Customer Reviews on Amazon.com
Showing 4-star reviews
-
59 of 62 people found this review helpfulByDigging into the Old Pockets 21 December, 2002Format:HardcoverHave you ever dug into the pockets of an old coat and found a wadded five dollar bill? Imagine the secret delight, the sense of discovery, the feeling of regaining something you'd totally forgotten about.
"Hornet Flight" is that sort of delight. I was an early Follett fan, devouring "The Eye of the Needle," "The Key to Rebecca," and "The Man from St. Petersburg." His strengths--his characters, his detailed research, his pacing--kept me coming back for more. Then, as Follett branched into other areas of fiction, my interest wavered.
The WWII theme of this latest book brought me back, and I discovered that forgotten "five dollar bill." The story revolves around young Harald Olafsun, a Danish man faced with the occupation of the Nazis and the bland apathy of many of his countrymen. When he realizes that the Nazis have a new technology that gives them the edge in air-battles, when he finds himself entangled in a budding resistance movement, he uncovers his own courage and the surprising resilence of his fellow people...and the treachery of some of her trusted authorities. Soon, Harald and an attractive Danish upperclass girl come to the realization that they alone have the ability to get invaluable info to the British by way of a dangerous flight in a dilapidated Hornet Moth.
"Hornet Flight" is not the most valuable thriller I've ever found, not the slickest or most modern, but it's a nice surprise all the same. Follett's old skills are evident--characters we can believe, well-balanced pacing, and the details to make wartime Denmark seem touchable. I'm sure glad I dug into these old pockets. You just never know what you might find.
-
24 of 27 people found this review helpfulByRestraint Yields Richness In The Hornet's Flight Plan 4 January, 2003Format:HardcoverHarald Olufsen, a student in occupied Denmark, stumbles upon a secret German radar station. Unless he relays this discovery to England, huge RAF loses will continue and British and Russian war efforts may crumble. With the help of his heroic brother, a new love and a British agent, Harald needs to dodge some determined pursuers and navigate a 600-mile trek across the cold North Sea to gain his freedom and to help the war effort. Ken Follett delivers a realistic and engaging tale in "Hornet Flight".
Follett is no stranger to World War II yarns, but he approaches this thriller with a new and refreshing perspective. Rather than painting the Germans as rabid Nazis, he portrays them only as menacing background. The real villain is a Danish detective with a very complex personality, determined to break the spy ring and extract personal vengeance from Harald and his family. The hero is imperfect, yielding a clever idea one moment and staggering into a pitfall the next. This heightens the realism and suspense. In fact, Follett downplays his normal gunplay, using the space to develop a very rich ensemble of characters woven into an intriguing and rewarding story.
"Hornet Flight" neither begins nor ends with explosions. The reader ends up enjoying the journey as much as the destination.
-
11 of 12 people found this review helpfulByA good read by Follett 8 January, 2003Format:HardcoverI haven' read a Follett novel since Eye of the Needle which I thought was one of the best spy/suspense novels written during the 20th century. When I picked up Hornet Flight I knew I was going to be told a story that I would not forget. Well, Hornet Flight is good, I mean good....but it is not up to Eye of the Needle.
The story revolves around Harald Olufsen an eighteen year old Dane and information he holds regarding a secret German installation that allows the Nazis to shoot down at will the British long-range bombers before they can reach their objectives. The story is fast paced and full of very believable characters. One of the things I like about Follett's stories is that if you're a villain, then you are completely nasty. No grays here.
You'll enjoy the book even though it is contrived and predictable in places. You can forgive this because there are twists and turns that keep you from becoming too bored. If you've liked other Follett novels you're probably going to enjoy this one. -
4 of 4 people found this review helpfulByA Fast-Paced, Exciting WWII Thriller! 6 December, 2002Format:HardcoverIn typical Follett fashion, Hornet Flight is a very fast-paced, exciting thriller that will keep you glued to your seat. If you're a 'Follett reader' you'll see that his latest book highlights a common theme in this author's WWII novels that lends them particular emotional resonance -- how, beyond the mass movements of armies, it is often the heroic actions of individuals that influences the direction of war. Moreover, these heroic actions are often initiated by women. Hornet's Flight is filled with interesting and credible characters as well as with many twists and turns (although several of them are somewhat predictable, which kep me from rating it five stars). Hornet Flight, which follows the very exciting Jackdaws, restores Follett to the top of his game as a writer of spy inrigue and WWII suspense. I would highly recommend Hornet Nest. Enjoy!
