 "Tough to put this book down" | 2009-12-27 |
| - Reviewed By inlandsailor from Wooster, OH USA |
Am trying to learn as much as I can about WWII and need to research this book to find out how much of the background is accurate realizing that this is a book of fiction. I would agree with another reviewer who found some inaccuracies and some inconsistencies with the time period in which this story takes place but having said that the book was nearly impossible to put down. Interesting premise, well constructed plot, and good character development. Follet gave me a sense of what occupied France must have been like and under what terror the French had to live. Perhaps I am not a professional reviewer but this book worked for me as a gripping piece of historical fiction.
Would definitely recommend it to a friend along with Eye of the Needle. |
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| "Terrific suspense with a superb heroine" | 2009-10-13 |
| - Reviewed By Jim from CT |
| The greatest heroine character I ever read in this genre. While the story may be inplausible in parts, if you like WW2 suspense with a superb heroine you'll love this book. She's the type of character that you can't help but love whcih makes every scene she is in so much fun. Two other books I recommend in this genre are Mr Follett's "The Key to Rebecca" and Greg Iles - "Black Cross." Enjoy. |
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| "Absolutely brilliant!" | 2009-08-29 |
| - Reviewed By NordicFortune from Bryn Mawr, PA |
| I'm going to make this review short and sweet, since there's not much to be said here. Jackdaws is the second novel of Ken Follett's that I read after Eye of the Needle, and I think it was just as good. I was hooked during every single part of the story, the characters were very distinct and original, and I felt a really strong connection with the protagonists. I knew I was reading a really good story, since I would be thinking to myself "What's going to happen to Flick Clairet?" all day during work! I've read a handful of Ken Follett's books so far, and I have a lot to go, but this one's at the top with Eye of the Needle in my opinion. |
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 "Not bad, but nothing great" | 2009-08-20 |
| - Reviewed By Harry M. Shin from Livermore, CA USA |
1. I've heard a lot of good things about Ken Follett and was looking forward to this book.
2. Bottomline: it's not a bad book, but nothing significant beyond an average "ok" book. Translation: I don't feel any need or inspiration to get another Ken Follett book. |
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| "Follett is master of riveting stories." | 2009-08-10 |
| - Reviewed By M. O'Malley from USA |
| As usual, Ken Follett takes you on a journey where there is mystery, thrills, danger, and a learning experience of times in our history. |
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| "Another Gem From a Master Storyteller" | 2009-07-19 |
| - Reviewed By Ralph White from New England |
Jackdaws is set in occupied France in the ten days preceding the D Day invasion of June 6, 1944. The basic story line is almost exactly the same as The Dirty Dozen, but this time it's a half dozen, and they're an all woman team. Like The Dirty Dozen we have a band of rejects, some criminals, and all with her own reason for wanting to strike a death blow in the Nazi beast's backside as the allies are massing to hit the beaches of Normandy. The target is a strategically important telephone exchange in an old chateau, the destruction of which would make the Nazi occupiers more vulnerable to the allied invasion.
The name of the book comes from a poem by Richard Harris Barham (1788 - 1845) titled "The Jackdaw of Rheims." (Rheims seems to be the Anglicized spelling of Reims). A Jackdaw is a crow-like bird known for stealing bright objects. The poem deals with a bird that stole a ring from a Cardinal, who, in order to flush the thief out, places a curse on him. When the jackdaw shows up showing the ill effects of the curse, his crime is exposed.
Author Ken Follett selects Reims, France for this novel's action and uses the name "Jackdaw," as the British Special Operations Executive dubbed them, for the female dirty half dozen parachuted behind enemy lines to coordinate with the French Resistance to blow up the telephone exchange. The leader of the Jackdaws is a special operations veteran, Felicity, or "Flick," Clairet, married to the leader of the Reims Resistance, Michel.
Opposing our superheroine is Major Deiter Franck, an active duty German policeman whose specialty is torture-based interrogations. We know that any member of the Jackdaw team that is captured will suffer the cruelty beyond the reader's imagination. We are not disappointed.
The Jackdaws face operational obstacles from the start, and the combination of their amateurism and Major Franck's professionalism results in one disaster after another. As the weather clears over the English Channel, and the full moon illuminates the Reims countryside, the plan goes forward despite the long odds against it. As explosives rip through the old chateau, Franck captures or kills most of the Jackdaws and closes in on the surviving three as they await their airlift out of France. The tension builds to a climactic shootout on the runway.
Follett is a master storyteller and he deserves top marks for Jackdaws despite some minor faults. 1) It would be unrealistic in the extreme for British Intelligence to suspect that the Nazis were using Helicopter's radio. 2) There was no way Paul could have known that Chatelle was in total darkness. 3) Franck wouldn't have been alerted because two middle class French women were eating at the Ritz. 4) How could Franck have known that Flick had killed Stepanie? 5) Flick assumes everyone talks when captured and assumes Franck has their information, but she fails to assume that Franck has Michel's information though his capture is nearly certain.
Ken Follett's Jackdaws is everything a thriller should be: great characters, non-stop action, and steadily increasing stakes. Adding the historically accurate backdrop of D Day along with the compressed time frame is the work of a pro.
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