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newt90's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this book albeit a little disjointed but for me the book is different in such a way that it’s told from “the other side” . It’s about a group of German soldiers who are involved in the war. It begins in Germany where the penal regiment deal with the trashing of a city by the ‘tommies’ and they have to help bury the victims of which there are tons. They then go on journeys together Sven Porta the old un and they meet up with the little Legionnaire who along with Pluto join the band. The story (is what it is) is seen through the eyes of those German soldiers. They then get posted to the eastern front where the war is not good for their side. I’m going to give another one of his books a read to see what happens. Comrades of war is the next one so on the lookout for ones in charity bookshops
roxanamalinachirila's review against another edition
2.0
I was just listening to a podcast in which one of the two hosts said that, if you give a woman a Sven Hassel novel, she'll think it's shit, and if you give it to a literary critic, the critic won't understand a thing.
This is when I remembered I read "Wheels of Terror" in its Romanian translation („Blindatele morții”) and I did indeed think it was shit that didn't make sense.
"Wheels of Terror" is a book about a guy named Sven Hassel. Supposedly, this is because it's the author's autobiography, but no. It's fiction. Hassel rewrote a few older war stories to star himself and his friends.
So. Sven Hassel the character is part of one of the shittiest battalions in WWII Germany, the penal battalion. They're basically the scum of the earth - a bunch of drunken, whoring bastards whose single job is to clean up the battlefield after the battle's over. They pick up bodies and incinerate them, and their lives suck so much that they grab any little bit of fun they can have. Unfortunately, their fun is pretty shitty - aside from drinking themselves into a stupor, one time they visit a brothel, trash it and rape the owners, because why the fuck not.
After that, they get to invade Russia, and suddenly become the best of the best. With incredible skill and the sort of luck only gods can bestow, they fight impossible odds, holding out against vastly superior enemies and turning, somehow, into morally upstanding, righteous, brave, wonderful soldiers. Or something like that. It's been a while since I read this, but they were basically different people at the end - not because they developed, but because Sven Hassel the author decided to copy-paste their names onto other people entirely.
Also, kudos to Sven Hassel for managing to suggest that his character of the same name died at the end of his "autobiography".
So... what can I say? Podcast-dude was right. As both a woman and as somebody who writes a lot about literature, I think this book was... well, inconsistent drivel.
This is when I remembered I read "Wheels of Terror" in its Romanian translation („Blindatele morții”) and I did indeed think it was shit that didn't make sense.
"Wheels of Terror" is a book about a guy named Sven Hassel. Supposedly, this is because it's the author's autobiography, but no. It's fiction. Hassel rewrote a few older war stories to star himself and his friends.
So. Sven Hassel the character is part of one of the shittiest battalions in WWII Germany, the penal battalion. They're basically the scum of the earth - a bunch of drunken, whoring bastards whose single job is to clean up the battlefield after the battle's over. They pick up bodies and incinerate them, and their lives suck so much that they grab any little bit of fun they can have. Unfortunately, their fun is pretty shitty - aside from drinking themselves into a stupor, one time they visit a brothel, trash it and rape the owners, because why the fuck not.
After that, they get to invade Russia, and suddenly become the best of the best. With incredible skill and the sort of luck only gods can bestow, they fight impossible odds, holding out against vastly superior enemies and turning, somehow, into morally upstanding, righteous, brave, wonderful soldiers. Or something like that. It's been a while since I read this, but they were basically different people at the end - not because they developed, but because Sven Hassel the author decided to copy-paste their names onto other people entirely.
Also, kudos to Sven Hassel for managing to suggest that his character of the same name died at the end of his "autobiography".
So... what can I say? Podcast-dude was right. As both a woman and as somebody who writes a lot about literature, I think this book was... well, inconsistent drivel.
saj_81's review against another edition
4.0
I can't quite decide if I should label this one fiction or non-fiction... The author clearly says that he is describing personal experiences, but I do believe he has taken some artistic liberties. As a compromise I'm labeling it as historical, but not non-fictional.
The story is a bit of a blur since I read the first two books in the series in a row (and am using this same review for both), but I guess it suffices to say that war is hell indeed and there's no shiny heroics to be found in these books.
The story is a bit of a blur since I read the first two books in the series in a row (and am using this same review for both), but I guess it suffices to say that war is hell indeed and there's no shiny heroics to be found in these books.
ozgipsy's review against another edition
2.0
An okay action novel of the war from the view of German soldiers
I actually heard the audible edition with a narrator who put a lot of effort into the voices and accents. It was an enjoyable book about Nazi soldiers in a land war in Europe. This makes it quite different to the accounts of the second world war that I have heard from my own family members as we were all visitors to a foreign land.
For a start, his soldier group has a lot of interaction with many other aspects of their country. Including prison barracks, various villages, front line combat on the eastern front, and momentary times of rest in various parts of Europe.
They do horrific work, in a dystopian catastrophe, working for a lunatic and facing an army who they share a mutual hatred with. Hessell manages to make them just soldiers. Non-ideologues who have been caught up in a drama far more powerful than themselves, of which they are only extras.
It shows both the brutality of war, as well as how it brutalises those who take part in it.
I actually heard the audible edition with a narrator who put a lot of effort into the voices and accents. It was an enjoyable book about Nazi soldiers in a land war in Europe. This makes it quite different to the accounts of the second world war that I have heard from my own family members as we were all visitors to a foreign land.
For a start, his soldier group has a lot of interaction with many other aspects of their country. Including prison barracks, various villages, front line combat on the eastern front, and momentary times of rest in various parts of Europe.
They do horrific work, in a dystopian catastrophe, working for a lunatic and facing an army who they share a mutual hatred with. Hessell manages to make them just soldiers. Non-ideologues who have been caught up in a drama far more powerful than themselves, of which they are only extras.
It shows both the brutality of war, as well as how it brutalises those who take part in it.
niniblaga's review against another edition
4.0
Herr Hassel most sem okozott csalódást nekem. :) Alig vártam, hogy az első kötetben megismert katonákat, Sven, Papa, Pici, Porta, Hinka Oberst…újra láthassam, még ha a képzeletem szemüvegén át is. Bevallom, volt olyan rész, aminek az olvasása közben félre kellett tennem egy kicsit. Mikor az elején a halottakat ásták el hevenyészett gödrökben vagy a haldoklókat lőtték le, hogy már ne fájjon nekik…az borzasztó volt, lelkileg megterhelő. Viszont a végén volt egy rész, ami fényesen ragyogott keresztül a vérrel és sárral bemocskolt semmin…amikor a véres, mocskos, öléshez szokott katonák világra segítették a két kislányt, az gyönyörű volt. Az viszont már annyira nem, mikor meghalt később az anyukájuk, de hát… Ennek most egy erős négyest adok és jöhet a következő kötet.*.*
brian's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Hassel and his comrades in the 27th Penal Regiment continue fighting on the Eastern Front.
Well told, with a good mix of characters.
The original members of the regiment are jaded and cynical, while the people away from the front see them as nothing more than fodder.
Lots of action, with some brutal scenes and the dark humour that helps them get through each assignment.
Hassel and his comrades in the 27th Penal Regiment continue fighting on the Eastern Front.
Well told, with a good mix of characters.
The original members of the regiment are jaded and cynical, while the people away from the front see them as nothing more than fodder.
Lots of action, with some brutal scenes and the dark humour that helps them get through each assignment.
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