Hornet Flight

Ken Follett's "Hornet Flight" is a rousing World War II adventure full of all of the characters you'd expect in a film noire spy thriller about the Nazis. We have the plucky Englishwoman, spunky high school kids, brave soldiers and a scarred-up German officer who wears the jackboots and everything. You know how it's going to end even before you start thanks to too much information on the description page but it's still a rollicking fun ride. It hit me just right during these blase winter days.

Ken Follett has a way with World War II. "Hornet Flight' is a good example of Follett's skill with the genre. The result is a book I found hard to put down. While this is not great literature, new ground, or extensive character development, 'Flight' kept me wanting to know how our heroes were going to pull this off, who would make it through to the end, and how, once again, Nazis would err or suffer. Imaginative if somewhat predictable, but the latter is characteristic of just about any book about World War II -- we know how it's going to end. We even know many of the intermediate steps. It's the ride, not the destination, that is the most fun.Detailed descriptions of Denmark in a time of war, of Copenhagen, slow trains, a steam-powered motorcycle, small islands and fishing villages, and of the pivotal Hornet are what make this book work. Harald, our geeky physics student, and Karen, the striking, leggy, Jewish heroine, make for an odd but interesting coupling. While not great characters, Follett makes you like and, hopefuly, understand them.

From page one I could not put this down. It is a very intricate and exciting book. It was rich in imagery and I felt like I was in Denmark during WWII. The characters are well developed, and I had sympathies for the lead characters routing them on. It is one of the best reads I had in a long while. I highly recommend it.

Ken Follett can usually be depended upon to deliver a story full of action, adventure and suspense, and his latest is no exception. Once again we are back in the dark days of WWII when the Nazis are at the height of their conquest of Western Europe. In this tale, the location is Denmark, a place not usually the subject of wartime espionage tales. We are given the story of how the Allies were able to overcome the German advantage in early radar, and it is told with all of the old skill of this famous author. We have the intrepid hero, the conflicted Nazi-leaning policeman, the spunky female love interest, and the regular host of supporting characters that we have all come to know and love from Mr. Follett's books. It's formula writing, but it's formula writing at its best, and the reader keeps turning the poages from beginning to end. That's all one can require from a book of this type, and the author delivers. It's great escapist entertainment, and I recommend it.

Ken Follett's "Hornet Flight" is a fast paced page burner set at the start of WWII. With locales in Denmark and Great Britain, it blends fact and fiction. Mr. Follett is at his best when the setting is WWII.The plot shows how the heroic action of a few individuals behind the lines can alter the outcome of war. The Nazis are still the ultimate bad guys in fact and fiction and it is always fun to see them outwitted.The characters are quite strong, believable and they really come alive.There are enough twists and turns to make you wonder if the protagonists will triumph---as these Nazis are not portrayed as buffoons---they are worthy adversaries.While there are some predicable resolutions, overall it is a fascinating, irresistible read filled with plenty of tension.