The Runner

This book gave a new twist to history. Eric Syess,a German olympic star becomes a vivious German SS officer. He is imprisoned by the Allies for committing an atrocity. Syess escapes and is pursued by Devlin Judge whose brother was killed in the atrocity. This begins a race across Germany. Along the way Judge inherits Syess's former girlfriend.In the meantime you are introduced to the "Circle of Fire" who wants the rule of the Nazis to continue. There is also a plot introduced to influence world events as they are about to unfold. One of the main lineconspirators will surprise you. All of this makes for a very good book. Action packed from start to finish. You will enjoy it.

Danial Silva did this kind of novel well - a World War II piece where we know the outcome from reading history, but not how it came about...the nitty gritty...the dirty little secrets. Christopher Reich takes it to the same level with this effort. By the time the central character in the book, Devlin Judge, gets to page 298, a question has occurred to him...and to most readers, I suspect..."Why were members of the American military assisting a fugitive SS officer and a scion of Germany's most powerful industrial family to carry out a heinous scheme whose success would ensure only personal heartbreak, national mourning and political instability?" The answer takes many more pages and involves a very plausable conclusion. This book is a departure from the previous notable first effort by the author, Numbered Account, but it stands on its own as a first class piece of writing which I recommend without hesitation.

This is a real page-turner, with an old Nazi still a threat, and the hero having to stop him. The top two "surviving Nazis" novels I've read have been "The Boys from Brazil" and "The Shape: A Novel of International Suspense." And "The Runner" is right up there with those two.

This book is every bit as good as his first, "Numbered Account", in fact I liked it even more.Mr. Reich does not take the easy way out by using basic Historical fact and fictionalizing the balance of his book. The result is still Fiction, but researched with a Historian's eye, and some clever "what if?" scenarios. The result is a hybrid that is truly interesting and not just entertainment. I believe this allowed him to bring "The Runner" to readers that is fresh book, even though the main event it is based upon is not.The book has some nice plot twists, what makes them so slick, is that they are not so transparent that they reveal the balance of the book when the first hint appears. When you think you may have the story line solved, another bit comes along, and Mr. Reich pulls the carpet from beneath you.Mr. Reich is no one time winner. If this second effort is any indicator of the future, the next dozen will only continue his success.Buy it. No regrets.