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Rage
To survive, Lance Fitch makes the enemy vermin, his friends expendable, and his chivalry more threadbare than a beggar’s cloak.
As the conflagration of World War 1 spreads around the world, it subsumes Lance. As part of his revenge quest, he joins the British Royal Flying Corps. Arthur Wolsey, his commanding officer, begs him to join 100 Wing — elite pilots tasked with wresting control of the air from Manfred Richthofen’s “Flying Circus.” The Germans are cutting such a bloody swathe across the skies that the average survival time of an RFC pilot in the air is a mere seventeen hours. Lance and Arthur struggle to stay alive, never mind preserving their Wing and their friendship. The latter is further stressed by Arthur’s alluring half-sister, Megan. Lance learns fast, but when Richthofen is the teacher, those lessons are bloody…
In Knights of the Air, Book 1: Rage! by Iain Stewart, we experience the terror of mortal combat in the heavens, while flying flimsy, flammable planes without parachutes. Impeccable history from the dawn of military aviation is woven with characters and themes drawn from the Arthurian myths as two enduring legends intertwine, King Arthur meets the Red Baron.
As the conflagration of World War 1 spreads around the world, it subsumes Lance. As part of his revenge quest, he joins the British Royal Flying Corps. Arthur Wolsey, his commanding officer, begs him to join 100 Wing — elite pilots tasked with wresting control of the air from Manfred Richthofen’s “Flying Circus.” The Germans are cutting such a bloody swathe across the skies that the average survival time of an RFC pilot in the air is a mere seventeen hours. Lance and Arthur struggle to stay alive, never mind preserving their Wing and their friendship. The latter is further stressed by Arthur’s alluring half-sister, Megan. Lance learns fast, but when Richthofen is the teacher, those lessons are bloody…
In Knights of the Air, Book 1: Rage! by Iain Stewart, we experience the terror of mortal combat in the heavens, while flying flimsy, flammable planes without parachutes. Impeccable history from the dawn of military aviation is woven with characters and themes drawn from the Arthurian myths as two enduring legends intertwine, King Arthur meets the Red Baron.
- GenresFiction
358 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 31, 2022
93 people are currently reading
461 people want to read
About the author
Iain Stewart
4 books6 followersIain Stewart was born and raised in East Africa. Time spent at Kenton College in Nairobi, Fettes College in Edinburgh, and Christ's College, Cambridge was usually enjoyable and often educational. His qualifications as an author of this tale include a childhood fascination with The Romance of King Arthur, and obtaining his pilot's license at seventeen. Armed with these, he ventured forth to fly Tiger Moth biplanes and pretended to be Biggles. Who was basically Lancelot in goggles. However, earning a crust at HSBC for over twenty years delayed this book. Nowadays, he staves off reality by living in Miami.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 27, 2022
''I know that I shall meet my fate Somewhere among the clouds above; Those that I fight I do not hate; those that I fight for I do not love.....''
These lines from Yeats' poem 'An Irish airman foresees his death' could have been written for Lance Fitch in this splendid tale of aerial warfare in the First World War, with the major difference being that Fitch has an at times all consuming hatred of his German enemies—can we put something more generic like “with good reason.”? This, and his terrifying experiences on active service in the front line, wounds and shellshock, lead to his decision to transfer as a gunner to the infant Royal Flying Corps where he feels his natural skill as an expert marksman honed at home in East Africa can best be deployed in his hatred of the Germans. And thus 'Knights of the Air' by Iain Stewart begins:
To those of a certain age brought up on stories of 'Biggles' by Captain W.E. Johns, this is already familiar, although considerably raunchier, territory, with descriptions that would never have soiled the eyes and minds of young 'Biggles' fans, with stirring tales of aerial warfare and of latter day chivalric heroes, the 'Knights of the Air'. This book, however, is considerably grimmer; stark and uncompromising in its vivid descriptions of the horrors of combat and the lonely and isolated nature of it. There are, too, moments of descriptive lyrical beauty; such as when the pilots of 100 Wing await the dawn, when they will raid the air bases of the fearsome and rightly dreaded Manfred Von Richthofen and the detonation of a huge mine at Messines to signal a general Offensive, the biggest man made explosion in history.... ''The pilots kept vigil outside the Mess waiting for the greatest explosion in the history of mankind. Most nights the front lines were lit by green and white flares and filled with the crump of shellfire. Tonight sepulchral calm reigned, and the low moon reflected silver in pools of standing water between the huts.'' and, again, a vivid description of the trenches viewed from the air....''Below them, the trenches merged and meshed in the chalky soil. South of Arras the soil changed often, and the snakes turned from chalk white to clay red or loam black. The old hands could navigate by the soil colour of the trenches.....''
