Tag: WWII

A Kicker? Review of Kicker by Grey Hoover

I just finished reading Kicker by Grey Hoover; about Kickers, the men who ‘kicked’ cargo out of freight aircraft in the Far East during WWII. Its a very interesting book and left me speechless in places. Here is my review:

It is with great pleasure that I review the biography Kicker, and it’s not often I can say that!

I pride myself on knowing a lot about WWII but I knew nothing about ‘Kickers,’ the brave men who kicked the supplies out of American transport aircraft in the Far East Theatre, during the War.

Into this chaotic, dangerous and inhospitable world comes Private Sam Huber. He applied himself to the task at hand without complaint and soaks up the help of veterans around him and the exotic sights that surround him.

The book is full of lovely vignettes of life in places like Calcutta and Casablanca and contains some of the most harrowing scenes I have yet come across in any war book. Continue reading “A Kicker? Review of Kicker by Grey Hoover” →

What WIP are you working on now?

Here is an update of what I am doing. If you are a writer or reader, tell me; what have you been up to?

New Book Covers

I have had new covers designed for The Ice Boat and The Man Who Recreated Himself. Tell me what you think. Thanks to those who have helped me; you know who you are. New covers for Infinite Blue Heaven and the Short Stories volumes are on the way.

The lovely new cover says it all about this book. A lonely man searches for love in some of the remotest, as well some of the most urbanised, places on Earth. There is a coldness in his heart that he doesn’t seem to be able to fill. The covers for Volume 2 and the Boxed Set are of the same design.

I love this new design! The tunnel looks like a key-hole to me and that represents the idea that, in some way, James Brennan has the key to the future of man. The butterfly symbolises metamorphosis.

The Ordo Lupus and the Temple Gate – Extended Edition sale

The giveaway of this book was quite successful, with about 300 copies downloaded. What has been great is that I sold 3 copies since the sale ended! Continue reading “What WIP are you working on now?” →

Get U-Boats through 1945 Gibraltar Straits?

Did you know the typical U-Boat torpedo was steam-driven and had a range of 12 Km?
Below in this post is an excerpt from my forthcoming book December Radio. This part is where a team of fanatical German nuclear scientists are being smuggled out of German held territory in a U-Boat. But I don’t want to give too much away…

I did have to think very hard about how even a very talented U-Boat captain would get through the Gibraltar Straits. Every trick seems to have been tried in the Hollywood movies like Torpedo Run, The Cruel Sea, and Run Silent, Run Deep. What is more, by 1945 the Royal Navy pretty much owned the Straits and no U-boat had got out through the Straits since 1942. They had got in, but not out. Continue reading “Get U-Boats through 1945 Gibraltar Straits?” →