Fascinating story taking known pieces of World War II history and mixing fiction in. From the creators and captains of U-boats to life at West Point, geography of the Hudson River and President Roosevelt, the reader is in for non stop action in this tale of alternative history.

I enjoyed this book. It’s funny how it was able to stick with me. I started reading this book Back in March, got away from reading for quite some time yet I still had this book with me when I picked it back up to finish it.

Incredible read. I love history and this is a book filled with history, known and unknown. Mr. Sumers pulls together an incredible tale of war, love, West Point, a daring mission, and a mysterious shipwreck.

If you enjoy reading about history, this is one of the best I have read in a long time. Filled with fascinating facts and intriguing fiction, fast-paced action, and strong characters. Pick up a copy and settle in for a thrilling tale. This book is a must-read.

Title: Operation Storm King
Author: Elliott Sumers
Release Date: March 29th, 2023
Page Count: 304
Format: Netgalley/Audiobook
Start Date: May 14th, 2023
Finish Date: May 25th, 2023

Rating: 4 Stars

Review:

I was very impressed with the idea behind this book. I'm going to be honest. I chose it because I thought it was a nonfiction story. I found out that it wasn't. I wasn't unhappy about that though. It was a really imaginative take on events that happened in WW2. Except in this reality, FDR was kidnapped by the Nazi's who had soldiers who were posed as American as FDR's guards. I'm finding that I really love novels that take place in historical events but have a "what if" kind of thing. Alternative histories if you will. I think I'll look into reading more like it. I'm also really interested in reading other books by this author as well.

Operation Storm King by Elliott Sumers is an alternative WWII story. Told in two different timelines, WWII and present day, Sumers has crafted a story that the Germans devised a plan to kidnap FDR with the intent to meet with him to discuss banding together against Russia. In current day, an historian that teaches history at West Point and a senior student at West Point decide to explore the Hudson River in a dive and are quite surprised at what they find. They are both suddenly thrown into a nightmare with the American government. The story seamlessly uses true historical facts with fictional events so that the story is very plausible. It will make you think about what may have really happened. This book was hard to put down and written at a pace that kept me reading. I would love to read any other books that Sumers especially as well written as this one. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of Operation Storm KIng.

Very entertaining alternate history WWII novel with a healthy dose of West Point flavor thrown in. Elliott Sumers has crafted a vivid picture of life in both the present and the past centered around the West Point area of NY. The lead characters are engaging and realistic in their actions and dialogue. The technical aspects were well-researched and accurate. The plot powers along at a nice clip and except for the rather abrupt ending I felt is didn’t leave any points behind. I enjoyed this read and am happy to leave a positive review. I thank #netgalley for this ebook of #ooerationstormking to read and review.

Loved this book. So real and well written, captivating! Alternative histories are very interesting to imagine and evaluate. Highly recommend

This is a dual time line story, the WWII era and the present. The past is an alternative idea of how FDR died. The present involves the accidental discovery of a WWII era U-boat. It is a page turner, it will keep you reading. My only criticism is that I think the abduction took place way too smoothly. I read an electronic copy courtesy of Net Galley.

Operation Storm King by Elliott Sumers is an alternative history to the weeks leading up to the end of World War II and the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. It is written in chapters telling the story of people involved including a man named Karl Krause who was an American boy whose parents had fled Germany after World War I. They pulled him out of West Point and took him back to Germany where he fulfilled his potential as a soldier and a leader. He left behind the girl he loved, Peggy, and expected never to see her again. In the beginning he believed in Hitler and the Reich but the more he saw the more disillusioned he became. There was also an interesting glimpse into Roosevelt himself. The were portraits of various German “soldiers,” which appear to be pretty accurate. Karl is a fictional character. The depravity that inundated the Nazi regime is readily apparent.

Alternative histories are interesting but they promote distrust of one’s government because like all conspiracy theories, they are far too plausible. This is such a case. History shows how close the Nazis got to New York City by boat. History also shows how convoluted the thinking of the Nazis was and how far their technology had progressed so a scenario like the one in this book is all too plausible. It was well-written and interesting: a fictional look at World War II. It was a good read.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Operation Storm King by The Book Whisperer, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #TheBookWhisperer #Elliott Sumers #OperationStormKing

Well done alternate history. Well researched and thought out. Really enjoyed this. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Concept was an interesting one; HOWEVER a definite DNF...writing seemed to be all over the place; difficult to follow A storyline. Dissapointing.

Attending the United States Military Academy at West Point is the pinnacle of a career in the army. Teaching at the academy is a high point in an educator’s career as well. The premier student is Kim Zhao and her history teacher is Professor Goldstein. They work well together in the classroom and enjoy time together in their off-time.

A weekend away, diving in the Hudson River sounds like a great release from the everyday tensions at the academy. The dive reveals an astonishing find, an old submarine in the river across from the citadel! They both know they will be famous after revealing this find. But they have to be cautious. What treasures could this sunken craft contain and how did it get there?

