Germania
Germany, 1945: the final days of the Third Reich. As the Allies close in, the upper echelons of the Nazi regime plan their various escapes, some realistic, some fantastic. Plots, schemes, and intrigues abound, and danger is everywhere both from the Allies and from fellow Nazis. In the center of these plans mixes an unlikely group of agents: the Flying Loerbers, a celebrity act of quadruplets from Berlin’s cabaret heyday. Separated by the war, each brother uses his own talents and skills as a performer—skills both practical and magical—to make his way through the dangerous years. The four brothers play vastly different roles in the maze of plots and campaigns, until a threat to one of them brings them all together again. But will the reunion save the family or destroy it?
Mixing fact with fiction, real people with original characters, and the gritty realism of war with a little bit of magic, Germania is packed with military and historical detail, bringing the reader into the dirty, panicked world of the defeated Third Reich. It does take the reader some effort in the first few chapters to figure out what is going on, and the ending is somewhat abrupt and vague, but readers of literary fiction will be accustomed to that. A unique premise, interesting characters, a good historical feel, and a tangle of intrigues make for an enjoyable literary debut tinged with a hint of the fantastic.
