Black Cross (A World War II Thriller) Paperback – November 1, 1995

There is no fiction book about WWII greater than Black Cross just as there is no greater suspense thriller writer than Greg Iles. Black Cross is an epic story about a young doctor listening to the story about his grandfather being told by a fellow Rabbi. Named after his late grandfather, Dr. Mark McConnell, the young doctor learns from the rabbi a secret past his close relative kept from him. I do not want to give the story away, only that each and everyone of the characters leaped right off the page they were that developed. By the end of the story I felt I knew the two main characters: Doctor Mark "Mac" McConnell, and International soldier Jonas Stern. Other characters worth mention are Good Nurse Anna Kaas, Struggling Dutch mother Rachel Jansen, Avram Stern, Ariel Weitz, and the evil trinity running the concentration camp: Dr. Klaus Brandt, Gunther Sturm, and the sometimes compassionate Wolfgang Schorner. Greg Iles gave these characters real emotions you respect and care about until the end. The plot Iles crafted for Black Cross is original and turns out to be a well done piece of storytelling. The narrative concerns two of the world's deadly nerve gases: Sarin and Soman being tested by the Nazi elite, Himmler and Hitler. McConnell and Stern are enlisted by the American and British governments to dispose of the project, a mission that will threaten their virtue and lives. Even though the book was a fast page turner I wanted to read it slowly because there was much to grasp and savor in the story. Greg Iles has proved he has an extraordinary gift of combining the best page turning suspense thriller with fascinating characters in a story about good people making difficult decisions in a time of great tragedy. I loved Black Cross and had fun reading it. It had everything that I demand in an novel including Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance, History, Conflicted Morality, originality, and beautifully drawn characters. Black Cross is indeed an epic story stretching from Oxford England University to Scotland Achnacarry training camp to Nazi Germany ending in a submarine. While reading it I was reminded of well known literary works such as "The Bourne Identity", "Schindler's List", and "The Hunt for Red October" while sustaining in its own invention. I am proud to have Black Cross in hardcover since I plan on reading it again. I just have to make sure the rest of Greg Iles books I get are in hardcover as well. Read Black Cross immediately if you have the time, it will be well spent!

Excellent read, couldn't put it down.I only recently discovered Greg Iles as an author, I bought his latest book "Natchez burning" for my book club and was so excited to find a "new" (new to me that is) author who writes books so vividly that you get completely drawn in and feel like you personally know the characters and are living in the plot yourself. My husband also thoroughly enjoyed Natchez burning and I set about looking for Greg Iles other books and reading their reviews. I am so happy to find that he has written many books all with great reviews that are just waiting for me to read. I chose Black Cross as my next read as a couple of other reviewers wrote that Spandeau Phoenix was a fantastic book (his first novel) . Amazon says that Black Cross is book 1 of 2 and Spandeau Phoenix is book 2 of 2 (not sure why that would be when SP was written first so I hope this is correct).I am not going to repeat the storyline as there as so many other reviews to this effect, but can recommend that if you enjoy a good thriller, packed with historical detail, no matter how graphic, but written with a modern day twist and characters that come alive and personal, then you won't be disappointed.Even though this is an older book written in 1995, it is well worth every cent spent and it still right up there with all the no.1 novels of today.

