Resistance

by Gerald Brennan

In late December of 1941, two parachutists dropped into occupied Europe on a mission to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, an SS leader whom one contemporary called "the hidden pivot" of Nazi Germany.

Six months later, they succeeded.

This is the definitive telling of this oft-forgotten story--its fascinating background, its thrilling climax, and its tragic consequences. It is also a powerful meditation on the nature of history, and on the ways we distort the past in order to preserve it as memory.

Genres: Historical Fiction, World War II

770 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 18, 2012

About the author

Gerald Brennan is a self-described corporate brat who hails from the eastern half of the continent but currently resides in Chicago. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, and later earned a Master's from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. He’s the author of Resistance, Zero Phase: Apollo 13 on the Moon, Project Genesis, Ninety-Seven to Three, and Public Loneliness: Yuri Gagarin's Circumlunar Flight. He's been profiled in Newcity, and his writing has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, The Good Men Project, and Innerview Magazine; he's also been a co-editor and frequent contributor at Back to Print and The Deadline. He’s into Camus, Dostoyevsky, Koestler, Hitchcock, Radiohead, and The National, but you can also catch him reading Jim Thompson and even sneaking in some Wahida Clark from time to time. He’s also a huge Martin Scorsese fan.

Reviews

[Giano Cromley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do yourself a favor and read this book!
Now that I've got that Twiter-worthy splash out of the way, perhaps I should elaborate. Resistance tells the true story of a covert operation undertaken by the Czechoslovakian secret service-in-exile during World War II to assassinate one of the top leaders of Nazi Germany, Reinhard Heydrich. I'm not much of a history buff, so the story itself was new to me. For that reason, I found myself riveted by the plot and dangling in suspense for almost the entire manuscript, even after the operation was completed.
Writing historical fiction is hard. The author has to include enough verisimilitude to create a world that honors historical accuracy, while giving the characters enough room to breathe and the story enough agility to unfold in a satisfactory way. Author Jerry Brennan has managed to strike that balance with every page. The depth of his historical research is, at times, breathtaking. Yet the story never feels weighed down by it. I never once questioned the setting and I never once felt like, "Okay, let's get on with it." As someone who often feels this way when reading historical fiction, I can assure you this is a tremendous feat.
The story itself is told in three parts which offer unique perspectives on the events that unfolded. I won't go into much detail on who those parts are told by, as I don't want to spoil the story for those who aren't familiar with it. The result of this multilayered perspective, however, enables Brennan to get at larger themes and ideas that you might not find in your garden variety historical fiction. Namely, the book ends up being a meditation on the consequences (often unintended) of action and inaction, and how we define what "good" actually means.
There are no heroes in Resistance. There are simply characters who struggle with what they believe is right and deal with the consequences of those struggles. I highly recommend this book, not only to those who might take an interest in World War II, but to anyone concerned with what it means to do the right thing.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating true story of a group of Czech resistance fighters who had fled to England with Benes, who was the current president and were trained to return to Czechoslovakia to take out the evil Hitler SS leader Reinhard Heydrich who had been put in as the Protector. But rather than be a protector, he was a brutal murderer who put fear into the Czech people as he ruthlessly cleared out anyone who protested the German takeover.
Although Heydrich is pictured as a incorrigible womanizer, even though he was married, and was pursued by the women of the captive Czech capital Prague, I found him to be a frightening, evil and ruthless murderer.
A drunken reveler, he went into a church where the remains of the well known Czech saint, St. Wenceslaus's remains were buried and took his crown from the display(despite warnings of a curse) and danced around with it on his head. A few weeks later he was dead, and his two young sons died, one a victim of a fever, the other an accident. Many Czech's believed it was punishment for desecrating Wenceslaus' crown. But his habit of riding around in his Mercedes convertible with the top down and no escort probably made the assassins purpose much easier. Both escaped but the country suffered much retaliation from Hitler.
He is definitely a study of pure evil in a handsome suave body which probably hid from many how ruthless he truly was.
Surprisingly, he was an accomplished classical violinist and had been raised in a Catholic family.
Even though this is a bit lengthy, it is a great read for those interested in these historical times.

[Corey Novotny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does an exceptional job in providing context from before, during and after the assassination from three very different perspectives. Brennan's collaboration of fact into a narrative helps you lose yourself in the drama, even though we know how the story ends. Really well done, definitely the best book I've read on the subject

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Resistance is a work of historical fiction written in three parts. Through it, Mr. Brennan examines the founding of Czechoslovakia, its occupation by Nazi Germany, the assassination of Reinhardt Heydrich by Czech expatriots, and the imprisonment and prosecution of war criminals after the war. As a history lesson it is wonderful. I'm not much of a buff so this was mostly new ground for me. Mr. Brennan creates a vivid landscape, harsh and perilous. But what truly makes Resistance a pleasure to read are the characters. As I transitioned between parts, I dreaded leaving behind the protagonists in each. They were flawed, sometimes grotesque, and often filled with doubt; in short, quite real, and so compelling that the 700 or so pages flew by.

