The Afrika Reich

By: Guy Saville

Narrated by: Richard Burnip

It's 1952. More than a decade since humiliation at Dunkirk brought an end to Britain's war and the beginning of an uneasy peace with Hitler.

In Africa, the swastika flies from the Sahara to the Indian Ocean. The brutal presence of the SS is visible everywhere.

Now, however, the demonic plans of Walter Hochburg - architect of Nazi Africa - threaten Britain's ailing colonies.

In England, ex-mercenary Burton Cole is offered one last contract. He jumps at the chance to settle an old score with Hochburg. If Burton fails, unimaginable horrors will be unleashed in Africa.

©2016 Guy Saville (P)2016 Oakhill Publishing

Critic reviews

"Saville gives us an horrific reimagining of the Dark Continent." (The Times)

"[The] plot is clever, imaginative and, in its finale, wholly unexpected. In a crowded field, The Afrika Reich stands out as a rich and unusual thriller, politically sophisticated and hard to forget." (Economist)

"Fatherland for an action movie age." (Daily Telegraph)

"The Afrika Reich is a gripping novel and a remarkable exercise in alternate history." (Jacinto Anton in El Pais)

"Set in a world in which Britain made peace with Hitler after 1940, this account of a mercenary mission to Africa makes for an engrossing and convincing debut." (Sunday Express, Books of the Year 2011)

"If readers like terrifying stories behind a dense layer of historical depiction this is an unexpected and unforgettable story that they must read." (Geopolitique Africaine)

"Saville's alternate world is so carefully crafted that it is all too believable." (Jewish Chronicle)

"[A] dark and gruesome narrative dynamic." (Kirkus)

"[An] intoxicating debut...a glorious, exhaustingly energetic romp through an Africa which wasn't, but which might have been.... Written with style, verve and startling lyricism, The Afrika Reich makes serious points as it entertains." (Historical Novel Review)

Innovative and refreshing to the What if genre

Was an interesting take on the what if the Nazi’s won story and all the evils that would entail. Does dip into a lot of white saviorism and noble savagery from the perspective of the two sisters, Naila and Zuri. But the story keeps it’s focus rather well, it’s twist are slightly predictable if you’ve read a YA novel before but the characters motivations and story are more than enough to compensate. Great listen will be picking up the sequel but hopefully the author fine-tunes the racial aspects of the next book.