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RAF #2
A Good Clean Fight
It's a classic Derek Robinson three groups of men converge for a final battle in the western desert during World War II. An SAS patrol travels through the Sahara to attack a German airbase; a German intelligence officer sets out to settle a personal grudge; and the men from Hornet Squadron (from Robinson's earlier Piece of Cake ) are overhead, committed to suicidal ground-attack missions to satisfy their commander. Fast-talking, darkly humorous, and stinging.
576 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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159 people want to read
About the author
Derek Robinson
71 books80 followersDerek Robinson is a British author best known for his military aviation novels full of black humour. He has also written several books on some of the more sordid events in the history of Bristol, his home town, as well as guides to rugby. He was nominated for the Booker Prize in 1971 for his first novel, 'Goshawk Squadron.'
After attending Cotham Grammar School, Robinson served in the Royal Air Force as a fighter plotter, during his National Service. He has a History degree from Cambridge University, where he attended Downing College, has worked in advertising in the UK and the US and as a broadcaster on radio and television. He was a qualified rugby referee for over thirty years and is a life member of Bristol Society of Rugby Referees. He was married in 1964
After attending Cotham Grammar School, Robinson served in the Royal Air Force as a fighter plotter, during his National Service. He has a History degree from Cambridge University, where he attended Downing College, has worked in advertising in the UK and the US and as a broadcaster on radio and television. He was a qualified rugby referee for over thirty years and is a life member of Bristol Society of Rugby Referees. He was married in 1964
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
July 9, 2023
In my opinion Robinson's best war story. Set in the north African desert it contains little, if any, of the ex public school characterisation that so defined his other books such as "Piece of Cake"etc. Taking in the campaigns of the Long Range Desert Group with their jeeps and trucks raiding deep into enemy territory and the sand-strip based Tomahawk and Kittihawk squadrons doing their best to disrupt enemy facilities, it's a tale of cat and mouse on a stage of sand, heat and flies. All told in Robinson's engaging narrative.
July 4, 2025
Hornet Squadron, who figured prominently in Robinson's previous novel, "A Piece of Cake", is now stationed in North Africa, where they are tasked with fighting both Rommel's Afrika Korps and the Luftwaffe. There is also a SAS unit (SAS = Secret Air Service, an elite unit in the British Army which carried out long-distance missions against German military installations and air bases well behind enemy lines in the desert) led by a rather eccentric commander (Captain Lampard) determined to make his mark against the Germans and Italians.
This novel is peopled with a wide array of characters --- from both sides of the war --- who bring out both the life and death intensity of combat, as well as the absurdist nature of war itself.
"A Good Clean Fight" is entertaining to read, too, for the author excels in fleshing out characters no reader can long remain indifferent to. Reader, prepare yourself for an enjoyable experience.
This novel is peopled with a wide array of characters --- from both sides of the war --- who bring out both the life and death intensity of combat, as well as the absurdist nature of war itself.
"A Good Clean Fight" is entertaining to read, too, for the author excels in fleshing out characters no reader can long remain indifferent to. Reader, prepare yourself for an enjoyable experience.
December 15, 2014
Typically well written and compelling stuff from Robinson. Don't expect stirring tales of patriotism and sentimentality - this is war at its grubbiest, from the desert dust that penetrates everything, to the petty motivations that lead to casual, pointless suffering and death. Robinson has that rare knack of presenting a narrative that could barely be more anti-war in its sentiment, while dragging the reader along with the pulse-pounding excitement of the action. Hornet Squadron is back, and even more screwed up than they were in the Battle of France. Throw in an egotistical SAS commander and a meticulous German intelligence officer, and the result is frequently explosive.
May 11, 2022
An excellent read
I have read several of Derek Robinson's books and have enjoyed them. A Good Clean Fight was the best yet as rather than focus on one group he weaves together the stories of several. Excellent stuff.
I have read several of Derek Robinson's books and have enjoyed them. A Good Clean Fight was the best yet as rather than focus on one group he weaves together the stories of several. Excellent stuff.
September 13, 2007
Great read for WWII buffs. By land and air in the deserts of North Africa. Superb character development. What a way to end a book!!
January 5, 2023
Loaded with extravagant characters and dark humour. An inglorious depiction of a underappreciated theater of the Second World War. Gritty (no pun intended) and suspenseful. A truly excellent read.
