Absolutely riveting - an amazing story of the complicated story of WWII. The characters are distinct, the plot is absorbing, and the sense of place was amazing. The story is dark - one of sickening treatment of one’s fellow men, horrors of war, and cruelty. The author is a very skilled writer - this was an incredible read.

A thrilling ride with nonstop action of war. I got frustrated with the hate but the kindness of humanity also stands out.

This book was just what I needed. I was in the mood for a war story following characters outside of the concentration camps, as that was mainly what I had been reading lately. This story didn’t disappoint! It was a POV I wasn’t used to reading: that of an SS soldier.

I was captivated through most of this story! Any time it started to feel a little slow, BAM something would happen. It was paced really well (apart from the ending which I will mention later) with some parts being slower but never boring.

I feel like Brandt’s missing arm (not a spoiler) should have been focused on more. I found myself forgetting about it until it was mentioned in passing, because it didn’t seem to impact him at all. Since it was so new, I feel it should have “disabled” him more in the story, and seemed like it was only mentioned when it furthered the story or to remind the reader he was injured for a purpose. It kind of took me out of the story.

The end of this book was crazy, but not necessarily in a good way. So much happened so quickly, with different perspectives going back and forth so much, it was confusing. There were so many people mentioned, so much happening that it didn’t always make sense. I think I may go back and reread the last 15 chapters because I feel like I missed a lot. Even though it was a very long book, I think the ending should have been lengthened so it wasn’t so choppy.

I almost felt that part of this story was trying to redeem some of the German soldiers of WWII and show that they were deep down okay people (ie through Brandt) but at the same time reveal that there was nothing redeeming in the end (ie through the other SS soldiers). Does that make sense? Probably not, but both reasonings I feel are true for this book. I was nervous to read this at first thinking it would be a redemption story for SS soldiers (red flag alert) but I don’t feel this is ultimately that.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I do recommend it for any historical fiction fans. It might seem slow at first, but the pacing evens out and something is always happening.

Thank you to Netgalley and Skyhorse Publishing for allowing me to read this book. All opinions are my own.

1944, Auschwitz, the time of the approaching end... Time to analyze everything he has done or not done... Time to understand who he is and what role he plays in this life... Time to change everything that he can change or remain who he is...

A stunning story with deep reflections on the essence of people in the form of the SS. Yes, namely people in SS uniform and those who can hardly be called “human beings”. They are different, with different values ​​in life, with different outlooks on life, but they all have one thing in common - Auschwitz.

As for me, this book is a real treasure, giving the opportunity to see and feel the mood of the SS officers during the approaching capture of the camp by the Soviets, their expectations and fears, their decisions and actions, their humanity and inhumanity.

Definitely a 5-star read for those book lovers who appreciate amazing stories about World War II. Highly recommended!

Paul Brandt has fought for Germany on the Eastern Front and finds himself near the Auschwitz concentration camp. Recognizing one of the women slaves he must attempt to help her escape this death camp as well as avoid the Soviets closing in on the camp. Well written historical fiction.

The Constant Soldier by William Ryan is an astoundingly crushing World War II Historical Fiction story based on real events and people (do read the author's notes on his inspiration). I love that the pace is slow and immersive, yet propulsive and suspenseful. The raw emotional writing gripped and captivated me the from the first sentence on and the pages practically turned themselves. I highlighted and highlighted and highlighted so many thoughts and comments as they struck me. The story is not easy to read in places due to the subject matter but it is important.

German soldier Paul Brandt returns to his home village after serious and disfiguring injuries. He finds sorrow and weariness everywhere he looks and is incredulous to see an SS rest hut near by. Female prisoners (including prisoners of war) are forced to cater to the Nazis to take their minds off the war. The Nazis are well fed and watered while intense suffering and poverty ooze into every nook and cranny everywhere else. Paul decides to work there with the SS for his own reasons, though his family does not understand. The story takes a turn when he recognizes one of the female prisoners from five years prior. Not only is that dynamic explored but also the inclusion of Russian involvement. The ending is tense and gratifying.

If you seek an original perspective on this horrendous time in history, do prioritize The Constant Soldier. Well worth spending time with.

My sincere thank you to Skyhorse Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this haunting and painfully beautiful novel. It was absolutely my wheelhouse and the connection I felt was immediate and profound.

A well-done story of WW2 where the protagonist finds himself questioning his actions and wanting to atone. The story captures the hysteria surrounding Germany in the war and the people. There is plenty of action and suspense to keep you engaged. A great read!

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I start by stating that I love anything written by this author, so I will try to be objective about The Constant Soldier. Ryans writing is deep and ponderous, he uses words beautifully and the same is true of this book. The subject of a German soldier returning injured from the War is an unexpected subject but it is so easy to be carried away into this man's life, I could not stop reading. Living back in his former childhood home with his parents, he becomes obsessed with the thought that he has seen a glimpse of a woman he knew before the war. She works at a place for German officers go for 'rest and relaxation ' and the story carries us as he inveigles his way into this camp. That is enough of a teaser for you to get this book. Brilliant. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this opportunity to read The Constant Soldier.

