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The author kicks off the first of his Andrew Bond WWII Adventures with this rousing action yarn set near the end of 1941 in Singapore and Malaya. The war in Europe has been raging for some time. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is only days away. Bond has been ordered by his superior in the British Secret Intelligence Service to slip into neutral Siam and report whatever he can about Japanese intentions there. Before he knows it, Bond is up to his stiff upper lip in an impending Nipponese invasion.
As the war finds its way into this often-incongruous locale of sweltering humidity, dense jungles, beautiful beaches, and exotic nightlife, Bond finds himself romancing a gorgeous woman, dodging death at the hands of the Yakuza, and doing his bit to thwart the advance of the invaders. Eventually, he obtains the enemy’s Enigma coding device. Decoding it has the potential to help the Allies turn the tide of initial Japanese victories. To get it to the people who can best put it to use, however, he and his cohorts have to attempt a daring escape past the Japanese army, through the stifling jungle, and across the sea to Australia.
Snow is a skillful writer who fills his fictional tale with engaging combinations of suspense, intrigue, romance, and combat. He adds realism to his narrative by inserting actual battles, ships, aircraft, weapons, geographic details, and more that he frequently footnotes throughout. Fans of World War II novels and action-adventures will likely find this a rip-roaring start to a series that promises dramatic stories “based on solid historical and technical facts.”
RECOMMENDED by the US Review