Customer Reviews

Night Over Water

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

If you like airplanes, intrigue, World War II stories, and good writing, you'll enjoy this novel by Ken Follett. Follett always does his homework and I always learn from him. This story takes place at the beginning of England's entry into the war against Nazi Germany in 1939. It is about the last flight of the flying boat, the Pan American clipper (Boeing 314), from England to America. The luxurious, short-lived air ship began life in the summer of 1939 and ended a few weeks later when Hitler invaded Poland.

On board is a troubled aristocratic British family; an American actress; an Englishwoman running off with another man, leaving her husband; a young jewel thief; a criminal being returned to the states by authorities; a grumpy, demanding old princess; a German scientist and his companion; and others. This mix of characters and the situation in which they find themselves, make for an excellent story, especially considering the terrifying news flight engineer, Eddie Deakin, receives shortly before takeoff.

The writing is tight, the suspense builds with every page (as events in a well-crafted story should), and the wartime events are accurate within the scope of a tale of fiction. I found it enticing, riveting, and plausible. I cared so much about some of the characters that at the end of the book I wanted there to be a sequel. I wanted to know what happened to Margaret and Harry, Diana and Mark, Nancy and Mervyn, young Percy, and even Margaret's sister, Elizabeth, who left the story fairly early on. The only problem with this book was that the copy I received from Amazon had 32 missing pages! I had to borrow a copy to read the missing text!!

Another good Follett book with airplanes and a World War II setting is Hornet Flight (November 2003).

Carolyn Rowe Hill

Yet another gripping story by Ken Follett. On the eve of the outbreak of WW2, a clipper ship of the Pan American Line is due to fly from England to New York. These massive flying boats are the epitome of luxury and passage can be afforded by only the wealthy. It's a mixed bag on this trip-an aristocratic family who have been forced to leave England because of the fathers fascist views, a petty crook,an eloping couple who are being pursued by the womans jealous husband and various others.It's a gripping and exciting tale, well written in the Follett style and a good,fast,satisfying read.

I read this 544 page paperback in 3 days. Its "Ship of Fools" meets the Pan Am Clipper in 1939 at the very beginning of WWII. Everybody on the legendary flying boat seems to be running away from something and their stories all intersect during the 40 hour flight from England to the U.S. Its an easy and fun read, and the closest we'll ever get to experiencing the golden age of travel by flying boat.

Follett does his usual excellent job of researching his subject matter--in this case old passenger seaplanes--and the history of the era (a world spinning toward war in the late 1930s). And the writing style is fine, but the story just never got off the ground. I never quite got the point. It was as if he worked hard to invent characters and plot around a subject he wanted to write about: seaplanes. The whole thing seemed like a stretch. Think of it as "Airport 1938."

To Follett's credit he wrote in Night Over Water perhaps the steamiest sex scene I've ever read. I almost tried waking up the wife (dangerous). Plus I read this book after being completely blown away by his Pillars Of The Earth, so a let-down was inevitable. The book is better than most and probably deserves four stars. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead

Night Over Water harkens back to the end of the golden age of flight, concluded with the silencing of the PanAm Clipper. On the eve of World War II, the story follows a diverse collection of passengers who fly this luxury craft's final revenue flight from England to America. On the single night they spend over the Atlantic, their lives become intertwined in ways none of them imagined. The story of passengers escaping to a new world, running from an old, or eluding the present one is tangled with deceit; mystery; suspense; and love lost, found, and rediscovered. Night Over Water is a gripping story that is worth the price of admission.

