Tuesday 5 June 2012

HISTORICAL FICTION REVIEW: Hellfire - James Holland

Release Date: 10/05/12

SYNOPSIS:

August, 1942. North Africa. The desert war hangs in the balance. When the commander of the Eighth Army, General Gott, is killed, it's clear that foul play is at work. An impenetrable Axis spy circuit is compromising any hope the Allies have of stemming the Nazi tide. Jack Tanner, recovering from wounds in a Cairo hospital, is astonished to receive a battlefield commission which will propel him into a very different world when he returns to action. Fit once more, he finds himself facing the full onslaught of Rommel's latest offensive. In its aftermath, Tanner and his trusty sidekick Sykes are recruited to work behind the Axis lines in a desperate attempt to fight back. But the murky world of deceit and murder they find themselves in is a million miles away from the certainties of the battlefield. Somehow they must discover who they can trust in the cat-and-mouse world of counter-espionage before it's too late...


REVIEW:

Whilst I’m not always a big fan of modern warfare tales, I make an exception for James Holland as for me he’s the English Sven Hassel, able to present a believable tale set during the hardships of war. Its dark, its brutal and of course with a lead hero who seeks to do what he has to for Queen and Country leads the reader into a whole set of affairs that bring the modern day Sharpe to the reader’s attention.

The prose is sharp with the author presenting a solid woven arc to the reader with no nonsense prose that keep you glued from start to finish. Add to this some great historical accuracy backing up the overall arc and the reader really is in for a treat as history and fiction merge with wonderful clarity. Great stuff all in.



1 comment:

bascule said...

Thanks for the tip, never heard of them before. Just found the first book on Amazon, used-like new for £1.38 delivered. I am chuffed, I've needed something different for a while and this looks perfect.