Odds and Sods MK3, by Derek Robinson

 Odds and Sods MK3, by Derek Robinson

 

Yes, Derek Robinson has raked through the minutiae of war and life in general and dozens of other areas, to write another enticing book that captures you, even if you’re not in the mood to be captured.  You won’t be able to help it.

 

Here are a few tidbits. Who came up with a better way to land gliders?  Yes, it had a profound effect on the D-Day landings. Read all about it!

 

Is there something profoundly interesting in Jane Austin novels and the English Regency period?  And what the heck does that have to do with democracy?

 

There was an American television series in the 60s…at least I think it was the 60s….anyway, it was called The Desert Rats.  Actually, the real desert rats of World War II North Africa fame were English and, well, who came up with the idea of using small groups to do big things?  This story is also a wonderful lesson in how to snarl and stamp your foot in the doorway of unyielding bureaucracy.  Fascinating.

 

What does American football have to do with Rugby? You’ll get a kick out of this one.

 

Page to page, in vignettes, you’re find yourself plunging on and if you find yourself saying “I didn’t know that,” you’re on the right track to developing a very different view of the world, and people, and events.

 

Now, I do have one point to disagree with, not with the truth, but with the fiction, or the notion that human eyes do not flicker or sparkle.

 

Yes, I know. And neither do hearts pound like a drum, and I’ve never seen anyone gasp, except in the movies, or seeing a bill at a high-end restaurant.  And when it comes to love, you never actually fall, although you do sometimes get a headache and ask yourself, what in God’s name did I do?

 

But, eyes sparkling?  See, when a woman whispers, “Darling, your eyes sparkle like diamonds,” I’m not one to deny that happened.  She said the damn things sparkled and I’m going to take her word for it.  Nor am I going to back away from “Your breasts are luscious,” in favor of “Your breasts are kinda round, or maybe oval and one is a slightly different shape from the other one.”  Nope. I’m putting all my money on luscious, and I’m dying to find out where this well traveled road is leading.

 

“Damn right they sparkle and yours are really good at glittering.”

 

But, let’s digress back to the book, ODDS & SODS MK3.  This book is a fast read, or is it really?  Yes, page wise it is, but believe me, you will ponder what cowboys really did and how they lived.  And how about the numbering system for houses on a street?  And, in World War II, did the Germans really have some super weapons you don’t know about?  Ever thought of England as slave trading central?

 

Open you eyes, whether they sparkle or not. This is more than a book, it’s insight, and a spectacular one, of history and literature and even the human body.  You’re going to read these short stack of bits and pieces and find yourself saying….wait a minute…if that’s true…then what about…

 

Derek Robinson is a fantastic writer of World War I and II historical war novels, but just as powerful a writer when he’s searching out odds and sods that populate our world and our experiences that wedged their way into what we take for granted. 

 

And while you’re at it, pick up copies of the original ODDS & SODS and also MK2.  For goodness sakes, you deserve a treat! Also check out Never Mind the Facts.

 

Contact Derek Robinson at delrobster@gmail.com  But, please don’t mention my name.  He’s not going to like my opinion of sparkling eyes.

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2021/04/odds-sods-mk-2.html

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2020/05/never-mind-facts-new-book-by-derek.html

 

A Game of Spies, by John Altaman

 

A Game of Spies, by John Altaman

 

As my three faithful readers know, I’m into World War II spy thrillers.  Why that era?  Perhaps the good and bad, dressed in stark black and white. Perhaps, I lived before and shades of forgotten memories creep into the present.  But, a more common answer is that there are some damn good…Oh, pardon me Martha, I meant to say some darn good writers who have picked out the era to produce novels that envelope you in the time, the excitement, populated with indelible characters, and a terrifically bitter taste of constant danger.

 

Who are my favorites:  For flying, from the skies of England to the scorching sands of the Sahara, there is only one:  Derek Robinson.  No one else comes close.

