Wednesday, January 18, 2017

The Revenants #1: Assault on Abbeville - Jack Badelaire


Jack Badelaire has come up with a great concept for his new World War II adventure series: five soldiers, each from a different nation conquered by the Germans, are considered missing in action and presumed dead, but in actuality, they've been recruited by a British spymaster to form an elite commando squad that can be sent on vital but unofficial missions behind enemy lines. The squad consists of men from Poland, France, Norway, Belgium, and Holland. To put it in terms that a lot of guys of a certain age will grasp immediately, THE REVENANTS is BLACKHAWK as written by Alistair Maclean, with a little dash of CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN thrown in.

Badelaire brings that concept to life with considerable skill and excitement in ASSAULT ON ABBEVILLE, the first novel in the series, which finds the Revenants being smuggled into occupied France to make contact with a group of partisans and assassinate a German fighter pilot who's been taking a great toll on British bombing raids. This will not only rid the Luftwaffe of a valuable asset but also damage German morale . . . if all goes as planned. Which, of course, it doesn't.

ASSAULT ON ABBEVILLE is fast-paced and full of action and has an undeniable sense of authenticity. Badelaire is a long-time fan of World War II adventure fiction and it shows in this and his other novels. If you're a fan of the genre, you owe it to yourself to pick up his books.


1 comment:

Charles Gramlich said...

I've liked what I've read by Jack before.