Rating:  Summary: Great read, Follett hits gold.... Review: Another great novel by Ken Follett. This one ranks up there with his earlier better novels. Set during WWII, you can appreciate how the actions of a few can change the war for so many. Maybe a little unbelieveable at times, but very enjoyable.
Rating:  Summary: An excellent read Review: I wasn't planning to review this book, but I decided I had to when I saw one reviewer mention that the sex diluted the story. That's absolutely ridiculous! There's one particularly descriptive scene, but other than that it does nothing to hamper the plot. This book was highly enjoyable. I found myself reading chapter after chapter even after I had decided to stop reading for the night.
Rating:  Summary: He got lazy Review: This is the exactly the kind of thing I watch out for with very successful writers. He either got lazy or he let someone else do most of the writing. I can't understand how the others could have reviewed this so highly; the premise is good but the writing is awful. I don't demand that a book be realistic, but it has to feel real to bring a reader in; this one does not come close. Ken Follett has written some incredible books. This is not one of them.
Rating:  Summary: Boring. Review: I was so excited about getting this book after reading so many wonderful reviews, but I found it so hard to finish. I read 2-4 books a week, and I have to admit once I put this book down, I could not remember one thing notable about it. Use your valuable time reading something more interesting!
Rating:  Summary: A story of boundless bravery and endless suspense. Review: It's World War II in occupied Paris, and the French Resistance has a mission. It is to destroy the Nazi occupied communications and railway systems to the point where they cannot be recovered before the invasion at Normandy. The Resistance members are not, for the most part, untouchable Arnold Schwarzneggers, they are people like you and me, women and men, scared out of their wits, facing relentless terror and unspeakable torture if caught. Ken Follett writes with his usual flair for making you stay up at night. Each page is a thriller of it's own, each death of a Resistance member a dent in your heart, each small Victory a smile on your face. A fabulous book filled with the true depth of human courage in the face of unbeatable odds.
Rating:  Summary: Good premise, bad delivery Review: This was a great idea for a book. However, I thought it would be about WWII and spies, but for the most part it was about homosexuality and promiscuity. It seemed that Mr. Follet cared more about sexual details than he did about telling a story about the SOE behind enemy lines in France. I also thought that Homosexuals were still a minority in todays world, let alone 1945. But 3 out of the 6 women in Mr. Follets book were gay. Great premise Mr. Follet, bad delivery. This is one reader who will not be coming back.
Rating:  Summary: Why? Review: The story of this book is amazing, even if the story is true, it has parts that was invented by the writer, it has to many coincidences that definitely can't be real, but this parts make you keep reading all the time and wondering what will be on the next page. The way that all the bad guys died is like an american movie, the worst they did in life, the worst they died, but that is part of the novel, you will never know if this part (the dead of the bad guys) is true. There was two things that I didn't like, and of course you will never know if was true or not: 1) The husband of Felicity tells her that he love her and he will never had another affair, and at the first opportunity he decides to "save" his girlfriend and put in danger his wife's life, I said "save" because he knew (when you read the book you will understand) that his girlfriend and he will be dead after Dieter find his wife. 2) This point is why I put just 4 stars to this book, WHY? when a writer has an excellent book, an excellent thriller, an excellent everything, has to write the last chapter that does not has to do anything with the rest of book and that takes the smile from your face when you finish the book?
Rating:  Summary: Excellant Read Review: I am an a Patterson and Grisham reader and found Follett a nice change! This book kept my attention so well that I read it in one sleepless night! Great story line, interesting plot, wonderful writting! The best book I have read in a long,long time!
Rating:  Summary: Well Done Review: I... I think it's important to note that yes, at times the book is a little bit corney,but it has it's place, and even though it seems that they are some unlikely heroines, most of them die.Anyway I thought it was an awsome book.
Rating:  Summary: Jacdaws: "Chicks with Sticks" Review: Ken Follett, once again, finely blends history with fiction, in his latest WWII thriller, a story of 6 female undercover agents ( although one isn't all what she appears to be ) who attempt to crush the Nazi communication network in Europe literally days, and even hours, prior to D-Day. "Jacdaws" is based upon the true story of Pearl Witherington, who was one of the 50 female spies used in the second world war. Her fictional counterpart is Felicity "Flick" Clariet, who works with the French underground. The first half of the book is really two stories told simultaneously. The first is the story of how Flick recruits and trains her team to go into Nazi occupied France to destroy a chateau serving as the center of all German communciations after a failed mission, which opens the story, was unsuccessful in doing so. The second story of the first half involves Dieter Franck, interrogator and torturer par excellence and how he plans to break the back of the Resistance. The sections with Flick and the recruitment of her team are somewhat shallow. Her recruits are somewhat unbelievable at first. When they are finally inducted into the armed services, Flick says to them ( and I swear this is the line from the book ) "You're in the army. Now drink your cocoa and go to bed." Dieter Franck comes across as much more of a deeper character. An aide to Rommel of Desert Fox fame, he is drawn very well by Follet and, as a result, it appears a tad unbelievable that he would be outwitted by conicidence and blind luck when tracking Flick. In the second half, when the two stories merge, the action and plot flows much better. Still, Follett lets the gals be the heroes, as he should. Paul Chancellor and the boys from SOE and MI6 are all secondary. I'm not giving anything away by saying that the Normandy Invasion comes off without a hitch and it's no secret that we win WWII. Though "Jacdaws" is not as riveting as "Eye of the Needle" nor as in depth as "Pillars of the Earth", it is a good beach read. Also, a movie starring, maybe, Angelina Jolie, is certainly sure to follow.
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