Unhinge the Universe in Riptide Publishing

Sep 07, 2013 BookAddict ✒ La Crimson Femme rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley-reviews, m-m, historical, romance

How can a reader find goodness in a SS officer? In Unhinge the Universe, Mr. Voinov unhinges the world and turns it upside down. It is said that the victors are the ones who write history. There is some truth to this saying. Hagen Friedrichs is a SS lieutenant on a mission to save his brother. In the process, his world is completely destroyed. He is captured by Captain John Nicholls who is an American with good interrogation skills.

John is tired of war. A top German agent is delivered to him fo How can a reader find goodness in a SS officer? In Unhinge the Universe, Mr. Voinov unhinges the world and turns it upside down. It is said that the victors are the ones who write history. There is some truth to this saying. Hagen Friedrichs is a SS lieutenant on a mission to save his brother. In the process, his world is completely destroyed. He is captured by Captain John Nicholls who is an American with good interrogation skills.

John is tired of war. A top German agent is delivered to him for interrogation. Before he can complete his mission, it becomes FUBAR. Trying to salvage the situation, Hagen falls into his arms, literally. From here, the story takes an odd turn. For those looking for a sadistic physically torture session, this is not the book to read. John's game is more insidious with mind games to break Hagen. Hagen is caught off guard as he's expecting to be beaten and ass raped for information. John's approach slides past his defenses.

This is a very well written story where Mr. Voinov shows a society in a war torn landscape. It's not just soldiers trying to kill each other. He shows us the individual and reveals their motivations. He also shows how or why a soldier would fight on a specific side. Mr. Voinov does an excellent job of humanizing Hagen. He doesn't make a SS soldier admirable. He shows us Hagen's loyalty and sense of justice. Hagen isn't just an elite Nazi fighter. He becomes a person the reader connects with. This blurring of lines makes the story so good.

From a personal perspective, I've been taught to hate the Nazis. I'm not saying that this book changed my mind about them. What I'm saying is that every side has a story. My view of Nazis already took a different turn through an unconventional teaching. In high school, one of my history teachers was of German descent and one of the nicest teachers. He gave us a different perspective of why WWII started. He also showed how it was predicted WWII was inevitable. Were atrocities committed? Yes. We are not here to debate the cruelties perpetrated upon innocent men, women and children. This occurs throughout history in all countries. There is not a single country with bloodless hands. The focus is on the men forced to choose a life as a SS agent in order to protect his own family. In addition, this story is to help highlight that one can not categorizes and lump one entire group of people as evil. As a collective, yes, the SS and the Nazis did some terrible things. But not every single one person. Some soldiers followed orders and were used as sacrificial pigs.

Even though I'm not a fan of historical stories or ones with a war related theme, this one touched me. Mr. Voinov creates a world filled with senseless madness - one that is only too true to life. He then layers it with complex characters who wrestle with their desires. Their conflicting needs with what they must conform to nearly breaks them. To be able to find love in such a desolate time and then strive to keep it is admirable. This is a surprisingly sweet romance with sensual erotica blended in beautifully. It's a Voinov story so the reader is guaranteed delicious manlove. He doesn't disappoint in this one. This historical m/m novel is recommended for open-minded romantics who love happily ever afters.

*provided by NetGalley ...more

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Feb 16, 2014 Bucletina rated it it was amazing

Una compleja historia, con elementos delicados, maravillosamente resuelta. Sólo alguien con extrema sensibilidad y conocimiento, y completamente por encima de cualquier tipo de prejuicio, puede salir airoso de un planteo como el que tiene este libro. Lo más interesante es que no es una bajada de línea sobre la Guerra, el Nazismo y lo que implicó para millones de personas. Todos lo sabemos, y hubiera sido molesto encontrarse con un autor que quisiera darnos una clase de moral.

Soy una bruja, lo s Una compleja historia, con elementos delicados, maravillosamente resuelta. Sólo alguien con extrema sensibilidad y conocimiento, y completamente por encima de cualquier tipo de prejuicio, puede salir airoso de un planteo como el que tiene este libro. Lo más interesante es que no es una bajada de línea sobre la Guerra, el Nazismo y lo que implicó para millones de personas. Todos lo sabemos, y hubiera sido molesto encontrarse con un autor que quisiera darnos una clase de moral.

