FICTION Wings Over Germany
Eric B. Forsyth | Yacht Fiona Books 388p, trade paper, $21.99, ISBN 979-8-9853220-7-1
Forsyth’s third novel following the adventures of Royal Air Force hero Allan Chadwick finds Chadwick and company facing their greatest challenge yet: Nazi bombers, the Battle of Britain, and England’s efforts to design, manufacture, and pilot new fourengined bombers, all as Germany seizes France and rains hell on London. Chadwick, who has served the RAF since the 1920s, is tested like never before in this entry, as he leads the design of the Lancaster bombers and commands untested young pilots at the Channel, sending them against German Messerschmitts and more. He’s usually chipper, offering a “just tickety-boo” when asked how he’s faring after parachuting into the Channel, but Forsyth makes clear how harrowed Chadwick feels: “The slaughter of the innocent, he thought to himself, and I’m the butcher.”
The hero also faces some relationship woes and convincingly detailed design and supply problems as he and the RAF continue one of these books’ most engaging elements: technical innovation. Forsyth, as always, captures the thrill of flight and the terror of battle with a nutsand-bolts accuracy that, crucially, doesn’t slow down the suspenseful storytelling during scenes of action. Material here about building the Lancasters and testing an American B-17 will fascinate aviation buffs, while accounts of the toll of combat, Chadwick’s occasional dalliances, and the characters’ view of the war and various nations’ strategies persuasively suggest the texture of life in the grip of history.
Adventure elements are most prominent in the final third, which finds Chadwick trapped on the ground in occupied France, desperate to connect with the resistance—and then to find a way out. These scenes are exciting but more familiar—and a touch more incredible—than much of what comes before. The novel’s climax, though, involving Pathfinder Mosquitos and Germany’s terrifying V-1 flying bomb, offers exciting action, technical knowhow, and a buoyant sense of heroism, the strengths of this series.
Cover: A- | Design & typography: A | Illustrations: – Editing: A | Marketing copy: A
Exciting WWII aviation action, with a firm sense of tech and history.
Great for fans of Melvyn Fickling’s Bluebirds, John Rhodes’s Breaking Point series.