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Faster than the Bullet
‘Breslin has come up with a winner – a thriller with more surprise twists than the Futa and Raticosa passes.’ Autosport
‘Faster than the Bullet is my novel of the year … It is an extraordinary tale.’ Business Money
‘I strongly recommend Faster than the Bullet, not least because I can perceive its movie potential.’ b-c-ing-u.com
Poland, 1939. Ingo Six wears the feared field grey of a German soldier, but he is no Nazi. The reason he joined the army was simply to ride its motorcycles. He lives for speed, and now he knows he has a gift for it, a talent he will go on to hone on the ice and snow of the Eastern Front. When this war is finished, Ingo will race. But first there is Lidka and forbidden love in Warsaw, brutal pressure to commit atrocities, and the living hell of battle.
Argentina, 1949. Ingo Six is hiding, far from anywhere. A chance meeting awakens a dream he believed was dead, and he is slowly drawn into the intoxicating and perilous world of 1950s motor racing. The more he competes, the greater the hunger to race; but the more he succeeds, the greater the danger his secret will be discovered.
Israel, 1949. Sarah Malka’s work is vengeance. It is a cold, ruthless business, hunting and eliminating Nazis, but for Sarah there is fire in her hatred; stoked by the memory of one man and one war crime. She has sworn to be ready and waiting for him when he emerges from the shadows.
From history’s largest tank battle and the horrors of the Warsaw Uprising, to Argentina's long-distance stock car races and Italy’s legendary Mille Miglia, Faster than the Bullet is a sweeping tale of motor racing and warfare; tragedy and revenge.
‘Faster than the Bullet is my novel of the year … It is an extraordinary tale.’ Business Money
‘I strongly recommend Faster than the Bullet, not least because I can perceive its movie potential.’ b-c-ing-u.com
Poland, 1939. Ingo Six wears the feared field grey of a German soldier, but he is no Nazi. The reason he joined the army was simply to ride its motorcycles. He lives for speed, and now he knows he has a gift for it, a talent he will go on to hone on the ice and snow of the Eastern Front. When this war is finished, Ingo will race. But first there is Lidka and forbidden love in Warsaw, brutal pressure to commit atrocities, and the living hell of battle.
Argentina, 1949. Ingo Six is hiding, far from anywhere. A chance meeting awakens a dream he believed was dead, and he is slowly drawn into the intoxicating and perilous world of 1950s motor racing. The more he competes, the greater the hunger to race; but the more he succeeds, the greater the danger his secret will be discovered.
Israel, 1949. Sarah Malka’s work is vengeance. It is a cold, ruthless business, hunting and eliminating Nazis, but for Sarah there is fire in her hatred; stoked by the memory of one man and one war crime. She has sworn to be ready and waiting for him when he emerges from the shadows.
From history’s largest tank battle and the horrors of the Warsaw Uprising, to Argentina's long-distance stock car races and Italy’s legendary Mille Miglia, Faster than the Bullet is a sweeping tale of motor racing and warfare; tragedy and revenge.
451 pages, Paperback
Published May 13, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 26, 2025
'Faster than the Bullet' is the third Mike Breslin novel I have read, the second after “Pieces of Silver”, in which he combines two topics that have always interested me for very different reasons: motor racing and the Second World War.
In “Pieces of Silver”, the plot was more linear and classic, beginning with Grand Prix racing in the second decade of the 1930s before moving on to the war that began in 1939.
This time, the war plot takes place in occupied Warsaw and on the Eastern Front, while the motor racing plot unfolds several years later, in the early 1950s.
These are very different settings and times, which the author intertwines perfectly, alternating them with a series of twists that manage to surprise without feeling forced. What's more, I would say that as the novel progresses, everything fits together with the same precision as the various mechanical devices handled throughout the story by its protagonist, Ingo Six, a young German with a talent for playing the piano as well as riding light motorcycles, heavy tanks and fast sports prototypes.