Soy una bruja, lo sé, pero las apreciaciones de muchos lectores sobre lo difícil que les resultó este libro o los reparos que tenían antes de leerlo debido a su plot, o porque toca el tema del Nazismo, o porque plantea la loquísima idea de que un soldado alemán del ejército Nazi pueda ser un ser humano también, realmente me parecen de lo más hipócritas. ¿Son temas impolutos, tabúes que no pueden hablarse, si no es con un único acercamiento? Vayan a leer The Complete Maus, gente.

Teniendo en cuenta lo que implicó este conflicto, las muertes, el exterminio, las torturas, las humillaciones, el dolor, creo que la mejor manera de plantear una historia de pasión, amor y encuentro en ese horrible contexto, es precisamente como lo hicieron L.A. Witt y Aleksandr Voinov: dejando las necedades de lado, la moral puritana y extremos absolutos, saliéndonos de la mentirosa dicotomía de "estos son los absolutamente buenos y estos otros los completamente malos". Como leí por ahí, creo que fue Lisa Henry en su review, este libro está lleno de grises y sus autores logran hacernos ver que entre medio de tanto horror, pudo haber historias como estas. Hagen y John se odian por motivos reales, pero como muchos otros, están cansados del dolor, de tanta sangre, de llevar en sus hombros la responsabilidad de una idea que en realidad esconde motivos demasiado grandes y completamente ajenos a ellos. Y ver cómo partiendo de dos roles tan definidos (el capitán y su prisionero), es factible el nacimiento de una conexión tan poderosa y genuina, como dolora e imposible.

En algún momento pensé, esto no puede acabar bien. No hay forma de que una amor entre dos seres en circunstancias tan chotas pueda resolverse sino con más padecimiento, sufrimiento y soledad. Sí, soy una pesimista masoquista. Y en realidad, la vida no suele tener finales felices que nos consuelen, por eso creo que los autores nos hicieron una concesión acá, un regalo, un mimo. Y les estoy muy agradecida por eso.

Sentí acá la perfecta conexión con mi alma, de una forma directa y pura. Gracias a los dos, por desquiciar nuevamente mi universo literario. ...more

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Jul 19, 2013 Dee Wy rated it really liked it

Shelves: m-m, m-m-historical

Another excellent war historical with Alek's name on the cover, this time with co-author LA Witt. Great read! ...more

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Jul 17, 2013 Jody rated it it was amazing

Aleksandr Voinov and LA Witt have banded together to create an intense and thoughtprovoking historical read that vividly presents the bloodiness, fear, and confusion of what defines the enemy during wartime. From its heartpounding early scenes to the mind games between an American officer looking for answers from a German officer to their unlikely bond that ends the story in an uplifting way, I found myself completely immersed in the action and rooting for someone who history has taught us to ha Aleksandr Voinov and LA Witt have banded together to create an intense and thoughtprovoking historical read that vividly presents the bloodiness, fear, and confusion of what defines the enemy during wartime. From its heartpounding early scenes to the mind games between an American officer looking for answers from a German officer to their unlikely bond that ends the story in an uplifting way, I found myself completely immersed in the action and rooting for someone who history has taught us to hate.

Captain John has been ordered to get vital information from Nazi officer Hagen and what starts out as a by the book interrogation soon morphs into something more personal. John starts seeing Hagen as a man and worthy of living. He sees someone like himself looking for just a bit of comfort and peace, away from the lies they have to keep, amongst the craziness of war and decides to do whatever necessary to keep him safe from other's whose prejudices might endanger Hagen. Hagen starts off seeing John as the enemy but the more time they spend together he soon sees a kindred spirit. He doesn't see John as a soldier but someone who he can be himself with. He knows he can't go back home and continue to live a lie so he'll do anything to protect the one person promising him true freedom. They ultimately have to work together to keep each other safe in some action-packed sequences that end in a heartbreaking manner. Thankfully the authors don't leave us teary-eyed for long as a completely believable and immensely satisfying conclusion soon occurs.

This story kept me on the edge of my seat with my feelings ricocheting as we get to know both John and Hagen more fully. They're both bitter at first scarred by war and the deaths they've seen and caused. It was rewarding discovering the real John and Hagen which is why I was rooting for them every step of the way. The relationship started out in an expected manner but the sexual tension flared quickly, along with one or two very intense sexual encounters, and led to an unexpected and richly rewarding relationship. This time period and these kinds of issues, love between men in wartime, isn't addressed often but is done so in an incredibly satisfying and believable way courtesy of these two authors and I can't recommend this book highly enough! ...more

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