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Stormvarning
Detta är en helt makalös berättelse om en gammal segelskonert på väg hem från Sydamerika till Tyskland mitt under brinnande krig. Ombord finns en brokig samling hårdföra män. Men också några nunnor på väg hem från barmhärtighetstjänst i djungeln. - Enbart seglatsen med detta skröpliga skepp, mellan fiendebåtar, undan spaningsplan och i hårdast tänkbara väder, är fyllt av risker. Mänskliga konflikter försvårar disciplinen ombord. Och så kommer då orkanen och fartyget råkar i sjönöd utanför en liten ö i Hebriderna. - Parallellt skildras ett tyskt u-båtsangrepp då en legendarisk u-båtschef spolas överbord och råkar i brittisk fångenskap. Efter ett par fantastiska rymningar hamnar han i sträng isolering på den stormpiskade ö, där man får kontakt med det nödställda fartyget. - Efter dramatiska räddningsinsatser lyckas engelsmännen undsätta fiendens sjömän och nunnor. Och där får också den tyske u-båtskaptenen göra en insats i barmhärtighetens tjänst. - Spänningen stegras i ett sjödrama där alla huvudpersonernas öden löper samman och alla gränser utsuddas mellan vän och fiende i medmänsklighetens större perspektiv.
246 pages, Hardcover
First published August 9, 1976
40 people are currently reading
959 people want to read
About the author
Jack Higgins
480 books1,279 followersThere is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Jack Higgins was best known of the many pseudonyms of Henry Patterson. (See also Martin Fallon, Harry Patterson, Hugh Marlowe and James Graham.)
He was the New York Times bestselling author of more than seventy thrillers, including The Eagle Has Landed and The Wolf at the Door. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide.
Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Patterson grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. As a child, Patterson was a voracious reader and later credited his passion for reading with fueling his creative drive to be an author. His upbringing in Belfast also exposed him to the political and religious violence that characterized the city at the time. At seven years old, Patterson was caught in gunfire while riding a tram, and later was in a Belfast movie theater when it was bombed. Though he escaped from both attacks unharmed, the turmoil in Northern Ireland would later become a significant influence in his books, many of which prominently feature the Irish Republican Army. After attending grammar school and college in Leeds, England, Patterson joined the British Army and served two years in the Household Cavalry, from 1947 to 1949, stationed along the East German border. He was considered an expert sharpshooter.
Following his military service, Patterson earned a degree in sociology from the London School of Economics, which led to teaching jobs at two English colleges. In 1959, while teaching at James Graham College, Patterson began writing novels, including some under the alias James Graham. As his popularity grew, Patterson left teaching to write full time. With the 1975 publication of the international blockbuster The Eagle Has Landed, which was later made into a movie of the same name starring Michael Caine, Patterson became a regular fixture on bestseller lists. His books draw heavily from history and include prominent figures—such as John Dillinger—and often center around significant events from such conflicts as World War II, the Korean War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Patterson lived in Jersey, in the Channel Islands.
Jack Higgins was best known of the many pseudonyms of Henry Patterson. (See also Martin Fallon, Harry Patterson, Hugh Marlowe and James Graham.)
He was the New York Times bestselling author of more than seventy thrillers, including The Eagle Has Landed and The Wolf at the Door. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide.
Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Patterson grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. As a child, Patterson was a voracious reader and later credited his passion for reading with fueling his creative drive to be an author. His upbringing in Belfast also exposed him to the political and religious violence that characterized the city at the time. At seven years old, Patterson was caught in gunfire while riding a tram, and later was in a Belfast movie theater when it was bombed. Though he escaped from both attacks unharmed, the turmoil in Northern Ireland would later become a significant influence in his books, many of which prominently feature the Irish Republican Army. After attending grammar school and college in Leeds, England, Patterson joined the British Army and served two years in the Household Cavalry, from 1947 to 1949, stationed along the East German border. He was considered an expert sharpshooter.
