Jupiter's Fire

by William Osborne

When Franco, a teenager living in the monastery at Monte Cassino in 1944 uncovers a long-lost Roman Eagle, the fabled Aquila for the Jupiter Legion, he sets in motion a desperate struggle to prevent the Nazis from using it to win the war. In a do-or-die mission, Franco and Dulcie, a teenage mountain girl, must steal the Eagle back and escape before its deadly power is unleashed. Pursued by the implacable forces of the SS they will discover not just the secrets of the Eagle but also themselves.

Unknown Binding

About the author

After graduating from Cambridge University, William Osborne became a lawyer, but his career took a sharp turn when he switched to screenwriting in Hollywood. He has worked on over 60 movies including Twins, Goldeneye and The Mummy. He lives in Norfolk, England with his wife and four children.

Librarians note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review:
Thank you to Rachel's Random Resources and the author for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

In this interesting work of Historical Fiction we follow along with Franco as he carries out the most important mission of his life. Along the way Franco realizes how dangerous this mission actually is; not just for him, for everyone who tries to help him. With the help of a new friend and others who are sworn to help and protect him and his mission, Franco may be able to pull this off before it's too late.

Franco is an ordinary boy thrown into an extraordinary situation. Throughout the book we watch him deal with his entire world being turned upside down. He is a well written character who is easy to like and root for. His new friend in the novel is easy to enjoy as well. She is spunky, serious and a great compliment to Franco. There was a lot of action which kept the story interesting. The story was well written and had a great flow.

What I enjoyed most about this book was seeing the priests and church elders and their involvement with the mission. I haven't read a book where the religious leaders were involved in a secret mission like this in awhile and Jupiter's Fire reminded me why I enjoyed them so much.

I thought it was a pretty good story overall. There is action, adventure, secrets and a whole lot of danger. It's also a short read at just 224 pages. If all that sounds good to you than you would probably enjoy Jupiter's Fire.

[Jane Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the staging of this story before the tale, set towards the end of WW2, begins. The legend of Jupiter’s Fire is retold in an exciting visual way. The story is fast-paced. with recognisable historical characters, and full of visual imagery, which allows the reader to see the events in their mind as they unfold.

The protagonists are youthful and the mix of courage and naivety is realistic. The ethos of the final months of World War two is well portrayed, and the historical characters add authenticity to the story. There is a strong thread of myth and supernatural in this story, which makes the conflict the young couple have to face harder and their chances of success less likely.

An interesting story in the style of the ‘mythical search for the holy grail’, against a background of evil, legend and war, full of dangerous secrets and self-realisation for the two young protagonists.

I received a copy of this book from The Conrad Press in return for an honest review.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a History Major, I absolutely love Historical Fiction. I always love reading on the possibility of a "what if". What if this happened instead, what would be the result of that in the present and how would it affect me? This thought always fascinates me, even in my daily life. And so, when I read the synopsis of Jupiter's Fire, I was tremendously intrigued.

Franco is a 15-year old orphan who grew up in a monastery in the time of the World War II. When a bomb hit their home, a box was uncovered from a gaping hole and debris caused by the explosion. He learns that this is called the Jupiter's Eagle and is important that the item be handed over to the Vatican.

On the other hand, we have Maria and Dr. Blutbond on the side of the Nazis. They receive news that the Jupiter's Fire has been found and was given the task to retrieve the weapon for the Fuehrer. And from this, our adventure of delivering and capturing starts.

The thing that I enjoyed the most about this book was it was fast paced. If you think History and immediately think memorizing dates and names, well, Jupiter's Fire is very well propelled. It didn't dwell too much on things and the movement of the plot was fast-paced. There were moments that I felt it was too fast but that maybe because I'm used to slow-burning books.

Though, I have to admit the plot was very lack luster. I just found that things were too convenient towards Franco and Dulcie, most if not all of the time. And I did not enjoy that. There was struggle, but I felt like it wasn't enough and things were too easy for the two of them. Either that or I'm just so used to an older voice YA books. Also, I felt like some characters were underdeveloped, and at some point in the story they just dropped off the book entirely. Specially the antagonists, I wish there was more to their story, what happened to them and how they dealt with the consequences of their problems brought by Franco and Dulcie.

It does show a peek into what it was like during World War II. The unpredictability of your situation wherein, you think you're fine and you're safe in your sanctuary but out of no where, bombs come dropping down on you. Literally. And it depicted how scary and dangerous those times were. How it was frightening to step out of your own home, get stopped on the streets that you live in by the Nazis who were ruling countries. I think Jupiter's Fire is a nice peek into that time, into that world.

Overall, I would say this is a good book if you wanna start or try reading historical fiction. The story is not overbearing or taxing and the pacing of the books are great. Franco and Dulcie are two fun and interesting characters to follow as well.

Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources for having me as a part of the blog tour as well as Conrad Press and William Osborne. Follow the blog tour by clicking the banner below!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jupiter’s Fire is a historical fiction based around the idea of, “what if?” What if something different happened, how would it effect the world as we know it today. This idea made this story fascinating to me.

I rather enjoyed how fast-paced this novel was. There is no time spent, dwindling on irrelevant facts. Instead, this is written to keep the reader drawn in and interested in the story.

I also enjoyed the historical accuracy of the novel. It gives us a peak into what it was like during WWII. It really gave a sense of how unpredictable, dangerous and scary the times were.

Overall, if you enjoy historical fiction, this is a great book for you! Give it a read, I don’t think you will be disappointed.

*Reviewed for blog tour. Book received from Rachel's Random Resources. All opinions are my own.*

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this story quite a bit. The two main characters where characters I could really gel with and really liked. I found the story interesting, I would have liked the more back story to the Roman Eagle, as you only found out about it in the beginning chapter, after that nothing much was said.
I loved the bond that was there between the two main characters. The other characters were also written really well and you didn't know who you could trust.
The only thing I didn't understand about the story was that even though they had a terrible weapon they didn't once think of using it when they were being shot at and being chased.
overall I think that I would definitely read another one of this authors books

[Lucy-May · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5 Stars

I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy this book (I hate to admit it but that’s mainly because I don’t really like the cover) but I ended up loving it. I absolutely adore historical middle grade stories & this historical fantasy was both original & extremely entertaining. I loved reading a WW2 book set in a part of the world I don’t know much about & William Osborne’s writing was brilliant; I will definitely be reading his other two books.

⚠️ This book contains war themes including gun & grenade use, injury, the murder of a Catholic priest, criticism of the Christian Faith & discussions of the Nazi regime & their intentions ⚠️

I was sent this book to review as part of a blog tour organised by Rachel’s Random Resources.

Extended Review to follow.