ayhem, the riveting sequel to Madness and the second volume in Jack Smith’s Fate Trilogy, plunges readers into a world where ambition, betrayal, and survival collide against the ominous rise of Nazism. Professor Meister, a disgraced German academic accused of plagiarism, finds himself entangled in a web of personal and professional crises. His relentless pursuit of greatness through the publication of his magnum opus is overshadowed by the crumbling state of his marriage to Anna, a Jewish woman seeking refuge in Amsterdam, and his own destructive desires for younger women.

   Set between 1900 and 1945, Mayhem unfolds across war-torn Germany, the bustling streets of Amsterdam, and the surreal cafes of Basel, Switzerland, where Meister once studied under Nietzsche.

   As war rages and the lines between appearance and reality blur, Meister’s life becomes a surreal kaleidoscope of paranoia and longing. In Basel, the ghosts of his past merge with the uncertainties of the present, while his obsession with Nietzsche as a “double” leads him deeper into existential chaos.Smith masterfully weaves themes of identity, morality, and the fragile nature of reality into a narrative that captures the dread and destruction of pre- and wartime Europe.

   The story builds to a gripping crescendo as Anna’s abduction by SS thugs sets the stage for a heart-pounding finale amidst Germany’s catastrophic defeat.

   Suspenseful, unsettling, and profoundly thought-provoking, Mayhem is a tale of human frailty and resilience in the face of overwhelming darkness. With its vivid historical backdrop, complex characters, and a relentless sense of uncertainty, this novel is a haunting exploration of the human condition and the chaos that lies at the heart of ambition and desire.