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epictetsocrate's review against another edition
4.0
Odată intrat în semiîntunericul apartamentului, ştiu că este în pericol de moarte.
Își şterse sudoarea din palme, privi în jur studiind încăperea tăcută ca o morgă, în care se auzeau doar zgomotele stinse ale traficului din Hell’s Kitchen la miez de noapte şi sunetul răcorii unsuroase provocat de ventilatorul Monkey Ward, în timp ce sufla aerul înăbuşitor către fereastră, întregul decor era dezolant.
Defect…
Malone ar fi trebuit să fie aici, abţiguit deja şi moţăind îmbuibat. Dar nu era. Nicio sticlă cu tărie pe nicăieri, nici măcar miros de whisky, singura băutură din care trăgea ticălosul. Şi părea că nici nu fusese pe-acolo de ceva vreme. Ziarul New York Sun de pe masă era din urmă cu două zile. Stătea aruncat lângă o scrumieră plină de cenuşă rece şi un pahar la mijlocul căruia se zărea o dâră albăstruie de lapte uscat.
Aprinse lumina.
Ei bine, aşa cum observase încă de ieri de pe hol, exista o uşă laterală care ducea în afară, dar era bătută în cuie. Dar fereastra care ducea către scara de urgenţă? Frățioare, era blocată cum se cuvine cu o plasă de sârmă serioasă, pe care nu putuse s-o vadă de pe alee. Cealaltă fereastră era într-adevăr deschisă, însă era situată la vreo treisprezece metri faţă de caldarâm.
Nicio scăpare…
Își şterse sudoarea din palme, privi în jur studiind încăperea tăcută ca o morgă, în care se auzeau doar zgomotele stinse ale traficului din Hell’s Kitchen la miez de noapte şi sunetul răcorii unsuroase provocat de ventilatorul Monkey Ward, în timp ce sufla aerul înăbuşitor către fereastră, întregul decor era dezolant.
Defect…
Malone ar fi trebuit să fie aici, abţiguit deja şi moţăind îmbuibat. Dar nu era. Nicio sticlă cu tărie pe nicăieri, nici măcar miros de whisky, singura băutură din care trăgea ticălosul. Şi părea că nici nu fusese pe-acolo de ceva vreme. Ziarul New York Sun de pe masă era din urmă cu două zile. Stătea aruncat lângă o scrumieră plină de cenuşă rece şi un pahar la mijlocul căruia se zărea o dâră albăstruie de lapte uscat.
Aprinse lumina.
Ei bine, aşa cum observase încă de ieri de pe hol, exista o uşă laterală care ducea în afară, dar era bătută în cuie. Dar fereastra care ducea către scara de urgenţă? Frățioare, era blocată cum se cuvine cu o plasă de sârmă serioasă, pe care nu putuse s-o vadă de pe alee. Cealaltă fereastră era într-adevăr deschisă, însă era situată la vreo treisprezece metri faţă de caldarâm.
Nicio scăpare…
suvida's review against another edition
4.0
It was an awesome, engrossing read. Great artistic unity and a lot of research has gone into it. Fascinating to experience Germany as it was then. The people are deep and we get to deal with complex issues of morality. There was a totally unnecessary perv scene, which was at least more implied than descriptive- other than that, wonderful.
More of my thoughts on it: https://epiphaniesofethereal.blogspot.com/2018/06/nazi-germany-of-garden-of-beasts-and.html
More of my thoughts on it: https://epiphaniesofethereal.blogspot.com/2018/06/nazi-germany-of-garden-of-beasts-and.html
dizzymissliz's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
i didnt hate or love this book. it was kind of boring despite the claims of suspense on the back cover. the main character, paul, was a stereotypical tough guy assassin and wasnt particularly interesting. it was definitely written by a Male Author Tm. the women were written pretty badly... but the ending was really good, it was tense and focused on some good topics and themes. also willi kohl was an amazing character that i found myself loving. one thing i hated was that it is historical fiction but one of the main antagonists is falsified.
dmantonya's review against another edition
5.0
Thinking I was going to read a book about one thing and finding out it is about prior to WW II was a surprise. The story was about Paul Schumann, a sharp shooter, who entered Germany with the American Olympic team with intentions of shooting Reinhart Ernst. It was very good and kept you wanting to read more. Also a bit of a twist like a lot of his books at the end.
