About:
From Malice to Ashes: Forest of No Mercy by Gary W. Toyn is a World War II historical fiction novel following two families whose members have been dispersed between nations in war torn Europe. Mr. Toyn is an award-winning author who focuses on untold stories from the WWII era.
- 322 pages
- Publisher : American Legacy Media
- Publication date : September 23, 2025
- ISBN-10 : 1736457624
My rating for From Malice to Ashes — 4
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Thoughts:
There’s a lot of history in this book, much of it is uncomfortable as much of history is. While the characters are fictionalized, the events are, unfortunately, all too real.
There are a lot of amazing, and terrible, stories that happened during the Second World War, and many which are worth telling simply get lost in the shuffle. In From Malice to Ashes, author Gary W. Toyn attempts, and succeeds to tell a few of those.
The book is well researched, and well written. To be honest, it didn’t grab me from the beginning and it was slow to start, but I’m glad I stuck with it. I hate to call this book “enjoyable”, because it tells of horrible events, but it was very engrossing, and difficult to put down once I got into the story.
Whenever I read about the events in the Baltic region during the war, I’m reminded of the scene from the movie Civil War, which was very unnerving. Jesse Plemons plays an unnamed soldier of uncertain allegiance asking the main characters “What kind of American are you?” Their answer is the difference between continuing on, or being shot on the spot, buried in a mass grave.
As historical fiction goes, this is a very good one. Telling a good story, sticking to historical facts when possible, and making sure the reader learns a thing or two while at it.
Synopsis:
Olke Kosmen is a young Jewish man, who was brought up Catholic, hiding in a cabin and chronicling the massacres in Lithuania’s Ponary Forest. Eventually Olke is captured, and is forced to work in the same death pits he chronicled as part of the Nazi “Burning Brigade”, a unit tasked with digging up the murdered corpses and burning them.
Olek’s fiancée managed to get to Sweden, she was separated from her parents who weren’t as lucky and got deported to Siberia. Her brother managed to get to the United States and came back to Europe as part of the Army’s Air Corp.
Zohar — Man of la Book
Disclaimer: I got this book for free
*Amazon links point to an affiliate account, the money is usually spent on books