Brant is a soldier wounded badly at the Russian front and has been given a discharge from the German army. He is considered a hero by many because of the arm that was lost and terrible burns received in battle. Although discharged, he is responsible for a rest facility for German officers in desperate need of rest and relaxation from the front.

Assigned to the facility he is running are a number of women who are charged with cleaning the linens and preparing foods and other domestic chores. Among the women is one he was romantically involved with before the war.

The town where the facility is located is near his father’s old family farm in Ukraine. The local mayor of the town has taken it as one of his responsibilities to help run the retreat as well. He is overweight and vicious in his treatment of the women.

The ever-present threat of the Red Army pushing through the area is a constant concern and the situation is becoming desperate.

William Ryan has spun a very believable story of the frantic situation in the struggle for the basics of life. The mental images and development of the characters in this book is illuminating, revealing, and gripping. Putting myself in their shoes made my respect for their survival more personal. 5 stars – CE Williams

In William Ryan’s latest North American published novel (original UK publication was 2016), The Constant Soldier, Brandt returns home from the war in 1944 after losing his arm from an injury in a battle on the front in Russia. There, he is offered an opportunity to help at a hut that SS soldiers utilize for a rest while on short leave. He discovers while helping at the hut that he recognizes one of the female prisoners that is kept there. We also are introduced to Oberstürmfuhrer
Neumann who displays some contradictory thoughts about the war, his role in it, and his family. The war weariness of his character oozes from the pages while he still tries to maintain an air of authority of those around him.

When the Russians start their push into Germany from the east while the Americans and British are fighting through in the west, decisions about life and survival have to be made. This book doesn’t contain a great deal of dialogue, and as a reader who enjoys reading the communication between characters, this was an adjustment. The details of where they are and what the characters see and feel is clear, but I found so much of it to be more dry reading than engaged reading. In the last third of the book, I felt the pace of the story picked up and kept me hooked more on seeing how the book would end. The characters are still written in a way where you are rooting for some, jeering at others, and saddened or even conflicted by a few. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Thank you to NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing for the advanced copy. Opinions expressed are my own. This book is set for publication on November 6, 2023.

#netgalley #arc #bookstagram #theconstantsoldier #williamryan #skyhorsepublishing

That the entire story of "The Constant Soldier" stems from a huge coincidence had me wary. The sureness and vividness of the writing, however, not only swept me up and carried me along but also made me forget the unlikeliness of the initial premise. The low-pitched hysteria of a small German town and a camp's Nazi officers during the waning days of the Third Reich came through brilliantly, and the ending was simultaneously unexpected and inevitable. The primary reason I'm not giving it five stars is that I felt kept at an emotional remove from the main characters. That may have been because the characters themselves had to keep themselves in reserve during a time when speaking too freely could be fatal. Nonetheless, I missed that connection, though you might not.

Thank you, NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing, for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book about war, about Germany and concentration camps, about surviving and saving. This is an all-encompassing story but I must say it is a bit slow but does flow well.

Paul Brandt is a wounded soldier who is living with his own demons of the war and finds someone from his past who needs to be saved from the Germans. Can he do this without being found out? This story follows a him through these hard times and is a very powerful story and one that is based on an actual person, place and events.

A well written book which is heart-breaking, raw, intense and suspenseful. A great read.

Thank you NetGalley and Skyhorse Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book.

Let me start by saying that I have read a ton of WW2 historical fiction, and so my bar is rather high for what I consider memorable and commendable. While this book was well written, I don’t know that this cracks the best of WW2 fiction for me.

I did very much appreciate the complex questions around morality that this story prompted - it wasn’t simply good vs bad, rather it was a multitude of characters, experiences, decisions and unimaginable circumstances that I hope never to find myself in for fear of how blurry the lines of good and evil can easily become. This book gives a small taste of that.

Overall; a good book that is engrossing while reading it, though may not stand out for avid historical fiction readers.

DNF. I thought the premise was original and interesting. However, even after grudgingly making it 40% through, I couldn't go on. There was never really anything that "happened." You could argue little "events" took place, but most of them were anti-climatic.

This book is living rent free in my head, but not in the way that I like. I wanted to like this book so much, but it was just not the book for me.

I felt that the plot moved unnecessarily slow, and not much was going on. It also felt that there wasn't really any new information provided in the book. I read a lot of historical fiction, specifically that set in WW2 but I can usually find something new, but that wasn't the case here.

