The Saboteur - Andrew Gross - 22 Aug

“If the Germans get there first, it will lead to some of the nastiest business that can ever be imagined. Not to mention it’ll win them the war.”

A spellbinding, historical and educational story based on true events involving brave and selfless patriots and the Norwegian heavy water sabotage project of WWII. When I first started reading, I wasn’t sure my mind was in a place to keep up with the meticulous details, yet in short order, I was riveted, reading for hours at a time, finishing the book in two days; evidence of how inspirational and fantastic it was. The author’s research on this critical mission is impressive, his merging of fact/fiction and his humanization of the characters so well done. I was in awe of their sacrifice, resilience, strength and humor amidst insurmountable odds.

It is a rare book that my husband and I can both agree on. I know without a doubt that he will enjoy this book as much as I did, so I plan on buying the audio version to listen to on an upcoming 16+ hour car ride.

This novel is a unique historical thriller based on true events in which a small group of resistance fighters set out to stop Hitler from creating the atomic bomb. With the use of language that evoked vivid descriptions of icy, frigid surroundings, I often found myself holding my breath as the group fought against the elements. I thought Kurt was an intriguing, likable character but I did think his romanic struggles were a bit unnecessary. There was a lot of military details which at times caused my mind to wander but overall this was a solid historical thriller

This is a World War II story like no other I have read. Andrew Gross takes readers away from the concentration camps and creates a story in the scenic, but rugged mountains of Norway.

Based on true events, Gross spins the tale of espionage and sabotage among Norway’s resistance fighters who want to take their country back from German occupation.

Kurt Nordstrum is the main character and he is unstoppable! Nordstrum was instrumental in several sabotage events. The most important act of sabotage had to do with the factory located in Vermork which was producing heavy water to use in making atomic weapons. It was a race against time to make sure the Germans did not produce an atomic weapon before they were defeated by the Allies.

Each act of sabotage involving Kurt Nordstrum was like a story in itself. Just when I thought the book had reached its peak, I discovered Gross had even more to add to the story. I enjoyed reading it and would be happy to recommend it to other readers.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for allowing me to read an advance copy and offer my honest review.

I have read many of Andrew Gross' books and I have enjoyed them all.
Thrilled to hear this one was was coming and so happy that I had the opportunity to review it.

Into sets scene of WWII, nuclear research, and the Special Operations Executive (SOE).
I immediately was interested and I am not a fan of War books) this was grabbed my attention.

You will feel a part of the war.
You will think of Albert Einstein first discovering that a nuclear chain reaction might be used to create bombs of unimaginable destruction. Thus starting the ultimate race...

I highly recommend this book.

Another great lost tale of heroism, sacrifice and daring during World War II in German occupied Norway. Kurt Nordstrum is a fighter in the Norwegian resistance who gets recruited to join a mission to derail Germany's atomic program. Battling not only their enemies but also the fierce, unforgiving terrain of Norway during intense, brutal storms, the band of Northmen use every skill they have to complete their mission. "The Saboteur" is a thrilling, glued to your seat historical fiction story that will keep you up late to finish! I highly recommend it!

This novel is a very good one about WWII. It features character Kurt Nordstrom, who goes behind the scenes and sabotages Nazi plans. He and his team do this at great risk to themselves against overwhelming odds.

The Saboteur has a great lead character in Nordstrom, and the storyline is riveting. It is suspenseful and thrilling.

A great WW2 follow up to Andrew Gross's The One Man. I'm a sucker for intriguing WW2 thrillers and this one does not disappoint.

This novel is based on true events. In 1942, both Germany and the United States are waging a scientific battle to create the atomic bomb. Crucial to this effort is the creation of enriched heavy water, and the Germans have commandeered a hydro electric plant in a remote part of Norway and are producing it. The plant is protected by the fjords as well as the weather. The British create an elite team to attack and destroy the plant, but the plan goes terribly wrong and all of the specialists for this mission are killed. The Allied leaders are almost fanatical in their desire to shut down the operation and finally agree to a small team of native Norwegians to execute a daring mission to blow up the facility. Led by Kurt Nordstrum (whose character is drawn from the real life figure of Kurt Haukelid, the real person who helped pull over the real mission), the team manages to penetrate the defenses of the plant and plant explosives that destroy the inventory of heavy water as well as the production facilities. As the team disperses after the raid, Nordstrum announces that he is staying behind to create a network of agents and communications to aid in the war effort in this remote region. The Germans are able to resume production of heavy water in just a few months, and once again, a small team of natives, are called upon to “save the day.” A daring mission to destroy the water as it is moved to Germany is planned and executed. This book had my pulse racing from the beginning. It is based on events that I was unaware of which made it even better. The hero, really heroes, are men of courage, perseverance, and dedication. If you enjoy historical fiction, you will enjoy this book.

A close to reality novel of the special operations attacks on Norwegian heavy water production during World War II that prevented the Nazis from completing development of the German atom bomb.