Amidst the lonely terror and the appalling death toll there is great camaraderie and comradeship amongst the men on both sides and the author displays great flair in providing the reader with brief and finely drawn portraits of individuals, their motives, foibles and weaknesses. And their strengths. Many of these men prove to be of a literary inclination and delight in peppering their conversations with scholarly and literary quotes. The 'colonial' Lance Fitch, on the other hand, is a loner and remains a solitary outsider. He is a self proclaimed 'Jonah' who brings ill luck to all he becomes close to, and in this particular theatre of war that, he feels, is often fatal. It is small wonder he fails to make friends.....''Now Lance knew the Great Truth. Friendship was a weakness. Friends led to madness. Each of their gruesome deaths prodded you closer to the edge of the precipice....'' So, considered by most as an 'Ahab' type figure or, in the words of one colleague, ''an antisocial, opinionated, stubborn, bloodthirsty psychopath'', Fitch continues to rise and to shine as a gifted fighter pilot with a growing tally of kills and is now an 'Ace' as the year of 1917 progresses. There are highly amorous and erotically charged episodes and encounters with his Commander's sister and a rising death toll as the 'R.F.C.' [Royal Flying Corps] experiments with new aircraft and new tactics to overcome the much feared and successful German' Red Baron' and his 'Flying Circus'.
And so, we arrive finally in the middle of the year of 1917 with the hard boiled and embittered 'lone wolf' Lance Fitch, a highly regarded comrade, one of the few men he had allowed an entry into friendship. ''Knights of the Air'' is Book One of what promises to be a highly enjoyable series and this reviewer, for one, is looking forward to the sequel. Books that can cause the reader to 'leapfrog' and further research the subject are highly commendable objects. Here the reader may be provoked through Google and 'Wikipedia' to stalk the great names of First World War Aviation, the 'Aces', or the machines they flew for further information; as this researcher and his fond memories of 'Biggles' has done. As a final postscript, Iain Stewart has the real life person of Cecil Lewis as a comrade in his Squadron. Lewis' book ''Sagittarius Rising'' is a splendid factual account of this aspect of the First World War and the men of Lance Fitch's generation who were [to quote Yeats once more] driven ''to this tumult in the clouds.''
**
“Knights of the Air” by Iain Stewart is awarded five stars and the “Highly Recommended” award by The Historical Fiction Company
These lines from Yeats' poem 'An Irish airman foresees his death' could have been written for Lance Fitch in this splendid tale of aerial warfare in the First World War, with the major difference being that Fitch has an at times all consuming hatred of his German enemies—can we put something more generic like “with good reason.”? This, and his terrifying experiences on active service in the front line, wounds and shellshock, lead to his decision to transfer as a gunner to the infant Royal Flying Corps where he feels his natural skill as an expert marksman honed at home in East Africa can best be deployed in his hatred of the Germans. And thus 'Knights of the Air' by Iain Stewart begins:
To those of a certain age brought up on stories of 'Biggles' by Captain W.E. Johns, this is already familiar, although considerably raunchier, territory, with descriptions that would never have soiled the eyes and minds of young 'Biggles' fans, with stirring tales of aerial warfare and of latter day chivalric heroes, the 'Knights of the Air'. This book, however, is considerably grimmer; stark and uncompromising in its vivid descriptions of the horrors of combat and the lonely and isolated nature of it. There are, too, moments of descriptive lyrical beauty; such as when the pilots of 100 Wing await the dawn, when they will raid the air bases of the fearsome and rightly dreaded Manfred Von Richthofen and the detonation of a huge mine at Messines to signal a general Offensive, the biggest man made explosion in history.... ''The pilots kept vigil outside the Mess waiting for the greatest explosion in the history of mankind. Most nights the front lines were lit by green and white flares and filled with the crump of shellfire. Tonight sepulchral calm reigned, and the low moon reflected silver in pools of standing water between the huts.'' and, again, a vivid description of the trenches viewed from the air....''Below them, the trenches merged and meshed in the chalky soil. South of Arras the soil changed often, and the snakes turned from chalk white to clay red or loam black. The old hands could navigate by the soil colour of the trenches.....''