“Black Cross” by Greg Iles is a 641-page novel taking place in late World War II in which a pair of men, one of whom is American, the other a German-Palestinian, undertake a secret mission authorized by Churchill to capture samples of a new poison gas being created by Nazi doctors at a Northern German concentration camp.The story is incredibly complicated with 6 or 7 main story lines, numerous other sub-plots, and a high number of characters. I wanted the story to “wrap up” about 200 pages before it finally did. In some ways it was like a bad Hollywood movie, where one thing after another happens during key moments to the main characters to complicate an already complicated plot. Dangerous unexpected events nearly doom the mission time after time. The 2 main guys take on impossible Superhero qualities.The story is essentially a good one though. The reader wrestles with the moral dilemma posed by the author about whether or not it’s a good idea to allow some people to die (or kill them) in order to save thousands or millions of others later. It’s the Hiroshima dilemma on a smaller scale. The solution to the problem, however, is no walk in the park. Pacifism, of course, cannot win the day.There are lots of gruesome, grisly, horrifying scenes, with many people getting gunned down, gas-poisoned, tortured, exploded, stabbed or otherwise dying from one kind of unwelcome wartime stimulus or other. In fact, it takes an iron stomach to read some of the passages. In that way, it was a bit too graphic for me. Prison camp life is aptly and disgustingly described. Remarkably, a sort-of love story is inserted into the plot at an awkward moment.An overabundance of detail unnecessarily fills many pages, and there is a clear movie-quality to the lapses in plot, which explain how many dilemmas are “resolved.” In a sense, there is a happy ending, with escape after escape afforded to the major characters.In its bones, the story is a good one, and the writing is rather good, with excellent characterizations. Due to its excessive length and abundant detail, however, the story does lose credibility. At the end, everything is wrapped up, and the reader is brought up-to-date on the fate of the main heroes. In an odd way, the Epilogue and After Word were some of the best pages in the book.All-in-all it’s a 4.05 rounded down to a 4. It would make a respectable vintage movie.

A compelling story, well told. I highly recommend this book. If you are looking for a book to take out on the back deck, this one is a winner.

This book was just brilliant. Really evocative, didn't expect it from an American writer writing about WW2. Thought the plot was well conceived, tension maintained from start to finish. Did find the fact that so many names began with S and were very short confusing - you'd think an author would know we recognise words, we don't really read them. My dad is a retired GP and told me that a lot of medicine is based on these hideous experiments, an uncomfortable fact, a subject Len Deighton also visits in Bomber(?). Have often wondered why gas wasn't used in WW2, here is a plausible reason. Another great from Greg Iles, now about to re-read the Penn Cage series and looking forward to the latter ones which I haven't read yet (was waiting for the final one). More sleepless nights....

man verdrängt hierzulande sehr gern die schande die noch immer wirken sollte. das beste buch das ich von greg iles gelesen habe !!!!!!

An excellent read. Greg Iles is a phenomenal writer and gets your attention immediately, holding it until the end. I was also impressed with the history which he brought alive.

The Black Cross (1995)はGreg IlesのSpandau Phoenix (1993)に続く同じくナチスをテーマにしたアクションスリラー。科学、医学、語学など26名の専門家アドバイザーが取材に協力、内容に厚みを加えている。時は連合軍がノルマンディー作戦の実施を４箇月後にひかえた1944年2月。しかし深刻な問題が発生。チャーチル直属のイギリス謀略機関SOEがこの史上最大の作戦を危うくさせかねない重大機密を入手。ナチスが強力な神経ガス・サリンを大量に生産備蓄しているばかりか、サリンを上回るソマンの開発に成功、もし、上陸軍に対してガスが使われれば、味方は全滅する。これを阻止するべくSOEは特攻作戦を計画、選ばれたのがアメリカ人反戦主義者で化学者、医者Mark、23歳でありながら英軍に協力した功績によりGeorge Medalを授与されたユダヤ青年Stern、彼は一方では英国委任統治領パレスチナでのテロリスト活動のため英政府から追及されている。連合軍、さらにThe Red Crossはナチスがユダヤ人を大量虐殺している事実を知りながら、なぜ、何もしなかったのか？などなど多くのなぞに挑む。特攻作戦への参加を拒否する反戦主義者Markにユダヤ人Sternが激しく迫るシーン：You're not a coward.You are a fool...You're like a million Jews across Europe.You believe in reason,in the essential goodness of man.You believe that if you refuse to commit evil yourself,someday you will conquer it.....All the fools who believed that are dead now.アメリカ、イギリス、スコットランドそれぞれの気質がその言葉遣いと共に鮮やかに描かれ、原文で読む楽しみが存分に味わえる。連合軍はガス兵器を色で分類、黒は神経ガスを指し、Crossは骸骨とクロスした２本の骨。