jlrmac's review against another edition
4.0
Garden of Beasts, also can be translated as Garden of "Thugs". Set around 1936 Hitler's World Olympics in Berlin. Interesting interplay of people from all sorts of perspectives in several countries. A human side shown for most of the characters, even some of the Nazi's. I listened to the audio version and had quite a bit of trouble at first because I had to listen so carefully to figure out who was talking or being talked about. To make things even worse, the author often called the main character by his first name "Paul" and another main character by his last name: "Kohl." In the audio version these two names have exactly the same vowel sound and ending letter. Visually the names are quite different, so I had to listen very carefully and visualize the names to keep it straight. This main character can certainly be in sequels, but I don't think there are any. One of the things I liked about this book is that the technology was "analog"--before the computer information age. But they still had some high tech stuff like wireless communication and spying. In an interview Jeffery Deaver said his favorite character was probably Otto Weber, and after reading the book a second time, I concur!
cjanette's review against another edition
4.0
I really like historical fiction, so this was a good fit for me, and I enjoyed the character development that the author took time with. It was a slower start, but the fact that the whole book took place in just a couple days made the story go quite quickly. I especially appreciated the twist about 2/3 of the way in -- made for a great race to the finish!
ericwelch's review against another edition
4.0
Paul Schumann is a mob hit man. He’s set up by the Feds and captured then offered a choice between working for them to assassinate a key Nazi official, Reinhold Ernst, or face the gas chamber. Sent to Germany under the cover of a journalist following the Olympics in Berlin, he’s soon involved in a serious cat-and-mouse game for a Nazi sympathizer has sent an anonymous note to the German High Command indicating that a “Russian” (Paul is supposed to use a forged Russian passport to escape following the assassination) will cause some damage to some unnamed important official.
Paul has been chosen because he speaks almost native German and is a very careful, precise hitman. But he doesn’t have the cultural background of Nazi Germany in 1936 and little things, like whistling for a taxi, which no German would have done, provide clues for his pursuers. Deaver must have done considerable research to provide details like the “Hitler clothing” that help provide a good sense of time and place.) For example: Morgan said softly, “Don’t use that word here. It will give you away. ‘Nazi’ is Bavarian slang for ‘simpleton.’ The proper abbreviation is ‘Nazo,’ but you don’t hear that much either. Say ‘National Socialist.’ Some people use the initials, NSDAP. Or you can refer to the ‘Party.’ And say it reverently. . . .
After Paul and his contact are forced to kill an SA agent, Inspector Kohl (a brilliant cop who expertly maneuvers his way across the conflicting SD, Gestapo, SA, and SS interference which threaten to muck up his investigation) enters the case and now Paul is being sought by multiple agencies sometimes working at cross-purposes. And can Paul trust his American handlers? Great plot, well executed.
Everything in the novel rings true except the conversations between Ernst, Himmler, Hitler, and Goering. A couple other minor things that bugged me. We’re all used to the phrases “Heil, Hitler,” and “Grüß Gott”, but here both are translated quite literally so they come out “Hail Hitler” and “Greeting God” which, ironically, rang very false to my ear. Better to have left them in their German form. But I quibble. Very engaging story.
Paul has been chosen because he speaks almost native German and is a very careful, precise hitman. But he doesn’t have the cultural background of Nazi Germany in 1936 and little things, like whistling for a taxi, which no German would have done, provide clues for his pursuers. Deaver must have done considerable research to provide details like the “Hitler clothing” that help provide a good sense of time and place.) For example: Morgan said softly, “Don’t use that word here. It will give you away. ‘Nazi’ is Bavarian slang for ‘simpleton.’ The proper abbreviation is ‘Nazo,’ but you don’t hear that much either. Say ‘National Socialist.’ Some people use the initials, NSDAP. Or you can refer to the ‘Party.’ And say it reverently. . . .
After Paul and his contact are forced to kill an SA agent, Inspector Kohl (a brilliant cop who expertly maneuvers his way across the conflicting SD, Gestapo, SA, and SS interference which threaten to muck up his investigation) enters the case and now Paul is being sought by multiple agencies sometimes working at cross-purposes. And can Paul trust his American handlers? Great plot, well executed.
Everything in the novel rings true except the conversations between Ernst, Himmler, Hitler, and Goering. A couple other minor things that bugged me. We’re all used to the phrases “Heil, Hitler,” and “Grüß Gott”, but here both are translated quite literally so they come out “Hail Hitler” and “Greeting God” which, ironically, rang very false to my ear. Better to have left them in their German form. But I quibble. Very engaging story.
amythebookbat's review against another edition
4.0
This fulfills requirement 4 ~ alternative history fiction for the 2014 eclectic reader challenge.
This book is primarily set in 1936 Germany in the days leading up to the Berlin Olympics. Paul Schumann is sent to assassinate one of Hitler's top ministers to try to head off another war. There were plenty of twists, some of which I didn't see coming at all.
This book is primarily set in 1936 Germany in the days leading up to the Berlin Olympics. Paul Schumann is sent to assassinate one of Hitler's top ministers to try to head off another war. There were plenty of twists, some of which I didn't see coming at all.
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