Indomitable

Fortress of Malta #3

by Matthew Willis

‘Depicts both the military and human story of Operation Pedestal. A fitting climax to the bestselling series.’ Richard Foreman August 1942. Malta stands on the brink, and Navy fighter pilot Edmund Clydesdale stands with it. One last convoy must brave the gauntlet of bombers, U-boats and warships to bring precious supplies to the island fortress. If it fails, Malta falls – and with it, the entire Mediterranean. Edmund is a reluctant hero, a Royal Navy Sea Hurricane pilot who would rather be anywhere else. But now, it’s personal. The fate of Liena, the Maltese woman he has fallen in love with, is bound to that of the island. Once again, a handful of outdated fighters must confront the might of the Italian and German air forces as they strive to blow the British convoy out of the water. Edmund must face his own demons as well as his foes in the air. An old lie and a scorned ex-lover are catching up with him. If Edmund wants to fight for Liena, he must confront his past, as well as his opponents in the sky. Operation Pedestal - the last ditch effort to keep Malta from falling. Matthew Willis grew up near the historic port of Harwich and seaplane station at Felixstowe, developing a lifelong obsession with flying and the sea. He worked as a motorsport journalist and media relations officer before becoming a full time writer in 2011. His books include the epic novels of the Norman Conquest 'An Argument of Blood' and 'A Black Matter for the King' co-written with JA Ironside, and the novelette 'The Battle of Alma'. Praise for Matthew ‘A remarkable insight into the doubts and fears of a fighter pilot, contrasting relentless action with cool post-combat de-briefs.’ Frank Barnard 'Vivid and exciting. This author knows his stuff.' Richard Woodman, author of Malta Convoys 'Matthew Willis plunges us unto hectic action in the air over a Malta convoy in summer 1942... With a good ear for wardroom banter, very adept use of carrier aviation technicalities, the author’s concise, often lyrical style conjures up powerfully evocative imagery.' Warships International Fleet Review

128 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 15, 2021

About the author

Matthew Willis is a writer of historical and speculative fiction, and non-fiction. He is the author of the 'Fortress of Malta' series of novellas from Sharpe Books (2019-21) and co-author of the 'Oath and Crown' novels of the Norman Conquest (2017). In 2015 his story Energy was shortlisted for the Bridport short story award.

'Mustang: The Untold Story', a major history of the early variants of the immortal P-51 Mustang fighter, was published in 2021 by Key Books.

Matthew studied Literature and History of Science at the University of Kent, where he wrote an MA thesis on Joseph Conrad and sailed for the University in national competitions. He subsequently worked as a journalist for Autosport and F1 Racing magazines, before switching to a career with the National Health Service.

His first non-fiction book, a history of the Blackburn Skua WW2 naval dive bomber, was published in 2007. He now has nine non fiction books published including the first biography of test pilot Duncan Menzies. He currently lives in Southampton and writes both fiction and non-fiction for a living.

Reviews

[J.A. Ironside · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our reluctant hero, Edmund Clydesdale, meets some of his greatest adversaries in Willis' epic conclusion. In Harpoon and Bastion, we watched Clyde grapple with his own self-doubt and force himself to 'go to war' against his own nature. Having reasonably earned the title of 'ace', Clyde still struggles with his personal demons but there's no time for internal crises; Malta faces her greatest trial of the war yet. The supply convoy must get through or Malta and the Mediterranean will be lost to the Axis powers.

Willis skilfully weaves a tale around the very real events of Operation Pedestal, whilst keeping all the action and character engagement of the prequels. Clyde is a very relatable character - full of self doubt, courageous and striving to do the right thing even though he hates conflict of any kind. He's supported by a great cast of secondary characters including the war correspondent, Vickery. (My personal favourite creation of Willis' who deserves his own book). Whether you're an aviation enthusiast or not, you won't be in any confusion about the planes or what's happening. Willis always manages to make the most technical terminology and procedure read almost like poetry as he paints a clear and accurate picture of events. Nor is it all strategy and wingnuts - there's some laugh out loud lines in here too.

I knew very little about this part of WWII prior to reading these books but feel both better informed and keen to find out more now. This is a great conclusion to the series. Highly recommend this gripping series of WWII novellas.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This, bought because I have read and much enjoyed Matthew Willis historical novels and many of his short stories, is a very long way from my usual reading, and all the more refreshing for it. It is the vividly- and clearly-described tale of air-borne battles to protect and ensure the safe arrival in Malta of a convoy of much-needed supplies - Operation Pedestal in August 1942. Details of the control necessitated by both man and machine are highly effective - and because I knew nothing of the outcome the tension was maintained to the end.

[Mark Moxley-Knapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another great entry in this series- the last, sadly. It kept me up at night, literally. It's fairly short, like the others. Packed full of action, well-researched aviation and history details, and interesting characters. A really enjoyable read.