For those of you who haven't:
I finally got around to reading Duel Over Douai the WWI epic penned by three of our own, Tillman, Powell and Woodul and I really loved it. I would have finished it sooner, but it's digital-only and Marlene doesn't like me taking her iPad into the head that often.
This is a piece the detail freaks amongst us will love. All three authors are historians, writers, pilots, shooters and have thousands of biplane hours between them, including being very current in DR.1 Fokkers, amongst other things. They all have such a natural understanding of mechanical stuff that they can insert meaningful details into a sentence in a way that it sounds "right", not contrived. It's like being in a Dietz painting: you can feel it, you can smell it, you can hear it. The words have texture to them.
The plot is one of those that is hard to describe because with so much being written about The Great War over the past 100 years, nothing can be said about it that hasn't become a cliche. The surprise of the plot however, is that everything weaves together so well it somehow feels fresh. Although the final moment is unexpected, the rest is a journey we've all taken in one way or another but I'll absolutely guarantee that you've never been so sucked into that journey.Or understood it so well.
The feeling of being totally immersed in a comedy within an adventure within a tragedy, which is what WWI aerial combat was, is palpable. And fun.
It's
available on Amazon.com (isn't everything?) and it's well worth the price. You've not read anything so devoid of fluff, mistakes, and exaggeration for a long time.The world they've created will stick with you for a long time. The mark of a good read. On top of that you'd learn so much about every aspect of WWI in the air that it should be required reading for military historians.
Pass this on and give what is a great story some legs.
End of rant.
bd
(and no, I'm not getting paid for this nor did the authors know it was coming.)