Following his military service, Patterson earned a degree in sociology from the London School of Economics, which led to teaching jobs at two English colleges. In 1959, while teaching at James Graham College, Patterson began writing novels, including some under the alias James Graham. As his popularity grew, Patterson left teaching to write full time. With the 1975 publication of the international blockbuster The Eagle Has Landed, which was later made into a movie of the same name starring Michael Caine, Patterson became a regular fixture on bestseller lists. His books draw heavily from history and include prominent figures—such as John Dillinger—and often center around significant events from such conflicts as World War II, the Korean War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Patterson lived in Jersey, in the Channel Islands.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
March 4, 2020
In this book Jack Higgins keeps you on the edge of your seat yet again throughout the book. Great story with a rich cast of characters who are all memorable as all his characters usually are. They all start the book on separate paths and Higgins does a great job bringing all of them together in the end after taking you on a rollercoaster ride and in the end there is no epilogue, but he leaves it so you can decide the fate of the survivors. Great read by the master of the World War 2 thriller!!
September 10, 2019
Jack Higgins (real name Harry Patterson) is a professional writer. He began his career in the late fifties and by 1975 he had written over thirty novels. He focused on crime and espionage thrillers. He wrote his many novels under several different pennames of which Jack Higgins is his most famous. In 1975 he hit gold with "The Eagle Has Landed". A World War II thriller which was made into a Hollywood movies starring Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland and Robert Duvall. Needless to say the success of that book changed his life. "Storm Warning" was his follow-up and it's perfectly understandable that Mr. Patterson (I'm going to use his actual name) choose to write another novel set during World War II. However, to his credit, he went in a slightly different direction. He choose to write what I consider to be a British wartime nautical adventure novel.
The story takes place in September 1944. A sixty year old sailing vessel known as a "Barque" (a three mast sailing ship) with a crew of German sailors ,and seven German nuns, set out from Brazil in an attempt to travel back to Germany. By September of 1944 the Atlantic is controlled by the Allies so the Deutschland (not the most original of names) disguises itself as a Swedish sailing vessel. The ship is sixty years old and has been used for the past twenty years as a merchant vessel in Brazil. It is hardly up for a journey across the Atlantic Ocean and ,as you can imagine, there is many a crisis to deal with. This would be enough as it is, but there are other characters in the novel as well. At first they are on separate storylines, but as the novel progresses they eventually merge for a pretty exciting rescue at sea during a huge storm.
The book is a great beach read. There was a time that I devoured the works of C.S. Forester, Douglas Reeman, John Buchan, Alistair MacLean and other British (English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh) authors. I especially liked the nautical adventure novels. "Storm Warning" took me right back to those other books.
Before wrapping up this review there is one thing I should probably address. Several of the characters are Germans and they are shown as being brave and honorable people. There is not one single Nazi in sight. This is a long running criticism of Mr. Patterson's works. He likes his "bad-guys" to be likeable and even admirable. A couple years ago I put in the DVD of "The Eagle Has Landed" (for the umpteenth time) and my wife watched it with me. She had never seen the movie and did not know the storyline. Before we were half-way through the film she was grousing that the Germans (as well as a hardcore IRA soldier) were being portrayed as not only competent, but heroic and admirable. I pointed out to her that Himmler (played by the wonderful Donald Pleasance) was hardly being shown as a hero, but she wouldn't let it go. She acknowledged that the movie was competently made and the story was engrossing, but she was uncomfortable with the Germans basically being the good-guys. She isn't alone in this respect. Now in "Storm Warning" the danger comes from the sea. Most of the main characters are good people who just happen to be on opposing sides in a massive global war. However one might not like that. Just something to be aware of.
All in all a very good adventure novel. Nothing original, but a very good example of the genre. An excellent beach-read and travel book.
The story takes place in September 1944. A sixty year old sailing vessel known as a "Barque" (a three mast sailing ship) with a crew of German sailors ,and seven German nuns, set out from Brazil in an attempt to travel back to Germany. By September of 1944 the Atlantic is controlled by the Allies so the Deutschland (not the most original of names) disguises itself as a Swedish sailing vessel. The ship is sixty years old and has been used for the past twenty years as a merchant vessel in Brazil. It is hardly up for a journey across the Atlantic Ocean and ,as you can imagine, there is many a crisis to deal with. This would be enough as it is, but there are other characters in the novel as well. At first they are on separate storylines, but as the novel progresses they eventually merge for a pretty exciting rescue at sea during a huge storm.
The book is a great beach read. There was a time that I devoured the works of C.S. Forester, Douglas Reeman, John Buchan, Alistair MacLean and other British (English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh) authors. I especially liked the nautical adventure novels. "Storm Warning" took me right back to those other books.