Andrew Gross writes one heck of a book. I first encountered his writing with James Patterson and have followed his solo career with glee.
The Saboteur is a sequel to The One Man, about one man and the holocaust. This books remains set in WWII, and the fight is again against nazis, who are building a bomb in Norway. A race against time, a battle against true villains, and a cast of characters so well written you can climb inside their skin. What more could you want?

Thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Andrew Gross for the opportunity to read his latest thriller - will not disappoint!

In my mind, no one can write a WWII thriller like Andrew Gross. Following up on The One Man, which was excellent, his latest book is based on a true story of a Norwegian resistance fighter during WWII. He is picked to lead a team to destroy the threat of the development of the atomic bomb by the Germans in an old factory in Norway. This is a non-stop, hold your breath, kind of book as Kurt disregards his own personal safety and those of all he cares about to fight for his country and the world at large.

Amazing!

A moving and thrilling tale of ordinary people doing extraordinary things in Norway to foil the Nazi’s efforts to produce a nuclear bomb. This is a fictionalized version of how a group of Norwegian patriots, with the help of the British special forces pulled off a commando raid that destroyed the heavy water and equipment at the Norsk Hydro’s Vemork plant in remote Rjukan and later, after the plant got into production again, sank a civilian ferry transporting a shipment of heavy water across a big lake en route to Germany. As a result of these implausible operations, Hitler and his nuclear scientists like Heisenberg did not succeed in this important arms race.
Two brief asides: 1) heavy water, which contains hydrogen with a neutron in its nuclei, can be used to slow down neutrons released in radioactive decay, making it more feasible to produce plutonium in a fission reactor; 2) in recent years technical analysis indicates that the Nazis were unlikely to produce a bomb even if shipments from Vemork succeeded. Regardless, the agents who performed these impossible missions at great risk were told nothing except that stopping the supply of the substance was highly important to the war outcome
The author claims close attention to known details for these two operations, but his efforts to render a realistic version of the life of one of the heroes and of his dedication to the resistance called for so much fiction that he changed their names. Thus, the main character is Kurt Nordstrum, based on the real Knut Haukelid, a civil engineer who joined the resistance (Kompani Linge) in 1941. Other loyal Norwegians and their king fled to England after the German army crushed the opposition and occupied the country, among them the scientist who developed heavy water production at the Rjukan plant, Leif Tronstad. He convinced the British command that the location of the facility in the basement of a massive building in a river cleft in some highland cliffs would be inaccessible to aerial bombing. Thus, the plan was born to infiltrate the factory and plant explosives.
The first step was to parachute in a set of nine Norwegian nationals intensively trained by the British SOE (Special Operations Executive) to hook up with the resistance and together prepare the way for a larger set of British special forces. The winter landing was far from the target on the barren, storm-swept plateau above Rjukan, so much survival skills were called upon (e.g. finding a hunter’s cabin and eating moss to survive). The attempt to bring in the larger force of men and supplies ended in disaster. The gliders released from tow planes crashed with the loss of about 25 skilled commandos, and the survivors were captured, interrogated, and executed. Kurt and the handful of Norwegians (including one young Norwegian-American) pressed on alone.
Picture our band of heroes, heavily loaded with arms and equipment, traveling miles by ski on the high plains to reach the region. Instead of taking the only road from town over a well-patrolled suspension bridge, they passed around and then down into a deep gorge, from which they scaled a 500-foot icy wall to the plant. At night in the middle of winter. Dodging the sentries, quietly subduing a worker to gain entrance, and then crawling through a ventilation tunnel to get into the locked basement facility. There they set plastic explosives on the many tanks, wired a short fuse, and made their exit, presumably to be caught and killed. But the explosions deep in the factory were muffled enough, they pulled off a successful escape with no lives lost. Despite thousands of army and Gestapo forces combing the area for the saboteurs, Kurt is able to help some set out to Sweden by ski, while others he fears are lost to capture or to winter hardship.
Kurt goes back to lonely rural living and more routine resistance activities undermining the regime of the opportunistic Nazi collaborators running the government. We get attached to his quiet, unassuming personality and his little ways to keeping his friends’ hopes alive with humor and generosity. He has trouble getting over the death of his wife and child from bombing earlier in the war. We see him get romantically interested in an elegant Austrian woman who is a violinist on a musical tour of the region. But he holds back, thinking it best for her safety to wait and pursue her after the war is over. He knows he made the right decision when word comes down that the Germans are soon going to move a last big shipment of heavy water out by rail. He and two locals he has recruited devise a plan for planting bombs with timers on the ferry to be used to get the rail cars across a lake. He regrets the loss of civilian lives the sinking will cause, so engineers the bomb placement to allow time for passengers to escape the ship. However, when he learns that his new violinist love interest will be on the ferry, he is faced with a special moral conundrum.
This read has some of the same pleasures of Alan Furst’s tales of ordinary people getting involved in the resistance activities against the Nazi occupation in France and other countries Europe. Here we extend the atmospherics of a society bucking outrageously unjust fate to a more rural setting and bring in the extra issues of surviving the challenges of winter and remote geographies. For those more interested in historical accuracy than inspiring entertainment, one could consider Haukelid’s memoir, “Skis Against the Atom,” or the recent history, “The Winter Fortress: The Epic Mission To Sabotage Hitler’s Atomic Bomb”, by Neil Bascomb. As for me, I am looking for what other thriller by Gross to pursue, and “The One Man” is in hand.
This book was provided by the published for review through the Netgalley program.

