| Title | : | Venom Squadron (Yeoman, #11) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 142 |
| Publication | : | Published July 27, 2016 |
The Suez Crisis.
Based in Cyprus and commanding two squadrons of de Havilland Venom fighter-bombers, Wing Commander George Yeoman is the first to be called into the clash between Anglo-French forces and the Egyptians over the Suez Canal.
Operation Musketeer, in which combined air-attack forces demolish the Egyptian airfields west of Suez, is soon over, but there is still action for the Venoms in an unexpected area.
The tiny, oil-rich state of Muramshir has asked for British support against invasion by its powerful neighbour, Khorat, and Yeoman’s Venom squadron is despatched to show some air strength.
To their amazement they face not the usual outdated British war planes of the Gulf states but the latest Russian-built MiG fighters, with speed and range infinitely superior to the Venoms.
Yeoman’s Middle East assignment turns into a battle to the death, and into it he has to lead young RAF pilots who have never before encountered such gruelling conditions combined with such grimly determined opponents.
Praise for Robert Jackson
“The descriptions of weaponry…are authentically detailed.” - Publishers Weekly
Robert Jackson (b. 1941) is a prolific author of military and aviation history, having become a full time writer in 1969. As an active serviceman in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve he flew a wide range of aircraft, ranging from jets to gliders. Venom Squadron is part of the George Yeoman series which began in Hurricane Squadron.
Venom Squadron (Yeoman, #11) Reviews
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Just when I was tiring of this series up pops a little gem!
I was somewhat reluctant to carry on reading this series as it had become, dare i say it, boring. Boring, that is, until I began to read the next book in the series about George Yeoman from Robert Jackson. The storyline is in the same military vein as the previous books but this one seemed much fresher and more exciting and the previous evidence of laziness on the authors part was, thankfully, missing. -
The book starts with the fiasco of the Suez crisis, George and his Venom squadrons are only marginal involved and it seems he is about ready to go home when they are sent to help defend the small Middle Eastern state of Muramshir.
The Suez part of the story isn’t great but it definitely improves once George moves to Muramshir. In fact this is probably one of the best of all the George Yeomen stories. -
Unlike the previous stories this series, I was a bit disappointed in this volume. There was plenty of flying, and a very good description of the lead up to, and conduct of, the Suez Crisis in 1956. But the remainder, with two fictitious states in the Persian Gulf region, I found, if not unrealistic, then a tad too fantastic. I am sure there were Soviet attempts to influence regional development in their favour in the 1950s, so likely my knowledge of history in that area is lacking. Still, the Sultan described was too over the top. The air and ground combat as well was overdone. At least Yeoman maintained his good sense and good luck. I cannot imagine the RAF stationing two Venom squadrons in such a situation as given in the novel, however, and in effect writing them off. Hopefully the next (and final?) volume is more true-to-type for Yeoman.
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“Venom Squadron” eBook was publlished in 2016 (original paper edition published in 1984) and was written by Robert Jackson (
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/j/ro...). Mr. Jackson published over 50 books.This is the 10th of his "Sergeant Yeoman" series novels.
I received a galley of this novel for review through
https://www.netgalley.com. I categorize this novel as ‘PG’ because it contains scenes of Violence. The story is set mostly in the Middle East and Cypress. It is 1956 and the British and French are in deep conflict with Egypt over the Suez Canal.
A tiny oil rich Arab state, Muramshir, asks for help from the British. Wing Commander George Yeoman is sent with Venom fighter bombers as well as some British SAS soldiers to support Muramshir.
Things do not go as planned. A neighboring country’s threats become hostilities when they invade Muramshir’s oil field. Yeoman must lead his men in defending against the invaders, while trying not to let events spiral out of control. Russian ‘advisors’ are at hand ready to step in and establish a presence in the middle east.
This was a pretty good 5.5 hour Military Thriller of 176 pages. This story pits the West against the scourge of Communism. There is plenty of action with Yeoman finding himself in one fix after another. The cover is a little plain but it is consistent with all the books of this series. I have read several of the “Sergeant Yeoman” series books and they are all pretty good, though dated. I give this novel a 4 out of 5.
Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at
https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/. -
I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
I have to say after reading the previous books in this series this was boring and seemed to be a rehash of the previous novels.
They all seem to read the same!!
