Rating: 
Summary: Follett Lite
Review: Follett's forte is WWII spy novels. This one fits the genre but is not up to his usual standard. It is a fast read - mostly because there is not much there.A Danish 18 year old mechanical genius gets drawn into the spy game when he stumbles upon a German radar installation. His older brother also gets drawn in by his English fiance. When older brother asks younger about the installation they realize it would be better for younger to photograph it. While he's on that trip, older brother gets captured and kills himself before he can be turned over to the Gestapo. Of course, the younger also developes a romantic interest who helps him reconstruct a two seat airplane to take them and the photographs to England. Follett leaves much to the imagination - or gullibility - of the reader. Somehow these two young people repair this broken plane in just a few days while working right next to a German encampment (conveniently placed so they can get petrol). The characters are likeable and believable. The pages turn quickly thanks to Follett's good, clean crisp style. The Danish cop with a grudge against the brothers' family is a wonderfully evil character. The plot is simple, yet good. The book just lacks depth to give it a higher rating. Still in all, a fun read - good for the beach.
Rating: 
Summary: Digging into the Old Pockets
Review: Have you ever dug into the pockets of an old coat and found a wadded five dollar bill? Imagine the secret delight, the sense of discovery, the feeling of regaining something you'd totally forgotten about. "Hornet Flight" is that sort of delight. I was an early Follett fan, devouring "The Eye of the Needle," "The Key to Rebecca," and "The Man from St. Petersburg." His strengths--his characters, his detailed research, his pacing--kept me coming back for more. Then, as Follett branched into other areas of fiction, my interest wavered. The WWII theme of this latest book brought me back, and I discovered that forgotten "five dollar bill." The story revolves around young Harald Olafsun, a Danish man faced with the occupation of the Nazis and the bland apathy of many of his countrymen. When he realizes that the Nazis have a new technology that gives them the edge in air-battles, when he finds himself entangled in a budding resistance movement, he uncovers his own courage and the surprising resilence of his fellow people...and the treachery of some of her trusted authorities. Soon, Harald and an attractive Danish upperclass girl come to the realization that they alone have the ability to get invaluable info to the British by way of a dangerous flight in a dilapidated Hornet Moth. "Hornet Flight" is not the most valuable thriller I've ever found, not the slickest or most modern, but it's a nice surprise all the same. Follett's old skills are evident--characters we can believe, well-balanced pacing, and the details to make wartime Denmark seem touchable. I'm sure glad I dug into these old pockets. You just never know what you might find.
Rating: 
Summary: The last Follett book I'll ever read.
Review: Hornet Flight continues the rapid download slide I last encountered in the horrid Jackdaws. C'mon, the British wait 14 days for some amateur spies to get some crappy 35mm photos from some radar installation in Denmark when Russia is being consumed?!???! This ONE installation keeps Bomber Command from attacking Germany??? WHY NOT JUST BOMB THE F'ING INSTALLATION OUT OF EXISTANCE??? HELLO!?!?! Send the Royal Navy to this ISLAND IN THE NORTH SEA installation and shell the place. And then... AND THEN the stupid "heroine" has some dance recital that is SO important that the predictable from page 11 flight to England has to be delayed for a day. Holy unbelieveable crap. Follett (if he hasn't hired teenage ghost writers or has some fancy Macintosh program doing his "writing" for him) violates just about every rule about fiction writing taught to freshmen in college. Hey, Ken, ever heard "show, don't tell"??? This is cheap, pulp fiction at its lowest. I would be ashamed to have people read this if I had written it -- I guess the only difference is the Follett has people that pay him for this claptrap and has people like me fooled into buying it. Well, never again.
Rating:
Summary: Promising Story but a Fizzler in the End
Review: Hornet Flight has a lot going for that makes for a potent story:, courage and sacrafice, love and hate, loyalty and revenge, human ingenuity, a cerebral teen becomes a hero and gets the girl, World War II espionage, beautiful and spirited women, faustian choices, portraits of life in occupied Denmark, a small education on radar and night fighters, and nasty Nazis and collaborators. Follett builds a compelling plot worthy of a World War II epic such as Where Eagles Dare or Heroes of Telemark, but then seems to be in a hurry wrap things causing the aftertaste of Hornet Flight's ending sequence to be like cotton candy. This is far from a bad book and I will recommend it to my teenage son for vacation reading. However, Hornet Flight is light fare that is good book for a plane or beach, but one that will leave one's consciousness shortly after completion.
Rating:
Summary: Follet's Flight of Fancy
Review: Hornet Flight is an interesting and entertaining Ken Follett spy thriller WWII tale. Several characters are well developed, leaving the reader sad or perhaps relieved when one or more predictably dies in the course of the war time novel.
The story is simple but believable and does not require the reader to completely ignore history to enjoy the book. The length of the paperback is 500 + pages and provides hours of escape to a time most readers are glad they never lived.
This book is definitely not Follet's most detailed or intense, but well worth reading if you enjoy war novels, spy thrillers with light romance.
3 ½ Stars
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: 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: Paint-By-Numbers WWII Thriller
Review: In the past I've enjoyed Follet's earlier thrillers, such as Eye of the Needle and The Key to Rebecca, and I certainly like WWII spy tales, but this newest one is pretty paint-by-the-numbers. Set in occupied Denmark in June 1941, at the height of Nazi power, the story is about a spy ring desperately trying to figure out the German's new secret weapon-radar. At the center of the story is Harald, a whiz-kid teenager with a mechanical bent who stumbles into the resistance and his Jewish ballerina girlfriend helper. Also entangled in the story are the Harald's brother (in Danish Air Force), his brother's fiancee (who runs the Danish Desk at MI6), the boy's stern preacher father, various schoolmates, the girl's wealthy parents, and a Danish policeman who has a vendetta against Harald's family, and his female partner. Apparently partly based on real event (it would have been nice to have an afterword which explained this in detail), the book is loaded with coincidences which strain credulity. The characters' relationships all dovetail far too neatly. The action moves swiftly and everything is well-paced, but it's rather like an old fashioned "Boy's Own" adventure, or perhaps a Hardy Boys or something, with some really terrible dialogue and scenes where the teen heroes get to meet Winston Churchill and the Danish King. I suppose it'll serve the purpose if you're desperate for a WWII thriller for airplane or beach, but Follett's written much better books, and if you're looking for the real deal in WWII espionage fiction, try anything by Alan Furst. And if you're looking for good histories about the Danish resistance to Nazi occupation, check out Darkness Over Denmark, and In Denmark It Could Not Happen.
Rating:
Summary: a low flying tale
Review: Mr. Follett will always be counted on to produce a fine solid novel. I understand the main plot came from a factual incident and certainly is a solid idea for a novel. Intertwined with the German and Scandanavian officials mostly Nazi's at the time there is enough fluff around the plot to keep you highly interested. I do not read fiction to criticize the facts that may be missing but to accept and enjoy the idea of the story. I would highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: good flow
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.
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