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: follet doesn't dissapoint
Review: this is another great period peice by the master, Ken Follet. The book starts out on the slow side and there are alot of character to keep straight, but it keeps picking up and up and up with each chapter to the point where I couldn't read the pages fast enough!The ending really left me wanting more. So far, this is my favorite of his WW2 military style books. Not quite as good as flight over water, a place called freedom, dangerous fortune or especially pillars, but it's definetly up there as one of my favorites.
Rating:
Summary: Typical high quality Follett novel
Review: Hornet Flight is another great book by English author Ken Follett. Set in Denmark in WWII, a young boy named Harold must find away to get some secrets back to England after all other means have failed. He is pursued by the policeman Peter Fleming, a childhood friend of Harold's brother who now hates Harold's family. I listened to this book on Audio-Tape and found it very interesting and well-read. I have several observations about this book. Hornet Flight is different than most WWII novels in that it focuses a lot more on characters and their lives as opposed to actual events of World War II. In this way, it is like other Follett books where all characters are done well yet so many characters are the same from book to book. Still this isn't a fault, because I enjoy Follett's books from beginning to end because of the quality characterization (as oppossed to some books where the entire book is read to get to the payoff at the end.) Peter Fleming, the bad guy in the book, has some human qualities at first, especially as he cares for his handicapped wife. Fleming's anger over what happened to his wife turns him into a hateful person focused only on stopping Harold. Peter and his partner Tilde never seem that bad because they appear to be doing what the police would have to do in a country run by Nazis. They are just doing their duty. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a strong character based, action novel. If you are turned off by the swastika on the cover, don't be, because while this book is set in WWII, its quality is not dependent upon that fact.
Rating: 
Summary: Restraint Yields Richness In The Hornet's Flight Plan
Review: Harald Olufsen, a student in occupied Denmark, stumbles upon a secret German radar station. Unless he relays this discovery to England, huge RAF loses will continue and British and Russian war efforts may crumble. With the help of his heroic brother, a new love and a British agent, Harald needs to dodge some determined pursuers and navigate a 600-mile trek across the cold North Sea to gain his freedom and to help the war effort. Ken Follett delivers a realistic and engaging tale in "Hornet Flight". Follett is no stranger to World War II yarns, but he approaches this thriller with a new and refreshing perspective. Rather than painting the Germans as rabid Nazis, he portrays them only as menacing background. The real villain is a Danish detective with a very complex personality, determined to break the spy ring and extract personal vengeance from Harald and his family. The hero is imperfect, yielding a clever idea one moment and staggering into a pitfall the next. This heightens the realism and suspense. In fact, Follett downplays his normal gunplay, using the space to develop a very rich ensemble of characters woven into an intriguing and rewarding story. "Hornet Flight" neither begins nor ends with explosions. The reader ends up enjoying the journey as much as the destination.
Rating: 
Summary: Follett doing what Follet does best.
Review: Although I only gave this title 3 stars, I would have liked to give it 3.5 or even 3.75. Follett's prose is always clean and tight, with no additives. While I thought Hornet Flight not as good as Follett's best work (eye of the Needle, Key to Rebecca), I would not call it disappointing. There were one or two scenes that rank with his best, and stay with the reader after the book is done. It just lacked the single- minded focus and action of his best stuff. There were a few historical appearances, and side plots and romances, that diffused the main conflict in the story, which was a contest between a Danish policeman (who works hand-in-hand with the occupying Nazi's during WWII, and a Danish student and resistance fighter, Harald Olufsen. What made me keep turning pages in this novel was the interesting way the author handled the villain, Peter Flemming. He is given much depth by Follett, and he is not just a paper cut out bad guy. He has a strong sense of duty, he is very smart, and he has risen through the ranks by ability rather that birth. The personal life the author gives this character is very detailed, and had me at times sympathizing with him. In fact, Follett does a better job in describing Peter Flemming than he does characterizing the hero, Harald. Harald at times seems a bit wooden, simply brave and noble at all times.
Rating:
Summary: Hornets Flight takes off slow but flies just average...
Review: I love Ken Follett and his books, but sometimes they do not always hit and this is one of those. The book starts out really slow and it is hard to identify with the characters. As the stroy goes on, about 100 or more pages in, it finally picks up and gets better. But this is definately not one of his best works, and I would only recommend it if you like Ken Follett books and are willing to struggle through the first 100 pages. Overall you wont be disappointed, but you also wont be thrilled. Again if you like Follett's other work, you will need to read this, but if you didn't, you would not be missing much.
Rating:
Summary: good flow
Review: This books takes a little while to get into until all of the characters, and their relationships, are established. Once done, it was a great read, with good flow, which makes you want to read more of his books.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting but long drawn
Review: This novel, set in early WWII(1941), is about the development of radar by the Nazis. It tells the story of how a handful of Danes (-part of a resistance/espionage movement) work in collaboration with the British war office to thwart the Nazi plan for European (and worldwide) air supremacy. Although I love Ken Follett's style and his previous books (Third twin etc.), I found this book to be a really long read. At over 500 pages, this needs a lot of free time!! Also, unlike his other novels which are usually 'unputdownable', this really needed frequent breaks because the plot is sometimes tedious. I have nearly lost interest a couple of times. (For the record, I love the WWII fiction genre!!) Nevertheless, it's a good read if you can stay with the story (and the 518 page whopper of a book!)
Rating:
Summary: A fine WW2 Thriller...
Review: follett does it again! a fine ww2 tale! i really enjoyed hornet flight.
Rating:
Summary: Brain Candy at 35000 ft
Review: Ken Follett came through for me again in this book. He is not Melville, not Chaucer, and not Steinbeck, but he does churn out good books that serve well to relieve the boredom of an in-flight movie or another bag of peanuts. The one item that I didn't enjoy about this book from the perspective of plot was the fact that nothing works out for the protagonist and his cronies until the very end. Contrived as it may seem, you know when you pick up the book and read the jacket that he is going to make it and deliver the secrets just in the nick of time. The problem with this is that when you get a third of the way into it, and he seems about to deliver the secrets, you know that it won't work. The same thing happens at least 3 more times in this book, each time saw me checking how many pages I had left and then looking back at the title and realizing that unless he is getting into the Hornet...he isn't going to make it this time either. Beyond that, if you are standing at the bookstore at LAX at 8:30 in the morning in the face of a 5 hour flight, you can't go wrong with Ken Follett.
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