Hornet Flight [Kindle Edition]

Perhaps because it's remarkably easy to read, HORNET FLIGHT is so simplistic and predictable it feels in places more like a children's novel than an adult suspense thriller. There's seldom any doubt about what will happen next, and even the deaths along the way don't evoke much sorrow. Although the final getaway does keep the pages turning, the only question raised is how the obvious outcome will be achieved. The techniques used to create suspense read exactly like what they are -- plot props. I found it disconcerting to be always one step ahead of the author and I wanted to scream at the characters to get their heads out of the clouds and make use of their brains. By the time their lightbulbs flash on, the reader has been bearing the burden of knowledge for fifty pages.

Where HORNET FLIGHT wins its four stars, however, is in the incredibly real setting. Never does the narrative read like a textbook, never is information included simply for the sake of being information. The life of the Danish in their captured country is penned with such an apparently effortless accuracy that I kept forgetting Follett hadn't been there to observe it all.

Suspenseful? No. But well written, interesting, and informative -- HORNET FLIGHT is definitely all that.

He returned to the present genre with, "Code To Zero", which is the weakest of the spy genre he has produced since returning to it. "Jackdaws", was closer to historically based fiction, and it was very, very good. His newest, "Hornet Flight", is also well worth your time, and is close to, "Jackdaws", you will have to decide which you prefer.

He notes at the outset that, "Some of what follows really happened." Much less historical detail than he prefaced the last book with, but still intriguing for those who have read the history that takes place when this book is set. What he continued from his previous book was to place female characters front and center, on both the sides, that you will hope will succeed, and on the side of the Nazis which require no elaboration.

This book is a bit predictable, but I am hesitant to be too critical for I don't know how much of the tale is based upon fact. If some events are predictable but true, they are breathtaking, if only a figment of the author's imagination, they are expected and not up to the level Mr. Follett writes at when at his best.

Prime Minister Churchill appears and is portrayed accurately. There is also a character that was a close confidant and scientific advisor to Mr. Churchill during the war that may be the basis for one character in the book. I don't want to give what is a personal guess away, for it could spoil the book for some. If others agree with the observation, I look forward to reading the comments they offer.

Mr. Follett is very good at what he does and he rarely makes a misstep with a book. "Hornet Flight", is absolutely one of his stronger works, even if it is not his very best. Mr. Follett when good or very good, is still better than most others who attempt the genre.

It was on my boyfriend's "future reading" pile after he'd purchased it at the airport on our last holiday. I started flicking through it and thought "oh, it's not just a war book".

Follett's characters are so real that you get involved in not just the main plot but also the lives of the characters. Although not the main subject of the book there is a degree of romance which is enough to grip the ladies without putting off the men.

These strong characters are a feature of Follett's books and I am now hooked. I would particularly recommend "The Third Twin". Very different from this book but equally gripping.

Enjoy!