Anything of this nature awakens the thirst of the U.S. Government. The CIA and NSA become involved in ascertaining what the object is doing there. Dr. Goldstein and Ms. Zhao are sequestered and admonished to tell nobody of their find. The government agencies hint at lifelong imprisonment or worse! The most astounding find of their lives is now controlled by clandestine elements of the U.S. Government.

This book is fascinating and I could not put it down. Read and enjoy! 4.5 stars - CE Williams

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I read the description of Operation Storm King it had lots of elements I like - historical fiction, alternate history, conspiracy theories so I was looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately I didn't like it as well as I thought I would. All the elements are there: a World War II Nazi plot to kidnap Roosevelt, a coverup, and a modern day discovery that could change the world.

Give it a try - maybe this will be a book for you.

Operation Storm King by Elliott Summers
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC
A fantastic read—an alternate history! The author has fashioned a believable alternate history to the death of Franklin Roosevelt. With characters from modern day West Point and others from the war years, a tale is expertly woven. This one is sure to delight historical fiction fans.

A scary, alternate version story. I'm a bit of a history buff so I had a hard time going with the story, but If you can suspend belief, this is quite the story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early read.

“Operation Storm King” is an alternative history book by Elliott Sumers. In this book, it’s 1945 and Germany is losing the war, but a plan is put into action to kidnap FDR while he’s visiting West Point. This book is told from the viewpoints of different characters and also in different timelines (1940-1945 and present day). I spent a bit of time online looking up some of the things Mr. Sumers mentions in this book, including Revolutionary War history through some of the people/events during WWII. While he did a great job with most of the history, there wasn’t a US Presidential election in 2022. I liked the alternative history part and found the weaving of factual with fictional people very well done. In the present story, I cannot say that I liked the main male character much, but the modern story was interesting too. If you like fast paced historical fiction books with an alternative timeline, this may be the book for you.

West Point Mystery

An interesting story about a mysterious German submarine found by two divers from West Point. How they were silenced because of their discovery and how it tied in to a German plot during the last hours of WWII.

When the history teacher and one of his students at West Point find a German sub they never dreamed that it was tied to a seventy five year old mystery. Nor did they dream of the trouble it would bring them from those that wanted to keep it secret.

The story tells of the plot seventy five years before and those that tried to carry it out. The story of the German submarine that traveled to New York to kidnap president Franklin Roosevelt and take him back to Hitler. The story of how it went down and how the sub came to be at the bottom of the sea for divers to find all those years later.

I like how they conveyed the characters in the story, even to making one of the Germans a kinder man, although violence prevailed at the end I think he really was repentant of what he was doing. It was a bit sad in spots and a bit fantasy like in others. Some parts I believed could actually happen and others not so much. The characters were well portrayed and fit their parts in the story. . The story kept my attention. It was quite a story and I did enjoy reading it.

Thanks to Elliott Sumers for writing a great story, to The Book Whisperer for publishing it and to NetGalley for providing me with a copy to read and review.

The Past….Bullied and shunned first year Cadet Karl Krause is lonely and shocked at the amount of anti-German sentiment at 1937 US Military Academy. His parents emigrated to Kansas in 1919 it escape the vast deprivation in post WW1 Germany. Unfortunately, the depression and Dust Bowl results in the Krause family farm to be repossessed and, after summoning Karl back from West Point, they return to German where Karl becomes a loyal German and fights with the Nazi’s. In 1945, German is almost defeated and some members of the high command want to settle their war with America and have both of them to unite to fight communist Soviet Union. To force this crazy idea along, an audacious plan to kidnap FDR and being him to Berlin. Karl, now a battle weary soldier who speaking’s native English, is commanded to participate, along with a rabid and delusional SS officer and a submarine commander. A new super-secret Nazi sub design, built with slave concentration camp laborers, may allow the sub to breech New York harbor defenses, sail up the Hudson and apprehend FDR at West Point. This audacious plan has far reaching consequences.
The Present….West Point History Professor Tom Goldstein is unhappy and thinks he should be teaching at a more prestigious college. He’s not a “gung ho” Army guy and doesn’t have a lot of prospects. Mia Zhou is a senior Cadet who’s smart, brave, strong and beautiful. Her delusion with the Army is driving her to achieve something “big” to win a Rhodes Scholarship. She proposes a project that will get the the Rhodes and elevate Tom from academic purgatory. What they discover will have a profound impact on them and the US.
A unique and intriguing rewrite of history.

Operation Storm King tells an interesting story about an alternative way things could have gone differently with FDR. Sumers did an amazing job of blending enough of history to make it believable with even of fantasy to keep it intriguing. The characters were well developed and made me connect with their purpose. If you are a fan of The Man in the High Castle and like those alternative look at history this is a must read.

Thank you to the publishers and to Netgalley for allowing me to read this advnaced copy.

Operation Storm King by Elliot Sumers tells the story of what if this didn’t happen this way? And there was a cover up?? This story involves West Point. Also FDR. And also German Nazis. A very creative story. It kept me reading and learned a lot about West Point and some German history. Don’t want to give away any spoilers. I highly recommend this read. Thank you to NetGalley for letting me review this book.