January 28, 2024
A highly enjoyable adventure and also a horrifically bleak story of the African campaign. The second in his RAF series, we see the return of Hornet squadron - or what little is left of it after the Battle of Britain. Gone are the school-boy antics and quips of our ‘Brylcreem Boys’ from Piece of Cake during the Battle of France. The few that are left are cold, cynical and bitter. War is grim, the Reaper strikes at random, but the biggest enemy is the desert. An inhabitable environment where a downed pilot would choose instant death in the cockpit rather than baking to death under the sun. Oh, and the endless sand and flies! They’re almost the main character… hardly a moment where it/they’re not crawling over your skin, into your mouth, in your food.
Although the characters in the book are fictitious, nearly all the things that happen to everyone (Axis and Ally) is based on real anecdotes from the war (not just the African campaign). Long range bomb runs, S.A.S. raids, the LRDG, use of the RAF Tomahawks / Kittyhawks, accidents while bailing out, strafing runs on ambulances and friendly fire). All these events highlight the brutality of war especially in this campaign. Characters we have come to know and love are killed in the blink of an eye by both friend and foe. Some have longer to ponder their demise but there is a matter of factness about death that runs throughout the novel. People move on - it’s the war - it’s the desert… what’s our next mission?
What makes this different from his previous novel is the various narratives (I’m pretty sure our RAF boys don’t get a mention until 100 pages in). No longer are we just focusing on the boys in blue (well, in this story beige). The novel starts with a tremendously exciting raid on a German airbase by the SAS, lead by Lampard. We are introduced to a German intelligence officer who is captured (Schramm). The latter becomes the other 1/3 of the novel as we get an insight from the German side in this story as we find out how the damage from the raids from air and land effects the German war effort - and what plans are put into place to get the allies back. This all gives the novel a sense of urgency as the various missions and lives intertwine, waiting for an ultimate showdown. Will there be one, or is the desert the ultimate victor. There was an enjoyable side story of a downed RAF pilot (which reminded me somewhat of The English Patient) who is picked up by some Arab’s who nurse him back to health as he attempts to get back to his lines.
An explosively exciting read, well researched that takes great influence from the campaign and adds some fictitious characters to the tales of darting do of the SAS, RAF and Africa Korps - however the portrayal of war - the fate of our characters is so honest and bleak - it could almost be considered an anti-war novel.
Although the characters in the book are fictitious, nearly all the things that happen to everyone (Axis and Ally) is based on real anecdotes from the war (not just the African campaign). Long range bomb runs, S.A.S. raids, the LRDG, use of the RAF Tomahawks / Kittyhawks, accidents while bailing out, strafing runs on ambulances and friendly fire). All these events highlight the brutality of war especially in this campaign. Characters we have come to know and love are killed in the blink of an eye by both friend and foe. Some have longer to ponder their demise but there is a matter of factness about death that runs throughout the novel. People move on - it’s the war - it’s the desert… what’s our next mission?
What makes this different from his previous novel is the various narratives (I’m pretty sure our RAF boys don’t get a mention until 100 pages in). No longer are we just focusing on the boys in blue (well, in this story beige). The novel starts with a tremendously exciting raid on a German airbase by the SAS, lead by Lampard. We are introduced to a German intelligence officer who is captured (Schramm). The latter becomes the other 1/3 of the novel as we get an insight from the German side in this story as we find out how the damage from the raids from air and land effects the German war effort - and what plans are put into place to get the allies back. This all gives the novel a sense of urgency as the various missions and lives intertwine, waiting for an ultimate showdown. Will there be one, or is the desert the ultimate victor. There was an enjoyable side story of a downed RAF pilot (which reminded me somewhat of The English Patient) who is picked up by some Arab’s who nurse him back to health as he attempts to get back to his lines.
An explosively exciting read, well researched that takes great influence from the campaign and adds some fictitious characters to the tales of darting do of the SAS, RAF and Africa Korps - however the portrayal of war - the fate of our characters is so honest and bleak - it could almost be considered an anti-war novel.