Amidst the lonely terror and the appalling death toll there is great camaraderie and comradeship amongst the men on both sides and the author displays great flair in providing the reader with brief and finely drawn portraits of individuals, their motives, foibles and weaknesses. And their strengths. Many of these men prove to be of a literary inclination and delight in peppering their conversations with scholarly and literary quotes. The 'colonial' Lance Fitch, on the other hand, is a loner and remains a solitary outsider. He is a self proclaimed 'Jonah' who brings ill luck to all he becomes close to, and in this particular theatre of war that, he feels, is often fatal. It is small wonder he fails to make friends.....''Now Lance knew the Great Truth. Friendship was a weakness. Friends led to madness. Each of their gruesome deaths prodded you closer to the edge of the precipice....'' So, considered by most as an 'Ahab' type figure or, in the words of one colleague, ''an antisocial, opinionated, stubborn, bloodthirsty psychopath'', Fitch continues to rise and to shine as a gifted fighter pilot with a growing tally of kills and is now an 'Ace' as the year of 1917 progresses. There are highly amorous and erotically charged episodes and encounters with his Commander's sister and a rising death toll as the 'R.F.C.' [Royal Flying Corps] experiments with new aircraft and new tactics to overcome the much feared and successful German' Red Baron' and his 'Flying Circus'.
And so, we arrive finally in the middle of the year of 1917 with the hard boiled and embittered 'lone wolf' Lance Fitch, a highly regarded comrade, one of the few men he had allowed an entry into friendship. ''Knights of the Air'' is Book One of what promises to be a highly enjoyable series and this reviewer, for one, is looking forward to the sequel. Books that can cause the reader to 'leapfrog' and further research the subject are highly commendable objects. Here the reader may be provoked through Google and 'Wikipedia' to stalk the great names of First World War Aviation, the 'Aces', or the machines they flew for further information; as this researcher and his fond memories of 'Biggles' has done. As a final postscript, Iain Stewart has the real life person of Cecil Lewis as a comrade in his Squadron. Lewis' book ''Sagittarius Rising'' is a splendid factual account of this aspect of the First World War and the men of Lance Fitch's generation who were [to quote Yeats once more] driven ''to this tumult in the clouds.''
**
“Knights of the Air” by Iain Stewart is awarded five stars and the “Highly Recommended” award by The Historical Fiction Company
April 29, 2025
review of “Rage”; Knights of the Air
I don’t normally write reviews, but I felt this book and series deserved it.Actually I am reading it for the 2nd and am acquiring the expected richness. It is unashamedly in your face with the brutality and courage of WWI air combat, which even starts before the main character’s involvement in France. The first time I read it, I found it off-putting because of that in your face reality of war. In this book’s world of messy reality, heroes don’t come home, they die, often horribly. The main character is deeply flawed, almost psychotic! Yet, because of friends, a woman and the necessity of his involvement, the reader has hope he will become a “hero”, he doesn’t. This book is like staring into a fire you can’t escape, yet I’ve found it impossible to quit. If you are into military history fiction, you will revel and reel with this story. Well written, accurate and entertaining (sort of!).
I don’t normally write reviews, but I felt this book and series deserved it.Actually I am reading it for the 2nd and am acquiring the expected richness. It is unashamedly in your face with the brutality and courage of WWI air combat, which even starts before the main character’s involvement in France. The first time I read it, I found it off-putting because of that in your face reality of war. In this book’s world of messy reality, heroes don’t come home, they die, often horribly. The main character is deeply flawed, almost psychotic! Yet, because of friends, a woman and the necessity of his involvement, the reader has hope he will become a “hero”, he doesn’t. This book is like staring into a fire you can’t escape, yet I’ve found it impossible to quit. If you are into military history fiction, you will revel and reel with this story. Well written, accurate and entertaining (sort of!).
