The Bright Blue Sky (The RAF Trilogy Book 1) by Max Hennessy

The Bright Blue Sky (The RAF Trilogy Book 1) Reviews

• 
  Tony Hisgett

  The book has its ups and downs and what story there was, was a bit disjointed, but overall it wasn’t bad and I found some of the historical detail quite interesting. Although the author kept trying to introduce snippets of romance/sex, which didn’t work for me and I wish he hadn’t bothered. The other thing that didn’t work for me was Diplock, he was a caricature that became a bit of a cliché. (To be honest I couldn’t understand why one of his own side didn’t just shoot him)
  If possible I would have given 2.5 stars.
  
• 
  Stephen

  Dicken Quinney didn’t enter the war for politics or glory — he just wanted to fly. Dangerous as it was, once he’d experienced soaring above the clouds, he couldn’t tear himself away from it. From France to Italy, “Dick” gets his chance here, facing the Hun, imperfect machines, and malicious COs alike. He begins as a lowly artillery observer before trying his luck in the Royal Flying Corps, where he flies against Germany’s best in some of England’s worst — not until the very end of the book is he flying a decent ‘bus’, in fact. What gets him through is sheer luck and a bit of skill.
  
  Bright Blue Sky is principally a work of aerial combat, with some character drama (and development) thrown in. Hennessey’s work is definitely not wish fulfillment: “Dickie” makes the most of what he has, flying canvas crates while Germans in proper planes are massacring his brother airmen. He also has little luck, romantically, though despite this he’s an object of jealousy from the aptly-named Diplock, a sniveling toadie who did get the girl — and the promotion — but apparently feels worlds insecure in both. Other memorable characters include Zoe (a liberated wrench wench), and Willie Hatto, a poor Irish nobleman who cheers up any scene he’s in. Most appreciated is Hennessey’s visit to the often ignored Italo-Austrian front. The author seems to have numerous air-and-sea series scattered among the world wars, I imagine I’ll be reading him again.
• 
  Marten Wennik

  After reading the series about World War 1 pilots by Andrew Wareham (Innocents At War), Goodreads suggested this as another read I might enjoy. Well done, Goodreads. I clicked this one on Amazon for my iPad and read it in about one weekend. Max Hennessy has delivered a fast-paced and interesting tale of daring and flying in both the French field of war and the Italian Front. Dickey Quinney (a name I still have trouble liking) is a fairly likable character who is appreciative of friends, honest comrades, and an honorable opponent. Over the course of this first tale, The Bright Blue Sky, Dick becomes entranced with flying by chance, seems to miss the opportunity to get involved early, but eventually, through some luck, comes to be a pilot in the RAC.
  
  Despite the odds being against these intrepid flyers, Dick and his pals, Hatto and Foote, battle the Germans, the Italians, and the ignorance of old British warmongers who don't get the changing battle scene of World War 1. Colonels who think the horse and lance are still a valid form of fighting and politicians who look to make money off the war machine leave the British airmen with rapidly diminishing airplanes which are outdated and outgunned. Dick survives often by sheer luck while others fall victim to poor training, antiquated machines, or overwhelming odds. It is almost all believable, as Hennessey does not drive a story that seems to be unbelievable in Dickey's fate.
  
  This is a fine story that moves quickly. I do agree with other readers who have reviewed this book that Hennessy's subplot involving Dickey's love interests is fairly weak, but it really did not detract me from reading, as I wanted to read about the planes and people who flew them (always a passion of mine). I look forward to the next tale (already cued up on my iPad) and revving the engine to go.
• 
  Anna Heather

  "Aware of a sudden lost yearning for something he couldn't define - a missed youth, frustrated hopes, the ever-present possibility of death - he came to the conclusion that he was emotionally spent and needed leave. He needed to go home"
  Max Hennessy
  .
  A well-written story about the events of the First World War in France and in Italy, centered in the image of Dicken Quinney. Recently I've been into the dawn of aviation, and it was a good experience to read a book that is dedicated to RFC of Great Britain. I like the way Max Hennessy describes the battles in the sky, trying to give as much historical accuracy as possible. And, notwithstanding this almost non-fiction narrative he managed to imply a bunch of prominent metaphors and similes, like this: "The mountain peaks were touched with red, glowing against the pale sky like broken bloodstained teeth". Such atmospheric description of a war landscape!
  As for the characters, I've heard once that the pilots at those times were compared to medieval knights, because they were the only ones who kept the idea of fair fighting and honour in the trials of the Great War. And I saw it in the novel. But, at the same time, the author made it clear that these heroes often were afraid, that some of them even became cowards; that the fighting in the air had nothing in it to be romanticised. And despite their almost childish beauty, the airplanes were fragile, and so was the hope of their pilots and observers to live through the war. That is why, after reading it, I found the title of the novel, "The Bright Blue Sky", to be poignant. Because for me the first airplanes remained a beautiful dream of the clear sky, utterly ruined by the horrors of the War.
• 
  Viva

  Spoilers ahead:
  
  The 3rd WW1 RAF series by Hennessy. I have no idea why he wrote so many of these. The main characters could be interchangeable since they are so similar. In this case it's Quinney, a 17 year old from a small village (single Mom and no siblings). He's trained as a wireless operator and wanted to join the navy but they won't take him unless he has a first class certificate so he joins the artillery instead, where they also have a need for wireless operators.
  
  Soon, he volunteers for spotting from a plane and becomes an observer. Later on he becomes a pilot. Of course he becomes a very good one, just like the protagonists of the other 2 series.
  
  The differences between this book and the others are: His friend here is Hatto, the son of a lord, and Foote, an American. The villain of this book (the other series didn't have villains) is Diplock, someone from a village over. He also becomes a pilot but is a coward and manages to get a desk job and eventually gets promoted over Quinney by guile.
  
  In the romance department, he becomes friends with Zoe, who starts off as the younger sister of a girl he was originally in love with (who married Diplock). Their relationship is a bit tenuous since they don't spend a lot of time together. Then when Quinney gets posted to the Italian front, he meets Nicola, who is the daughter of a British consular official.
  
  The big difference is also that this book also goes to the Italian front, which the other series don't and this book spans the entire WWI, from 1914 to the end of the war.
  
  Overall, not a bad book and pretty representative of all Hennessy's WWI RAF books.
• 
  Don

  What a good read , it had me hooked from start to finish -bar about perhaps 10 pages about 3/4 of the way through which felt like unnecessary extra detail about the Italian campaign - & I found it hard to put down .
  Its fast paced & the different story threads are put together seamlessly .Anyone who enjoyed the "Harry Gilmour series by David Black" or even the "Biggles" books will love this .
  I enjoyed it so much that I've already started "The Challenging Heights" which is the next book in the trilogy .
• 
  Richard

  An enjoyable read with a reluctant hero who has fallen in love with flying. Covering most of WW1, first in France against the Germans and then, Italy fighting the Austrians the author captures the differing moods servicemen experienced during 'the war to end all wars'! At first I thought it was a copy of his Martin Falconer books, but it differs in that Quinney isn't a natural flyer and started as an observer. Looking forward to part 2.
• 
  Alex

  A cracking read in the vein of an adult version of W. E Johns' Biggles series. I did find it hard to warm to the character of Dicken Quinney, much preferred Hatto.
  
  All the same, a decent read which successfully emulated the atmosphere of life in the RFC during the First World War.
• 
  Ian Bennett

  WW I Action
  
  A bit formulaic, but cracking good air combat. I will continue on and read the next in this exciting series
• 
  Alice

  A history lesson sweetened by a dressing of fiction, rather than a plot and characters I could really get my teeth into.
• 
  Chuck

  I like the way the author writes and some of the insights to what it may have been like being a WW1 Fighter pilot. Remember, this was a brand new way to do battle.
• 
  Jack Thomson

  Boring ,full of the .How are you old boy ,jolly good old bean .A sad reflection on English self called upper class