December 2, 2023
Excellent account of the Desert Air Force and SAS
The desert can be the most difficult of environments for the military during time of war— the heat, flies, dust, and sandstorms, in addition to the lack of water, all serve to make life life miserable, beyond anything that the enemy may be doing. In 1942, the British forces which faced off against the Germans and Italians in the Sahara Desert did so under the most extreme circumstances. “A Good Clean Fight” is the fictionalized (albeit closely researched) story of Hornet Squadron and a unit of the Special Air Service (SAS), the elite British commandos who raided across hundreds of miles of desert to attack German airfields.
The book is worth purchasing for the characters, German as well as British, and for the sometimes spritely, sometimes sardonic dialogue. The characters are just that— characters— and the effects of both unending war and the desert’s depredations are well described by the author. [The term PTSD may not yet have been coined, but the effects were well known.]
Recommended.
The desert can be the most difficult of environments for the military during time of war— the heat, flies, dust, and sandstorms, in addition to the lack of water, all serve to make life life miserable, beyond anything that the enemy may be doing. In 1942, the British forces which faced off against the Germans and Italians in the Sahara Desert did so under the most extreme circumstances. “A Good Clean Fight” is the fictionalized (albeit closely researched) story of Hornet Squadron and a unit of the Special Air Service (SAS), the elite British commandos who raided across hundreds of miles of desert to attack German airfields.
The book is worth purchasing for the characters, German as well as British, and for the sometimes spritely, sometimes sardonic dialogue. The characters are just that— characters— and the effects of both unending war and the desert’s depredations are well described by the author. [The term PTSD may not yet have been coined, but the effects were well known.]
Recommended.
February 20, 2023
Bother Goodreads recommendations, they keep reminding me of books I've already read, and ought perhaps to review. I listened to this one in the car, when I was still working. I'm not a great fan of historical fiction, Hornblower probably spoiled the rest of that genre for me. But this one was good.
I've read several by Derek Robinson before, and they are above average for made up history. He gets most of his facts right, and my only dislike is his bad characters tend to be a little too nasty, and his good characters get killed or fizzle out. I liked the German intelligence officers and the Italian lady doctor best, but I can't remember what happened to them in the end, thats what I mean by fizzling.
You don't have to read these in order, and probably one is enough, and that one would be Piece of Cake , or perhaps this one.
I've read several by Derek Robinson before, and they are above average for made up history. He gets most of his facts right, and my only dislike is his bad characters tend to be a little too nasty, and his good characters get killed or fizzle out. I liked the German intelligence officers and the Italian lady doctor best, but I can't remember what happened to them in the end, thats what I mean by fizzling.
You don't have to read these in order, and probably one is enough, and that one would be Piece of Cake , or perhaps this one.
November 4, 2023
This is the first book I’ve finished in a hot second after a crazy month of moving. WWII novels are rare—and WWII aviation novels even rarer—so this was a rare treat. Despite some consistently odd characters and Britishisms, the descriptions of the Desert Air Force and SAS’s lives in the Sahara were so vivid that I felt like I was there. What struck me the most was how, in a grim and realistic depiction of war, main characters would be killed off suddenly and without warning. Although I saw it coming, the intersection of the SAS and Air Force storylines was staggering as well. All in all, a great book.
June 19, 2018
I thought this book was very well written, lots of exciting action and the banter between the characters seems very real. It takes place in the North African desert in 1942 and involves the Desert Air Force, the S.A.S. and a German intelligence office. I can't wait to read another of Robinson's books.
August 23, 2020
It shouldn't have taken me so long to read. Snappy dialogue full of biting sarcasm and wit. Brutal war where death comes without warning realistically. There is nothing bad I can say about this story. Loved it. Each of the characters felt as real as the setting. Mr. Robinson is a master of the fictional war story.
January 1, 2024
A rattling good read : ) I must have read this many years ago yet it was still a realistically entertaining book.
At the beginning I thought the story seemed vaguely familiar but it was not until almost the end when I recognized a scene in Tobruk that I was sure I had read it before. That scene stuck with me for forty years or more which is pretty impressive writing.
At the beginning I thought the story seemed vaguely familiar but it was not until almost the end when I recognized a scene in Tobruk that I was sure I had read it before. That scene stuck with me for forty years or more which is pretty impressive writing.
December 9, 2017
Good to come across this series unexpectedly...looking forward to the WWI trilogy...
June 23, 2019
A well told story of war in north africa. told with much humor.
September 1, 2019
576 pages
February 18, 2023
Hornet squadron head to the desert, now with added SAS. Would recommend to fans of Robinson.