June 11, 2025
World War I pilots being chivalrous is a myth. Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron himself, is quoted as saying, “The best kill is when they don't see you coming.”
Pilots weren't Arthurian knights with wings, they were soldiers trained to fight and win battles.
So points off. Lance going off on his own, making his own modifications, avoiding the others is fantasy.
The idea that World War I pilots were actively modifying their aircraft, particularly beyond authorized alterations, is largely a myth. While pilots did occasionally make modifications to enhance their aircraft's performance or address specific issues, these were usually within the framework of the official modifications authorized by their respective air forces.
I suggest you read Goshawk Squadron by Derek Robinson for a better reality of how it was.
Pilots weren't Arthurian knights with wings, they were soldiers trained to fight and win battles.
So points off. Lance going off on his own, making his own modifications, avoiding the others is fantasy.
The idea that World War I pilots were actively modifying their aircraft, particularly beyond authorized alterations, is largely a myth. While pilots did occasionally make modifications to enhance their aircraft's performance or address specific issues, these were usually within the framework of the official modifications authorized by their respective air forces.
I suggest you read Goshawk Squadron by Derek Robinson for a better reality of how it was.
December 15, 2022
While Stewart has done his research and describes aerial warfare in WWI very well, his female characters have as much personality, credibility and purpose as an inflatable sex toy. The book would be worth at least 4 stars if he had eliminated the insulting sex scenes rather than indulge juvenile male fantasies. As an aviation author with a PhD in history, I wanted to like this book, but the insulting attitude toward women was too much to take.
September 26, 2022
Savage war, superb novel
The war in the air in World War 1 was fantastical. Beginning with barely airworthy aircraft and inappropriate weapons it developed in four years into technical excellence coupled with highly trained pilots and support crews. Iain's novel, characters and technical details bring the Air war to life.
The war in the air in World War 1 was fantastical. Beginning with barely airworthy aircraft and inappropriate weapons it developed in four years into technical excellence coupled with highly trained pilots and support crews. Iain's novel, characters and technical details bring the Air war to life.
January 31, 2023
What a good and interesting book
I enjoyed reading most of this book. Some sex scenes didn’t have to be so graphic. That was the only drawback for me, Reading about the dog fights was interesting and there was a character in the book that brought the song of Snoopy and the Red Baron to mind . Ha ha
I enjoyed reading most of this book. Some sex scenes didn’t have to be so graphic. That was the only drawback for me, Reading about the dog fights was interesting and there was a character in the book that brought the song of Snoopy and the Red Baron to mind . Ha ha
August 24, 2023
A Solid read going straight to the next book
Though I am a avid reader, This is my first historical war book, usually my guilty pleasures lie between Joe Abercrombie and Stephan King. But Ian Stewart told a vividly good tale with solid character arc and development. I plan on going straight to the next book.
Though I am a avid reader, This is my first historical war book, usually my guilty pleasures lie between Joe Abercrombie and Stephan King. But Ian Stewart told a vividly good tale with solid character arc and development. I plan on going straight to the next book.
September 19, 2023
great story very well written
I'm amazed that this author can write so many fantastic novels, I hope that he never stops writing. His books are some of the best Entertainment I have read and worth the time to read them. Thank you for a very fun entertaining read.
I'm amazed that this author can write so many fantastic novels, I hope that he never stops writing. His books are some of the best Entertainment I have read and worth the time to read them. Thank you for a very fun entertaining read.
January 12, 2024
This well crafted first in a series book emphasizes the brutality of war through its descriptive action and engaging characters. I definitely recommend it and look forward to the next in this series.
March 9, 2024
Excellent start to the series
Excellent start to this series. Not my usual read, as I tend to avoid WW1, but this was good on so many levels, from the characterisation, story lines and atmosphere. Very good indeed.
Excellent start to this series. Not my usual read, as I tend to avoid WW1, but this was good on so many levels, from the characterisation, story lines and atmosphere. Very good indeed.
