Blitz: 3 (Rook Files)

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The human voices of Penelope Fitzgerald's novel are those of the BBC in the first years of the Second World War, the time when the Concert Hall was turned into a dormitory for both sexes and the whole building became a target for the enemy bombers. Blitz is really two stories in one- the first is the story of the Checquy during the time of the Blitz and focuses mainly on the exploits of Pamela, Usha, and Bridget who are trying to find a Nazi with Checquy-like powers who is lose in London due to their actions, and stumble upon some other shenanigans that must be dealt with as well. The strengths of Wentworth’s books lie in the portrayal of the era, and in the characters who are forced to find their way through unfamiliar and difficult circumstances. Instead, the author looks at the children and teenagers who played a more active role in the war effort.

Struggling with fledgling radar technology, Bryan and his operator, Tommy Scott, eventually become calculating hunters of the night, stalking and slaying Nazi raiders in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse in England’s pitch-black winter skies. London is in the middle of The Blitz, the bombing campaign by the Nazi's that wreaked devastation across England during WWII and three members of the Checquy have just made the biggest mistake of the career; they brought down a German Bomber killing all aboard and putting a Checquy right in the middle of the War. As Churchill prepares to take over the leadership of the nation, Lucy finds herself increasingly involved in her famous employer's phenomenal work output and eccentric habits. There is nothing quite so terrifying," my 80 year old father once told me, "as the sound of a Stuka dive bomber heading straight for you. Lasting eight months, the Blitz was a new and terrible form of warfare that had been predicted throughout the 1930s, widely feared since Neville Chamberlain's declaration that Britain was at war.The first focuses on apprentices of the Checquy during the Battle of Britain, and even then, really focuses primarily on Bridget.

They take in conflicts ranging from the First and Second World Wars through to Northern Ireland and Afghanistan. As the skies split apart and bombs rain down on London, it’s all the staff at the famed Buckingham Hotel can do to keep their guests in the luxury they’re accustomed to, and evoke the magic of the Grand ballroom for them each night. Not necessarily bad, because I actually liked both, it just seemed like it was two novels stitched together more than one long story. Three women of the Checquy, the secret organization tasked with protecting Britain from supernatural threats, stand in the sky above London and see German aircraft approach.Readers new to O'Malley's world, unsure why they should care, may get tired of the unfocused narrative, myriad anecdotes, and backstories. Excellent…she has mastered a vast number of written sources, and the resulting synthesis is also a work of graceful, eloquent historical imagination…. And matters are made worse when they find out that one of the Germans is still alive and witnessed Pamela flying. In this historical fantasy, a new recruit to the most powerful supernatural intelligence agency on Earth is accused of going rogue—and must go on the run to clear her name. As a narrative history of the experience of the German bombing campaign against Britain, especially in the later part of 1940, this can't be bettered.