March 20, 2023
Ok read. Enjoyed the details about fighting in the desert but found some of the personal expansions of the main characters annoying. Probably won’t bother with another of his
May 26, 2025
The black humour and futility of war. hints of Catch 22. A good read, bit without a central plot to hang its characters on it took me a while to get through it.
previously-read
October 30, 2025Lots of combat. No character development. DNF
March 13, 2017
No one does is quite like Robinson. Takes me right back.
February 25, 2016
A Good Clean Fight was a highly enjoyable read, which comes very close to living up to the brilliance of its predecessor, 'Piece of Cake.' I approached this novel with some sense of caution, hoping to avoid placing high expectations on it, given that Piece of Cake is my favourite novel, but I need not have worried.
Unlike PoC, which exclusively tracks the adventures of Hornet Squadron in the first year of WWII, this novel combines three narratives - the first involving an SAS patrol performing daring raids on Luftwaffe airfields in North Africa, the second involving a Luftwaffe intelligence officer determined to put a halt to these raids, and the third follows Hornet squadron as they embarks on ground attack missions - and these narratives intersect each other at various points during the novel.
The novel is replete with the features one expects of a Robinson novel. There is some cracking good dialogue with the usual dark sense of humour and wit. Also, there are no heroes. All of the characters are flawed, often cruel and far from the dashing derring-doers of classic war narratives. This may give the impression that everyone in the war was a bit of a bastard, which I'm sure was not the case and some may feel that this is a disrespect to the men who fought, but I feel that it lends the story a feeling of verisimilitude which is often lacking from stories set in this period which have a tendency to glorify the people involved.
It's been a long time since I first read Piece of Cake, and it was great to finally reacquaint myself with the lads from Hornet Squadron. After years of browsing second hand bookshops looking for it, I finally found a copy of A Good Clean Fight and it was a really great read which I highly recommend to all fans of WWII fiction.
Unlike PoC, which exclusively tracks the adventures of Hornet Squadron in the first year of WWII, this novel combines three narratives - the first involving an SAS patrol performing daring raids on Luftwaffe airfields in North Africa, the second involving a Luftwaffe intelligence officer determined to put a halt to these raids, and the third follows Hornet squadron as they embarks on ground attack missions - and these narratives intersect each other at various points during the novel.
The novel is replete with the features one expects of a Robinson novel. There is some cracking good dialogue with the usual dark sense of humour and wit. Also, there are no heroes. All of the characters are flawed, often cruel and far from the dashing derring-doers of classic war narratives. This may give the impression that everyone in the war was a bit of a bastard, which I'm sure was not the case and some may feel that this is a disrespect to the men who fought, but I feel that it lends the story a feeling of verisimilitude which is often lacking from stories set in this period which have a tendency to glorify the people involved.
It's been a long time since I first read Piece of Cake, and it was great to finally reacquaint myself with the lads from Hornet Squadron. After years of browsing second hand bookshops looking for it, I finally found a copy of A Good Clean Fight and it was a really great read which I highly recommend to all fans of WWII fiction.
October 24, 2009
Derek Robinson is a master in a difficult genre. There are thousands of writers in what can be broadly called
"military fiction." This ranges from sagas of the Roman Legions all the way through to the futuristic scenarios of a Tom Clancy or Dale Brown. In his military fiction Robinson writes of two eras, World War One and the Royal Flying Corps and World War Two and the Royal Air Force. A Good Clean Fight is the second in the RAF trilogy. What sets off Robinson's work from the mass of other toilers in this field is the characterization. The men and women have a presence that is lacking in many similarly themed novels.
A Good Clean Fight tells stories of Libya in 1942 as The British Army fights against Rommel's Afrika Corps. An interlocking story which moves between commandos of the SAS, pilots and crew of the Desert Air Force, and Germans fighting against them.
I have brief reviews of books one and three of the RAF trilogy, Piece of Cake and Damned Good Show on GoodReads. Robinson's web site is http://www.derekrobinson.info/
"military fiction." This ranges from sagas of the Roman Legions all the way through to the futuristic scenarios of a Tom Clancy or Dale Brown. In his military fiction Robinson writes of two eras, World War One and the Royal Flying Corps and World War Two and the Royal Air Force. A Good Clean Fight is the second in the RAF trilogy. What sets off Robinson's work from the mass of other toilers in this field is the characterization. The men and women have a presence that is lacking in many similarly themed novels.