Before wrapping up this review there is one thing I should probably address. Several of the characters are Germans and they are shown as being brave and honorable people. There is not one single Nazi in sight. This is a long running criticism of Mr. Patterson's works. He likes his "bad-guys" to be likeable and even admirable. A couple years ago I put in the DVD of "The Eagle Has Landed" (for the umpteenth time) and my wife watched it with me. She had never seen the movie and did not know the storyline. Before we were half-way through the film she was grousing that the Germans (as well as a hardcore IRA soldier) were being portrayed as not only competent, but heroic and admirable. I pointed out to her that Himmler (played by the wonderful Donald Pleasance) was hardly being shown as a hero, but she wouldn't let it go. She acknowledged that the movie was competently made and the story was engrossing, but she was uncomfortable with the Germans basically being the good-guys. She isn't alone in this respect. Now in "Storm Warning" the danger comes from the sea. Most of the main characters are good people who just happen to be on opposing sides in a massive global war. However one might not like that. Just something to be aware of.
All in all a very good adventure novel. Nothing original, but a very good example of the genre. An excellent beach-read and travel book.
February 13, 2012
What I Liked: I approached this book blind, I committed the sin of judging it by its cover. Worse, it was the back cover that won me over rather than the front. The bold tag-line 'In the end all roads lead to Hell' grabbed me and I picked it up, handed over my shiny 50p to the charity bookstall seller and committed myself to reading.
I like how Jack Higgins approaches the naval nature of the book, he doesn't treat the reader like an idiot and explain everything but neither does he get so technical that you have no idea what is going on and lose interest. He strikes a neat balance that is interesting but not overwhelming.
His characters are well-formed and vibrant. From the stereo-typical cocky, German U-Boat ace through to the pious, well-meaning Nun's on board one of the ships.
I loved the variety of vessels depicted in the book through the various characters from the beautiful but ageing barquentine Deutschland to German U-boats and old Scottish lifeboats. They didn't feel like boats so much as they felt like characters in the story. Likewise the sea and the weather. This was one of the things that pulled me so firmly into the story - I didn't just care about the people, I cared about their boats and I shared their awe, respect, love and fear of the sea and the wind.
Each chapter begins with an excerpt from the Captain's log of the Deutschland, these provided you with a date and time for the beginning of the chapter and helped you keep up with the passage of time as well as gave you a feel for conditions on the journey.
What I Didn't Like: There were a couple of times near the start where I found myself losing interest because of all the jumping around but once all the different characters were established that quickly ceased to be an issue.
I had a bit of trouble discerning between two of the female characters at times, mostly because they were called Jane and Janet and often in the same scenes. They could have done with names that were less similar and bolder character differences when they were together.
Rating: I enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected to. You know me, I read fantasy books about vampires and zombies, I don't read novels about WWII. I still think I should be choosy about my WWII-type books though, I expect there will be a lot out there that I just wouldn't like for reasons similar to why I dislike playing CoD and the like. However, I clearly shouldn't just dismiss them as I have been in the habit of doing as Storm Warning gets a 4/5 from me.
It would appear I love a book that feeds my fearful adoration of the ocean and all those who share their life with her.
I like how Jack Higgins approaches the naval nature of the book, he doesn't treat the reader like an idiot and explain everything but neither does he get so technical that you have no idea what is going on and lose interest. He strikes a neat balance that is interesting but not overwhelming.
His characters are well-formed and vibrant. From the stereo-typical cocky, German U-Boat ace through to the pious, well-meaning Nun's on board one of the ships.
I loved the variety of vessels depicted in the book through the various characters from the beautiful but ageing barquentine Deutschland to German U-boats and old Scottish lifeboats. They didn't feel like boats so much as they felt like characters in the story. Likewise the sea and the weather. This was one of the things that pulled me so firmly into the story - I didn't just care about the people, I cared about their boats and I shared their awe, respect, love and fear of the sea and the wind.
Each chapter begins with an excerpt from the Captain's log of the Deutschland, these provided you with a date and time for the beginning of the chapter and helped you keep up with the passage of time as well as gave you a feel for conditions on the journey.
What I Didn't Like: There were a couple of times near the start where I found myself losing interest because of all the jumping around but once all the different characters were established that quickly ceased to be an issue.