In the first part of the book, we follow Frantisek Moravec, from his early years as an unwilling officer in the Austro-Hungarian army through his more auspicious days as a major figure in early Czechoslovakian espionage. Brennan teaches us a bit about the establishment of the Czech state through an imagined and recurring relationship between Moravec and T. G. Masaryk, Czechoslovakia’s major founding father and first President. The device feels a bit forced but the Masaryk's dialogue is so entertaining that it's easy to forgive. The second part of the book concerns the plot to kill Heydrich, conceived by the government in exile in England and carried out by surprisingly ill-prepared paratroopers. Written as a series of documents compiled after the fact and moving between accounts from the perspective of General Frank (one of the Nazis) and Kubish (one of the parachutists), this is certainly the most exciting part of the book. The suspense is palpable as the would-be assassins fight to remain hidden while working to overcome poor planning, a series of chance obstacles, and the ambivalence about their mission of the Czechoslovakian underground. Without giving too much away, the final third of the book is told from the perspective of an additional Czech officer Karel Curda, who turns Nazi informant and is imprisoned at war's end. His is perhaps the most richly drawn and interesting character, and definitely the most tragic. I found that I really enjoyed the arc of character disposition, if you will. Brennan takes us from the brilliant, hopeful and energetic Masaryk coupled with the jaded though thoughtful and capable Moravec, to the energetic but conflicted Kubish, and finally to the incredibly troubled semi-scoundrel Curda. The progression nicely complements the rise and fall of Czechoslovakia as it goes from fledgling state, to occupied country, and finally to Soviet pawn, which is where Brennan leaves it. Brennan's command of history is matched by his ability to imagine the inner lives of his players who all come off as legitimate and highly sympathetic.

One last thing that I took away from Resistance is an examination of the nature of heroism. The willingness of the men plotting to kill Heydrich to lay down their lives to help defeat Nazism stands in contrast to the passivity of the occupied Czechs. Benes, the country's second and far weaker president, fails to utilize the intelligence Moravec has provided and offers up Czechoslovakia to the relentless Germans. The assassins spend months inserting themselves into the masses of everyday citizens who do as they are told, going to work in munitions factories, and fortifying the Nazi war effort. Yet the question remains, will this act of defiance accomplish anything? Does it justify the horrendous reprisal that will surely follow? Is it cowardly of the Czech resistance to take this into account as they consider withdrawing their support of the plot? There is a momentum to doing what is expected. The mass of the Czech populace follow the false propaganda of their leaders and serve the Nazis, while in the end the assassins, in the face of the compelling argument that their actions may cost thousands of innocent lives, also do what is expected of them.

Resistance was published independently by Brennan. It’s a marvelous book worthy of recognition and a fun read. Do yourself a favor and pick it up.

[Kathy Eagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do yourself a favor, don't miss this one!!!

[Tanvir Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

RIP : Jan Kubiš, Jozef Gabčík, Adolf Opálka, Josef Valčik, Josef Bublik, Jan Hrubý, Jaroslav Švarc

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Historical Fiction at its finest. It is true in 95% of it and told in such a way that you hang on to and believe every scenario.
Definitely worth reading.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the first of this type of book for me to read. I have read a lot of WWII history, albeit 15 years ago, but always history books about that time period and not historical fiction. I had never read anything on how the war affected Czechoslovakia, so when I discovered that this book was set in and about the affect of the war on Czechoslovakia I was intrigued.

The book is written in 3 parts from the point of view of three different characters, well section two is from several points of view, but mainly from one. I can see why the author would choose to write it that way, but I didn't really like it.

The first section is about Moravec, a soldier in Czechoslovakia who basically starts the intelligence agency in that country. The first part begins just prior to WWII and chapters alternate between Moravec's experiences as a young man in WWI and his present experiences in WWII. It took a bit for me to adjust to this style, but found that I did enjoy it, but I particularly liked the WWII chapters and would rush through the WWI chapters to get to the ones enjoyed. But then Moravec leaves Czechoslovakia, due to the occupation, gets on a plane to England and leaves behind his loved ones and we never hear about him again.

