Rating: 
Summary: I'm no war buff, but this story is good...
Review: I typically steer away from war stories because they simply don't interest me. In addition, I'm not too familiar with K. Follett's works. But based upon some of the positive reviews, I decided to try this book. I'm glad I did. It was a pretty good and involved story. First let me say, the first few chapters or so of the book were pretty hard for me to get into. A few times, I started to just give up, but I persisted and persistence paid off. If you can make it past the first few chapters -- which are setting up the story so that you understand actions and motivations that will follow -- than you're in for a good read. The plot. The plot is good. The setting is war times -- just before D-Day, and the place is France. A British female spy, Flick, is charged with a mission that must be carried out, despite the costs, in order to cripple the German's war efforts. Flick puts together a team of women that must help her get the job done. Unfortunately, the team needs a lot of work before they're capable of doing anything besides fainting or crying at the sight of a gun. The odds of a successful mission don't look good. Once the team is established, what follows is a story that quickly moves ever closer to their ultimate goal -- fulfilling their mission -- while at the same time, providing you with an interesting glimpse of their lives and in some cases, loves. Yes, there's some romance, both on the German side and the British side of the story. While this is not a romance novel, the romance just seems to fit and is quite appropriate since it helps to tell the story of the women's lives and adds depth. Because of this, the characters come alive in the story and you'll understand the turmoil that Flick feels as she makes some of the hard decisions that she has to make. The authors descriptions of setting helps too. I was easily able to "slip" into the time frame of the story and see the events as they occurred. Everything isn't wine and roses. I mean, this IS war and bad things happen to good people. Hopefully you're not squeamish because you'll be "there" as those bad things happen. Fortunately though, good things happen to good people too, and you'll be there as well. The story is filled with suspense, danger, and a good bit of action. You'll feel as if you want to run, duck or hide along with the characters. All of the action isn't running, shooting, etc. kind of action, but it is action that keeps the story moving forward at a pretty nice pace. And yes, some of it is nail-biting action. The dialog is good and appropriate. Nothing said or done sounds phony or contrived just to move the story forward. It fits. I'm not a historian or a war buff, so while this story is based on a true story, if anything said or done is inaccurate, I wouldn't know, nor would I care. I wanted to be entertained and the book succeeded in that respect. Bottom line, I would recommend this book even if you, like me, typically do not read war stories. Yes, the war is the reason and background for the story, but the focus is the characters and their actions, and that adds up to a very good read.
Rating:
Summary: a good & believable thriller
Review: Great suspense. No gaps in story. A good lesson in history too.
Rating: 
Summary: Ken Follett never disappoints
Review: I've read most, if not all, of Ken Follett's book and this one is a winner. Written in the suspenseful style that he's famous for, he keeps you interested to the very end.
Rating:
Summary: Follett is so good.
Review: This book is twisted, compelling, and absolutely enjoyable. Follett is wonderfully adept at building tension, weaving a gripping story, and bringing the reader to a crescendo that leaves us gasping. The characters in JACKDAWS bring humor and passion to an overwhelmingly frightening period in history. The female lead is clearly one of the best Follett has ever created - courageous, cunning, and feminine. Even the excruciatingly persistent Nazi antagonist is marvelously multi-dimensional, giving the story a depth that makes us think beyond good versus evil. The story loses no momentum at the end and leaves the reader with a mix of emotion that lingers long after finishing.
Rating:
Summary: Ken Follett tries his hand again at featuring a female hero,
Review: and succeeds. Follett recaptures the spirit and willingness to take risks of the British, American, and French Resistance spies and soldiers during WWII. In Flick, a female British spy, we find a careful woman who courts danger. Married to Michel, of the French Resistance, Flick has been drawn into espionage by her love, but is practical enough to realize that Michel has feet of clay in the relationship department. Follett's story tells of Flick's determination to lead a female group of spies on a critical mission in the days before the invasion. They must take out a critical German post, and Flick is forced to use amateurs on her most important mission. Follett
builds the suspense to its most critical in telling the tale, and does not spare romance or sadness in its conclusion. Although Follett is fairly predictable in his writing, and his telling is straight-forward, without many interesting sidelines, the story is enjoyable and well told.
Rating: 
Summary: He should write about something he knows about
Review: As an aficionado of epsionage books (fiction and non) i must say it was an "ok" book, but that author really doesnt have much of an idea about the SOE/OSS or resistance during WWII, nor is he good at description of the characters or how they act, maybe he should stick to whatever he normally write, Espionage books are definately not his speciality.
Rating:
Summary: Dirty Half-Dozen
Review: Picture this: The time was Hours before D-day, World War 2. The place: German-occupied France. Six agents parachuted behind enemy lines to sabotage a communications facility that serves as a link between France and Germany. Tell you what I think it was: Dirty half-dozen, except that instead of those ragged boys in the movie (and in the book), women did the dirty job of getting the Germans with their pants down. The characters were awesomely depicted, especially Flick Clairet; the antagonist, Dieter Franck was extremely annoying that you would actually think of Jason Isaacs' role in The Patriot (I really hate that character). Anyway, it's a good read, much of it is page-turning, and if you're not doing anything can finish it in a single day.
Rating:
Summary: Spy story in occupied France
Review: Follett writes an engrossing tale of an undercover, all-female team on a mission to sabotage a German outpost in occupied France. Gloss over the torture scenes if you don't have the stomach for it. Otherwise, in true Follett format, this one is predictable, but fun.
Rating:
Summary: Quick and informative!
Review: There seems to be a common thread amongst writers: WWII and love affairs. This is a quick, exciting read. Set in WWII France and England, this is a yet untold story of the roles that women played as intelligence officers during the war. A fast paced book mixed with stories of torture, love, war policy, and bravado.
The author moves you from place to place seemlessly and focusing on only a handful of characters, sets the story before you, as seen through the eyes of each: the British female spy, the German officer in chanrge of breaking the resistance, and the American in charge of the operation to break German communication on the eve of D-Day.
Enjoyed it and recommend it to all!
Rating:
Summary: Tom Clancy with chicks
Review: Very quick good read... I read it on an airplane ride cross country. The story gives a unique perspective of women in war. Not your ordinary story where the hero gets the girl - the hero is the girl, the world is not a perfect place, war [stinks], and not everyone survives. It is a truly unique militaristic story of WWII told by a woman who was not on the sidelines. Not a feministic or women's rights novel though - just a unique spin on things.
|
