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prof_shoff's review against another edition
3.0
One day, I will read a well-written revisionist history about WWII. Today was not that day.
jacks623's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
krisis86's review against another edition
2.0
It took me a while to get into this book. I struggled up till about page 50. Then I was very interested. It movies along at a great pace after those first 50 pages.
The characters are all very well written. The worldbuilding is fascinating, but I felt like there could have been more. There was hardly any detail about how regular people lived and that was disappointing.
The ending was horrible. I was really, really furious at the ending. The book is moving along at a fast clip and then it ends. Abruptly. So I took off 2 stars for that because seriously. Worst ending ever.
The characters are all very well written. The worldbuilding is fascinating, but I felt like there could have been more. There was hardly any detail about how regular people lived and that was disappointing.
The ending was horrible. I was really, really furious at the ending. The book is moving along at a fast clip and then it ends. Abruptly. So I took off 2 stars for that because seriously. Worst ending ever.
lisanne624's review against another edition
3.0
Great Britain, especially London, was changed forever by the events of World War II. While British forces eventually came out on the winning side, what if the opposite had happened? The book The Darkest Hour imagines a London where the Germans have invaded and taken control while the King and pre-war government have fled to Canada.
The events in the book center around policeman John Henry Rossett. A copper before the war, he was a war hero and even though he fought against the Germans, the occupying forces realize that his cool, detached nature and "by-the-book" officiousness will be useful to them. He is rehired as a policeman and is given the job of helping to clear out Jewish settlements (where residents are loaded onto trains to be taken away), a job he does dispassionately and efficiently. He does what he's told without much thought. Not only have his war experiences damaged him, but he lost his wife and son in a resistance bombing in London. So now he's without family and performs his duties in a mechanical manner. He's trusted by the Nazis and grudgingly, if somewhat suspiciously, admired by his British co-workers on the police force.
One day, when clearing out a group of Jewish people from an apartment building, one old man takes Rossett aside and asks him to go back to the flat to retrieve his "treasure." Rossett goes back and discovers a hole in the wall where a young boy is hiding. Thinking the boy is the treasure, Rossett gets him out, only to find the boy also has a bag of gold coins. Rossett dutifully takes the boy to police headquarters and turns him in (the trains have already left for the day), but inexplicably decides to say nothing of the gold coins.
Rossett's Nazi superior is Ernst Koehler, a somewhat sympathetic boss who, as long as everything is going to plan, is easy to deal with. Unfortunately, the always hovering Herr Schmitt is just waiting to advance his career at the expense of anyone who gets in his way. Not only the British, but also his fellow Nazi officers are always on their guard around Schmitt.
Before the Jewish boy, Jacob, can be sent to the train, Rossett returns to the jail and retrieves him. While doing so, he also inadvertently frees some other prisoners, and this involves him in a dangerous game where the resistance, communists and the Nazis are all double-crossing each other. It seems as if everyone is out to get Rossett, even more so when it emerges that the boy, Jacob, has told his captors that Rossett knows where some valuable diamonds are hidden.
Of course, there has to be a love interest as well, and this is in the form of Kate, secretary to Koehler and niece to Sir James Stirling, an aristocrat who works with the Nazis while secretly leading the resistance. While Rossett works to stay ahead of all the various factions, he and Kate devise a plan to flee the country with Jacob. However, time is running out, and the diamonds are a big incentive for everyone to track them down.
The story is very fast-paced and there is a lot of action. There were several things in the story that didn't ring true for me, though. Why would Rossett suddenly develop feelings for one of the Jews he was removing? He'd been doing this job quite a while, and presumably had witnessed many children being deported, so why suddenly develop a conscience? And why keep the gold? There was no reason for him to not turn it in to his superiors, as he had always done in the past with valuable property, and he seemed to have no plan for what he was going to do with the gold. Also, Jacob's grandfather had apparently witnessed Rossett removing Jews for a long time, and while he wasn't brutal in carrying out his duties, there's no real reason why the grandfather would have told Jacob to trust Rossett. He would have seemed as much of a Nazi operative as anyone else.