I love to read historical fiction that makes me feel I am actually learning what really happened in the past. This is how I felt while reading The Saboteur by Andrew Gross. Before reading I didn't read the back or any plugs telling me what the book was about, rather I went completely on the fact that it was written by Andrew Gross. Of course I knew from the cover it would be WWII historical fiction or even historical thriller. I was surprised when I started reading to find it was set in Norway. I had a hunch that The Saboteur was based on real people and events but was not sure and I like to wait until the end to look it up so as not to give away the rest of the story. This was a part of WWII that I had NEVER heard of; the very important part that the Norwegians played. These characters were based on some extremely brave and loyal men, some would say they even changed the outcome of the war. I have to admit, I am a huge fan of Andrew Gross as I flew through The One Man and literally could not put it down. With The Saboteur it was a different reading experience. For the first half of the book I had a hard time keeping the names and places straight, the Norwegian names threw me for a loop. But the second half of the book made up for that. While reading I felt I was watching the story unfold in a movie, that was how well Andrew Gross wrote and told the story. Upon finishing this book, Gross tells how he came to write this story and tells us a little about the real life people upon whom his characters are based. Despite the fact that it took me a little while to "get into" this book, I really liked it and learned about the Norwegians part in the war, something I had not known about. Andrew Gross has earned his place on my Favorite Authors List and I would recommend The Saboteur to historical fiction or historical thriller fans or anyone that enjoys reading about WWII. Well done. Mr. Gross.

This is a great historical thriller that is based on actual events during WWII. The Nazis are coming very close to developing the atomic bomb. They are producing heavy water at a plant in Norway. The plant is well protected in a valley that is too narrow to be successfully bombed. The only way to stop them is to send a team in to destroy the plant and any heavy water that has been produced. A group of courageous Norwegian men end up tackling the mission, knowing it is likely a suicide mission.

This is a great read and it stays true to historical events. This is a story of courage and heroism. It will appeal to anyone who likes historical thrillers, or even thrillers in general. I couldn't put it down. The scenes are action packed. The descriptions of the scenery and the conditions the characters experience make you feel like you are there. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

The Saboteur is a mesmerizing tale of heroic Norwegians working to sabotage Nazi efforts to make "heavy water" which was crucial to their plan to make an atomic bomb. Had they succeeded....well, they didn't. Andrew Gross shows excellent writing skills, building his characters, pacing the plot, and keeping the reader interested.
Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Excellent summer thriller! Cannot wait to handsell this.

In an afterward of this novel Andrew Gross goes over the facts and personnel that he has incorporated into the story. He indicates that the basic narrative is based upon the deeds and actions of a small group of men that may have turned the tide of World War II towards the allied side. The time is early 1943 and both sides are in the process of building weaponry powerful enough to win victory over the other. The activity is geared towards the construction of a nuclear bomb. Germany appears to be in the lead awaiting the delivery of an amount of "heavy water" needed to complete the weapon. They are utilizing a plant in Norway converted over to produce the product and which seems to have an advantage in location that could prevent attacks by planes.
Kurt Nordstrum an engineer in Oslo has put his civilian life aside in order to take up arms with the Norse resistance. He gets information that points to the successful production of the heavy water needed for manufacture of an atomic bomb. In order to rush the information to the British he bravely commandeers an ocean going ferry and takes it across the North Sea to deliver the data to the allies for action.
A plan is then developed to parachute a small contingent of Norse patriots led by Nordstrum into an almost impossible area in Norway in order to mount an attack on the plant. The group faces horrific weather and constant searches by both German troops as well as the well organized groups of Quislings allied with the Nazis. Action is carried on in the face of almost insurmountable odds, constant danger and the fears that loved ones will suffer for their deeds. The reader will get caught up in the book and certainly feel impelled to finish it in one sitting. That is the only bad part of reading the novel is it ends. The good part is certainly that we will have the pleasure of more books written by Andrew Gross in the near future.

Deuterium. D2O. Heavy water. The key to making the atomic bomb. It’s WWII and the race to create a fission bomb is on. Who will win? The US? Germany? This is the background for Andrew Gross’s wonderful new novel, The Saboteur. Drawn from actual events, events that changed to course of the war, the story follows Kurt Nordstrum (based on the real-life hero Kurt Haukelid) and his team of saboteurs who are charged with destroying the NAZI’s heavy water plant on the coast of Norway. A building that is well guarded and settled in a deep cliff-side crevice, making simply bombing it to rubble impossible. Getting inside the compound and destroying the concentrators and the supplies of heavy water the Nazi have already produced. is no easy task. One attempt has already met with disaster so the mission falls to Kurt and his cadre of “northmen.” Fast-paced, populated with wonderful characters, and filled with historical facts, this story will keep you reading long after everyone else is asleep. Highly recommend.

DP Lyle, award-winning author of the Jake Longly, Samantha Cody, and Dub Walker thriller series