I had a bit of trouble discerning between two of the female characters at times, mostly because they were called Jane and Janet and often in the same scenes. They could have done with names that were less similar and bolder character differences when they were together.
Rating: I enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected to. You know me, I read fantasy books about vampires and zombies, I don't read novels about WWII. I still think I should be choosy about my WWII-type books though, I expect there will be a lot out there that I just wouldn't like for reasons similar to why I dislike playing CoD and the like. However, I clearly shouldn't just dismiss them as I have been in the habit of doing as Storm Warning gets a 4/5 from me.
It would appear I love a book that feeds my fearful adoration of the ocean and all those who share their life with her.
August 11, 2017
Another novel I read years ago during my Jack Higgins & Daughter reading spree, which I blame on having somewhat of a crush on Michael Caine's Oberstleutnant Steiner.
From what I can recall, the hero in this book, Korvettenkapitän Paul Gericke, was a bit of a stereotype on legs amongst Higgins' characters. Higgins had this penchant for writing superbly efficient yet cocky as all hell German war heroes, and this one was the Kriegsmarine's pride in a small bottle. He ends up with his submarine in trouble during a storm that sinks a ship carrying German expatriates from Brazil to the homeland, and is captured on a remote location in Britain, where he gets to meet an American woman with whom there's plenty of tension with a vaguely romantic undertone. Not a particularly appealing plot overall, and the ending was rather nondescript.
From what I can recall, the hero in this book, Korvettenkapitän Paul Gericke, was a bit of a stereotype on legs amongst Higgins' characters. Higgins had this penchant for writing superbly efficient yet cocky as all hell German war heroes, and this one was the Kriegsmarine's pride in a small bottle. He ends up with his submarine in trouble during a storm that sinks a ship carrying German expatriates from Brazil to the homeland, and is captured on a remote location in Britain, where he gets to meet an American woman with whom there's plenty of tension with a vaguely romantic undertone. Not a particularly appealing plot overall, and the ending was rather nondescript.
September 8, 2010
This is my own favourite.I have read this many times and it still keeps me interested.A real page turner.
August 5, 2016
“Courage never goes out of fashion.”
It is often said, on good authority, that rats desert in masse from a sinking ship. It is simply a natural desire to survive. In 1944, after D-Day, Germany’s fate was sealed. It was only a matter of time and tens of thousands of lives that separated the present from the future.
The Three-masted barquentine Deutschland originally built by Hamish Campbell on the Clyde in 1881 and now owned by the Brazilian firm of Mayer Brothers as a coastal trader between Rio and Belem, was captained and crewed by German expatriates, washed up on the Brazilian coast since the commencement of World War II.
Captain Erich Berger plans to sail across the Atlantic from South America to Kiel, Germany. Brazil’s recent entry into the war on the side of the allies has made the German’s position on their shores precarious, so many want to return home; regardless of the dangers in a continent ravaged and torn apart by war. Among the passengers embarking on this perilous voyage are Otto Prager, once the assistant consul in Rio, and his wife Gertrude. Five nuns from the Sisters of Mercy order will also brave the long passage.
Adventure on the high seas aboard this three-masted barquentine is as real and wild as the storms they must inevitably face. A war has two sides, a multitude of battles, and infinite numbers of individual conflicts. The best storytellers tell the complete tale in detail. Jack Higgins approaches his stories from all sides, giving the reader an overview and complete story. Both sides of the conflict are presented on a personal level, without prejudice, discrimination, or bigotry. Everyone as they are, with hopes, dreams, and memories of a time when peace was the normal state of things. People doing their jobs to the best of their abilities and suffering in silence at the hardships presented them. Theirs is to ask not why but do their duty in a war, not of their making. When presented abreast, one striking truth emerges. They are all human, more alike than different, trying to survive the insanity known as war.
Storm Warning was first published in 1976. Almost all works by Jack Higgins have been reissued many times; this story hasn’t. Falling through the proverbial crack, this story has remained relatively and undeservedly unknown and unpraised. I think that this is a grave injustice; this is a diamond hidden in plain sight. I think many people will agree with me that this is a story worth reading. And remembering…..
It is often said, on good authority, that rats desert in masse from a sinking ship. It is simply a natural desire to survive. In 1944, after D-Day, Germany’s fate was sealed. It was only a matter of time and tens of thousands of lives that separated the present from the future.
