You clever little thing

To try and bring down the stack of books to be reviewed some more I am going to go for another one.
But first.... after the last post:
Books to be read: 153.


#### SPOILER ALERT ####

The Eagle has Landed - Jack Higgins
It took me about half the book to realise I had seen the movie made about this one and then had to stop my self from seeing Donald Sutherland as Devlin. It was a bit distracting but this one moved at such a good pace that I did not really have too much time to take my eye off the ball.
I really enjoyed this one and the twist at the end is priceless!
Essentially it is all about the Germans wanting to get one over on the British in WW2.
They have devised a clever little plan and want to see if they can throw the balance of power by kidnapping/killing Churchill. Bold at the best of times but especially bold  when you have a band of loose canons all firing on full cylinders.
The way the plan comes about is almost haphazard. Some general makes some remark, someone takes it seriously, someone else does not, another looks into some options and then we have a plan which may actually work. The way it all comes about is almost funny. It is almost unbelievable that someone somewhere in the Hitler fold is so desperate to please him that they would come up with a suggestion so mad that it surely cannot be taken seriously. It is even more amazing that some actually work to make the implausible happen.
Next the books moves on to getting the band of soldiers together (a Band of Brothers they are not) . They are a mixed bag of people. Some with a personal axe to grind against Britain some just desperate to get back to the action. Many of the characters are military men and the books feels very testosterone filled. This leads to some friction here and there buts most of it is kept in check. I got on really well with the soldiers and the team members. They have enough detail to be human, believable and the way they work together as a unit and as a team is almost touching. They are brothers united in this damned war and they will be damned if they do not get out alive or die trying. Steiner and Devlin are two of the main characters and they are very likeable and entertaining. Steiner is a leader, a dedicated soldier who loves his troops and fights to keep them alive and together. He also in a way makes you look beyond his uniform and at the man in it. He fights on the wrong side but he is still human and cares about his men which makes him more palatable as the enemy. Devlin is a rogue. He has an axe to grind with the British and seems to enjoy getting himself into trouble. He does not have a lot of respect for authority but he seems to respect Steiner. The other soldiers are not too fleshed out but they mainly serve as background. What you can tell from them though is that they are dedicated to Steiner and willing to follow him anywhere. They know he will keep them as safe as he can and not put their lives at risk unless he has to.
Once the band is set it is time to go to England and to get down to business. They pretend to be a Polish regiment on exercise in the area and at first it all seems to go well and things move along swimmingly. Then the brown stuff hits the electrical air circulation device and things go bad... really bad. In the end there is a stand off in the village and lots of people end up dead. 
A nice touch is the adding in of the "Americans". There is a regiment of them close to where our German soldiers are based and one they get wind of the trouble they get involved. Unfortunately for them their boss Robert E Shafto is an idiot. He is going to save the day but things do not go to well for them when they are confronted with German determination and grit and most of them end up dead. That seems to be it for the team.... but wait..... nope.... One man makes one final attempt to get at Churchill and he almost get the job done... almost! 
When you think that then, surely this must now be the end of the road for this story we get another glorious little twist. This comes in the final bit of the book where Higgins tells you about how he got all the info together for this book and who he went to see to talk about what happened. I will not tell you what the twist is but it is delicious!
Great read, great pace, action packed, great characters, real human emotion in war time. Great Book with a capital B.

Title: The Eagle has landed
Author: Jack Higgins
383 pages
Pan Books
ISBN #0-330-26807-4

Books to be read: 152