Burning Blue [Paperback]

James Holland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 17, 2004

Joss Lambert has always been a loner, constrained by a secret from his past, until he finds friendship and solace firstly with Guy Liddell, a friend from school, and then with Guy's family, who welcome him into their farmhouse home. Joss increasingly comes to depend upon the Liddells and treats Alvesdon Farm as the one place where he feels not only appreciated but also truly happy. The idyll cannot last. With war looming, Joss is forced to confront the past. He escapes through flying, becoming a fighter pilot in the RAF. But with the onset of war, even the Liddells's world is crumbling. As Joss is fighting for his life in the Battle of Britain, so he begins to fall madly in love with Stella - Guy's twin - but with tragic consequences. Leaving England and the Liddells far behind, he continues to fly amid the sand and heat of North Africa, until his hopes and dreams are seemingly shattered for good -

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James Holland was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, and studied history at Durham University. He has worked for several London publishing houses and has also written for a number of national newspapers and magazines. He is also the author of a work of history, Fortress Malta: An Island Under Siege, 1940-43, and two previous novels. Married with a son, he lives near Salisbury.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Random House (June 17, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0099436477
• ISBN-13: 978-0099436478
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1.4 x 7.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,165,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful story telling, February 16, 2009

By 

K. Mihaliak "audiobook lover" (Raleigh) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Burning Blue (Paperback)

In spite of the editorial reviewers comments, I really enjoyed this title. I listened on audio book rather than read it, but loved it. Perhaps because I'm an American and viewed many of the responses as that of the stereotypical "stiff upper lip" of the Brits rather than in the manner expressed by the UK reviewer, I found it not so vanilla as he portrays. I found it both thrilling and touching, not a war-hack novel and not a romance, but an effort to portray one young mans' story derived from the anecdotal histories of many veterans.

It covered some of the "realities" of a young man caught up in war without being gruesome, it tackled many different emotions from the viewpoint of a young man who never seemed to feel that he had the right to express them, and it traversed both friendships and love over time in a period that spanned the early part of WWII. I found it well written, never dull, and a title I'm happy to recommend to friends. Rare is it for me to search for the hard copy of an audio book, but this is one I'd like to have on my shelf.

Thanks.

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read, well written, March 4, 2010

By 

Reader (Poway, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Burning Blue (Paperback)

I found the characters interesting and well developed. The historical setting was accurate, and despite criticism in some reviews, the behavior of the characters is not entirely stereotype. To the contrary, the fictional dialog does not appear either exaggerated or inaccurate.

The audio book version was well read, if somewhat quietly. In my opinion this work should have received a much better reception. I would be enthusiastic about similar works by this author.