The Three-masted barquentine Deutschland originally built by Hamish Campbell on the Clyde in 1881 and now owned by the Brazilian firm of Mayer Brothers as a coastal trader between Rio and Belem, was captained and crewed by German expatriates, washed up on the Brazilian coast since the commencement of World War II.
Captain Erich Berger plans to sail across the Atlantic from South America to Kiel, Germany. Brazil’s recent entry into the war on the side of the allies has made the German’s position on their shores precarious, so many want to return home; regardless of the dangers in a continent ravaged and torn apart by war. Among the passengers embarking on this perilous voyage are Otto Prager, once the assistant consul in Rio, and his wife Gertrude. Five nuns from the Sisters of Mercy order will also brave the long passage.
Adventure on the high seas aboard this three-masted barquentine is as real and wild as the storms they must inevitably face. A war has two sides, a multitude of battles, and infinite numbers of individual conflicts. The best storytellers tell the complete tale in detail. Jack Higgins approaches his stories from all sides, giving the reader an overview and complete story. Both sides of the conflict are presented on a personal level, without prejudice, discrimination, or bigotry. Everyone as they are, with hopes, dreams, and memories of a time when peace was the normal state of things. People doing their jobs to the best of their abilities and suffering in silence at the hardships presented them. Theirs is to ask not why but do their duty in a war, not of their making. When presented abreast, one striking truth emerges. They are all human, more alike than different, trying to survive the insanity known as war.
Storm Warning was first published in 1976. Almost all works by Jack Higgins have been reissued many times; this story hasn’t. Falling through the proverbial crack, this story has remained relatively and undeservedly unknown and unpraised. I think that this is a grave injustice; this is a diamond hidden in plain sight. I think many people will agree with me that this is a story worth reading. And remembering…..
October 18, 2016
The Storm Warning is an adventure story with the Second World War as the background. A German merchant ship leaves from Brazil for Kiel, with a crew of desperate German sailors and five nuns who intent to return home at all costs. On the other end, Paul Gericke, a commander in the German navy is sent on a near suicide mission in Falmouth and ends up being captured by the British. Both these are disconnected stories till they meet at a particular point heading for an interesting climax.
Before getting too deep, I wish to clarify that this is not a thriller novel or a standard Second World War novel, it so happens that the main characters are military personnel and that the story takes place during the war; but for that, this is a standard adventure story than a thriller novel. Jack Higgins tries to reiterate in this book as well, that soldiers on both sides are compassionate humans first, which is more powerful than their hatred for the enemy (similar to The Eagle has Landed) and eventually, they come together for a common cause, beyond the lines of the war. In a way, I find that Jack Higgins is one of the very few authors who writes war novels without taking a 'black or white' approach to the enemy and identifies them as normal people with various dimensions to their character. The book was also reasonably paced and wasn't too long, making it easier to read.
However, I felt that the two plots were totally disconnected, and the book was in fact two separate stories till the last hundred pages where these two merge for an interesting climax. Owing to the fact that the book had two different stories, the author could not focus much on building the individual characters, including the principal protagonist Paul Gericke (who incidentally gets introduced only after 100 pages) and I even found his over-confident attitude a little annoying. The other side, the ship story had nothing particularly interesting either, considering they reached till Hebrides without any major hindrances and for the sake of it, there was a pointless romantic sub-plot between a sailor and a young nun (who is yet to take the pledge).
This is neither a great adventure story nor an amazing story based on the Second World War barring the climax and I don't think it is worth reading the whole book for the sake of a reasonably built climax which otherwise simply goes back and forth with too many characters that I was unable to keep track of more than five (on both the plots) beyond a point.
To conclude, I would rate this book a two on five, which could have been lower had it not been for the last hundred pages.
Before getting too deep, I wish to clarify that this is not a thriller novel or a standard Second World War novel, it so happens that the main characters are military personnel and that the story takes place during the war; but for that, this is a standard adventure story than a thriller novel. Jack Higgins tries to reiterate in this book as well, that soldiers on both sides are compassionate humans first, which is more powerful than their hatred for the enemy (similar to The Eagle has Landed) and eventually, they come together for a common cause, beyond the lines of the war. In a way, I find that Jack Higgins is one of the very few authors who writes war novels without taking a 'black or white' approach to the enemy and identifies them as normal people with various dimensions to their character. The book was also reasonably paced and wasn't too long, making it easier to read.
