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Title: The Afrika Reich

Author: Guy Saville

Narrator: Richard Burnip

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 hrs and 24 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-31-16

Publisher: Oakhill Publishing

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

It's 1952. More than a decade since humiliation at Dunkirk brought an end to Britain's war and the beginning of an uneasy peace with Hitler.

In Africa, the swastika flies from the Sahara to the Indian Ocean. The brutal presence of the SS is visible everywhere.

Now, however, the demonic plans of Walter Hochburg - architect of Nazi Africa - threaten Britain's ailing colonies.

In England, ex-mercenary Burton Cole is offered one last contract. He jumps at the chance to settle an old score with Hochburg. If Burton fails, unimaginable horrors will be unleashed in Africa.

Critic Reviews:

"Saville gives us an horrific reimagining of the Dark Continent." (The Times)

"[The] plot is clever, imaginative and, in its finale, wholly unexpected. In a crowded field, The Afrika Reich stands out as a rich and unusual thriller, politically sophisticated and hard to forget." (Economist)

"Fatherland for an action movie age." (Daily Telegraph)

"The Afrika Reich is a gripping novel and a remarkable exercise in alternate history." (Jacinto Anton in El Pais)

"Set in a world in which Britain made peace with Hitler after 1940, this account of a mercenary mission to Africa makes for an engrossing and convincing debut." (Sunday Express, Books of the Year 2011)

"If readers like terrifying stories behind a dense layer of historical depiction this is an unexpected and unforgettable story that they must read." (Geopolitique Africaine)

"Saville's alternate world is so carefully crafted that it is all too believable." (Jewish Chronicle)

"[A] dark and gruesome narrative dynamic." (Kirkus)

"[An] intoxicating debut...a glorious, exhaustingly energetic romp through an Africa which wasn't, but which might have been.... Written with style, verve and startling lyricism, The Afrika Reich makes serious points as it entertains." (Historical Novel Review)

Members Reviews:

Fast paced, hurt me bad action in a fully realised alternate post WWII world

I really don't understand the 'negative' reviews on this book, as the blurb is pretty clear what it is: a fast-paced, military-espionage thriller set in an alternative post-WWII world. Apparently some people didn't like the non-stop, hit-characters-where-it-hurts action and thought the Nazis little more than stereotypes pulled straight out of Indiana Jones! (Being an archaeologist, I had to laugh aloud at that one!).

That the author has lived in Africa really shines through in his descriptions of how the air tastes and feels, the flora, even the grit and dirt - the setting comes alive as a character in its own right.

The world building is excellent. I loved the exploration of colonialism and the 'what would have happened if Germany became a great colonial power' in this book. Some of this is drawn from historical documents and extrapolations of what might have come to be if Germany had dominated the world after WWII; others are natural evolutions of this from the author's imagination. There weren't really a lot of intrusive info dumps to build the world, which I found very satisfying. I HATE Robert Jordan-type, bloated info dumps and self-indulgent description.

Characters & characterisation: as this is a series, I wasn't expecting a huge arc for the main character. I was very satisfied with the slow unveiling of Burton Cole and his past.