Suddenly the book switches to being written by other character. Gabcik is probably the main character in this section. He is a parachutist who is dropped into Czechoslovakia during the occupation. In this section chapters are told by different characters, some other parachutists and some German occupiers. This section was interesting and if you read the headings at the beginning of each chapter you at least know who the chapter is about. But I found the unfamiliar names hard to keep track of and two characters have the same first name so that got a bit confusing as well, but all in all I enjoyed the second part of the book. That is once I got over the disappointment at the unfinished section on Moravec. I still have no idea what happened to Moravec or his family.
Then the third section of the book. You finally get to an exciting part in the second section, to where you care what will happen next and you turn the page and suddenly the story is being written by a different character. And the worst part of this section, well one of the worst parts, is that you don't find out who this character's identity is until probably half way through this section. He tells you he is one person, then tells you he isn’t that character but doesn’t tell you who he actually is. I cannot relate or begin to care about a character, although there is nothing about this particular person to care about, if I don’t know who they are.

The next frustrating part, and I understand that the author is writing a diary from this characters own hand, but seriously could you use more exclamation points? On one page alone, bearing in mind this is on my Kindle so page is a relative term, he used and exclamation point 7 times! And sometimes in the middle of a sentence and sometimes he uses two and three exclamation points at once. It is terribly annoying to read exclamation points after almost every sentence. Like Elaine’s character in Seinfeld who breaks up with her boyfriend because he doesn’t use an exclamation point, I would break up with the author for using too many.

I did like the book, but I if I had it to do over again I probably would not have read it AND, now I have to read something else about Moravec to find out what ultimately happens to him. If you do read it when you get to the third section, just skip to 90% done to find out how section two and three are wrapped up, because you really don’t need all the other extraneous information contained in section 3.

[Nicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is split into three parts and I'm giving it two stars for the first two parts. The third part is dire and barely warrants one star.

Part one is written in the first person and follows Frantisek Moravec, flashing between his First World War service and his work setting up the Czech military intelligence section. This was fairly interesting, but when Czechoslovakia falls to the Nazis, Moravec gets on a plane and doesn't appear again (except perhaps in an uncredited and unconfirmed cameo near the end of the third part).

In part two, the author switches to telling the tale through a series of military documents, one of which is a narrative improbably written by Jan Kubiš, one of Heydrich's assassins. Another is the personal diary of Karl Hermann Frank, Heydrich's second-in-command in Prague. Not a great deal happens for a long time, with the would-be assassins holing up with sympathetic families and hooking up with women. For trained soldiers and SOE agents, they often seem remarkably naive. It takes a long time to get to the assassination and, even in the thick of it, it's not very exciting.

The final part is written as the personal journal of Karel Curda, the Czech SOE agent who betrayed his fellow agents to the Gestapo. Curda is a most unpleasant character, a small man who desperately wants to be important. He writes his journal while in prison awaiting trial, remembering events. Much of what he recalls is uninteresting, which he himself admits, so why we're treated to it as readers, I simply can't fathom. The only part that I wanted to know about was the final stand of Heydrich's assassins. However, Curda goes round the houses before relating this particular tale and when he does it loses impact because he's not really involved. He's neither inside the church nor laying siege to the church, simply an eyewitness, who gets short shrift from his erstwhile colleages when he exhorts them to surrender.

I don't know whether this is a self-published book, but it would have been better with tighter editorial control. It's a shame because the author has quite obviously deeply researched his subject, but I'm not sure the conceit of telling the story in parts through different narrators using documents really works. In parts, it disengages the reader from the action. Plus, there was some sloppy writing in there, things like: "I remember remembering that I'd forgotten to forget about her."

The book also had lots of Americanisms in it that jarred in two ways: as anachronistic and as out of place in a book peopled with European characters. Then there was the spelling of Czech names, which varied from part to part. Prague, for example, was Praha in earlier parts and Prag in the final part. I also think it was a mistake to anglicise German terms that would be familiar to anyone with an interest in the Second World War. The majority of people recognise the term Fuhrer, so changing it to Leader lessens the impact. It's also confusing when a character is addressing a soldier as leader and talking about the Leader, but meaning Hitler. Hearing a German soldier or bureaucrat calling Heydrich 'my lord' was really incongruous to my English ears too.

I really wanted to like this book, but it became a chore getting through to the end.

[Kathy DeShong · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Resistance" by Gerald Brennan was the most taxing novel I have read in eons! It basically had a good story, but the way it was written made it difficult to read. I was frequently confused as to whether the story was in the present time frame or had he reverted to the past. Because the story was about occupied Czechoslovakia, the Gestapo, the Czech Army, the German Army and the Russian Army, as spies, they frequently assumed changed names, depending on the job. This e-book didn't have x-ray enabled, therefor I was totally confused who the players were. Gerald, if you read this, I think you could greatly improve this novel by arranging it in a more chronological order or being more specific of the time frame. I kept having to go back and reread parts to figure where they were and who they were.