Product Description

In June of 1941 a baffling Luftwaffe radio message is picked up by the decoders of Allied intelligence. It mentions a new invention with the codename Freya-the Viking goddess of love. Starting from this slender clue, intelligence analyst Hermia Mount begins to suspect the existence of a top secret experimental radar station on the coast of Denmark. Meanwhile Harald Olufsen, a brilliant young Danish student, is coming to the same conclusion by a different route. Although more interested in getting to know the alluring Karen Duchwitz, Harald is gradually drawn into Hermia's investigation. But when he finally learns the truth, he finds he has no way of getting to England with the information-except for a derelict Hornet Moth biplane rusting away in the nave of a ruined church...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #666793 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 442 pages

Review
This Second World War thriller tracks the progress of British and Danish intelligence as they attempt to discover the German radar programme which is inflicting carnage on the Allied bombers. Largely set in Nazi occupied Denmark with Danish characters, it brings a new perspective to the British/German war theme and provides yet another prism through which to see the atrocity of the Nazi regime as it affected the Danes and the impact of fear and totalitarianism on a whole society. Fast-paced and exciting, it benefits from excellent characterisation. The principals are believable and engaging, particularly the young student, Harald, while amongst the minor characters there are numerous precisely observed gems - the quiet unassuming schoolteacher, the puritanical yet charismatic preacher, the ambitious and utterly repellent police official. The novel has a strong cinematic feel as the reader is swept through descriptions of the island-studded, flat Danish landscape, the imposing chateau and the thrilling aeroplane sequences. The fact that elements of the plot are based on actual events lends the more fantastic episodes a poignancy and thrill that increase the tension and suspense. Never mind that it does not seem very credible that a 21-year-old ballet student could fix a plane with strips of cloth, bits of wire and string and then fly it across the North Sea - as the author states at the start, 'Some of what follows really happened.' Whether it did or not, the pull of the narrative soars upwards. An excellent tightly plotted thriller. (Kirkus UK)

Spunky Danes spy and fly beneath the radar of their Nazi occupiers. Follett returns to WWII (Jackdaws, 2001, etc.), where his patriotic newsreel style may be an asset, setting the proper black-and-white tone for a tale about a schoolboy who sticks a spanner in the Germans' early warning system. Harald Olufson is the mechanically gifted pastor's son whose dream of studying under countryman Niels Bohr looks impossible after he's booted from school for an anti-fascist prank. Harald's hardshell father pulls the plug on university plans and apprentices the boy to a creepy haberdashery, where he is to ponder the error of his ways. But Harald ditches the handkerchiefs and speeds off on his peat-powered motorcycle to find work on a farm near the little castle where beautiful Jewish Karen Duchwitz, promising ballerina and twin sister of a schoolmate, lives with her very rich mum and dad. Karen has had a few flying sessions with Poul, a chum of Harald's pilot brother Arne, but neither Karen nor Harald is aware that Poul is a member of the Danish resistance, organized from England by Arne's fiancee Hermia. Hermia has been charged with finding out how the Germans have been able to render nearly useless the waves of bombers the English have been throwing against them. As it happens, Harald has the answer. He just doesn't know how important it is. Taking a shortcut through a secret German installation on the way home one dark and stormy night, he noted the interesting combination of three radar antennas and deduced correctly that the krauts had invented an efficient warning system. Getting the secret out of Denmark will cost several lives and involve the evil Peter Flemming, a man with a deep-seated grudge against the Olufsons and a deeper-seated admiration for the Germans. It will also require Harald's handyman skills to get the Duchwitz family's plane out of storage and into the air. Old fashioned derring-do done right. (Kirkus Reviews)

About the Author
Ken Follett was only twenty-seven when he wrote the award-winning novel Eye of the Needle which became an international bestseller. He has since written several equally successful novels, including, most recently, Code to Zero. He is also author of the non-fiction bestseller On Wings of Eagles. He lives with his family in London and Hertfordshire.

Customer Reviews

For Those Who Enjoy This Genre of Follett
My first introduction to this writer's work was a book that has become a classic in the genre, "The Eye Of The Needle". For several books, and even more years, Mr. Follett pursued very different books like, "The Pillars Of The Earth", which was one of his most successful books, and has even lead to a "Pillars Of The Earth Day" annually. Many people enjoy both the areas that the author has ventured in to, but if given only one choice, I prefer the type that I first read.

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.

very nice and original
This is not just "yet again another WW2 book by Ken Follett". He has written several in the genre, but this one is MUCH better than "Jackdaws", for instance. Actually I was so disappointed with Jackdaws that it took some time to get decided to start this one. I was very pleasantly surprised because if it has the usual Ken ingredients (villain, girl-meets-boy, cat and mouse chases), it is rather original, taking place mostly in Denmark, in a place seldom used by writers (except I guess Danish authors whom I do not know ...). And the plot is quite good, very thrilling. I had an excellent time.
Now I am reading his latest one, Whiteout, which is still more thrilling. He is back in top shape these days, WELL DONE KEN !!!

Pretty bad
This book reads like a bad American soap opera, and the "action sequences" are like something out of a comic book. That said, I did manage to finish it, which definitely speaks to the undeniable power of Ken Follett's formulaic writing. Further said, it is probably the worst book I've ever read cover to cover.