His initially carefree attitude, typical of that age when we believe that anything is possible, evolves as war inevitably causes him to lose his innocence and leads him to understand that sometimes there is no right decision and, whatever decision is made, the consequences will be dramatic and must be accepted.
Along the way, we accompany him on the handlebars of a Zundapp with a sidecar in the Russian steppe, at the controls of a Panzer IV in the midst of the Battle of Kursk, the largest armoured confrontation of the war, and, a few years later, at the wheel of a vintage Chevrolet in Argentine road car competitions on dirt tracks and pushing a sleek two-seater to the limit in the legendary “Mille Miglia”.
Breslin's account of the Italian race is the highlight of the narrative, with nods to historic moments in the race featuring Tazio Nuvolari, Hans Hermann and Stirling Moss. In fact, the way he develops it is reminiscent at times of the famous report by Denis Jenkinson, when he co-drove his British compatriot to their sensational victory in the 1955 edition with the Mercedes 300SLR.
I won't tell you any more in case you want to read it, but I will say that I loved it because, in addition to how well researched and described all the “technical” aspects are (something that's always important for those of us who are real geeks about these things), the best thing is how it manages to hook and surprise us as we follow the adventures and vicissitudes of characters who stray from the classic Manichaeism of very good good guys and very bad bad guys (although, inevitably, there have to be some of these, as they abounded in such a cruel war). Most of them are ordinary people who find themselves in terrible situations, from which they try to escape as best they can, proving the saying that “moments like these bring out the best and worst in people”. Something that, in what I hope is “the war” that our spoilt generation has to live through, we have been experiencing with the damn pandemic for a year now, both in the good and, I fear even more so, in the bad.
******************************
'Faster than the bullet' es la tercera novela de Mike Breslin que leo, segunda tras 'Pieces of Silver' en la que mezcla dos temas que siempre me han interesado por cuestiones muy diferentes, el automovilismo y la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
En 'Pieces of Silver' el desarrollo era más lineal y clásico, empezando por las carreras de Gran Premio en la segunda década de los años treinta antes de pasar al conflicto bélico que se inició en el 1939.
En esta ocasión la trama bélica discurre en la Varsovia ocupada y el frente del este mientras que la relacionada con el mundo del motor se desarrolla varios años después, a principios de los cincuenta.
Son escenarios y tiempos muy diferentes que el autor entrelaza a la perfección, alternándolos con una serie de giros que consiguen sorprender sin resultar forzados. Es más, diría que a medida que avanza la novela todo va encajando con la misma precisión que las piezas de los variados ingenios mecánicos manejados a lo largo de la historia por su protagonista, Ingo Six, un joven alemán con talento tanto para tocar el piano como para pilotar ligeras motos, pesados tanques y veloces sport prototipos.
Su actitud inicialmente despreocupada, muy propia de esa edad en la que creemos que todo es posible, va evolucionando a medida que, inevitablemente, la guerra le hace perder la inocencia y le lleva a comprender que, en ocasiones, no hay ninguna decisión correcta y, se tome la que se tome, las consecuencias van a ser dramáticas y hay que asumirlas.
Por el camino lo acompañamos al manillar de una Zundapp con sidecar en la estepa rusa, a los mandos de un Panzer IV en plena batalla de Kursk, la mayor confrontación de blindados de la contienda y, unos años después, al volante de un vetusto Chevrolet en las competiciones sobre caminos de tierra de los turismos de carretera argentinos y llevando al límite un estilizado biplaza en la legendaria 'Mille Miglia'.
El relato que Breslin hace de la carrera italiana es el punto culminante de la narración, con guiños a momentos históricos protagonizados en la prueba por Tazio Nuvolari, Hans Hermann o Stirling Moss. De hecho, el modo en que la desarrolla recuerda por momentos al famoso reportaje que en su día hizo Denis Jenkinson, cuando copilotó a su compatriota británico camino de la sensacional victoria que lograron con el Mercedes 300SLR en la edición del 1955.
