Reviews
This first book of this five-part series not only passed the 100 page litmus test for engaging my interest but had me from the very first chapter. Walter Soellner has nicely captured the social and geographical history of the pre-WWI era. In it, he delivers an historically accurate and exciting vision of what it must have been like for two young Bavarian friends of the time embarking on a grand adventure. This is a page-turner never tempted to linger too long in any one spot, It sweeps the reader along from the Forbidden City of Peking to the far-flung ports of call across a globe still considered vast and filled with exotic possibilities. The characters, their loves and losses reminded me of how big the world seems and how limitless its possibilities are in the minds of the young. If you enjoy well grounded historical fiction and colorful characters, Kalvarianhof is a good romp. I can't wait for the next installment!
- D. Hudson
If you like adventure stories featuring life-long buddies, this is a good one. It grabs you on the first page when you find them fighting for their lives in the outbreak of the Boxer Rebellion outside the Forbidden City. World-changing events swirl around them as they escape China on a gun-boat bound for Germany via world-wide, strategically-placed German colonies. That's just a start, as this saga continues for many years. Real history, told from the perspective of a European narrator, oozes from every page as it surrounds these very likeable guys and their adventures.
- J. Jacobs
I couldn't wait to turn the next page. It held my interest to the very end. Viewing pre-WWI Europe through the eyes of the two major characters-- a Jew and a Christian-- is a unique approach.
- K. Reid
"KALVARIANHOF, The Perilous Journey" introduces a new voice into the field of historical fiction. With a background in the fine arts, Walter Soellner is able to let his voice flow onto the pages, as if from the artist's brush, to create this most colourful tale. The reader is quickly involved in the lives of two friends, one being a Christian and the other a Jew, coming from different cultures and living at the turn of the Nineteenth Century. Filled with intrigue, the perils of war and an historical view of that era, the author uses his voice to depict the bravery,courage and struggle to fulfill one's goals and stay true to one's principles. Very enjoyable reading with a good grasp of the history of that era!!
- G. Forrester
I have read the whole series now, and I'm so glad I did. I enjoyed every book, and I learned so much 20th century European history along the way.
...Forget Me Not is never ponderous. Instead the narrator is a camera eye focused on the lives of people like us, living through a time like our.
- L. Klemme
In a rapidly forward-moving narrative, filled with surprises and plot twists, Walter Soellner's Forget me Not: A Tale of Two Families, concludes his five-volume historical series...
...Soellner chooses not to overemphasize the blood, gore and violence of war and to remain true to his central theme: the struggle of ordinary people to maintain common decency and the moral law in the face of corrupt and immoral leadership.
...Walter Soellner maintains his characteristic subtlety and allows any discerning reader to perceive the tragic parallel between the lives of Markus and Levi and their families, and the ordinary American family today.
- R. Higashi
Walter Soellner's series follows two closely related families through significant periods of [20th century] German history and gives the reader insights into the effects that greater historical events have on family dynamics. This is particularly relevant to Forget Me Not, as the families experience Germany's fall into Fascism and World War II, and it is possible to recognize similar events that the U.S. is experiencing as a country today.
- R. van der Wege
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