However, I felt that the two plots were totally disconnected, and the book was in fact two separate stories till the last hundred pages where these two merge for an interesting climax. Owing to the fact that the book had two different stories, the author could not focus much on building the individual characters, including the principal protagonist Paul Gericke (who incidentally gets introduced only after 100 pages) and I even found his over-confident attitude a little annoying. The other side, the ship story had nothing particularly interesting either, considering they reached till Hebrides without any major hindrances and for the sake of it, there was a pointless romantic sub-plot between a sailor and a young nun (who is yet to take the pledge).
This is neither a great adventure story nor an amazing story based on the Second World War barring the climax and I don't think it is worth reading the whole book for the sake of a reasonably built climax which otherwise simply goes back and forth with too many characters that I was unable to keep track of more than five (on both the plots) beyond a point.
To conclude, I would rate this book a two on five, which could have been lower had it not been for the last hundred pages.
May 10, 2016
There is no denying it, but vintage Jack Higgins is far superior to his more recent stuff. Reading anything that does not feature Sean Dillon feels like some sort of weight has been lifted from your shoulders. I picked up ‘Storm Warning’ and it is pure Higgins vintage, with all the greatness that brings, but also some of the flaws. Higgins’ output was wonderfully diverse back in the day. The majority of his stories were action titles and had men shooting one another and shouting each other’s surnames, but the settings and characters changed. ‘Storm Warning’ is a great example. Yes, it is World War Two again, but this time we are on a sail ship full of Germans looking to get back home from Brazil before the war ends.
The book is at its best when cranking up the tension. You know with a title like ‘Storm Warning’ that things are not going to be sure-sailing throughout and Higgins does a good job of developing some of the characters and makes you wonder what their fate will be. Alongside the story of the ship from Brazil are a couple of others thrown in; including a German U-Boat Captain and a US ship Captain. The stories remain quite separate until towards the end when they begin to converge.
On their own each story is fun, but it is the adventure of the sailing ship that is the best; sailors and nuns on a boat together! When you are distracted from this the book flounders a little. However, it is the final action packed section that lets the book down a little. Higgins is a very boy’s own adventure type of writer, but he keeps that in check during this book, until the end. The final act is all self-sacrificing and noble pursuits that just come across as foolhardy. This is still an enjoyable read, but solid and not much else. It is vintage Higgins, but not classic. Just thank goodness that Sean Dillon is nowhere to be seen.
The book is at its best when cranking up the tension. You know with a title like ‘Storm Warning’ that things are not going to be sure-sailing throughout and Higgins does a good job of developing some of the characters and makes you wonder what their fate will be. Alongside the story of the ship from Brazil are a couple of others thrown in; including a German U-Boat Captain and a US ship Captain. The stories remain quite separate until towards the end when they begin to converge.
On their own each story is fun, but it is the adventure of the sailing ship that is the best; sailors and nuns on a boat together! When you are distracted from this the book flounders a little. However, it is the final action packed section that lets the book down a little. Higgins is a very boy’s own adventure type of writer, but he keeps that in check during this book, until the end. The final act is all self-sacrificing and noble pursuits that just come across as foolhardy. This is still an enjoyable read, but solid and not much else. It is vintage Higgins, but not classic. Just thank goodness that Sean Dillon is nowhere to be seen.
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December 15, 2022The thirty-sixth #jackhiggins #martinfallon #hughmarlowe #harrypatterson #henrypatterson #jamesgraham novel #stormwarning published in 1976. A slight change of pace for Higgins. Featuring a ship of German nuns leaving Brazil and making their way across the ocean to get back home. Set in September 1944. On a lot of Higgins novels there is often a quote from #tomclancy praising Higgins as the master. This is the first novel of Higgins that I can see really influenced Tom Clancy’s style. Not in the sense of geo politics and highly technical detail, but the structure of the story telling is similar. Lots of different threads and unrelated characters covering land, sea and air slowly building over the course of the novel and then finally all coming together for an exciting finish. Really quite impressive. The first half can be a little tricky to follow with all the different characters in separate locations and with little background or build up Higgins just gets the pertinent information across. Once everything is established the second half is really quite good. There is an old ship desperately trying to stay seaworthy, interactions with submarines and German aircraft, trying to avoid the allied forces, a German prisoner of war managing to escape from custody multiple times, a thrilling lifeboat rescue. Some of the characters are more developed than others the German POW is particularly entertaining to follow. Higgins does a wonderful job showing how honourable individuals on the ‘enemy’ side can be and also showing how heroes can just be regular folk making an effort in difficult circumstances. At the start I didn’t think I would enjoy it but by the end I thoroughly enjoyed it.
