It is June 1941 and the war is not going well for England. Somehow, the Germans are anticipating the RAF's flight paths, and shooting down British bombers with impunity. Hermia Mount, an intelligence analyst with MI6, wonders if the Germans could have perfected a radar system like the one the British themselves are struggling to achieve-but that notion itself is shot down, by her own bosses. Preposterous, she is told; stick with what she knows. But, still, she wonders. Across the North Sea, eighteen-year-old Harald Olufsen takes a shortcut across the German-occupied Danish island of Fano on his homemade motorcycle, and comes across an astonishing sight. He doesn't know what it is, but he knows he must tell someone. In Copenhagen, police detective and collaborator Peter Flemming searches his list of known troublemakers. The Germans are determined to discover who is smuggling information, and an idea has just come to him. This could even mean a promotion.... In the weeks to come, their lives and the lives of those close to them will intertwine, and for Harald in particular, it will be a time of trial. For when he finally learns the truth, it will all fall upon him to deliver the word to England-except that he has no way to get there. He has only an old derelict Hornet Moth biplane rusting away in the nave of a ruined church: a plane so decrepit that it is unlikely ever to get off the ground . . . even if Harald knew how to fly it. Filled with knife-edge suspense and rich, tantalizing characters, this is Ken Follett writing at the top of his form-unforgettable storytelling from an unforgettable writer.
An old-fashioned tale of ordinary people thrown into the drama and danger of war, Hornet Flight is a rippingly good read. The time is 1941, and British bombers attacking Germany are being blown out of the sky in horrific numbers. How do the Nazis know they're coming? The answer is an infant technology called radar, and the Brits--with help from the Danish Resistance--must figure out how and where the German radar stations operate.

Follett, an old pro at World War II storytelling, vividly evokes the period, creating a sense not of historical re-creation but of urgently unfolding news. His cast of characters is memorable, including Harald Olufsen, a brainy 18-year-old pulled into the Resistance half against his will, and--typically for Follett--several central, well-drawn women. The plot does have some predictable elements: for example, from the time Harald first encounters a tiny wood-and-linen biplane called a Hornet Moth, half-rotted and stored away in a Danish barn, we know that it will heroically take to the skies. Then, when the very outcome of the war begins to turn on Harald getting a certain roll of film from Denmark to England, well... you can see where things are headed. But it's great fun to watch them develop, and Follett throws in just enough unexpected shocks to keep you off balance. Though it lacks the intensity of Eye of the Needle, Follett's finest and best-known book, Hornet Flight offers generous helpings of suspense and a climax that could hardly be more satisfying. --Nicholas H. Allison

Customer Rating:
Summary: Formulaic -- decent writing style but that is about it
Comment: This is not a bad book -- it just seems pretty formulaic and uninspired to me. I saw the romance angle coming from miles away -- Follett uses variants on the same formulas for almost all of his WW2 thrillers (Eye of the Needle is the big exception--but this is the identical formula he uses in "The Key to Rebecca" and "Code to Zero" to name just two). Follett's writing style, as usual, moves right along, but this is a quick read, and not a particularly memorable one.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing
Comment: Could not drag myself further than to page 70 - what a disappointment. His style of writing in this book is incredibly poor, it felt like reading a dime novel picked up at the gas station.
I loved all his previous books, but I am not sure if I will give his future books another try.
Good luck that I only checked it out at the library and did not buy it.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Flat like Denmark
Comment: I had liked very much a trip to Denmark last fall so I was looking forward to reading this book, set there. I was disappointed. It was a rehash of innumerable WW "thrillers" - although not very thrilling!

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: It's a great beach read!
Comment: Follett has written some really great books; "Eye of the Needle", "The Key to Rebecca", "Night Over Water"; that can be easily classed as a "beach read". How is a "beach read" different from an "airplane read" or a "little boy book"? Well, Tom Clancy does "little boy books" and Cormac McCarthy does "airplane reads". Follett's books - except for "The Pillars of the Earth" - are action books with an escapist bent that focuses the reader on learning about a key piece of the plot. In this book it is the Hornet Moth airplane powered by a Gypsy Moth engine - both made by de Haviland. The book's many twists and turns are accelerated by characters as diverse as sinister Nazi cops and strict Lutheran sect ministers along with a handful of bumbling Wehrmacht soldiers. Oh and do not forget the threat of the Gestapo always available to pull out a victims fingernails at the drop of a military secret.

As with all Follett's books, the good guys live in the end to not only escape but return to fight the Nazi's to the bitter end of the war.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Another Worthwhile Read
Comment: Another exciting, WWII fiction by Follett............Stays suspenseful throughout and keeps you pulling for good to prevail!

---