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Fly the Storm
Blanche Longhurst is a pilot in the Air Transport Auxiliary delivering Spitfires from factories to air bases around Britain during WW2. During one routine trip, bad weather projects her into a place where she must deal with the enemy face to face and indulge in activities that go against her pacifist nature.This story takes the reader into a secretive and undercover world, and poses questions about how the experience of war affects and transforms its participants.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 13, 2022
This is a very different WWII historical fiction book. It shows that the unsung resistance heroes of the Nazi-occupied countries were primarily women but in a way I hadn't thought about before. They used what they already knew about men in general to their advantage. It doesn't matter the nationality, men have distinct personality types that make them predictable. The author writes an unusual, tight plot with details that don't seem important until the final 30 pages. I was amazed at how he brought it all together at the end. This is a good one!
August 5, 2018
I loved. I like how the store was pulled together at the end.
April 20, 2015
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
A pacifist by heart, Blanche Longhurst aids Britain by delivering Spitfires from “Point A to Point B” during the war. However, one fateful trip to “Point B” and to see her fiancé, she finds herself behind enemy lines in France. In order to survive she must become embroiled in espionage. A beautiful woman, she finds herself in the middle of the French Resistance aiding stranded and wounded airmen to heal and return home to England as well as having to learning secrets from the Luftwaffe.
The French Resistance Cell led by Madame Cazalet and Dadan, beautiful Blanche (now a French nurse named Lucette) manages to attract the attention of several top-ranking members of the Luftwaffe.
Blanche is not the only one struggling with her life, Otto is as well: “Lowering his voice he said, ‘Victory means the extermination of all who don’t fit the plan – Jews, gypsies, homosexuals. Sometimes I wish I were back in Oxford.”
Among her complications are her missing and presumed dead fiancé; Eric, a wounded soldier; and Otto a high ranking pilot of the Luftwaffe. Blanche wants to confirm her fiancé is alive and steal the documentation for the German plane - Butcher Bird. All goes smoothly until she has to make a decision between her wants and desires and England. Her decisions leave Blanche destined to relive this night’s activities in her nightmares and every single day she breathes. Eleven years later Blanche is on another fateful journey to conquer her fears and put some of her demons to rest.
This was not a slow moving book but rather one that is action-packed with espionage and romance. This is an excellent example of historic fiction. With each twist, Stevenson surprises and successfully ties up each piece of the story at the end. His character development is such that the reader will begin to find themselves lost in the story, feeling the pain and gaiety of each. One might even find themselves rooting for the German pilot and his friends. Stevenson knows how to play on reader’s heart strings and makes one evaluate how war affects everyone.
WordsAPlenty gives this book a 5 star review.
A pacifist by heart, Blanche Longhurst aids Britain by delivering Spitfires from “Point A to Point B” during the war. However, one fateful trip to “Point B” and to see her fiancé, she finds herself behind enemy lines in France. In order to survive she must become embroiled in espionage. A beautiful woman, she finds herself in the middle of the French Resistance aiding stranded and wounded airmen to heal and return home to England as well as having to learning secrets from the Luftwaffe.
The French Resistance Cell led by Madame Cazalet and Dadan, beautiful Blanche (now a French nurse named Lucette) manages to attract the attention of several top-ranking members of the Luftwaffe.
Blanche is not the only one struggling with her life, Otto is as well: “Lowering his voice he said, ‘Victory means the extermination of all who don’t fit the plan – Jews, gypsies, homosexuals. Sometimes I wish I were back in Oxford.”
Among her complications are her missing and presumed dead fiancé; Eric, a wounded soldier; and Otto a high ranking pilot of the Luftwaffe. Blanche wants to confirm her fiancé is alive and steal the documentation for the German plane - Butcher Bird. All goes smoothly until she has to make a decision between her wants and desires and England. Her decisions leave Blanche destined to relive this night’s activities in her nightmares and every single day she breathes. Eleven years later Blanche is on another fateful journey to conquer her fears and put some of her demons to rest.
This was not a slow moving book but rather one that is action-packed with espionage and romance. This is an excellent example of historic fiction. With each twist, Stevenson surprises and successfully ties up each piece of the story at the end. His character development is such that the reader will begin to find themselves lost in the story, feeling the pain and gaiety of each. One might even find themselves rooting for the German pilot and his friends. Stevenson knows how to play on reader’s heart strings and makes one evaluate how war affects everyone.
WordsAPlenty gives this book a 5 star review.
June 21, 2010
James Stevenson’s lifelong fascination with aircraft and aerial combat of the Second World War, that first appeared in his debut novel Dartmouth Conspiracy, is revisited with a tale of equal intrigue and suspense in his second novel, Fly the Storm.
But while the details of aircraft and the lives of air personnel during war provides more than enough material to sate the appetites of flying enthusiasts, this novel embraces wider questions about the nature of war and its impact on the lives of ordinary people who find themselves at the centre of a conflict not of their making.
For more details about the book, visit site http://www.flythestorm.com/
But while the details of aircraft and the lives of air personnel during war provides more than enough material to sate the appetites of flying enthusiasts, this novel embraces wider questions about the nature of war and its impact on the lives of ordinary people who find themselves at the centre of a conflict not of their making.
For more details about the book, visit site http://www.flythestorm.com/
January 28, 2016
Not what I expected. I expected a book about flying a spitfire, not the French resistance. It was a still a good book book.
March 25, 2017
What a Tangled Web We Weave
The heroine certainly got herself in to a lot of compromising situations. And had to untangle quite a few issues. Plenty of suspense and pretty clean with language. Some sexuality, but not graphic....morally questionable though. Wartime made for odd bed partners. Pretty good read overall.
The heroine certainly got herself in to a lot of compromising situations. And had to untangle quite a few issues. Plenty of suspense and pretty clean with language. Some sexuality, but not graphic....morally questionable though. Wartime made for odd bed partners. Pretty good read overall.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews