Review: The Left Hand of the Führer

The Left Hand of the Führer by Richard D. Nolane
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Rating 3 out of 5 |Grade: C+; Ride of the Valkyries, Conspiracy

Disclaimer: I know that the Nazi Superweapons never worked, never had a chance of working, and even if they did, the dire fuel situation of the Germans meant that they wouldn't have made much of a difference in the war. But this is after all a pulpy fictional story. So, let's just enjoy it, and keep logic away for the duration

The Wunderwaffen of the Nazi regime have, with their superior technological prowess, managed to thwart the spearpoint of the allied offensive. Which has given Germany a much-needed respite from the relentless assault upon them. So naturally, the interlude is a time when the Nazi high command starts conniving and scheming behind the scenes for power.

Himmler, Goebbles, Goering, Heydrich and the rest are all running their own schemes to position themselves as Hitler’s successor. Although Himmler, with his control over the SS, Wunder-waffen & the Ahnenerbe, has the Fuhrer’s ear following his countless successes.

But Himmler is not simply content to wait around for the Fuhrer to die and then assume power. Rather, he has already put in motion schemes which would allow him to control the Regime from the shadows.

Part of which is the incarceration and servitude of our protagonist, Major Walter Murnau, the devil’s pilot. Which as far as Murnau is concerned is a mixed blessing. For one he is under constant scrutiny of the SS. On the other, it allows him to test and fly all of the newer Wunderwaffen prototypes.

Speaking of which, the wonder weapon features at length in this Issue, is the Focke-Wulf Triebflügel which we were introduced to before.

In this chapter, we see the wonder machine in its full glory, performing an exemplary job of protecting the German controlled regions from allied bombing. Serving as point defense for key military and infrastructure installations, their unique and as of yet unknown capability of vertical take-off, means that the allied air force literally don’t know what hit them.



I guess it’s to be expected, as the pilots at the time are more used to defending against enemy aircraft, and anti-air flak, an aircraft like the Triebflugel, with its improved maneuverability and increased number of approach vectors would be in their literal and psychological blindspot.



Despite looking like something that a 5th grader designed for their science fair, these machines are capable of dealing immense damage to the allied fighters and bombers.





Looking forward to learning which new, fictional, (non-functional) yet awesome aircraft designs the writers will incorporate into the next chapter.

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