No os cuento más por si os apetece leerla, sólo os digo que me ha encantado porque, además de lo bien documentado y descrito que está todo el tema digamos 'técnico' (algo siempre importante para los que somos muy 'frikis' de estas cosas), lo mejor es como consigue enganchar y sorprender mientras seguimos las peripecias y vicisitudes de unos personajes que se alejan del clásico maniqueísmo de buenos muy buenos y malos malísimos (aunque de estos, inevitablemente, tiene que haber alguno ya que abundaron en una guerra tan cruel). En su mayoría son gente normal que se ve envuelta en situaciones terribles, de las que trata de salir como puede haciendo realidad eso que siempre se dice en estos casos de 'momentos así sacan lo mejor y lo peor de las personas'. Algo que, en la que espero sea 'la guerra' que nos toca vivir a esta generación tan mal acostumbrada, estamos experimentando con la maldita pandemia desde hace un año, tanto en lo bueno como, me temo más aún, en lo malo.
In “Pieces of Silver”, the plot was more linear and classic, beginning with Grand Prix racing in the second decade of the 1930s before moving on to the war that began in 1939.
This time, the war plot takes place in occupied Warsaw and on the Eastern Front, while the motor racing plot unfolds several years later, in the early 1950s.
These are very different settings and times, which the author intertwines perfectly, alternating them with a series of twists that manage to surprise without feeling forced. What's more, I would say that as the novel progresses, everything fits together with the same precision as the various mechanical devices handled throughout the story by its protagonist, Ingo Six, a young German with a talent for playing the piano as well as riding light motorcycles, heavy tanks and fast sports prototypes.
His initially carefree attitude, typical of that age when we believe that anything is possible, evolves as war inevitably causes him to lose his innocence and leads him to understand that sometimes there is no right decision and, whatever decision is made, the consequences will be dramatic and must be accepted.
Along the way, we accompany him on the handlebars of a Zundapp with a sidecar in the Russian steppe, at the controls of a Panzer IV in the midst of the Battle of Kursk, the largest armoured confrontation of the war, and, a few years later, at the wheel of a vintage Chevrolet in Argentine road car competitions on dirt tracks and pushing a sleek two-seater to the limit in the legendary “Mille Miglia”.
Breslin's account of the Italian race is the highlight of the narrative, with nods to historic moments in the race featuring Tazio Nuvolari, Hans Hermann and Stirling Moss. In fact, the way he develops it is reminiscent at times of the famous report by Denis Jenkinson, when he co-drove his British compatriot to their sensational victory in the 1955 edition with the Mercedes 300SLR.
I won't tell you any more in case you want to read it, but I will say that I loved it because, in addition to how well researched and described all the “technical” aspects are (something that's always important for those of us who are real geeks about these things), the best thing is how it manages to hook and surprise us as we follow the adventures and vicissitudes of characters who stray from the classic Manichaeism of very good good guys and very bad bad guys (although, inevitably, there have to be some of these, as they abounded in such a cruel war). Most of them are ordinary people who find themselves in terrible situations, from which they try to escape as best they can, proving the saying that “moments like these bring out the best and worst in people”. Something that, in what I hope is “the war” that our spoilt generation has to live through, we have been experiencing with the damn pandemic for a year now, both in the good and, I fear even more so, in the bad.
******************************
'Faster than the bullet' es la tercera novela de Mike Breslin que leo, segunda tras 'Pieces of Silver' en la que mezcla dos temas que siempre me han interesado por cuestiones muy diferentes, el automovilismo y la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
En 'Pieces of Silver' el desarrollo era más lineal y clásico, empezando por las carreras de Gran Premio en la segunda década de los años treinta antes de pasar al conflicto bélico que se inició en el 1939.
En esta ocasión la trama bélica discurre en la Varsovia ocupada y el frente del este mientras que la relacionada con el mundo del motor se desarrolla varios años después, a principios de los cincuenta.
Son escenarios y tiempos muy diferentes que el autor entrelaza a la perfección, alternándolos con una serie de giros que consiguen sorprender sin resultar forzados. Es más, diría que a medida que avanza la novela todo va encajando con la misma precisión que las piezas de los variados ingenios mecánicos manejados a lo largo de la historia por su protagonista, Ingo Six, un joven alemán con talento tanto para tocar el piano como para pilotar ligeras motos, pesados tanques y veloces sport prototipos.
Su actitud inicialmente despreocupada, muy propia de esa edad en la que creemos que todo es posible, va evolucionando a medida que, inevitablemente, la guerra le hace perder la inocencia y le lleva a comprender que, en ocasiones, no hay ninguna decisión correcta y, se tome la que se tome, las consecuencias van a ser dramáticas y hay que asumirlas.
Por el camino lo acompañamos al manillar de una Zundapp con sidecar en la estepa rusa, a los mandos de un Panzer IV en plena batalla de Kursk, la mayor confrontación de blindados de la contienda y, unos años después, al volante de un vetusto Chevrolet en las competiciones sobre caminos de tierra de los turismos de carretera argentinos y llevando al límite un estilizado biplaza en la legendaria 'Mille Miglia'.
El relato que Breslin hace de la carrera italiana es el punto culminante de la narración, con guiños a momentos históricos protagonizados en la prueba por Tazio Nuvolari, Hans Hermann o Stirling Moss. De hecho, el modo en que la desarrolla recuerda por momentos al famoso reportaje que en su día hizo Denis Jenkinson, cuando copilotó a su compatriota británico camino de la sensacional victoria que lograron con el Mercedes 300SLR en la edición del 1955.
No os cuento más por si os apetece leerla, sólo os digo que me ha encantado porque, además de lo bien documentado y descrito que está todo el tema digamos 'técnico' (algo siempre importante para los que somos muy 'frikis' de estas cosas), lo mejor es como consigue enganchar y sorprender mientras seguimos las peripecias y vicisitudes de unos personajes que se alejan del clásico maniqueísmo de buenos muy buenos y malos malísimos (aunque de estos, inevitablemente, tiene que haber alguno ya que abundaron en una guerra tan cruel). En su mayoría son gente normal que se ve envuelta en situaciones terribles, de las que trata de salir como puede haciendo realidad eso que siempre se dice en estos casos de 'momentos así sacan lo mejor y lo peor de las personas'. Algo que, en la que espero sea 'la guerra' que nos toca vivir a esta generación tan mal acostumbrada, estamos experimentando con la maldita pandemia desde hace un año, tanto en lo bueno como, me temo más aún, en lo malo.
December 20, 2020
The book follows the lives of a number of characters across two time periods - World War II, mostly in Warsaw, and the early 1950s in Argentina and at Italy’s Mille Miglia motor race.
It’s a big shaggy dog of a novel and despite many raw, gritty action sequences you do at times feel the narrative weight of its 400 plus pages. There are a smattering of typos and homophone errors – braking/breaking confusion being particularly annoying in a book majoring on motor sport.
The author plays a mean trick near the end with the identity of two characters which leaves the reader feeling rather betrayed. There are also too many occasions when someone who is apparently dead turns out not to be. The main players do have real depth though and you find yourself invested in their progress in spite of their faults.
It’s a big shaggy dog of a novel and despite many raw, gritty action sequences you do at times feel the narrative weight of its 400 plus pages. There are a smattering of typos and homophone errors – braking/breaking confusion being particularly annoying in a book majoring on motor sport.
The author plays a mean trick near the end with the identity of two characters which leaves the reader feeling rather betrayed. There are also too many occasions when someone who is apparently dead turns out not to be. The main players do have real depth though and you find yourself invested in their progress in spite of their faults.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews