In all seriousness, this is without doubt, the BEST 2 STAR BOOK that I've ever read. I know, I know... on its face that sounds confusing and maybe even oxymoronical and may lead to a bit of head scratching or possibly even a mild rash. For that I'm truly sorry, but please slap some calamine lotion on your itches and give me a chance to explain before you dismiss me as an oxy or any other form of moron. PLOT SUMMARY:Briefly, this story tells the fictional tale of a German commando unit that attempts to kidnap Winston Churchill during World War II. The book employs the “story within a story” method and begins with Jack Higgins (as himself) seemingly discovering the facts behind the unknown mission after finding the hidden graves of 13 German paratroopers at an English graveyard. Curious, he begins asking the local townsfolk and their reactions make him suspect that there is a great secret being hidden from the world. After further investigation, the rest of the story is Higgins recounting what he has pieced together through a combination of documentary evidence and educated guesswork. I thought this was a very HIGH QUALITY book. I found it to be a very well written story and I have zero complaints about the strength of Higgins' prose. In addition, I think Higgins did an extremely good job of creating three dimensional, nuanced characters that came to life and appear completely human (including the German soldiers, but more on that in a minute). Finally, Higgins did an fabulous job of constructing a well thought out, highly detailed and credible plot. In other words, this has all the makings of an excellent novel, as the VAST number of excellent reviews of this book can easily attest. SO WHY DIDN’T STEVE LOVE THIS BOOK (an answer in 4 parts)So given all that slobbering, fanboyish praise, why, in the name of all that is good and holy, did I give this ONLY 2.0 STARS?? First, please stop yelling at me and I will tell you. See, as good as I thought the novel was on a technical level, I found the story itself fairly dry at the best of times and actually quite boring at the worst of times. Now boring or dry when dealing with non-fiction or even classics may still earn 3 stars (or higher) if they impart deeper meaning or just load you up with knowledge. However, fiction is different. I read that to enjoy myself and so dry and boring become tough hurdles to overcome. Here are my four main gripes:1. One of the reasons Higgins cites for the popularity of the book in his introduction is that it was the first time that regular German soldiers (as distinguished from those within the NAZI hierarchy) were portrayed in fiction as human beings and not bloodthirsty monsters. While the portrayal of German soldiers as regular people is certainly laudable, I must disagree that Higgins was a trailblazer in this area. Long before this book was evedwritten, the world had been introduced to the following two loveable scamps: AND How do you NOT love Klink and Schultzie? So sorry Mr. Higgins, but as far as I am concerned, Hogan and his band of Heroes beat you to the punch as far the “humanization of the German solider” is concerned. Thus, no points for ground-breaking, cultural revelations. 2. The fact that the final outcome of the story was known at the very beginning of the story took away much of the suspense/mystery for me. Now this is not always the case when reading about real life events in which the final outcome is well known, as I have read a lot of historical ficiton and real life crime fiction that kept me at the edge of my seat. However, in this case, the slow, methodical planning of the kidnapping just never seemed to pull me in and so I found the story very slow moving. 3. There were no...nada...zero OMG moments in the story which is a real let down for me as I would have expected some in a taut thriller of this kind. For me, OMG moments are those moments that raise goose bumps on your skin (e.g., Jack Nicholson on the stand in A Few Good Men) or something that happens that makes you say NO WAY did that just happen (e.g., for those that have seen The Blair Witch Project , the final scene made me almost crap my pants) Basically, they are memorable scenes that stick to my brain long after I have forgotten everything else about the book, movie, etc.. This book did not have a single moment that will stay with me for more than 10 minutes after I finish this review. Thus, no point there. 4. Finally, while most of the characters were well drawn, there wasn’t what I would call any real standout “memorable” character. This is closely tied to #3 above. Liam Devlin, the IRA commando, comes closest and is certainly a good character. However, when I finished the book I wasn’t anxious to pick up the sequel and find out what Liam would do next. He just didn't stir the curious in me. FINAL THOUGHTSSo I didn't love this book. I thought it was okay. Sometimes when I dislike a book that the majority of my fellow readers rate highly, I will either be thinking to myself ‘what the hell were those people hopped up to rate this dung pile so highly and how can I score me some of that’ or I'll be thinking, ‘okay, I'm the dung pile and must have missed something or banged my head to hard as a child because I seem to be clearly mistaken on this one.’ Well in this case, I don’t think it's either (though my status as a dung pile is certainly open to daily re-interpretation). I completely understand how someone can love this book and at the same time am very comfortable with my “it was just okay” assessment. So for all of the above reasons, I just never found myself pulled into this one. There were some parts I liked and it certainly had some moments, but there were not enough of the goodies for me to be able to say I liked it.2.0 stars.
Probably like most contemporary readers of this World War II thriller, I first came across it as a Sunday afternoon film on TV when I was a child. But when I saw the audiobook at the library the other day, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to revisit a story I only remembered the outlines of. The book begins in a graveyard in a small English village on the Norfolk coast, where Higgins (the author) is futilely seeking the grave marker of an 18th-century American sailor as part of his research for a freelance article he's writing for a nautical magazine. In the course of this, he stumbles across a hidden gravestone from 1943 engraved with the names and ranks of a platoon of German paratroopers. When the local churchman attempts to run him off the property, he is determined to dig deeper, and so unwraps the secret tale of German paratroopers sent to abduct Winston Churchill.Apparently Higgins felt there were a lack of English-language books that portrayed German soldiers in World War II as anything other than foaming-at-the-mouth Nazis, and wished to present a more balanced depiction in keeping with his own experience. The idea was to present a thrilling scheme organized and conducted by largely sympathetic professional German soldiers with the help of somewhat less sympathetic, but nonetheless engaging traitorous helpmates. Indeed, the backgrounds of these two traitors -- one is an IRA hit man, the other a Boer widow -- is none too subtly calibrated to highlight the injustice and cruelty of British imperial rule. Although the IRA man probably has the most time on the page (and indeed, returns in five more books by Higgins), there's no protagonist as such, and the cast includes a bevy of German intelligence officers, a village full of typical stolid citizens, and a unit of American troops commanded by a kind of loose cannon (presumably meant to illustrate the ill discipline of the American cousins), not to mention the German commando unit itself. Everyone is kind of a stock character without very much depth, but that's pretty much OK for a thriller like this.The book's opening graveyard scene appears to be a direct nod to the 1943 film When The Day Went Well (itself based on a Graham Greene short called "The Lieutenant Died Last"), which also opens in a small English village graveyard with a memorial to a platoon of German paratroopers. That story and film, which posit a small force bent on sabotage, must have clearly inspired Higgins, who then raised the stakes to the highest possible level in his version. On the whole, the book is a pretty fun read, and very well paced, with the action moving back and forth between the various players involved (including Himmler). It does get a little heavy-handed at times, especially the scene in which the true identity of the Germans is revealed, but it's all pretty ingenious and well-executed fun, chock full of interesting little details such as the British Freikorps and things like that. Well worth reading by aficionados of WW II thrillers.
What do You think about The Eagle Has Landed (1998)?
I read this book because it was recommended by Reader's Digest as one of the best all time. Needless to say that they weren't wrong. I enjoy reading war & related fiction & have read many books but what Higgins presented here was beyond doubt extraordinary. Here are a few elements that I was amazed to see:1. Fact or Fiction: The writer did extensive research as explained well in the prologue & epilogue. In fact the research is as important to the plot as is the book. The only issue being central character of the plot was a heavy weight & I don't mean just someone I mean the big dog of WWII so it may be plausible that details of this operation never showed up cause the ramifications if they did, were dastardly for many forces around the world. I would leave that to you to judge; I for one feel that IT DID HAPPEN!!!2. A German War HERO: Yes & I am not going to talk about him because words won't do justice to the courage, character or clarity of thought Kurt Steiner possessed. I am glad that finally we saw ONE; yes only ONE war hero from Germany but what a Hero. He made up for all the years I read & found all Germans to be on the Board of Directors of Satan's Inc. Again, I believe that Kurt Steiner did lead that outrageous mission.3. Character Portraits: The writer did research thoroughly for almost all characters can be found by a simple Google search & read about. Worthy to remember that this material wouldn't show up because of what it meant so details are grainy but there. What is also stupendous is that each character & I mean each & everyone of them was essential to the plot. What I enjoyed most was the Brotherhood amongst these warriors. Each & everyone a just soldier unlike what we know Germans to be. I felt sad every time as the narrative would reach the already foregone conclusion that all of them were to be KIA before the book reached its last pages.4. Confused IRA Professional: My second favorite character & God Blessed him with a great sense of humor. In fact all Irish men seem to have it...he seemed to have the most of it. In the whole book Devlin only once was genuinely sad otherwise it seemed to me that God gave him a little more of the "happy hormones" & none of the sad ones. He shows what the War did in terms of choices & cause & I have come to believe that "one man's soldier is another man's terrorist" is indeed true. Again Devlin lived till much later & met with the writer.5. Conclusion: I don't think I will ever read another book from Higgins as I am afraid he will let me down. I also think that they should remake the movie; the earlier one was made in the 80s but this generation must be given a chance to see Germans in a different light. I am not saying I have turned, for I hated reading about what all they did (Himmler was Satan on Earth as he went about his wretched ways even in this book!!!). But there were indeed "a few good men" who were on the wrong side of the barbed wire.
—Vikas Kohli
I think I’ve read this book before, and seen the movie, but I read it when I was in high school or junior high—long enough ago that I’d forgotten the details. If it were written today, it would probably have a tighter POV and fewer pages spent on the set-up. Still, it’s an awesome book. Not squeaky-clean (PG-13), but cleaner than average for the market.I think what impresses me most about this book is the way Higgins creates sympathy for so many characters—even though most of the characters are trying to kidnap or assassinate Churchill (something I don’t want to happen), Higgins introduces the characters in a way that makes me like them and want them to achieve their goals. Well, everyone except Himmler and Colonel Shafto. The characters are imperfect, but admirable or funny or brave, and though most of them are fighting on the wrong side of the war, I understood their motivations and cared about what happened to them. I’ve talked a lot about characters—there’s a whole lot of action in there too. And interesting tidbits of WWII history. The reader in me enjoyed the characters and the plot. The writer in me loved his techniques.
—A.L. Sowards
Muy bueno. Muy muy bueno. No sólo es una historia épica muy bien construida y documentada, sino que además permite ver cuál era la situación en la Europa de 1943, cuando el mundo se estremecía ante la barbarie de las SS y nadie imaginaba que el heroísmo pudiera aflorar en el soldado alemán. "¿De verdad esta gente se piensa que somos hunos? ¿Cómo pueden confundirnos con el ejército personal de Himmler?" En esta novela los buenos son los que siempre han sido los malos: quieren asesinar a Churchill y tú estás con ellos, quieres que lo consigan. Quizá no me haya convencido la historilla de amor que hay por ahí, pero al final no ha sido un estropicio vital. Otra cosa que me ha gustado mucho es la presentación de la maquinaria institucional de la Alemania nazi: la Abwehr, la Luftwaffe, el por qué te dan la Cruz de Caballero o por qué no, las purgas internas, la lucha política...Como aliciente adicional, contiene la frase más nazi que jamás se ha escrito: "Se quitó el casco, el impermeable y los guantes, sacó la gorra, la Schiff, que tenía guardada bajo la Fliegerbluse y se la puso. Se ajustó la Cruz de Caballero en el cuello y avanzó, con el Máuser a punto."
—Asinhar
