Goshawk Squadron (33 page)

D.R.

Goshawk Squadron
is the last book in a trilogy. The other two in the series are also available as ebook from Quercus.

War Story

The first novel in the trilogy sees naïve young patriot Oliver Paxton, fresh out of public school, entering the Royal Flying Corps in 1916. Pompous, foolish and enthusiastic, he is determined to prove himself to king and country.

Two months in the skies over the Somme changes all that. The reality of combat, combined with the lax morals and casual cruelty of his fellow pilots, slowly takes its toll. Gradually the idealistic Paxton becomes as disillusioned as those who surround him.

Hornet's Sting

By 1917, and as the trilogy continues, some of the pilots of Hornet Squadron are beginning to believe that the war on the Western Front will last for decades. For Woolley and the others there are only two things which can take their minds off the tedious brutality of war: the nurses, and a potent brew invented by the C.O. called “Hornet's Sting.” But as the big summer offensives of 1917 begin, not even these can provide any comfort.