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Hornet Flight by Ken Follett
Features
Hardcover
(Large Print)
Amazon.com
An old-fashioned tale of ordinary people thrown into the drama and danger of war, Hornet Flight is a rippingly good read. The time is 1941, and British bombers attacking Germany are being blown out of the sky in horrific numbers. How do the Nazis know they're coming? The answer is an infant technology called radar, and the Brits--with help from the Danish Resistance--must figure out how and where the German radar stations operate. Follett, an old pro at World War II storytelling, vividly evokes the period, creating a sense not of historical re-creation but of urgently unfolding news. His cast of characters is memorable, including Harald Olufsen, a brainy 18-year-old pulled into the Resistance half against his will, and--typically for Follett--several central, well-drawn women. The plot does have some predictable elements: for example, from the time Harald first encounters a tiny wood-and-linen biplane called a Hornet Moth, half-rotted and stored away in a Danish barn, we know that it will heroically take to the skies. Then, when the very outcome of the war begins to turn on Harald getting a certain roll of film from Denmark to England, well... you can see where things are headed. But it's great fun to watch them develop, and Follett throws in just enough unexpected shocks to keep you off balance. Though it lacks the intensity of Eye of the Needle, Follett's finest and best-known book, Hornet Flight offers generous helpings of suspense and a climax that could hardly be more satisfying. --Nicholas H. Allison
Reader Reviews
Bad, bad, bad, October 11, 2003
Reviewer:
Dr.L.Johnson
from san marino., ca United States
I loved THe Eye of the Needle, Pillars of the Earth but this book is really bad.Most of the one or two star reviews I read have said it all, poor plot,poor writing,style of prose much worse than earlier thrillers of his. Really, don,t waste your money. My wife had the flu and enjoys being read to so I tried this book on her and she asked if I could give it minus one stars. Boring chapters on boring lives of Danes in early part of war,I only finished it because I paid for it.Even ending was predictable and didn,t come soon enough.Look elsewhere unless you enjoy badly written books or are a masochist. Even the major premise of the book is flawed, Only British Air FOrce stands between Hitler and world domination.PLEEZ give me one large break. Losses of British bombers on air raids over Germany are staggeringly high, up to 50percent. Maybe the evil Kruauts are up to something.Maybe they have new radar on a remote Danish island and must be stopped at all costs.Oh, be still my beating heart, the suspense is killing me.As one other reviewer said, time to cross Follett off the list.
--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition
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