If you can overlook those quibbles, however, this is an exciting look at what might have happened if Britain hadn't triumphed in WWII.
Disclaimer: I received an advanced reader's edition of The Darkest Hour from the GoodReads First Reads program
The events in the book center around policeman John Henry Rossett. A copper before the war, he was a war hero and even though he fought against the Germans, the occupying forces realize that his cool, detached nature and "by-the-book" officiousness will be useful to them. He is rehired as a policeman and is given the job of helping to clear out Jewish settlements (where residents are loaded onto trains to be taken away), a job he does dispassionately and efficiently. He does what he's told without much thought. Not only have his war experiences damaged him, but he lost his wife and son in a resistance bombing in London. So now he's without family and performs his duties in a mechanical manner. He's trusted by the Nazis and grudgingly, if somewhat suspiciously, admired by his British co-workers on the police force.
One day, when clearing out a group of Jewish people from an apartment building, one old man takes Rossett aside and asks him to go back to the flat to retrieve his "treasure." Rossett goes back and discovers a hole in the wall where a young boy is hiding. Thinking the boy is the treasure, Rossett gets him out, only to find the boy also has a bag of gold coins. Rossett dutifully takes the boy to police headquarters and turns him in (the trains have already left for the day), but inexplicably decides to say nothing of the gold coins.
Rossett's Nazi superior is Ernst Koehler, a somewhat sympathetic boss who, as long as everything is going to plan, is easy to deal with. Unfortunately, the always hovering Herr Schmitt is just waiting to advance his career at the expense of anyone who gets in his way. Not only the British, but also his fellow Nazi officers are always on their guard around Schmitt.
Before the Jewish boy, Jacob, can be sent to the train, Rossett returns to the jail and retrieves him. While doing so, he also inadvertently frees some other prisoners, and this involves him in a dangerous game where the resistance, communists and the Nazis are all double-crossing each other. It seems as if everyone is out to get Rossett, even more so when it emerges that the boy, Jacob, has told his captors that Rossett knows where some valuable diamonds are hidden.
Of course, there has to be a love interest as well, and this is in the form of Kate, secretary to Koehler and niece to Sir James Stirling, an aristocrat who works with the Nazis while secretly leading the resistance. While Rossett works to stay ahead of all the various factions, he and Kate devise a plan to flee the country with Jacob. However, time is running out, and the diamonds are a big incentive for everyone to track them down.
The story is very fast-paced and there is a lot of action. There were several things in the story that didn't ring true for me, though. Why would Rossett suddenly develop feelings for one of the Jews he was removing? He'd been doing this job quite a while, and presumably had witnessed many children being deported, so why suddenly develop a conscience? And why keep the gold? There was no reason for him to not turn it in to his superiors, as he had always done in the past with valuable property, and he seemed to have no plan for what he was going to do with the gold. Also, Jacob's grandfather had apparently witnessed Rossett removing Jews for a long time, and while he wasn't brutal in carrying out his duties, there's no real reason why the grandfather would have told Jacob to trust Rossett. He would have seemed as much of a Nazi operative as anyone else.
If you can overlook those quibbles, however, this is an exciting look at what might have happened if Britain hadn't triumphed in WWII.
Disclaimer: I received an advanced reader's edition of The Darkest Hour from the GoodReads First Reads program
cleap1967's review against another edition
4.0
Alternate history set in Nazi-controlled Britain has a new hero.
Rossett was the police, but now he's been assigned to rounding up Jews in London.
""The freight train was already waiting for them they arrived. It would have traveled all night, Glasgow to London, stopping along the way at Preston, Liverpool, and Birmingham to collect the Jews that were no longer useful. Rossett wondered when the trains would run out of cargo. He lit another cigarette and rubbed his forehead again, trying not to think about who would be chosen to fill the train the day it ran out of Jews."
He keeps on doing his job, and doing a good job of convincing himself he's just following orders, until the day he's given a treasure.
Double agents, royalists, thieves, resistance---they all have an obstacle or two for Rossett.
All he wants to do is save the treasure, and find out if there's anything of him left to save.
Rossett was the police, but now he's been assigned to rounding up Jews in London.
