Description:
Germany, 1945. In the waning days of World War II, the Nazis have been all but defeated. Uwe Fuchs, never a fighter, feels fortunate to have avoided the front lines as he cared for his widowed mother.
But Uwe’s fortune changes when Hans Sauer, the village bully, recruits him to join a guerilla resistance unit preparing for the arrival of Allied soldiers. At first, Uwe is wary. The war is lost, and rumor has it that Hans is a deserter. But Hans entices him with talk of power, brutality, and their village’s ancestral lore: werewolves.
With some reluctance, Uwe joins up with the pack and soon witnesses their startling transformation. But when the men’s violent rampage against enemy soldiers takes a devastatingly personal turn, Uwe must grapple not only with his role in their evil acts but with his own humanity. Can he reclaim what this group of predatory men has stolen from him?
Or has he been a monster all along?
My Review:
This is the first book I’ve read by this author but it was a title that our book club decided to read. I like dark fantasy, so I gave it a go.
From other books I’ve read, I knew that the Nazis’ were into the supernatural and always hunting for lost relics of power. What I didn’t know was that some of their beliefs were based on the fairytales from their country.
As the story unfolded, I felt for Uwe, the lure of being a werewolf, feeling powerful and in control. But control of that nature is only an illusion. Which he sadly found out.
It was brought up more than once in the story how the Germans let themselves become victims to Hilter. Well, I see that happening in our own country with the leftist party. They keep pushing at us with their corrupted morals and we just let them.
The ending was a shock and unexpected, which I loved. However, I felt there were some plot holes, which I don’t want to get to deep into to give away spoilers. Suffice it to say, I don’t think Alma has been in the military or knows how firearms are treated in unfriendly hands. Also, if the werewolf is that mentally stronger than the human, why give the power back to them?
The story was very well edited, and it will definitely appeal to readers who love short, dark fantasy stories. I give it 4 stars.