November 6, 2024
Reread for the first time in years, and still one of my favorite Higgins books.
January 24, 2020
Great book. Setting is World War 2, Coastal waters in North Atlantic. Of note is the authors writing style is comprehensive enough that you feel that you are right there. I flew through this book because it was so good. Great author.
February 8, 2016
What a great read. It took me a few tries to get this started, as I wasn't fan of war books. But on a holiday weekend I took this with me and read it up in 3 days. I used to read Jack Higgins quite a bit back when I first started fiction. He was a good writer for a beginner like me back then, more gritty then Archer. but slowly moved away when I discovered other writers.
This books takes a while to get started, but once it does it doesn't stop rolling. The ending' a bit predictable, but nonetheless superbly crafted action novel.
This books takes a while to get started, but once it does it doesn't stop rolling. The ending' a bit predictable, but nonetheless superbly crafted action novel.
December 8, 2018
WWII novel about a group of German sailors and nuns sailing an ancient sailing vessel from Brazil to the Scottish island of Fahda in an attempt to reach the Fahdaland. (I could not help myself.) Lots of nautical terms that you almost mead a dictionary to get through. The real protagonist in this story is the weather. It seems to rain every day of their journey. There is an interesting mix of German, British and American characters and their interactions. I'm a slow reader, but I read the book in one day. Very exciting finale.
February 23, 2011
I thought from page one it was a good read but the last forty pages were a wonderful race to the end. Well written, informative without boring me, and multiple storylines that converged very nicely at the end. Good Book!
April 18, 2018
An excellent tale of multiple groups of people, American, English, & German during the end of WWII. Told in small snippets of each group until they start coming together during a hurricane.
December 4, 2022
After a run of 2-star books, I decided to return to known and favorite authors for a trip to the Far East with looooonnnnggg hours on airplanes. This was the first of those. Jack Higgins writes in two primary genres--either World War II historical fiction, or more current late 20th-century spy/action stories. Regardless the genre, his protagonists are cynics, hard used by life with a resulting devil-may-care approach to life.
This story is of the World War II genre, but with an interesting twist. The cynical protagonist is a German naval officer who has been stranded for several years on Brazil, who sets out to return to Germany very late in the war. His conveyance is an old, 19th century, three-masted sailer and he is joined on the trip by a few other stranded German sailors and a handful of German expats, including several nuns. This motley crew escapes with their old boat and sails north, out of duty to their homeland, intending to cover 5,000 miles of difficult and dangerous seas, by now dominated by the American and British navies.
They never make it. Instead, they join with an old British admiral, several Scottish islanders, and an escaped German pilot downed in combat to save the lives of their crew and passengers.
It's a lively story, with only a slight suspension of disbelief required. The most intriguing aspect--and the reason I enjoyed this story--is how this cynical, jaded man is so committed to justice and the preservation and value of human life. As I thought about it, this is true of all Higgins' main characters--though jaded by life, at their core they still respect justice and life, if not the corrupt institutions that are supposed to be executing justice and preserving life (but in Higgins' books, rarely are).
Great read.
This story is of the World War II genre, but with an interesting twist. The cynical protagonist is a German naval officer who has been stranded for several years on Brazil, who sets out to return to Germany very late in the war. His conveyance is an old, 19th century, three-masted sailer and he is joined on the trip by a few other stranded German sailors and a handful of German expats, including several nuns. This motley crew escapes with their old boat and sails north, out of duty to their homeland, intending to cover 5,000 miles of difficult and dangerous seas, by now dominated by the American and British navies.
They never make it. Instead, they join with an old British admiral, several Scottish islanders, and an escaped German pilot downed in combat to save the lives of their crew and passengers.