""The freight train was already waiting for them they arrived. It would have traveled all night, Glasgow to London, stopping along the way at Preston, Liverpool, and Birmingham to collect the Jews that were no longer useful. Rossett wondered when the trains would run out of cargo. He lit another cigarette and rubbed his forehead again, trying not to think about who would be chosen to fill the train the day it ran out of Jews."
He keeps on doing his job, and doing a good job of convincing himself he's just following orders, until the day he's given a treasure.
Double agents, royalists, thieves, resistance---they all have an obstacle or two for Rossett.
All he wants to do is save the treasure, and find out if there's anything of him left to save.
rumerhenry's review against another edition
5.0
Love this book! It is hard to read a book where the main character can't catch a break, but this was so well written that it was worth the trials. I didn't realize this book had a sequel, so the ending was very surprising. Can't wait to get my hands on book 2!
richardrbecker's review against another edition
4.0
John Henry Rossett, a decorated British war hero, is always behind enemy lines in a world where the Nazis have won the war and now occupy Great Britain. Kept employed as a means to feed the post-war propaganda machine, Rossett is assigned to rounding up Jews for deportation. He hates it, but obeys ... until he finds a finds a Jewish child hiding in an abandoned building.
The unexpected find wakes the once thought tame British Lion up as Rossett navigates a landscape where the only ones who hate him more the Nazis are the resistance fighters who assume he sold out. Without any hope of finding sympathy, Rossett sets out to save the life of an innocent or die trying.
The slow to start novel wakes up when Rossett does, with Schumacher balancing action and atmosphere in a London darkened by occupation. The plot is pretty straight forward with the author managing few surprises, relying on the brisk pace of the chase and general mood to make a mild thriller. Where he really wins in doing so is by his ability to craft convincing characters — not only his flawed hero but also in his bureaucratic villains, self-righteous resistance leaders, and cut-throat survivalists.
The unexpected find wakes the once thought tame British Lion up as Rossett navigates a landscape where the only ones who hate him more the Nazis are the resistance fighters who assume he sold out. Without any hope of finding sympathy, Rossett sets out to save the life of an innocent or die trying.
The slow to start novel wakes up when Rossett does, with Schumacher balancing action and atmosphere in a London darkened by occupation. The plot is pretty straight forward with the author managing few surprises, relying on the brisk pace of the chase and general mood to make a mild thriller. Where he really wins in doing so is by his ability to craft convincing characters — not only his flawed hero but also in his bureaucratic villains, self-righteous resistance leaders, and cut-throat survivalists.
pakebrokenshire's review
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
abookishtype's review against another edition
2.0
Since the late 1940s, the phrase "only following orders" has had ominous connotations. And it seemed like Tony Schumacher took this phrase as his inspiration for The Darkest Hour. John Rossett has been following orders for a long time. Then, one day, he snaps and goes rogue. The Darkest Hour is set in just 48, action-packed hours in which Rossett tries to save the life of a Jewish boy in an alternate Britain that was occupied by Germany sometime after the Dunkirk evacuation...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from Edelweiss for review consideration.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from Edelweiss for review consideration.
ianayris's review against another edition
5.0
The Blurb
The terrible struggle that was WWII is over, the Germans have won and now occupy London, but it s up to a hardened British detective to turn the tables, save someone s life, and achieve what he has believed was impossible redemption in this crackling thriller debut.
The year is 1946. Nazi Germany has conquered the British, and now forcefully occupies the country and controls its citizens. John Henry Rossett, a decorated British war hero for the Allies and former police Sergeant, has been reassigned to the Office of Jewish Affairs. Built on Nazi ideology, it is a department strictly under the control of the SS, one of the largest and most powerful organizations in the Third Reich.
Rossett, a man accustomed to obeying commands but also one who has lost everything in the war including his wife and child is given no chance to ask questions, no chance to turn it down.
Ultimately, he has no choice in the matter. So he gets on with his job of rounding up Jews, some of whom he s known his whole life, for deportation. That is until he finds Jacob, a young Jewish boy, hiding in an abandoned building and everything changes. Determined to protect the child, Rossett finds himself on the run, the quarry of not only the Germans but also the Royalist resistance and the Communists.