-
3 of 3 people found this review helpfulByClassic Follet 11 January, 2003Format:HardcoverHornet Flight, continuing in the strong tradition of Jackdaws, is a compelling story set in WWII. The story is set in the UK and Denmark in the early part of the war. Denmark has been occupied by the Germans and the citizens are unsure how to at and react. A nascent resistance is at the center of the story, with the Allies desperate to determine how the Nazis are shooting down so many planes. A sense of urgency is increased at the Germans begin their run into Russia. The British must improve their air effort to string out the war and extend the Germans. Hornet Flight is an impressive, fast-paced tale of espionage, full of intrigue, twists, turns and surprises that are classic Follet. The reader is presented with interesting cast of characters that you will come to love and hate. Once you start reading, it will be difficult to stop.
-
5 of 6 people found this review helpfulBystrong World War II tale 16 December, 2002Format:HardcoverIn 1941, Winston Churchill is very worried that his country may lose the war especially when England intelligence intercepts a memo that indicates that Germany may have developed and refined a better system of radar than the one that the allies uses. They need to find this system and have someone send pictures to them so they know what they are up against. Hermia Mount, an agent who works for M-16, mounts a daring mission and discovers that the radar installation is located on the small Danish island Sandee.
Hermia secretly travels into Denmark and meets with her fiancé Arnie Olufsen, whose family lives on Sandee. He agrees to obtain the pictures of the radar installation and give them to her but his younger brother, Harald who has already been inside the edifice persuades him to led him undertake the mission. When a tragedy befalls Arnie, it is up to Harald and his beautiful compatriot Karen who must deliver the pictures to the English.
HORNET FLIGHT is chock full of action, suspense and seat of your pants adventure. Readers will see that though Denmark surrendered twenty-four hours after Nazi Germany invaded, her people became the backbone for a strong underground resistance movement. Though coincidence facilitated the beginning of the strong plot, World War II buffs will want a sequel because the secondary characters deserve to have their story told. Ken Follet proves once again that he is the master of intrigue.
Harriet Klausner
-
2 of 2 people found this review helpfulByEnjoyable read but too many coincidences 5 June, 2011Format:PaperbackThe book is very well written - the prose flow smoothly, characters and their surroundings are described in rich detail. The story takes place in Denmark during WWII and revolves around the discovery of a German radar installation that is reeking havoc on the British bomber fleet. The British want to know more about the installation and task members of the Danish resistance with the intelligence gathering mission. Of course this intelligence gathering mission doesn't go smoothly as they are being pursued by the Danish police and Germans. The story moves quickly and Follet does an excellent job of building suspense. However, the story contained many coincidences that detracted from its believability. In summary, this is not one of Follet's best novels but it was certainly an enjoyable read.
-
2 of 2 people found this review helpfulByPredictable but engaging 2 May, 2011Format:PaperbackAfter reading and loving Follett's historical church soap opera styled drama's "World Without End" & "Pillars Of The Earth", I was interested to read something different from this talented author.
The story revolves around ordinary Danish citizens spying for the British whilst their country is occupied by the Nazi's in WWII. Although it's predictable in how it ends, try and guess who will live & who will die.
Follett manages to keep the tension high, although as is typical of Follett's style he puts heaps of obstacles in front of the heroes, sometimes too many to be believable.
If an espionage drama set in WWII interests you this will be a good read. -
2 of 2 people found this review helpfulByOK, if a bit pedestrian 6 September, 2005Format:Mass Market PaperbackKen Follett has been writing historical espionage novels, mostly set during World War II, for two decades now, and he knows the genre very well. The current novel involves a historical fact (that German air defense radar was very precise, but their system was set up to only deal with one attacking plane at a time) and builds around it the story of Harald, a young Danish boy who discovers the workings of the radar system, but has no way to communicate his knowledge to the English so they can exploit it. The story is told with Follett's usual cast of characters, each of whom is well-drawn and interesting, and also usually three-dimensional. In this particular story, Harald's family had a quarrel some years before with a neighboring family, and the quarrel spins out of control and affects everyone as part of the spy subplot.
I enjoyed this book a great deal. It's not high literature, and there's no real suspense in it, to be honest. It is, however, good entertainment, and certainly worth taking to the beach or on a plane. -
2 of 2 people found this review helpfulByPredictable yet intriguing 29 March, 2003Format:HardcoverIt's 1941. Half of the British bombers attacking Germany are being shot out of the skies, tracked down by new technology called radar. With the Nazis invading Russia and a fierce British bombing campaign only days away, it comes down to the Danish Resistance -- and ultimately to an 18-year-old Dane named Harald Olufsen and a headstrong young Jewish ballet dancer -- to locate the source of this radar, record its operation, and alert England before it's too late. In opposition is of course Germany, but also a Danish police officer consumed with doing his duty and poisoned by the tragic maiming of his wife and the long-time grudge he holds against Harald's family.
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.