April 20, 2022
Another view of a new weapon, a new type of warfare where the only training was "on the job training" with dire consequences for slow learners
November 6, 2022
A very good read
If you're a fan of aerial combat you will love this book. Front the dark minds of shell shocked piglets, to the arrogance of aces. This book has it all.
If you're a fan of aerial combat you will love this book. Front the dark minds of shell shocked piglets, to the arrogance of aces. This book has it all.
November 8, 2022
Cracking read
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel,gives a good insight into the war in the air, during the 1st world war.Well researched,edge of your seat stuff.
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel,gives a good insight into the war in the air, during the 1st world war.Well researched,edge of your seat stuff.
March 10, 2023
brilliant
RFC in the Great War. Good characters, good story line. From the entry of the days of combat 1915-16, through the new aircraft in 1917.
Recommend without reservations
RFC in the Great War. Good characters, good story line. From the entry of the days of combat 1915-16, through the new aircraft in 1917.
Recommend without reservations
June 2, 2023
A thoroughly interesting read with a high amount of factual acuracy
June 11, 2023
World War One flying
A very new war action, that was a new hands on learning adventure, that was often fatal. Good story line and characters.
A very new war action, that was a new hands on learning adventure, that was often fatal. Good story line and characters.
February 15, 2023
A ripping good yarn!
This is a great historical novel, bringing to life the air war of WW1. A real page turner, for sure. Can't wait to start the second book in the series
This is a great historical novel, bringing to life the air war of WW1. A real page turner, for sure. Can't wait to start the second book in the series
July 6, 2022
In this relentlessly entertaining historical thriller we follow Lance Fitch as he finds himself falling from the highs of drinking bitter lemonade and worrying about flirting with his fiancée in front of their fathers to the lows of worrying about how to survive the next hour while in the trenches of World War I.
Though an unpopular gunner in the air force, Lance is hell bound on getting himself into a plane before the war is over. Thanks to another pilot’s unfortunate hit, Arthur Wolsey became the reason Lance was allowed in the sky. With both men having a known wild streak, they build a surprisingly close friendship that will be tested as they fight to stay alive in the air against all possible odds. And on the home front, Arthur and Lance’s friendship faces another type of stress as Lance discovers Arthur’s beautiful half-sister, Megan.
Author Iain Stewart knows how to throw readers into a scene and keep them enthralled until the end. I loved the vivid sets (as it really did feel like an action movie at times) and reveled in the way they are meticulously constructed. As a lover of military history (specifically the First and Second World Wars), the historical aspect of Knights of the Air: Rage! passes the accuracy-test with flying colors. For example, reading about how and why the “Fokker Menace” came to be was like seeing a celebrity in person; WWI enthusiast will know what I’m talking about. This novel weaves these facts in and around the fiction story, giving the whole book a grounded and realistic feel, even when things get wild. Because of this the story feels like it could be a memoir; a fictional one at least. To keep such an incredible story feeling like it was all first-hand accounts from the war is an impressive talent that I give high praise for.
The beginning of the story is one I can only equate to the Adventures of a Young Naturalist by Sir David Attenborough, because I felt like it had a similar way of noting down critical elements of one’s surroundings and delivering it in a narrative that felt fulfilling and thoughtful and truly allows the reader a sense of each scene and moment. But, again, Iain has a strong understanding of making fiction come to life, and once he’s grounded the story it takes off and we’re in for a whirlwind adventure.
Knights of the Air, Book 1: Rage! is a rousing and suspenseful military adventure novel that is filled with gritty air combat that sticks close to WWI facts but never forgets to entertain the reader.
Though an unpopular gunner in the air force, Lance is hell bound on getting himself into a plane before the war is over. Thanks to another pilot’s unfortunate hit, Arthur Wolsey became the reason Lance was allowed in the sky. With both men having a known wild streak, they build a surprisingly close friendship that will be tested as they fight to stay alive in the air against all possible odds. And on the home front, Arthur and Lance’s friendship faces another type of stress as Lance discovers Arthur’s beautiful half-sister, Megan.