Ken Follet takes you back to Pre-World-WarII in, Night Over Water. Through the eyes of different characters, Ken Follet shows you an imaginary flight on the Pan-American Clipper. The flight never happened due to the breakout of war in Europe but the flight depicts what the author thought would have happened on the final flight of the Pan-American Clipper from Europe to America. The story begins with several small stories, stories that all end up on the Clipper. It carried rich celebrities to royalty to businessmen. In the story, it carried movie stars, criminals, detectives, a journalist and an exiled landlord. Ken Follet takes you through the lives of different passengers all fighting different battles.
The clipper was the most luxurious plane of the time. Only a few people in the world could afford to ride in it. There are no longer any of the clippers, they all were scrapped and the parts used for other planes. The clipper had different compartments, all had at least 2 used. The main compartment changed from a lobby to a dining compartment. The seating compartments changed to sleeping bunks. The only rooms that didnt change were the operating rooms and the bathrooms.
During the course of the story, the characters all face many problems. There are disagreements in a family, betrayal in a family business, a summer affair and a scientist kicked out of his country because of his religion.
There were a few things I really liked about the book. What I liked most was how the small stories came together during the book. There were also a few things I didnt like. One of the things I didnt like was how the stories switched too suddenly. It didnt give you time to learn more about the story you just read about.
Once you start reading this book, its hard to put it down. The plot makes you want to learn more about the characters. The characters are all very interesting. They all have interesting stories that make you want to know more.
To anyone that wants an interesting book to read, I would definitely recommend, Night Over Water, by Ken Follet.

"Night Over Water" was a highly enjoyable read. Eventhough the book starts out slow and uneventful, Ken Follett does an exceptional job developing the characters. I rated this book a 4 (which should be 4 1/2) because for the first half of the book I found it hard to concentrate and stay entertained. Follett jumps from one character to another explaining their life history and how they have ended up on the plane. Once the plane takes off, the story really begins to soar. Much to my surprise, the author also incorporates a series of romantic adventures. This was the first Ken Follett book I've read and it will definitely not be the last!

Once again, Follett weaves an intricate tapestry using history as its background. He has an uncanny ability to use real settings in historical times as a backdrop for rich, entertaining characters.

As with any follett book, the characters are what drives the story. This is a story of people who seemingly have nothing to do with each other. The reader will see, as the story progresses, that all the people in the book are tied together in ways they can't possibly imagine.

Each character is beautifully written as are the various relationships that form throughout the book. And the ending! Talk about a page turner.

I've read many of Follett's books and this one is definetly up there with A Dangerous Fortune. It might not be as majestic as Pillars of the Earth (my personal favorite Follett book and my favorite overall book that I've ever read to date), but it's just as entertaining.

This novel takes place in 1939 just after England has entered World War II. It's told from multiple points of view, all from people who will take a flight aboard a Pan-Am Clipper (a truly luxurious (and historically accurate) airplane in the second 2/3rds of the book. This is sort of like a "Murder on the Orient Express" set-up although more thriller than who-dunnit mystery. Passengers include business people, aritocratic families, a debutante, a film star, a petty thief, etc. They all have reasons for being on this luxury plane ride across the Atlantic, some of them because they want to be there and some because they have to be. The thriller/action part of the plot surrounds the lead engineer of the plane who is forced to sabotage it in order to save his wife who has been kidnapped in America. Follett leaves the reasons for this unclear at first as well as who the kidnappers are but uses it to build the suspense. In the end it turns out to be quite a complicated plot but I won't spoil it for you.

This is a well-plotted novel; the suspense builds as we make our way through the story and we get to see events from several perspectives. Mr Follett does a great job building his characters and even though there are quite a lot of them, it is easy to follow the action because we know them so well. And he does a fantastic job of establishing the atmosphere. The descriptions of the scenes and especially the dialog of the characters really brought me in to the era. Sometimes it was like I was watching a Humphrey Bogart movie. I count this among the very best of Ken Follett's work and highly recommend it for fans of WWII era historical/thriller fiction.

I could not put this book down and just spent a very pleasant July 4th weekend reading it. Follet is an excellent storyteller, making this more than just another spy novel.

The glamorous setting of the Pan Am clipper in 1939 is illustrated with vivid description- allowing the reader to truly feel the plane. Follett creates an ensemble plot with diverse characters with interesting backgrounds and now intersecting lives.

This novel is very well written with lots of twists, great dialogue. I didn't want it to end and recommend it highly!