Aces: A Novel of Pilots in WWII Battle of Britain
An epic love story of war and friendship in the Battle of Britain of WWII.
It’s 1935. Lacy Dunbrough is nineteen and in love with two friends from Princeton, one American, one German who fly in the Thompson Trophy air races. Pressured by her parents she is forced to choose. As the former friends become enemies on opposite sides in the Battle of Britain she is faced with another choice.
Kirkus Review “In the 1930s, Aaron Miller and Michael “Miki” von Steuven are both students at Princeton University and the best of friends, despite hailing from radically disparate backgrounds. Aaron’s father is a Polish immigrant who moved to New York nearly penniless and built a wildly successful construction business. Miki grew up in Westphalia; his father is a German noble and the family’s prestige and wealth are tied to an ancient pedigree. But both students are talented pilots, and bond over the amateur races they enter and routinely dominate. These competitions are thrillingly portrayed…. The pilots’ friendship, though, is complicated by a shared passion for Lacy Dunbrough. While she loves Aaron, she’s perpetually frustrated by his unserious impetuosity, and her family unabashedly prefers Miki. Miki proposes to Lacy and she accepts. The two move to Germany but she is quickly dismayed by Hitler’s increasingly ominous rule and the malignant treatment of the nation’s Jewish population. Miki joins the Luftwaffe and is sent to Spain, and Lacy begins to worry that he has changed in some profound way she cannot countenance. Meanwhile, Aaron decides to decamp for Canada to join the Royal Air Force, eager to do his part as war finally breaks out in Europe. A grand showdown seems…inevitable, and the emotional stakes are effectively raised when Aaron believes Miki has shot down one of Aaron’s closest friends. In his propulsive tale, January vividly captures the fast-paced terror of combat in the air, and the peculiar mixture of precision and bravado displayed by the best pilots. An action-packed…war tale.”
Brooks Wachtel, Creator of History Channel’s “Dogfights” “ACES is an aviation-fueled rip-roaring read…filled with romance, suspense, wonder and danger…Well researched and enjoyable.”
Online Book Club Featured Review “It begins with a thrilling flying competition…a rivalry between two former friends…turned to enemies fighting on opposite sides. The author weaves themes of friendship, romance, love, war, and loyalty into a perfect story…made more intriguing by numerous twists and turns. Fascinating… Action-packed… Astonishing…” 4 out of 4 Stars!
For Kindle at Amazon ACES: A Novel of WWII Pilots
Paperback Aces: Novel of American pilots in WW2 Battle of Britain
Michael January Historical Fiction Novels