The Lebensborn Alliance

Lebensborn, Book II

By: Joyce Davis

Narrated by: Othello Lofton

The Lebensborn Alliance begins 11 years after The Lebensborn Experiment ends.

In book I, during WWII, Sergeant Kapp Johnson of the 761st Tank Battalion was held prisoner by Nazi Colonel Victor Strauss in a medieval castle. Instead of a psychedelic drug meant to kill the sergeant, Johnson was injected with the Elixir of Life serum invented by Dr. Josef Weiss by mistake. Besides endless life, the serum enhanced Kapp's physical abilities, giving him superhuman powers. Dr. Weiss also injected his nephew, Hans, and a 10-year-old Polish boy, Adok, with the serum, boosting their natural abilities. Hans and Kapp were together in the castle tower when Kapp, believed to be dead, fell from the tower window. After the war, and the death of Dr. Weiss, Hans and Adok moved to Canada. The two become like brothers.

It is now 1956, and the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement. Former Sergeant Kapp Johnson gets enlisted as Dr. Martin Luther King's bodyguard and moves to Montgomery, Alabama. Hans has inherited millions from his uncle and buys the Vancouver Daily Times. As Managing Editor, Hans sends Adok to Montgomery to report on the bus boycott. When Adok gets involved with the local KKK and goes missing, Hans' prophecy he would one day meet Sergeant Johnson again comes true.

Hans travels to Alabama, where he solicits Kapp's help to find Adok. Kapp recruits two of his WWII buddies to join the search. Now a team, Hans and Kapp's quest to rescue Adok reveals a more sinister plot that may plunge the world into another global war and eventually lead the alliance back to Germany.

In this exciting second installment of the Lebensborn series, the number of people transfused with the serum grows, and so does the threat that their immortality may get discovered. Learn about the chauvinism and class struggles among the civil rights leaders. Discover what happened to the Oberstfuhrer, Victor Strauss.

In Book I, the high-minded Dr. Weiss didn't think Strauss is the "Ideal Aryan Type", and refuses to administer the serum to the Colonel. Dr. Weiss tells Strauss that the only way he will get the serum is if the Oberstfuhrer selects the vial containing the drug himself. In a dangerous game similar to Russian roulette, which vial did the Nazi Colonel choose...the deadly hallucinogenic or the Elixir of Life?

©2019 Joyce Yvette Davis (P)2020 Joyce Yvette Davis

Be careful.

1956, and the story from book one continues. When a vicious racial attack puts Kapp Johnson, his wife and four of their friends into hospital in Charlottesville, lack of blood bank supplies force Kapp to donate his own universal sonar group blood to save their lives. And in the transfusions, Claire, Ray and Winston also receive the benefits of the serum which had been injected into Kapp from the Lebensborn experiments during World War II. With the growing sense of invincibility, their characters also begin to change. Meanwhile, Hans, the young prisoner who had shot Kapp years before, seemed to have developed an occasional psychic link with him.

This is the time of Rev.Martin Luther King, the Civil Rights demonstrations and the powerful Ku Klux Klan, all vibrantly displayed for the reader as the explosive background to the lives of the group, who now have to protect their secret even more carefully as others start to become aware of the possibilities locked inside Kapps's bloodstream. Characterisation is excellent for all of the protagonists. Author Joyce Yvette Davis skilfully weaves historical fact with plausible fiction to build a tense and troubled tale at the same time transporting the reader back to feel the anger, fear and hope extant in the black population and the pity, hate or simple contempt of the white community towards their perceived inferiors. Narration by Othello Lofton was also nicely performed, enhancing the overall experience.

The book ends with a 'to be continued' and I am very keen to read on to learn what will further become of Kapp, Hans and his adoptive brother, Abok, as well as those others who know about, or even now carry, the serum in their blood. Although it is not absolutely essential to have read book I, it does help in understanding certain reoccurring themes and so is a recommended starting point. My thanks to the rights holder of The Lebensborn Alliance, who, at my request, freely gifted me with a complimentary copy. A book recommended for all who enjoy becoming part of an historical period which changed life in so many ways, as well as an intense fictional dilemma.

good narration despite new narrator

I received a free copy of this audiobook in return for an unbiased review.