Author Iain Stewart knows how to throw readers into a scene and keep them enthralled until the end. I loved the vivid sets (as it really did feel like an action movie at times) and reveled in the way they are meticulously constructed. As a lover of military history (specifically the First and Second World Wars), the historical aspect of Knights of the Air: Rage! passes the accuracy-test with flying colors. For example, reading about how and why the “Fokker Menace” came to be was like seeing a celebrity in person; WWI enthusiast will know what I’m talking about. This novel weaves these facts in and around the fiction story, giving the whole book a grounded and realistic feel, even when things get wild. Because of this the story feels like it could be a memoir; a fictional one at least. To keep such an incredible story feeling like it was all first-hand accounts from the war is an impressive talent that I give high praise for.
The beginning of the story is one I can only equate to the Adventures of a Young Naturalist by Sir David Attenborough, because I felt like it had a similar way of noting down critical elements of one’s surroundings and delivering it in a narrative that felt fulfilling and thoughtful and truly allows the reader a sense of each scene and moment. But, again, Iain has a strong understanding of making fiction come to life, and once he’s grounded the story it takes off and we’re in for a whirlwind adventure.
Knights of the Air, Book 1: Rage! is a rousing and suspenseful military adventure novel that is filled with gritty air combat that sticks close to WWI facts but never forgets to entertain the reader.
December 3, 2021
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Atmosphere Press for an advanced copy of this historical wartime adventure.
During World War I, a new front was found for man to fight and die in and for the air, not just the ground where trenches scarred the landscape and victories were decided by body counts. The big difference was not just the lack of mud and that the smell of gas was gasoline, not mustard, but that these combatants tried to make this is war of knights, of gentleman fighting for more than country, but honor. Songs were written, heroes made by newspapers as gallant airmen shot plane after plane down, Aces were given medals, and even the boys at the front would dream about soaring over the landscape, not reeking of blood and mud.
Iain Steward in his novel Knights of the Air, Book 1: Rage!, strips this away, showing a war only decades after men attained flight now learning to kill each others, troops on the ground and civilians far from the battle lines. Lance Fitch learns early that war is vile, disgusting and crushing of both soul and spirit, and that only the most brutal can survive. If shooting a pilot after his machine gun jams finishes the war, than fine. In planes prone to crashing on clear days, where parachutes are still new, or unmanly this form of warfare is as barbaric as the ground war. Mr. Stewart does a good job of showing both the beauty of flight, and the smell of burning oil, flaming canopies and the sweet that comes from seeing a red plane with three wings diving out of the sun.
A mix of fictional and historical characters help the story grow and adds a strong level of realism, including the flight passages which are very descriptive and interesting. Lance Fitch is an interesting character, but the presence of real aces, like the aforementioned Red Baron, and Albert Ball, a famed British pilot, give the story a sense of gravitas. Not Boys' Own or Biggles, but true to what the air war must have been, with a very good adventure story and writing. Fans of Wilbur Smith and Douglas Reeman will definitely enjoy this series.
During World War I, a new front was found for man to fight and die in and for the air, not just the ground where trenches scarred the landscape and victories were decided by body counts. The big difference was not just the lack of mud and that the smell of gas was gasoline, not mustard, but that these combatants tried to make this is war of knights, of gentleman fighting for more than country, but honor. Songs were written, heroes made by newspapers as gallant airmen shot plane after plane down, Aces were given medals, and even the boys at the front would dream about soaring over the landscape, not reeking of blood and mud.
Iain Steward in his novel Knights of the Air, Book 1: Rage!, strips this away, showing a war only decades after men attained flight now learning to kill each others, troops on the ground and civilians far from the battle lines. Lance Fitch learns early that war is vile, disgusting and crushing of both soul and spirit, and that only the most brutal can survive. If shooting a pilot after his machine gun jams finishes the war, than fine. In planes prone to crashing on clear days, where parachutes are still new, or unmanly this form of warfare is as barbaric as the ground war. Mr. Stewart does a good job of showing both the beauty of flight, and the smell of burning oil, flaming canopies and the sweet that comes from seeing a red plane with three wings diving out of the sun.