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2017/08/a-good-clean-fight-by-derek-robinson.html

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-splendid-little-war.html

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2012/03/another-gem-from-derek-robinson-piece.html

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2012/01/goshawk-squadron-novel-of-breakneck.html

 

 

For the behind the scenes of spying and resistance across the broad expanse of Europe, leading up to and through the war, one name springs out, Alan Furst.  Yep, wrote about his novels, too.

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2022/05/a-hero-of-france-by-alan-furst.html

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-world-at-night-paris-1940-by-alan.html

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-foreign-correspondent-by-alan-furst.html

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2020/11/mission-to-paris-by-alan-furst.html

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2020/11/mission-to-paris-by-alan-furst.html

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2020/10/under-occupation-by-alan-furst.html

 

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-spies-of-warsaw-book-review.html

 

 

Now it’s time to add another name:  John Altman

 

Just finished reading A Game of Spies, a twisting, turning, streak of a novel, where nothing is certain, nothing is either believed or doubted.  Yes, spy craft is a game of uncertainty, in a stew of true and false, double crosses, and true believers.   Altman captures both the time and the motives and characters in the steamy atmosphere of France and the Low Countries, as the German army and the German nation’s egomaniac leader plot the beginning of the war.

 

I can’t help but compare this novel to those by Alan Furst.  Same time, same place, however the differences are stark.  Furst takes his time in developing characters and atmosphere. The plot slowly evolves. Altman, on the other hand, feeds the readers a buffet of characters with a streamlined plot and a host of twists and turns.  It is not until the second half of the book that characters maintain clarity, and are distilled into the good and the bad.  Even so, there are still lingering doubts.  All hinges on the kernel of the plot. Will the English find out the German war plan or not.  And, if they do, will they know what to do with it.

 

Many know the broad stroke history of the Second World War, but few of us know behind the scene details on which hinged every major event.  Unless we are historians, our minds infused with letters and other documents, old newspapers, and interviews with the players, we don’t even know what we think we know.

 

Furst especially, but also to a lesser extent, Altman, have done the research for you, and doing so have written intricately woven and finely plotted novels that will immerse you in the time, while keeping you on the edge of your seat.

 

Of the two authors, if you want to linger in the time, smell the cigarette smoke, reach into the hearts of the characters and live in the murky political mud, pick Furst.  But, if you want a racehorse, grab A Game of Spies and hold tight on the reins.

 

For me, it doesn’t depend on the skill of the authors, for both are keenly observant artists. It depends strictly on my mood.  Sometimes I enjoy a smooth ride, observing every detail of the neighborhood, and other times I want to feel the wind in my face.

Odds & Sods MK 2

ODDS & SODS Mk2, by Derek Robinson

 

ODDS & SODS MK2, as you might guess, is a follow-up on ODDS & SODS.  Strange title, and if you’re not English, even more odd you old sod.  Usually means a disreputable man, but sod is one of those broad terms that run the grammatical gamut through noun, adjective, and verb. Allow me to steer you in the general direction, with a hint. Not unusual to hear a bad guy in an English movie yell “Sod off!”  He’s not wishing anybody a Happy Birthday.

 

I’ve often written reviews of Derek Robinson’s works, which span everything from superb flying novels from World Wars I and II, espionage novels, and various books exploring the truths and falsehoods we know as history.  He and I have never met, but I feel as if we’re friends. Books will do that and I’ve read every one of his.  

 

(Go to the top of my blog and type his name.  That will lead you to all the titles I’ve reviewed, most of which are available on Amazon.)

 

His latest effort, ODDS & SODS MK 2 is short, but fascinating, with quick wit and twists and turns that take the reader behind the scenes of real events,  in prose, poetry, and history.  Need some teasers?

 

What’s the real meaning of the oft quoted lines from Shakespeare’s Richard II, Act 2, Scene 1?

 

This royal throne of Kings, this sceptered isle, … 

 

Or, how about the effectiveness of gliders in World War II and the much-celebrated use of paratroops?  What’s an easy way to tell photos of real dead people from the pretend corpses in cop movies?

 

You see, these are the types of questions that keep me up at night, and make me question damn near everything lodged in my agile brain.   Here’s something I recently found. It’s what Mark Twain said: It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so. 

 

But, is that so? Scholars at the Center for Mark Twin Studies at Elmira College (Elmira, NY) say they can find no substantive evidence that Mark Twain (Samuel Clemons) ever said it or wrote it!

 

See, that’s the kind of thing Derek Robinson examines.  But, Robinson’s palate is much larger than mine and more colorful.  He slaps new paint on old canvases of fiction, history, and folklore to bring to light things that just ain’t so! 

 

When I said ODDS & SODS MK2 is a short book, I meant it, but it’s 114 pages are fabulously interesting.  Every last one of them sparkles! 

 

For the past several years he and I have also corresponded in short chunks of emails.  And if you want this book or it’s predecessor, ODDS & SODS, you’ll have to write him, too.  Order both! Give yourself a treat and tickle your curiosity!  

 

delrobster@gmail.com

or

derekrobinson840@btinternet.com

 

You’re not just in for a treat, but a rollercoaster ride of history and clever writing.  And that IS so!

 

 

Why 1914? by Derek Robinson

Why 1914? by Derek Robinson

In a previous article, I explained the importance of knowing about World War I, the fracture of Europe, the downfall of empires, the appalling loss of life on all sides, the resultant echoes that still resound today.  But there are also important lessons.  Going to war is complex and I suspect the backstory the author illuminates, in varying forms, applies to most wars.   

In his marvelous book, Why 1914?, subtitled The Causes of the Great War, Robinson goes into the ins and outs of how and why the war occurred. If that sounds dry, then you haven’t read any of his other books.  The man is a genius storyteller and he takes little at face value. This book may be history, but it’s not bogged in the drudgery and clichés of your high school or college history class.  This is story telling at it’s best. And what a story!  This book is not just for history buffs, it’s entertainment for everyone with an inquiring mind!

Let me give a quick, if slightly inaccurate analogy of the almost inexplicable complications.  Let’s say you’re desperate for food and head to an Italian restaurant.  But, wait a minute, the menu is in German!  You do your best in ordering, but when the dishes come out, they’re Mexican.  The wine you ordered is some strange brand of cola.  The first waiter spoke English, but now he’s gone and your new waiter speaks only French.

But, you know what?  If you’re starving, truly starving, you don’t care!  You just want to eat!  And Derek Robinson’s premise is, the countries in Europe, for a number of reasons, were starving for war.

“But, wait a minute”, you’re saying, “I know from my history class that an Austrian prince was assassinated by Serbs and when Austria went to war, all the alliances just naturally followed, and nobody could stop it.

Ever ask yourself the questions:  Why could nobody stop it?  Why were they so ready for war?  War is not an instant decision.  It takes preparation.

Here are some things to consider:  All the crowned heads of Europe were cousins.  The King of England’s grandmother, Queen Victoria, was German. A daughter of Queen Victoria was married to the Russian Tsar; Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany was another cousin, and so on.   They all knew each other and liked each other and visited each other.

As for the pre-war alliances, they changed so often it was difficult to keep track, and the strength of the alliances varied like a sine curve.

What makes Why 1914? so effortless to read is it’s an unlikely story of going to war and so fascinatingly told, going behind the headlines of the times to tell the background of an impossibly convoluted tale that eclipses any film by the Marx brothers.  It’s more like a badly made Grade B movie, poorly acted, with a tangled, and unbelievable plot.

Derek Robinson reveals so many details that will make you shake your head and at times laugh out loud.  Laugh at such a serious subject.  No, it’s not the subject, but the incredibly incompetent characters themselves.

NEVER have I read a more complex tale, so well told!  The pages turn like you’re reading a novel.  A Great Novel.

Want a copy?  Here’s how: delrobster@gmail.com, or www.derekrobinson.info.  He is also on FaceBook.

Never Mind the Facts, a new book by Derek Robinson

This is a review of a new book by Derek Robinson, one of my favorite authors.  The book’s title is Never Mind the Facts, and it’s a mind opener that explores common historical personages and events that go unchallenged.  But, before I dig into this enigmatic book that will spin your mind, I need to say a bit about this fabulous writer and his earlier works.

I have read all of Derek Robinson’s novels, the most famous of which are aviation thrillers that span both world wars.  His novels are appealing page-turners and it’s no secret why.  His stories, as he likes to say, are good cracking yarns, with indelible characters and stimulating plots.  Page-turner is not the right description.  In his novels, you don’t even know you’re turning pages.

I misspoke.  I’ve read all of his novel at least twice, and a few I’ve read more than that.  His protagonists float through my brain almost daily.

I was once an aviator in American Air Force fighter squadrons, so I view novels that incorporate the lives of fighter pilots with skepticism.  So often they just don’t ring true.  The dialogue is stilted or the terminology misdirected or the attitudes contrived.

None of that is true about Derek Robinson’s flying novels. Fighter pilots and fighter crews are dedicated participants in one of the world’s most dangerous professions, and their personalities laced with humor that pummels danger and allows them to focus on flying and fighting.  His descriptions are deadly accurate. He puts you in the cockpit, revs up your engine and takes you into the fickle storm of war.

But there’s more to Robinson’s talents and points of view than thrilling tales.  He’s also a careful and creative thinker, with an imagination and eye for detail that Earnest Hemingway called a built in bullshit detector.  His prior forays into history include Why 1914 and Invasion 1940, both of which investigate historical facts versus patently accepted myths.

The subtitle of Never Mind the Facts is Ten major myths and why they survive.  Prepare yourself to reopen your memories of high school history books and be astonished.  Take a fresh look at some very old and fairly recent pages of British history, the Armada and Dunkirk.  “Gosh,” you’re thinking, “I know all that.”  Do you?  Really?  Let Derek show you, as Paul Harvey used to call it, The Rest of the Story.  Or, how about Laurence of Arabia, or further back in the annals of time, the Nativity.

“But,” you say, “I’m no fan of history, and don’t try to tell me anything about religion.  I know what I believe.”

Never Mind the Facts is not an attempt to treat you to yet another conspiracy theory, or hit religion with a wrecking ball; it’s about tossing aside your preconceptions and examining what you think you know.  How about the abolitionist, John Brown?  You probably know about the famous raid on Harper’s Ferry, but do you know John Brown, the man?

I’ve only just scratched the cover of this short, but fabulously interesting book.  Never Mind the Facts is about opening your mind and once again, Derek Robinson opens it wide.

This book was self-published by the author and is available on his web site:  http://www.derekrobinson.info

Besides Never Mind the Facts, a new book is on the horizon:  Odds and Sods.

My three faithful readers may have noticed I’ve written about Derek Robinson’s novel many times.  Here are some links to my blog entries.  These books are available on Amazon:

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2017/08/a-good-clean-fight-by-derek-robinson.html

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2012/03/another-gem-from-derek-robinson-piece.html

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2012/01/goshawk-squadron-novel-of-breakneck.html

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-splendid-little-war.html

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-eldorado-series-derek-robinson.html

https://stroudallover.blogspot.com/2017/05/holy-moke-by-derek-robinson.html

A Good Clean Fight by Derek Robinson

I’m in the middle of A Good Clean Fight, the second book of Derek Robinson’s RAF (Royal Air Force) quartet. Right after A Piece of Cake and before Damned Good Show and Hullo Russia, Goodbye England.

Hornet Squadron is in the shifting sands of the Sahara and the shifting fortunes of war, as the armies of Germany and Britain push each other back and forth across North Africa. Yes, the Italians are there too, but no one seems to worry or care. Neither are the British all British. Pilots from the far-flung Commonwealth, as well as overrun European nations and America have put on the RAF uniform and joined the fray.

The British Special Air Service (SAS) races through the desert, blowing up German air bases and depending on only the vastness and harshness of the unforgiving landscape. Finding them is more difficult than locating a lost diamond ring. The Sahara’s spread across 3.5 million miles and has a landmass as large as the United States or China.

While the SAS attacks German forces on the ground, Hornet Squadron tries to rain havoc on a Luftwaffe that has pulled in its claws and is refitting for the next great push. But, this is not as benign a task for Hornet Squadron as it seems. As they expand their offensive actions, they take great losses in men and in the over matched Curtis P-40 Tomahawks they fly.

If you’re an aviator who has been to war, you know what it’s like to suddenly have comrades disappear, or even meet their fiery fates while you helplessly watch. Only whoring and vast quantities of drink provide mental and emotional relief and even then it’s only temporary. The squadron’s men are exhausted from heat and from gut wrenching three or four or five sorties a day. The stench of death unmasks their fear and the stifling and unrelenting desert adds layers to their fatigue.

Derek Robinson knows war and slaughter in the smoke and fury of World War II. He brings it to you in ways that make you smell the smoke, live the stark terror, and unblinkingly stare aghast at the bloody smear of dismembered bodies. And yes, there is dark humor that only the aviator knows. You laugh out loud because you’re one of them now. Your mouth is dry and you pour yourself a drink. A strong one. You know these men and women and their fate is your fate. Derek Robinson has made you a squadron member.

And what is a fighter pilot, or at least a World War II RAF fighter pilot? “They’re just decent, friendly, hardworking fighter pilots who want to be loved. Give ‘em a bucket of blood for breakfast and they’ll kick an orphan to death if you promise them a kiss afterwards.” Tongue in cheek, of course.

Sometimes they love each other. Sometimes they fight each other, throwing blows they later wish they hadn’t. Do they hate their foe? No. It’s not a hate or love situation. Usually no time for that in this scrappy, edgy fight to the finish. It’s always a guts and glory matter of survival, unless the foe makes it personal and kills one of your mates right in front of you. A Good Clean Fight is the last thing you want. When you press that trigger, you want people to topple like bowling pins. You want them to see them die wretchedly. The more the better. And all the while you’re asking yourself: Can this war go on forever? And, can I make it through another day?

This is the second time I’ve read this book. There will be a third. This is fiction that blinds you with desert dust and makes you cough and sputter as you climb into the cockpit of a P-40, slide the canopy closed and pray you’ll live long enough to savor the oblivion of hard whiskey and the enjoyment of just one more piece of ass. Even brilliant non-fiction can’t do that for me. 

Holy $moke by Derek Robinson

Hungry for a book that snaps your eyes open and dares you to put it down?  Here’s a tip!  Holy $moke, by my favorite living writer, Derek Robinson.  Holy $moke is a smorgasbord of spies, intrigue, laugh out loud fun, and indelible and unlikely characters, all driven by a swiftly moving plot.

About time a book came along that is so startlingly original that I forgot about my afternoon nap and my before dinner cocktail.  All done without the clichés of murder, seduction and gunnery.  Wait a sec…no sex, blood, violence and still spellbinding???  Let me give you the whole picture.  My favorite writer doesn’t depend on weepy and psychologically damaged characters either.

Let’s set the stage.  As World War II ebbs toward its ragged conclusion. Allied forces are advancing by fits and starts through Italy. Southern Italy is liberated, but no one is quite sure what’s filling the vacuum. In the north, German forces are putting up a hell of a fight.  In Rome, the fascist government is deposed, leaving a political and commercial void in its wake.  Ordinary Romans try desperately to put food in the mouths of their families and gather together the shards of their war shattered lives. 

Meanwhile, General “Wild Bill” Donovan, the brainy, bellicose founder and leader of the Office of Strategic Services has his OSS agents scouring the city for leftover scraps of intelligence.  He’s not messing around and neither are his underlings, who haven’t produced viable information in ages.  The pressure is on.  The message is clear:  find new veins of intelligence gold, or find yourself banished to some backwater, where you’ll wait out the war filling out forms and filling filing cabinets, while your brain atrophies and your raw fingertips bleed.

Enter Virgilio del Pronto, an out of work writer, recently released from prison and looking to restart his so-so career.  With Rome’s newspapers and magazines in ruins, finding a writing job is damn near impossible. Plus, more than just an empty belly is pressuring him.  There’s Virgilio’s caustic wife, an unpleasant person in the best of times, who never lets him forget he’s unemployed.  “How lucky I was to marry a writer…Instead of a ditch digger who brought home a wage.”  Yes, I often identify with that.

But some things Virgilio has in abundance are acquaintances, all of whom are very aware of his fluid imagination and gift for the written word.  We’d call his approach ‘networking.’  He calls it survival.

Then, out of the blue, with persistence and a truckload of luck, Virgilio strikes gold.  A vein of it.  And it’s just what the American OSS agents need.

Robinson mines history and inserts vivid strands of humor into another of his seamlessly free flowing tales of the improbable. Reminiscent of his Eldorado series (The Eldorado Network, Operation Bamboozle, Artillery of Lies, and Red Rag Blues), Holy $moke leads you through a neatly constructed and mesmerizing sequence of events, all founded on equally improbable truth.  Along the way, he paints a clear picture of life under Allied occupation, while weaving a magnetic tale of Vatican intrigues, including oddities such as the German Ambassador playing tennis with the Japanese Ambassador.  Yes, even after Rome’s liberation, Axis Ambassadors to the papal enclave still played on.

All of this is preposterous, yet in large measure it happened.  You’ll be turning pages and chuckling as Derek Robinson leads you through this romp of a novel!  Pick up your copy early in the day; otherwise you’re going to lose sleep! 

I always read Derek Robinson’s books twice.  Once for enjoyment and again for even more enjoyment!

Check out his web site:  http://www.derekrobinson.info/ or order directly from the author at;   delrobster@gmail.com

Although Holy $moke is self-published, don’t forget to look for his other supremely entertaining books on Amazon.com or Amazon.uk.  There must be twenty, both novels and non-fiction. His series of flying novels, from both World War I and II are the best I’ve ever read.  But, I warn you, all his books are as addictive as potato chips at a cocktail party and while you’re laughing and eagerly flipping pages, you’re also getting sneaky glimpses into real, unvarnished history!

A Splendid Little War

One of many 'Splendid' war novels by Derek Robinson

Ever finish a book and think  “This bastard should write faster.”  Derek Robinson is one of those authors.  Every book he’s written grabs you, dazzles you, leaves you in a trail of gut-busting laughter, tarnished tears, and famished for more.

What makes Derek Robinson special?  He has a niche and an unnatural gift as a raconteur.  War.  Flying.  The Royal Air Corps/Force.  His series, set in World War I, the most famous of which is Goshawk Squadron, set the mark for all that would follow.  Don’t think for a moment that ‘famous’ means the best of the lot.  All of them are connected, clever, dark with humor, gore, and the certainty of your own destruction.  Robinson’s Second Would War series also has every bit of all of the above.  Unbelievably engaging. (Piece of Cake)

Now comes ‘A Splendid Little War.’  A war fought in Russia in 1919-1920 mean anything to you?  Probably not.  No RAF history of it exists.  Yet, it was fought.  And men died in Britain’s frantic effort to keep the Bolsheviks from consolidating their power after the Russian Revolution.  A Splendid Little War tells the tale of the men who leapt into the breech, or at least into the cockpits of well-worn aircraft, like them, cast offs from the First World War.

What do men do that lived through the daring-do of aerial combat,  grinding the fear out of their minds, as they twisted their eager craft through the bullet strewn air?  They volunteer for the next war, fully expecting it would be a continuation.  It wasn’t.