This is the second book in the Lebensborn series. The first book was definitely worth a listen and this sequel is no exception. This story differs from the first in that it is much slower paced with several relatively short action sequences. The majority of this story takes place during the civil rights movement, of which the story focuses heavily on. The author does a good job of threading her characters through actual historical events. I did feel as though the amount of detail took away some of the momentum from the story surrounding the main characters. The author did do a great job of introducing many new supporting characters and really fleshed them out in a believable way.
The narrator does a great job handling the many different characters. I'm one who enjoys consistency when it comes to narrating series. That said, I found this narrator did a wonderful job, so much so that I found myself not caring about the change in the slightest.

Interesting Alternate Historical Fiction

3.5 out of 5 stars

I did not read the first book in this series – I jumped right into Lebensborn Alliance. I had to go read some other reviews of the first book to figure out what was going on in this one, but it didn’t take away from it as much as I expect it to. Davis was able to write a story that jumped off of the page and really felt almost like time traveling. I felt like I was back in the era that this book took place.

The topics covered and the historical elements (fictional and not) were really well done. I thought that Davis did a great job putting the reading in the moments and allowing them to feel the stress and pressure of each thing.

The coolest part was watching the number of people with the serum in their blood grow and the things that this caused (trying not to spoil the book too much here). It really made for an element I wasn’t expecting. And took this book from okay to good.

Overall, a good historical fiction book that will definitely surprise a lot of readers. The writing in it is excellent and the scene setting was top notch.

It’s hard to write negatively about anything that you know anyone put time and effort into. I also know that it will make some people like it more and some people not. Unfortunately, I’m in the ‘not’ camp here. The narration by Othello Lofton was good, I had no issues with the actual narration, cadence, etc. What bugged me was the random sound effects. It wasn’t a full audio drama by any means, but it just felt like when he could find a sound for something he added it in. This, when done well, and right, really adds to the story. But when just randomly added like it was here, it sort of took away from the story. Now, as I said, that’s my opinion and others might actually love it. But I wanted to write about it to warn anyone.

Action-packed Historical Fiction - don't miss

The Lebensborn Alliance is a continuation of the lives and adventures of Sergeant Kapp Johnson, Adok, and Hans (from Book 1). Joyce Davis, the author, deftly weaves the plot around historic moments focusing on civil rights, Martin Luther King, Jr., and incidents of racial inequity. As listeners, we are also given the opportunity to watch Adok mature as well as Hans.
Joining together with a couple of Johnson’s war buddies, Hans and Johnson must find Adok who is lost during a racial incident in Alabama. To further complicate matters, there are more instances that allow the spreading of the serum to others making it more difficult to keep their immortality and their enhanced abilities secret leaving them vulnerable.

This is a fairly fast-paced book with lots of action and gut-wrenching moments that keep the listener on the edge of their chair. Davis is a skilled storyteller with an amazing ability to combine historical facts with fiction and create a riveting plot. Her dialog is solid and relevant to the time period. Her character development is detailed and meticulous. She is accomplished at executing plot twists at just the right moment with intriguing results!

Othello Lofton, the narrator, provides a smooth performance. His performance ensures each character with a different voice and is consistent. I enjoyed his narration.

The audio production and quality of this audiobook were good. The only issue I had was with the random sound effects that take away from the book and sometimes makes it more of a distraction than a benefit – this is something I struggle with on all books with sound effects.

I enjoy this series and look forward to more of Joyce Davis’s work!

Disclaimer: This Audiobook was provided free of charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher in exchange for a non-bias, honest review.

Great Combination of History and Novel

The second in a series of four books, The Lebensborn Alliance continues where the first novel left off. Davis does a great job of blending real historical context of the Lebensborn program and life in the Civil Rights-era south with the stories of the men and women in her novels. The plot is engaging and the characters face relatable struggles.

I received this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Do you like going back in time?

If you like going back in time to the World War II area, this is the book for you. It has both the characteristics of a World War II suspense novel with civil rights era drama and a science fiction plot sewing it all together.