It's a lively story, with only a slight suspension of disbelief required. The most intriguing aspect--and the reason I enjoyed this story--is how this cynical, jaded man is so committed to justice and the preservation and value of human life. As I thought about it, this is true of all Higgins' main characters--though jaded by life, at their core they still respect justice and life, if not the corrupt institutions that are supposed to be executing justice and preserving life (but in Higgins' books, rarely are).
Great read.
January 28, 2021
I used to read a fair bit of Jack Higgins, and then I guess I drifted off to some extent as other stuff vied for my attention and I found the Sean Dillon series interested me less and less after the first four or five.
His earlier work, of which I still have most on my shelves, is of a different caliber though, frequently pulpy but equally often written with real heart and a kind of twinkling cynicism that wears its toughness as a mask which only partially conceals a strong belief in the finer side of human nature.
This book was written back in the mid-1970s and it's an exciting tale of flight across the ocean in the last years of WWII. The pace is good, the atmosphere rich, and there's a solid emotional core to the heroics on display. A very enjoyable read.
His earlier work, of which I still have most on my shelves, is of a different caliber though, frequently pulpy but equally often written with real heart and a kind of twinkling cynicism that wears its toughness as a mask which only partially conceals a strong belief in the finer side of human nature.
This book was written back in the mid-1970s and it's an exciting tale of flight across the ocean in the last years of WWII. The pace is good, the atmosphere rich, and there's a solid emotional core to the heroics on display. A very enjoyable read.
December 30, 2023
You never know where or when each of Jack Higgins' books might be taking place. This was a WW II adventure complete with prisoners of war, Nazis, Americans, Brits, Scots--the whole bit. Flying aces and submariners were all represented in this extravagant story.
A bit of romance and many deaths--some so meaningless and others so overwhelmingly wrenching. Another fun time. Thank you, Jack Higgins.
A bit of romance and many deaths--some so meaningless and others so overwhelmingly wrenching. Another fun time. Thank you, Jack Higgins.
August 22, 2021
Astonishing Tale of Humane Spirit
Astonishing tale of humane spirit in the midst of a war when nationalist rationale gives way to the emotions and spirit of all the protagonists when faced with the fury of Mother Nature.
The master tale teller has raised the bar this time to a superlative level.
Astonishing tale of humane spirit in the midst of a war when nationalist rationale gives way to the emotions and spirit of all the protagonists when faced with the fury of Mother Nature.
The master tale teller has raised the bar this time to a superlative level.
May 24, 2022
I have not read a story that I enjoyed this much in a very long time. I thought the character development was good and progressed along with the story very nicely. The ending was good also. For me this was a book that I could not put down for long and consequently I finished it in 2 days. I am now on the hunt for my next adventure!
November 21, 2017
This book was written with the world war two. It has good thoughts on interaction with prisoner's and how people adjusted and kept faith. For it's time period it was a good in presenting the war at sea, although I wouldn't call it a true war story.
November 2, 2018
Definitely not what I was expecting. I was expecting a WWII thriller and got a rescue mission in bad weather. However, Higgins definitely tells a good story. So in this case the unexpected was a good thing.
December 2, 2018
RDC-M, V. 5-76, @ 76, Read 1/87. Germany is the destination of a 19th century wooden sailing vessel, that in 1944, leaves a Brazilian port and begins a perilous journey across thousands of miles of allied controlled ocean. 4 *'s = Very Good.
June 26, 2020
Higgins has an ability to turn small stories into grand adventures. Storm Warning weaves many stories into one, and has the reader gripping the arm of his or her chair in anticipation. The definition of a page-turner!
April 22, 2022
Intertwining stories that were exciting to read. I enjoyed this book because it referenced several places I’d been during my Navy days. I even experienced the fury of the North Atlantic on my first cruise on a destroyer, the USS McCaffery DD860.
February 26, 2024
Written in 1976 which seems a very long time ago. Still very readable. A thrilling story set towards the end of World War 2. A story about bravery and humanity which cross gender, age, and national boundaries.
June 26, 2025
Generally a good story over all, I don't love it, I don't hate it. A lot of sailing jargon to get your head around relating to old style 3 masted square riggers, but ultimately a story about a voyage that ends in a shipwreck where a lot of people died.
July 13, 2018
Loved this story
Great Book
One of my favorites
Great Book
One of my favorites
November 4, 2018
Old book (copyright 1976). Good read.
November 21, 2018
Fantastic story, gritty, well told.
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