My favorite part of the book was the authors note. I wish in this case that it would have been at the beginning so I had the context.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy reading different stories and versions of what happened during World War II which is why I chose to read this book. The title for this book is spot on since the main character is constantly a soldier especially since most men where during this time. I love the cover with the snow and the person off in the distance really made me wonder what part of the world the setting of this book would take place in. At first the book seems more like a soldier coming home from the war and maybe what his life would be like in normal times. Then the story changes a bit when he is called to help out with the war efforts again. It is a book about redemption and the terrible things that were going on at that time in history. It also showcases that not everyone wanted to be a part of this type of history, and everyone suffered greatly in the end. The story was interesting and really helped me to see what else might have happened during this time in history compared to the parts we are told about every day. It showcases different viewpoints during this time and although we will never really know exactly what happened in that time in history unless you lived through it, I do like to educate myself on what happened. Hopefully remembering the past will help us prevent something like what this from happening again. I really enjoyed Brandt's story. I was conflicted by how the story turned out, but I was overall happy with the way things ended. I really appreciate the author writing this story and I am really grateful to have gotten a chance to read this story. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone one looking for history, romance, action, war, and redemption type stories.

There is a lot of World War II fiction out there to choose from, but William Ryan's The Constant Soldier takes one of the more unusual approaches to the subject I've come across in a while. The narrator of Ryan's story is a young man who is only in the German army at all because he and a young woman had been arrested in occupied Poland as suspected agitators. Given the choice of army or prison, Paul Brandt chose the military option.

Now he is back home, a terribly maimed soldier who is pitied by most of his neighbors, but resented by many others because of his service to the Germans. Brandt is not proud of what he did on the Eastern Front, and he is battling demons of his own making. Then on one of the long walks Brandt uses to calm himself, he spots what he will later learn is a "rest hut" for the SS officers running the Auschwitz concentration camp twenty miles away. Appallingly, he also recognizes one of the female prisoners being forced to work in the rest hut, the very woman for whose arrest he still feels a terrible responsibility.

Now he has to find a way to keep her alive.

What William Ryan offers here is more than the usual war thriller. The Constant Soldier provides insight into the mindset of the SS officers and the civilian population surrounding the camp. As the novel evolves, some of the officers will recognize the evilness of what they have done but others will still take pleasure from what they do every day. Polish civilians, already under suspicion for simply being Polish, will manage to form a resistance of sorts, but most will have to resign themselves to simply trying to keep their own families alive.

All the elements of a thriller are here, but it is Ryan's exploration of the minds of characters on both sides of the fight that make The Constant Soldier such a standout in the World War II historical fiction genre.

An excellent and intense novel about guilt and atonement after killing and surviving WWII. Thought provoking: it is much easier to follow orders without having to make a decision, or is it so? Can you decide acting against orders? Often, reflecting happens later, then feelings of guilt appear. What should or could a soldier have done? Can a soldier seek and reach atonement?
This novel set in WWII in Germany could have taken place in any country at war. Its convincing cast of characters touched me deeply, and while this poignant story reveals degrading and uncivilised human behaviours, this novel also shows a real sense of humanity. Highly recommended, one of the best novels I have read and definitely will not forget it.
I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel from NetGalley and I am leaving voluntarily an honest review.

Paul Brandt was a college student in Vienna at the beginning of WWII. He was part of the resistance & his carelessness caused his arrest and the arrest of the girl he was growing to love. Given the choice of going to a camp or joining the German army, Brandt chose the army. She was sent to a labor camp. The Constant Soldier, by William Ryan, tells Brandt’s story.

After fighting for four years, losing his arm, and suffering severe facial burns, Brandt returns home only to be asked to work at a rest hut for the workers at a nearby labor camp. Women prisoners cooked and cleaned for the Germans who came to the hut. Brandt recognizes the woman from Vienna. Knowing the end of the war was near, he worked to see that she lived and escaped. All of this had to be done while appearing to be loyal to the Germans. The book is a little slow at times, but it closely follows the events at the close of WWII. I was allowed to read an ARC on #NetGalley.

1944.

He was a soldier. It’s been a long time since he was home. His name is the same. Paul Brandt. But in the period he was away, he’s changed. He doesn’t look the same, nor does he feel the same—one of the things that happens in a time of war.

He’ll stay home on the farm with his father and sister. Home was in a village in Poland. Now it is part of Nazi Germany—the future unknown. The war continues. A morning walk gives him a plan. This time he could help her. She may not recognize him, but he’s never forgotten her. Five years ago, Vienna was a different place, a different time. He had two names then. So did she.

WWII historical fiction unlike any other I’ve read, principally from the perspective of a soldier, a soldier in the Wehrmacht. A man riddled with guilt. A man that can’t change the past, but perhaps there is yet time to atone. The atmospheric writing is gripping in intensity. The imagery is haunting, chilling. The reader is grasped by the extent of depravity while others in their midst risk everything to turn the tide even for a moment, even if only possible for a few.

War. Orders. Resistance. Guilt. Redemption. The book is well-written, profound, complex, powerful, exemplary, and essential to the whole of literary WWII historical fiction. Highly recommended.

The "Author’s Note" at the novel’s end provides inspiration for the fictional version of the storyline based on SS officer Karl Höcker, actual locations, and events. The note includes a bibliography of work read during the author’s meticulous research.

Thank you to William Ryan, Skyhorse Publishing (Arcade), and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC of this book.

#TheConstantSoldier #NetGalley