Rating: 
Summary: Dumb Danes on the Loose
Review: This book should have been called 'Who Can be Dumber than Ophelia?'. Take a group of Danes in WWII under Nazi occupation and have them do dumb things to cook up a little artificial tension and suspense and you have 'Hornet Flight'. Harrald takes pictures of the secret German radar site then, instead of getting the negatives out of Denmark, he stops to get the film developed. Give me a break! Naturally he gets caught but, surprise, surprise, he gets away. And, why didn't the British just bomb the damn radar site once they knew where it was? And, they were intercepting the signals from this and other sites. Couldn't they deduce what the systems were doing based on that? They had to see the pictures? Plus, dimwit Harrald, in one of the rare things he gets right, had figured out the solution for defeating the radar anyway and really didn't need to get the pictures to England in the first place. And his annoying girlfriend postpones their departure from Denmark by a day, in spite of the fact the Germans and Danish police are closing in on them, so she can dance in a ballet.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book, keeps you on the edge of your seat!
Review: First let me say that I haven't read a Ken Follett book that I didn't like. And this was no exception. I thought the plot, the Danish resistance during WWII, was excellently drawn out and he definitely has a knack for making you able to envision places and people in your mind's eye. Harald is an entirely likeable character as are the rest of the characters in the book and Peter Fleming is someone you love to hate and you hope he gets his in the end.
In short, a very good WWII thriller that I couldn't put down. Thanks, Mr. Follett, for another good read!
Rating:
Summary: Fast-paced, engaging story with heroes and villains
Review: Ken Follett has a way with World War II. "Hornet Flight' is a good example of Follett's skill with the genre. The result is a book I found hard to put down. While this is not great literature, new ground, or extensive character development, 'Flight' kept me wanting to know how our heroes were going to pull this off, who would make it through to the end, and how, once again, Nazis would err or suffer. Imaginative if somewhat predictable, but the latter is characteristic of just about any book about World War II -- we know how it's going to end. We even know many of the intermediate steps. It's the ride, not the destination, that is the most fun.Detailed descriptions of Denmark in a time of war, of Copenhagen, slow trains, a steam-powered motorcycle, small islands and fishing villages, and of the pivotal Hornet are what make this book work. Harald, our geeky physics student, and Karen, the striking, leggy, Jewish heroine, make for an odd but interesting coupling. While not great characters, Follett makes you like and, hopefuly, understand them.
Rating:
Summary: Sharp, but no Sting
Review: Maybe there are two Ken Folletts. One Follett has given us stories with complex plots and interesting, well-defined characters. This Follett wrote The Eye of the Needle, Lie Down with Lions, The Pillars of the Earth, and Night Over Water. The other Follett gives us stories with simple story lines, a plot that is thin and/or obvious, and cardboard characters. Unfortunately, the latter Follett is responsible for Hornet Flight. Adolescent characters pursue an adolescent plot with dialog and description suitable for adolescents.
In the Summer of 1941, Harald Olufson, a Danish teenager, is studying for final exams and anticipating college. German occupation is lightly felt, and while some Danes are resentful, none seem rebellious. And some welcome the German drive for organization and no-nonsense attitude toward criminals and trouble-makers. In this setting young Harald blunders onto a strange apparatus build by the Germans near his home; visits the home of a Jewish classmate to discover his beautiful sister Karen and a civilian sport aircraft stored in the barn; and gets into trouble with the police for painting anti-German graffiti on a wall while drunk (for the first time in his life, of course). Harald's brother, Arne, a Danish air force pilot is engaged to Hermia, a British citizen who worked in the embassy in Copenhagen until the German's arrived. Hermia has become the head of the Danish section of British Intelligence, and is charged by Churchill to discover how the Germans have developed air defenses that are crippling bomber raids, which are all the British have left to fight with. In a series of coincidences, Harald and Karen survive the breakdown of the fledgling resistance organization Hermia established before she left Denmark and miraculously escape to England with the information that the British need to counter the German radar and save the day.
Hornet Flight is an interesting story reminiscent of young adult fiction of an earlier day. While entertaining, it is far short of what Follett's adult fans have a right to expect.
Rating: 
Summary: Left Over Danish
Review: There must be a name for this genre, the untold stories of World War II. Inevitably Churchill is personally involved and some unlikely hero, in this case a young Danish student, saves England from Hitler. Jack Higgins has written many of them and now Ken Follett abandons the truly imaginative for the commercial. Nonetheless it is a satisfying if fluffy tale. The Danes existed in a state of national disgrace over their capitulation to the Nazis. The payoff for them was the continuation of their national institutions and less severe occupation than that of Norway which fought desperately against the Germans. Denmark's Finlandization did not sit well with everyone and a Resistance movement took slow form. Follett tells the story of this movement but in a very contrived manner. Germany has developed a superior radar to that of the Allies and it is reeking havoc on British night bomber squadrons. A young student must get the installation photographed and the pictures back to London before England itself is forced to surrender. There are good cops, bad cops and lots of exciting spy craft, but in the end Jack Higgins could have written it. More is expected of Ken Follett.
Rating:
Summary: The book that flies above all others
Review: The book Hornet Flight takes place in Europe during World War ll. Harald Olufson, and 18 year old boy living in Denmark stumbles on a secret radio transmitter of the Nazi's with the ability to locate a enemy plane miles away. He then learns of the news of the British launching one of the largest air attacks of the war and realizes that with the new radio, all the bombers will be shot down. He decides he has to fly to Britain but has no way of getting there until he finds a Hornet Moth, a broken down plane in an old church. He then realizes he has to fly across the North Sea in order to tell the British the information or they will lose the war. On the way to Britain, he encounters many challenges including enemy fighters. I won't tell you the ending, but it kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. I reccomend this book to all people who love action and learning a little about history at the same time. It is a great book, and the author describes each person and place with great detail. I feel that this book is one of the best war books I have read.
Rating:
Summary: Great vacation book
Review: Thoroughly enjoyable read. This book is a page turner. I took this book on vacation and it was a perfect "vacation" read. It's a simple story with a predictable beginning middle and end and, therefore, gets 4 stars instead of 5.
Rating: 
Summary: Miss the Old Follett
Review: Although this book was entertaining, it lacked the page turning apeal of Follet's older works. Having read most of his books, this was a disappointment to me. The characters were not all that compelling, the storyline simplified one of the most complex times in World history, and the hero and heroine were a bit unbelievable. I would suggest picking up any of Follett's earlier works before this one. Particularly On Wings of Eagles, Pillars of the Earth, Night Over Water, or A Dangerous Fortune. Those books had me turning the pages in a frenzy to find out what would happen next. Hornet's Flight left me wanting -- wanting to know what happened to certain characters, while all the same not really caring much about any of them. It left me emotionless over a time period that was wrought with emotion and fear. I was glad to have finished this book -- albeit an entertaining read. But one that made me wonder when Follett will come out with a book that lives up to the standard he set for himself.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Follet
Review: Hornet 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.
Rating:
Summary: Sputtering start - Reasonable finish
Review: I am a fan of this author and was a bit disappointed with the begining of this novel. It got bogged down in many things, but that may have been necessary for the development of the novel which was essentially an espionage tale. Once it got going it was more readable and enjoyable and I would encourage people who like this author to give it a try. Not a ringing recomendation, I know, but an honest evealuation.
|
