All the Light We Cannot See – Anthony Doerr

Once in a while, you come across a story that is extremely simple on the surface, but as you read it and finish it, it keeps tugging at your memory with its subtle layers. Then you pick it up and read it again, and slowly the layers all become visible simultaneously and you see it […]

The Eye of the Needle – Ken Follett

The 1960s and 70s were the heydays of thriller writers. Agatha Christie, Frederick Forsyth, Dick Francis and a lot of others were the toast of thriller readers everywhere. And into this scene, in 1978, stepped Kenneth Martin Follett (more popularly known as Ken Follett) with his immensely successful The Eye of the Needle. How successful? […]

Mila 18 – Leon Uris

As far as historic fiction goes, Mila 18 is for me THE definitive book in the genre. The story is based on a real-life incident (the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943) and is the only book where I as a reader identify with not one but two characters, with both of them ideologically on opposing […]

Band of Brothers – Stephen E. Ambrose

Band of Brothers (full title Band of Brothers, E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne: From Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle Nest) was one of the rare occasions where I saw the TV adaptation first and then read the book. And though the TV series is in this case superior in terms of visuals and the storytelling […]

Battle Cry – Leon Uris

Battle Cry holds a special place in my heart. It was the first book I ever read from the Historic Fiction genre and has been instrumental in shaping my love and interest in it. I was then studying World War 2 in my History lessons, and the name Leon Uris kept popping up when my […]