A Good Clean Fight tells stories of Libya in 1942 as The British Army fights against Rommel's Afrika Corps. An interlocking story which moves between commandos of the SAS, pilots and crew of the Desert Air Force, and Germans fighting against them.
I have brief reviews of books one and three of the RAF trilogy, Piece of Cake and Damned Good Show on GoodReads. Robinson's web site is http://www.derekrobinson.info/
November 4, 2012
What a really enjoyable read this was. I read his first in this series A Piece of Cake some years back (it was serialised briefly on the tv too).
Set in WW2, when Britain, Germany and Italy were engaged in a very fluid war along the African Mediterranean coastal strip, it describes the heat, sand & flies of the desert so well, you can understand why it would literally drive people crazy.
Some of the characters maybe sometimes a little too clever, resourceful, invulnerable, but nevertheless the whole things holds together and keeps you reading. The notes at the back of the book verfiy that some of the more bizarre exploits really did take place.
Needless to say I'll be on the look out for the next in this series.
Set in WW2, when Britain, Germany and Italy were engaged in a very fluid war along the African Mediterranean coastal strip, it describes the heat, sand & flies of the desert so well, you can understand why it would literally drive people crazy.
Some of the characters maybe sometimes a little too clever, resourceful, invulnerable, but nevertheless the whole things holds together and keeps you reading. The notes at the back of the book verfiy that some of the more bizarre exploits really did take place.
Needless to say I'll be on the look out for the next in this series.
March 20, 2016
I watched the BBC mini-series A Piece of Cake. I looked up the author and found this book. It takes place about a year later in the Desert war.
Robinson has a clean crisp writing style. This is a quick easy read but it covers a lot of area.
This is different in that he intertwines several stories; he does not just follow the Squadron. The book starts with an SAS raid on a German airfield.
He follows a German Intelligence officer, an SAS raiding parting, An Italian doctor, an Italian desert expert, officers in Cairo and a couple of bored journalist. I found I enjoyed each thread but was always trying to hurry though and find out what twas happening with the other parts.
Robinson has notes at the end to separate fact from fiction and what he based certain incidents on.
Robinson has a clean crisp writing style. This is a quick easy read but it covers a lot of area.
This is different in that he intertwines several stories; he does not just follow the Squadron. The book starts with an SAS raid on a German airfield.
He follows a German Intelligence officer, an SAS raiding parting, An Italian doctor, an Italian desert expert, officers in Cairo and a couple of bored journalist. I found I enjoyed each thread but was always trying to hurry though and find out what twas happening with the other parts.
Robinson has notes at the end to separate fact from fiction and what he based certain incidents on.
August 8, 2010
Possibly the best WWII fiction ever written.
A dirty, witty look at the dirty side of World War II.
British pilots, commandos and Nazi's collide in North Africa in the early stages of the war. The result is a book full of dark humor, sly wit and real characters that entertain, shock and surprise the reader.
A dirty, witty look at the dirty side of World War II.
British pilots, commandos and Nazi's collide in North Africa in the early stages of the war. The result is a book full of dark humor, sly wit and real characters that entertain, shock and surprise the reader.
June 28, 2008
tended to ramble around a bit between the main protagonists.
good appreciation of the horrors and rigours of war, from various points of view - airmen on both sides, SAS desert troops, ground crew on both sides etc.
good appreciation of the horrors and rigours of war, from various points of view - airmen on both sides, SAS desert troops, ground crew on both sides etc.
October 19, 2010
A must read if a big fan of Piece of Cake, but can stand on it's own as well. The SAS characters were interesting, but I found the German character to be a bit on the boring side. If this book did not contain 5 key Piece of Cake characters I may have only given it a three star rating.
September 24, 2014
Absolutely brilliant novel. Rises well above a tale of "daring-do", with black humour and a propensity to confound expectations. One can easily see why Derek Robinson has been nominated for a Booker Prize. A far better novel than what you may expect from the genre.
August 1, 2016
A sequel to "Piece of Cake" set in North Africa. In addition to "Hornet Squadron" the story line includes a SAS deep desert patrol and a Luftwaffe intelligence officer. A well written, enjoyable war story - but without the depth of Robinson's "War Story" (set in in WWI).
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews