Official Review: Step One:Killing Hitler

[keisha_jc]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Step One:Killing Hitler" by William Dean Hamilton.]

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1 out of 4 stars

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Step One: Killing Hitler (2015), by William Dean Hamilton is a 102 page dark, scientific fiction story available in both paperback and eBook formats. The book focuses on a brother and sister who have access to time travel, but accidentally cause the death of, the one and only, Adolf Hitler. The pair then return to the future to find an unexpected chain of events occurring while, in other scenes, other events and stories are unfolding.

The book begins by the brother telling a psychiatrist about his mistake and then him not believing him, forcing the pair to turn to a guy named Burt to assist them. Meanwhile, a team of Jewish scientist is working in a lab on various experiments as their guard believes that they are on a dangerous path. Additionally, there is another story unfolding in an alien's ship where the captain and his assistant experience one of the scientists on Earth attempting to contact them.

I give this book a 1 out of 4 for troubles in aspects such as plot, theme, and clarity.

While the topic is interesting, certain parts of the book were very confusing and seemed almost off topic. So many elements were combined into one and it became incredibly difficult for the reader to understand how the additional characters and stories fit into the plot. Furthermore, some of the elements seemed almost too unrealistic. The author mentions a zombie invasion, aliens, and insane science experiments while time travel and the Holocaust are already present, and these various things become way too chaotic.

Aside from these elements, the novel does not have a clear plot and it takes a very long time for one aspect to be revealed. When the author starts to tell the story of how the characters killed Hitler, it takes several pages and scene switches to finally get through it and honestly, when it is finally revealed it wasn’t a very climatic point. Also, there was no clear problem or solution and severe gaps were left at the end with no true direction or action. The book seemed to be a lagging story with no true theme or connection to something larger.

Although the book had obvious faults, it had the potential to become a novel for readers to enjoy. An addition of a strong plot, action scenes, and more character development could change the dynamic and flow of the book making it into a delightful and interesting read.

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Step One:Killing Hitler
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Like keisha_jc's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Cee-Jay Aurinko]

That's a flawless review right there, keisha_jc! I have to admit that the plot does sound interesting. I applaud the author for coming up with this concept, but perhaps certain elements need to be cut away. The Hitler thing is enough to make this book a really enjoyable read. But, if must keep his zombies and aliens, then a couple of extra chapters to explain everything can't hurt.

[chytach18-]

I do agree that the Hitler topic is big enough for a book, not to say that is still very painful for the whole nations. It`s a shame that the author had muddled it a little. I mean the book`s author. The review is excellent, although very honest.

[Cee-Jay Aurinko]

In my opinion, the page count is too little for the storyline the author was trying at.