Adventure is Back in Business, and Business is Good

“The Last Nazi” by Jeff Putnam is a blast from the past, and not only because it is set in the post-WW2 era.  This Action-Adventure book is heavy on action and adventure, and delivers them with both nostalgia for heroes like Indiana Jones as well as with an original kick-ass protagonist in the form of Cole Harper.

The story opens with shades of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”, as Harper, along with MI6 agent Evelyn Shaw, embark on a quest to find an ancient relic. Shaw has a clue about where it is, and enlists Harper, a smuggler and ex-Army Air Corp pilot, to help her.  They are soon faced with numerous obstacles, double-crosses, and enemies such as the titular remnants of the Third Reich. Putnam writes the plot, heavy on the accelerator, but knowing when to let story coast, just enough, to let it breathe, let the characters form more fully in the reader’s mind.

“The Last Nazi” is written to be read and enjoyed, with no part of the narrative feeling bogged down or indulgant. The story feels like a movie, Putnam always describing the time, place, atmosphere in such a way that the mind’s eye is never lost, always ready for the next chapter to see where Harper and Shaw are headed, or wondering how they might escape their present predicament. The story itself is inventive and engaging, and Harper in particular is a fully-formed character: complex, intelligent, brash, brave, and with a biting wit regardless of the situation.

So be prepared to be transported, not only to another time, but also to various locations throughout the Caribbean, South America, and the Middle East, all with their own set of unique characters and situations awaiting our protagonists.

The book itself is also available on Kindle, but for an excellent pulp adventure story such as this, it seems criminal to get it in anything other than the paperback version.