But, fighter pilots are fighter pilots.  They must have whiskey, women, and danger to feel alive.  The raw smell of petrol and engine oil in their nostrils.  Death at every turn.

Scoundrels all, their dark humor and aptitude for rollicking fun, in the most unlikely of places, carry them along.  Mere skill doesn’t cut it when ineptitudes of the powers-that-be, and the vicissitudes of battle conspire against them.

Derek Robinson is king of the genre.  Careful character sketches, a plot that whistles along, and a masterfully told story bring ‘the war that wasn’t a war’ to life in glowing Technicolor.  Haven’t heard of the Splendid Little War?  After this fabulous novel it’ll be etched in memory.

Another Gem from Derek Robinson - Piece of Cake

Hawker Hurricanes - the unsung hero of the Battle of Britain


Piece of Cake ranks right up there with Winds of War, and Catch 22. Wait a sec! Those two novels aren't anything alike. That's what makes Piece of Cake so different and wonderful. There's all the drama and hilarity of the other two, but tied into an incredible story that not only puts you in the cockpit, but in the midst of battle. Some would say P of C is a drama about the Battle of Britain. More than that. Much more. A fighter squadron is made up of people who think quite differently, about the world, about the war, and about staying alive. What are they fighting for? Themselves. Their buddies. Booze. Women. Pretty much in that order. King and country? Well, yeah, sort of.

Piece of Cake also has a history to tell and in the telling, lays low myths like a well sharpened scythe in a field of lilies. Gives you a new perspective on the war, but more than that, like any great novel, it works its way into your brain and into your guts enough to make you wonder what you know and what you think you know.

The characters stand out from the page, as if you'd just had one beer and they'd asked you to buy another round. Or, more likely, they'd held you upside down until all your money fell out and you had no choice but. These are men who live in the same small room as darkness and danger, but can still laugh about it. You'll meet quite a few of them and you'll be happy you did. I don't give one care if you don't like novels about flying and war and historical events. Doesn't matter a whit. You'll still love this book.

Goshawk Squadron - a novel of breakneck flying in WW I

SE5a

If you’re an aviation enthusiast, and especially if you’re a fighter pilot or wantta be, and if you’re drawn to the broken wood and torn fabric flying of World War I, you can’t do better than Derek Robinson’s magnificent novel, Goshawk Squadron.  Written in 1971, it’s a timeless tale of men fighting the un-fightable, smothering in the smell of cordite and castor oil, while being led by a man who is either going to kill them, or make them suffer and then kill them.

           As the author writes in another of his novels, “Up there the world is divided into bastards and suckers. Make your choice.”  The leader of Goshawk Squadron, Stanley Wooley, has made his.  He’s no beauty, and at twenty-three he’s an old timer in a war where the life expectancy of pilots is measured in weeks.  Hardbitten and older than his years, Wooley is determined to kick his squadron into good enough shape to keep them flying just one more day.  Often he’s unsuccessful.  How could he be anything else when youngsters arrive with sometimes eight or twelve hours of total flying time and never having seen an SE5a, let alone flown one.  A week later they’re in combat, trying to kill, but most likely trying only to survive.  They come with light hearts and high ideals.  Soon both are soiled forever by what they see and what they do.

             But, any fighter squadron is not without it’s lighter moments, even if they are almost unspeakably noir.  Some scenes made he laugh out loud.  Being in a fighter squadron is like that. Others made me ache to go back a few years, strap myself into a fighter and once again feel the magic exhilaration that only aviators know.

Goshawk Squadron is a quick read of a little over 200 pages, but it’s not the length of the book that makes it streak by like the bullets from a Folker DIII.  In Goshawk squadron you’re there.  Living in the mud.  Drinking to avoid the reality of knowing that you’re going to die, that it’s going to be wretched…and that it’s going to be soon.  And all for nothing, or so it seems.

Grab a copy of Goshawk Squadron, by Derek Robinson.  You’re in for the shrieking, whirling, terrifying ride of your life.  Available on Amazon.