A mix of fictional and historical characters help the story grow and adds a strong level of realism, including the flight passages which are very descriptive and interesting. Lance Fitch is an interesting character, but the presence of real aces, like the aforementioned Red Baron, and Albert Ball, a famed British pilot, give the story a sense of gravitas. Not Boys' Own or Biggles, but true to what the air war must have been, with a very good adventure story and writing. Fans of Wilbur Smith and Douglas Reeman will definitely enjoy this series.
February 28, 2022
As a boy I was fascinated with airplanes, reading about aircraft, and the men who flew them and fought in them . From my first 10¢ balsa wood glider toy through complicated and detailed model building, I loved airplanes. This novel was a natural for me , one that I loved reading and as the cliche goes, could not put down. And not just because of the subject matter.
The author gives the reader a fascinating character in Lance Fitch, a young man on a farm in a British colony on Africa, whose bucolic life in suddenly, tragically changed one day in 1914 by a war thousands of miles away. Returning from a trip to market with his younger brother, accompanied by various farm laborers, they are set upon by the German colonial police of a neighboring German colony . Captured , beaten and imprisoned, he and his brother can only watch as the native workers who had been riding in the farm wagon next to him are put in a wooden stockade and burned alive by a vicious German policeman.
Freed by his father and other English settlers, Lance vows revenge and gets it. He joins the British army to fight in France, eventually becoming a pilot in the RAFC. He has one aim- to kill every German he can. The subtitle of “ Knights of the Air , Book 1 Rage” hints at the story. Can Lance, with his obvious skill as a pilot and learn to lead men? Can he control his rage, follow orders and lead men into this new combat in the clouds? Or will he be a cold killing machine who thinks only of his “ kill” score. Reading the novel is deeply involving experience of a man reaching deeper into himself in the middle of a career where life expectancy is measured in weeks .
The novel has been diligently researched and it shows , with descriptions of the locations, and the thrilling depiction of combat.
Note: this story does not end with this book; a series is planned. I absolutely will be reading the the books to come.
Cautionary notes: some episodes of romantic sex. Expect combat deaths. No bad language, though.
The author gives the reader a fascinating character in Lance Fitch, a young man on a farm in a British colony on Africa, whose bucolic life in suddenly, tragically changed one day in 1914 by a war thousands of miles away. Returning from a trip to market with his younger brother, accompanied by various farm laborers, they are set upon by the German colonial police of a neighboring German colony . Captured , beaten and imprisoned, he and his brother can only watch as the native workers who had been riding in the farm wagon next to him are put in a wooden stockade and burned alive by a vicious German policeman.
Freed by his father and other English settlers, Lance vows revenge and gets it. He joins the British army to fight in France, eventually becoming a pilot in the RAFC. He has one aim- to kill every German he can. The subtitle of “ Knights of the Air , Book 1 Rage” hints at the story. Can Lance, with his obvious skill as a pilot and learn to lead men? Can he control his rage, follow orders and lead men into this new combat in the clouds? Or will he be a cold killing machine who thinks only of his “ kill” score. Reading the novel is deeply involving experience of a man reaching deeper into himself in the middle of a career where life expectancy is measured in weeks .
The novel has been diligently researched and it shows , with descriptions of the locations, and the thrilling depiction of combat.
Note: this story does not end with this book; a series is planned. I absolutely will be reading the the books to come.
Cautionary notes: some episodes of romantic sex. Expect combat deaths. No bad language, though.
January 31, 2023
I can't say enough good things about these books (yes, this review is for all of them). They kept me captivated from start to finish. The author is highly knowledgeable in the historical aspects of WWI war flying and it shows. The characters are believable and the action non-stop. New directions are constantly introduced in the flow of events as situations arise and resolve themselves and the plot remains interesting and relevant even to the very end of the fourth book. The story is told from many points of view, often encompassing historical figures. Overall, the writing is excellent, although there were a (very) few passages in the fourth book that could have used one more proofread. Usually I have a very low tolerance for this sort of thing, but here it was not a problem. The only con I can think of is the sometimes graphic descriptions of sex scenes. This could get a bit tedious after awhile when reading about how he 'entered her steaming core', but luckily they were infrequent enough to not annoy overly. Sometimes these things are better left to the imagination. Overall though, a fantastic series that entertained and educated as well. I'll be looking for more of this author in future!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews