, and as the conspiracies grow and multiply, so does the action and suspense. Give it a shot, and DON'T give up too soon. I promise you that as the plot unfolds, you WILL be happy to took the journey. I echo the thoughts of another reviewer, as I read 'The Apocalypse Watch' I couldn't help but wonder whether or not it was a sequel of some kind to 'Covenant'--but not as good. It has been said that Ludlum's earliest work was his best, and I have to agree. Not much that has come off the presses in the 90's has been nearly as suspenseful as what he produced in the late 70's and 80's. TRUST me, if you can pick up his early work and end up NOT finishing it, you either have NO attention span, or you just dislike good fiction, 'cuz that is what Ludlum produces: GOOD FICTION (VERY good stuff indeed). 'The Holcroft Covenant' is a hum-dinger and really fun to boot. The ending really IS worth the journey.

I've recently found that in all the Robert Ludlum books I've been reading, and in some cases re-reading after several years, that his early work is by far his best. If you're new to this author, this is a good starting point - and this plot was re-used in part for his later effort THE APOCALYPSE WATCH, also worth checking out. This riveting story which has almost come true concerns a vast fortune left in a Swiss bank account by Hitler's aides for the SONNENKINDER project, a plan to start a Fourth Reich and take over the world. Sounds familiar? One of the earlier inspirations for many more novels of this nature, including Clive Cussler's ATLANTIS FOUND in part! Noel Holcroft, one of the Sonnenkinder, must use every trick and desperate measure in the book(no pun intended) to get his hands on the fortune to prevent the Fourth Reich getting their way. Along the way, he finds that he cannot trust anybody he comes into contact with as his trail leads him to Brazil, Switzerland and England. As usual, Ludlum never fails to surprise the reader - who is really the professional assassin TINAMOU? The answer does not come until near the end, which is a surprise in itself! Overall, a very fine read!

I'm not much of a reader but a book on tape listener. This book I READ in 2 days. I couldn't put it down, EVER!! If your looking for action and excitement. A twisting turning mystery with a surprise ending, This is the book.

Although Ludlum is not one of my favorite authors, I simply could not get my eyes off the book. it was totally detailed, and not lacking in anything. The climax was what shocked me the most, and I liked the book for that.