“Black Phoenix” eBook was published in 2017 (original paper edition was published in 1994) and was written by George Bernau. Mr. Bernau published three novels.

I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Situations. The story is set in the closing days of World War II. The primary character is US Army Major Thomas Sheridan, an Army Intelligence officer.

Berlin is about to fall to Allied troops. The Nazis are all but crushed, but they still have a plan. Key officials are secretly transported to South America along with a deadly substance known as Black Phoenix. Sheridan, along with his partner and lover Debra Marks, are sent in search of the fleeing Germans and for a lead on Black Phoenix.

They find that Nazi leadership still has a plan to conquer the world, and thousands may die. It becomes a race to see if they can survive the German fanatics and save the world.

I thought that this was an interesting 8.5 hour read of a 291 page World War II era Thriller. This is a little old and shows its age some, but it is still an interesting read. I am not sure why the cover are was chosen as rockets are not part of the plot. I give this novel a 3.4 (rounded down to a 3) out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

Black Phoenix is an alternate history novel, set during the closing stages of the second world war. It follows a couple of operatives who must track down the secrets of a mysterious program named Phoenix, which seeks to carry on the Third Reich through deception.

Although this book is primarily told from the point of view of Allied operatives, the author does an interesting job of taking the reader into the underground bunker, and the crazy world of a dying Nazi Germany. I really got the sense of the desperation and panic of people who were under attack and - from their point of view - just trying to survive. I am not saying that the Germans were sympathetic by any means, far from it, but it was a point of view I had not come across before.

I thought the author did a good job of building (mostly) believable characters, and building on his interesting premise by interweaving real historical events, such as the South American connections to the Nazi regime. It is, however, just a little bit silly, in the way that gungho ra-ra military thrillers always are, but one doesn't read this sort of book looking for historical accuracy.

My other problem with this book was the amount of teleportation that goes on, with events seeming to skip around the world at a whim. I would have liked to have had a better idea of just where things were taking place. But I quibble.

Black Phoenix was an entertaining read, and is a step up from the kind of boys' own adventure tales. Originally published in 1994, I feel like this is a throwback to an earlier era of publishing. If a reader is looking for something more serious, perhaps Len Deighton's books, or The Man in the High Castle might suit, but this was a good time.