anka.trini reviewed Wolf by wolf by Ryan Graudin
Review of 'Wolf by wolf' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Probably should've stuck with The Man in the High Castle..
This book is a hard one for me to rate. There are many things I found illogical with this book (some of which were cleared out later). Let me give you some examples:
Firstly, why would Hitler even organize a motorcycle race like this and let Japanese contestants participate. I mean, the Aryan "superrace" losing against "inferior races"... That would be god awful propaganda, indeed. And it's not very convincing to assume that the Axis would've stayed "on good terms" after the war. I suppose it would've been just like with the Allies.
And then, how could Hitler even be alive in 1956 having Parkinson's disease? I mean he was already very sick in 1945... And if he was already dead the whole time - as the ending suggests - why hold on to him? I mean, there were so …
Probably should've stuck with The Man in the High Castle..
This book is a hard one for me to rate. There are many things I found illogical with this book (some of which were cleared out later). Let me give you some examples:
Firstly, why would Hitler even organize a motorcycle race like this and let Japanese contestants participate. I mean, the Aryan "superrace" losing against "inferior races"... That would be god awful propaganda, indeed. And it's not very convincing to assume that the Axis would've stayed "on good terms" after the war. I suppose it would've been just like with the Allies.
And then, how could Hitler even be alive in 1956 having Parkinson's disease? I mean he was already very sick in 1945... And if he was already dead the whole time - as the ending suggests - why hold on to him? I mean, there were so many other power hungry men who could have taken over and would have done so gladly.. There wouldn't have been a need for him as "Führer" at this point.
But what really put me off was the awful use of the German language. If you want to use German swear words to make your book somewhat suited for younger audiences, at least use them correctly. I know German grammar is quite difficult but IMHO you should at least try to declinate words. And don't get me started on the names. Wolfe is just a rubbish last name as it's just Wolf in German. In addition, I am quite positive that no one would have been named Luka in the 30s or 40s. Maybe German names are hard to pronounce for English speakers but why not name your characters Anton or Fred? Moreover, you simply cannot translate idioms word by word and thereby create cringeworthy sentences. I know this might not be important for people who don't speak German but it could've been so easy for the publishers to have the book proof read by someone who speaks the language. It just feels like they didn't put in any effort with the details.
I read some reviews of Blood for Blood and do not wish to continue this series anymore.
