Book Review: The Last Night to Kill Nazis
The great comedian Craig Ferguson once said there are two groups of people you have carte blanche to mock the biggest one of the two is Nazis because “f–k them! They’re Nazis”. Since the end of the Second World War these disgusting monsters have been shorthand for monsters who should be wiped out in all forms of media. In his book The Last Night to Kill Nazis, author David Agranoff takes things to the next level by having the monsters who tried to conquer Europe being the victims of a traditional supernatural monster.
Hitler is dead and the Third Reich’s top brass is in disarray with surrender an inevitability. The architect of the Holocaust Heinrich Himmler has other plans, with his pregnant mistress Alice in tow he heads to the Eagles Nest with other high ranking officials in a plan to fly out of Europe and settle in Manchuria. Knowing about this plan is Noah Sammovich an OSS operative with a burning desire for vengance after seeing what the Nazis have done to his people. He convinces his superiors to allow him use of the Allies’ new secret weapon Count Reiter, a captured vampire who hates the goose-stepping thugs as much as he does. Along with his friends; MI6 agent Christopher Mallory, Marion the daughter of the scholar who found the vampire , and resistance fighter Herzog; Noah plans on taking the undead creature of the night into the Eagles Nest and unleashing his bloodlust. With Germany set to surrender the next morning, this gives them only one final night to kill as many Nazis as possible.
This is not the kind of book that is bashful about what it is and unfolds like a pulp horror version of the Dirty Dozen. In fact, holding an alternating POV in this book is Hitler’s secretary turned Himmler’s mistress, Alice who gives a firsthand perspective as to why these ghouls are undeserving of mercy. This means they are deserving of the sadistic punishments the Count puts them through as this vampire not only sucks their blood but their souls as well gaining the knowledge needed to torment them before killing them. As a protagonist Noah is single-minded in his mission with a fire that only grows throughout the climactic assault. Initially his compatriots, who have also experienced the horrors of war are right there with him, but as the night wears they find themselves drained unlike their American friend who vows to continue until the very end. This leads us as readers to ponder if Noah is in the right for allowing his righteous mission to consume him as it clearly has.
Naturally low on historical accuracy but high on entertainment, the Last Night to Kill Nazis delivers on its premise with blood-soaked fury. Agranoff blends classical vampire tropes with Dirty Dozen-esque unabashed action to fantastic results. Pure fun in a grindhouse fashion, this book is bound to entertain readers looking for some vampiric fun.