Each faction has its own agenda and Rossett will soon learn that none of them can be trusted . . . and all of them are lethal.
The Review
With a premise like that, it would take a lot for this book not to be hugely enjoyable. And hugely enjoyable, it certainly is.
John Rossett is a war hero turned collaborator – a somewhat robotic figure, reminiscent of Winston Smith in some respects, from Orwell’s 1984. I struggled with him to begin with - his lack of passion, his empty subservience, until it became clear how the war had damaged him on the deepest of levels.
Then it all made sense.
The plot crackles along in an alternative 1946 London that is beautifully atmospheric, peopled with a whole cast of desperate characters, existing beneath and within the Nazi regime that dominates the lives of every Englishman with a typically iron fist.
There are car chases and gunfights, and a cat and mouse game of oppressor versus oppressed, running throughout the book entire book. Holding it all together, however, is the relationship between two seemingly incompatible characters – Rossett and his boss at the Office of Jewish Affairs, Ernst Koehler. Schumacher portrays their relationship brilliantly, holding the tension of the gossamer thread that connects one with the other with a consistently steady hand.
Although the book ostensibly seems to be about the recovery of some diamonds, almost the entire cast of the book are out to discover, or rediscover, just one thing – their humanity.
This, for me, is an anti-war book. A book that shows what war can do to people, how it can make human beings commit the most horrendous acts, undergo the most horrific experiences, and what it takes from them in the process.
But being what it is, humanity can be found in the rarest of places.
Highly recommended.
The terrible struggle that was WWII is over, the Germans have won and now occupy London, but it s up to a hardened British detective to turn the tables, save someone s life, and achieve what he has believed was impossible redemption in this crackling thriller debut.
The year is 1946. Nazi Germany has conquered the British, and now forcefully occupies the country and controls its citizens. John Henry Rossett, a decorated British war hero for the Allies and former police Sergeant, has been reassigned to the Office of Jewish Affairs. Built on Nazi ideology, it is a department strictly under the control of the SS, one of the largest and most powerful organizations in the Third Reich.
Rossett, a man accustomed to obeying commands but also one who has lost everything in the war including his wife and child is given no chance to ask questions, no chance to turn it down.
Ultimately, he has no choice in the matter. So he gets on with his job of rounding up Jews, some of whom he s known his whole life, for deportation. That is until he finds Jacob, a young Jewish boy, hiding in an abandoned building and everything changes. Determined to protect the child, Rossett finds himself on the run, the quarry of not only the Germans but also the Royalist resistance and the Communists.
Each faction has its own agenda and Rossett will soon learn that none of them can be trusted . . . and all of them are lethal.
The Review
With a premise like that, it would take a lot for this book not to be hugely enjoyable. And hugely enjoyable, it certainly is.
John Rossett is a war hero turned collaborator – a somewhat robotic figure, reminiscent of Winston Smith in some respects, from Orwell’s 1984. I struggled with him to begin with - his lack of passion, his empty subservience, until it became clear how the war had damaged him on the deepest of levels.
Then it all made sense.
The plot crackles along in an alternative 1946 London that is beautifully atmospheric, peopled with a whole cast of desperate characters, existing beneath and within the Nazi regime that dominates the lives of every Englishman with a typically iron fist.
There are car chases and gunfights, and a cat and mouse game of oppressor versus oppressed, running throughout the book entire book. Holding it all together, however, is the relationship between two seemingly incompatible characters – Rossett and his boss at the Office of Jewish Affairs, Ernst Koehler. Schumacher portrays their relationship brilliantly, holding the tension of the gossamer thread that connects one with the other with a consistently steady hand.
Although the book ostensibly seems to be about the recovery of some diamonds, almost the entire cast of the book are out to discover, or rediscover, just one thing – their humanity.
This, for me, is an anti-war book. A book that shows what war can do to people, how it can make human beings commit the most horrendous acts, undergo the most horrific experiences, and what it takes from them in the process.
But being what it is, humanity can be found in the rarest of places.
Highly recommended.