1916

The War Years #3

by James Farner

Monotony on the Western Front sets in, only for it to be shattered by the arrival of Edward Warren, Jack’s villainous father. Within days, Edward seeks to weaken and destroy the friendships 16-year-old Danny Keeton has built with his family and friends.

On the Western Front Danny discovers the class system and an obsession with reaching the upper echelons of British society is alive and well. Edward ropes him into a deadly game that could cost him everything he’s managed to hold together so far.

As Danny tries to manage Edward and his long distance relationship with his girlfriend Coralie, the bombs and the shrapnel seem to be getting too close to comfort.

Will the last big push on the Somme of 1916 be Danny’s final ever push?

Other books in the War Years series:

1914 (The War Years Book 1)
1915 (The War Years Book 2)

Remember to check out my original Made in Yorkshire series, where you can meet the offspring of many of the characters featured here. It all starts with 1964 (Made in Yorkshire Book 1), which you can own for free today!

Genres: Historical Fiction

190 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 17, 2015

About the author

James Farner is a professional writer and draws upon his love of fiction and his love of stories that span generations. His signature series Made in Yorkshire was born out of a desire to find out ‘what happened next?’

At the end of every good film, book, or TV show the characters disappear and that’s the end of them. James isn’t alone in the desire to find out what happened to the characters afterwards.

This is how Made in Yorkshire appeared. Starting from 1953 and driving on to the modern day, James explores the different eras of Britain through his colourful cast of characters.

Prior to writing fiction, he enjoyed a career as a freelance writer. His writing has appeared online, in magazines, and in a variety of other publications.

When not writing, he can be found sketching, watching sports, and playing the tin whistle.

Reviews

[Fr Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I've finished the third book and will read the remaining ones, as they've grown on me since the unpromising start of the first one. The characterisation is reasonably good, with the main character that the reader is intended to identify with as most strongly delineated. Reading this series makes it clear that the soldiers weren't fighting all the time - in fact mostly they're sitting round for protracted stretches with nothing to do. One of the themes is abuse of power, and this rouses the reader's outrage at injustice. The squalor at the start of the series, before war broke out, which nearly put me off reading any further, is preparation for the disgusting life in the trenches endured by the troops. This is definitely a Tommy's-eye view of the war, so there's a necessary lack of the bigger picture. One complaint is the curious use of Americanisms (e.g. "go see" instead of "go and see"; "gotten" instead of "got"), which interferes with verisimilitude. There's also an anachronistic reference to a letter's arriving with a first class stamp, when the two-tier postage system didn't start until half a century later. Occasionally there are typos involving apostrophes, which really won't do and should have been picked up before publication.

[James Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good addition to a strong series

Farmer keeps the story moving forward. Series reads like one continuous novel so this book does not stand by itself well. However I enjoyed this addition to the series as much if not more than the first two books.

[Leon Olivier, Jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Battle of the Somme

This chapter of the Keaton saga begins slow but picks up pass during and after the battle. Some characters don't make it while new of all ages are added.

[Bob Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

1916

Well written historical fiction that continues the WW-1 story of the Keeton's.
I recommend reading this series in order to follow the characters and story line.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

The war moves on. I have to wonder if every soldier's life was as complicated as Danny's.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in the War Years series.