Rating: 
Summary: This is small Danish but still filling
Review: Reading current Ken Follett all the while still being a fan, I am reminded of Bernstein's "West Side Story" or even Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." The earlier works by these artists were so powerful that they set a standard the composers had a tough time living up to for the rest of their long careers. The early works cast a shadow on the later works because of the brilliance of earlier successes.Likewise Ken Follett gives us white knuckle espionage in "Eye of the Needle," a great intricate plot in "Night over Water," an extraordinary story in "A Dangerous Fortune," and my own favorite, "Pillars of the Earth." All early on. So in the last ten years we seem to be stuck in a rut. I thought the recent "Jackdaws" was just dreadful. If you want to say that Mr. Follett has been hitless for the last several innings, by that comparison "Hornet Flight" is a darn good read. It is not the Follett we stood in line for (...), but it's still pretty good. My report card: Telling a tale in a venue we know little or nothing about: A+
Character development: A
Unpredictability of the conclusion: C
Dialogue between the two teenage leads: D
The Nazis as equal foes, skillful, cunning and scary: D
Flying scenes in an old, old airplane: B+ All in all, I read it straight through and it kept me turning the pages. Recently, Mr. Follett has embraced a tendency to recite support for virtually every imaginable politically correct group, even though in 1939-40 and 41, there seems to be little evidence to support some of his observations. Frankly, this gets tedious and seems to be almost purposeless. In any event, Hornet Flight is a good tale, a little saccharine in parts but a quality read. Maybe there's another Pillars still out there. We can hope. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title
Rating: 
Summary: Ken Follett has done much better
Review: I am a great fan of Ken Follett and his many wonderful books. Unfortunately, Hornet Flight is not one of his better books. It is an ordinary and predictable spy vs. spy story set in World War II Denmark. The characters are one-dimensional people, with unlikely affiliations, and unlikely luck. They get into trouble because of their foolish decisions or bad luck. They rely too often on unlikely good luck to get them out of trouble. The story lacks the intensity, credibility, suspense, rich intrigue, and intricate interconnections between interesting people and events that make his books like Dangerous Fortune and The Pillars of the Earth so special.
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: 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.
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