Before The Brightest Dawn
(The Half-Blood Trilogy Book #3)
By Jana Petken
Jana Petken’s
extraordinary historical epic, The German Half-Bloods Trilogy, reaches its
sweeping, heart-wrenching conclusion.
In The German Half-Bloods and The Vogels, Jana Petken followed the turbulent lives of an Anglo-German family as they forged their paths through the Second World War. Now, the conflict intensifies in the Soviet States, North Africa, France, and the growing resistance movement in Poland.
Will Max, Paul, and Wilmot Vogel survive the most ruthless phase of the war to date?
Max takes a path to momentous events in North Africa where he balances undercover games of espionage in decadent Cairo with dangerous missions behind the German Afrika Korps’ lines.
Paul’s loyalty to the Third Reich continues to wane as Germany’s extermination programmes in Poland expand, and he is stalked by the new Kriminalinspektor, Manfred Krüger. Can he stay one step ahead of a man who has been ordered to destroy him?
Wilmot faces new challenges in the Afrika Korps, but is he mentally and physically prepared to lead his men into Libya’s fiery desert and against the British 8th Army?
Before the Brightest Dawn, the long-awaited Book 3 of the Half-Bloods Trilogy, concludes the story of the inextricably entangled fates of three brothers … through a war that becomes increasingly brutal and cruel.
In The German Half-Bloods and The Vogels, Jana Petken followed the turbulent lives of an Anglo-German family as they forged their paths through the Second World War. Now, the conflict intensifies in the Soviet States, North Africa, France, and the growing resistance movement in Poland.
Will Max, Paul, and Wilmot Vogel survive the most ruthless phase of the war to date?
Max takes a path to momentous events in North Africa where he balances undercover games of espionage in decadent Cairo with dangerous missions behind the German Afrika Korps’ lines.
Paul’s loyalty to the Third Reich continues to wane as Germany’s extermination programmes in Poland expand, and he is stalked by the new Kriminalinspektor, Manfred Krüger. Can he stay one step ahead of a man who has been ordered to destroy him?
Wilmot faces new challenges in the Afrika Korps, but is he mentally and physically prepared to lead his men into Libya’s fiery desert and against the British 8th Army?
Before the Brightest Dawn, the long-awaited Book 3 of the Half-Bloods Trilogy, concludes the story of the inextricably entangled fates of three brothers … through a war that becomes increasingly brutal and cruel.
“If such a thing as sympathy existed in war, no one
would die, and soldiers would shake hands with the enemy and march homeward
without a drop of blood being spilt…”
But,
when the best political weapon is that of terror, and it is mistakenly believed
that *cruelty commands respect, there is no room for sympathy — only
blood.
It
had become a war of ideologies. National Socialism and the Germanic-Nordic
blood on one side, and the other… Not men. Not women. Not children. They were
certainly not people.
Paul
Vogel had seen The Third Reich’s idea of mercy, and it had made him sick to the
very bottom of his soul. But nothing had prepared him for the horror of the
Łódź Ghetto. Paul wanted to become a doctor because he wanted to make a
difference. How was he supposed to treat the ghetto’s many patients when he was
denied necessary supplies and equipment? And how was he, as a man who had sworn
to do no harm, to stand by and do nothing as men, women, and children were shot
in the streets? And what about those who were herded into cattle cars on the Sonderzüge,
was he to stay quiet and say nothing about them as well? Paul has a decision to
make. Does he continue to obey orders or does he dare to turn his back upon the
Party, upon his own country, and fight with the Polish Resistance?
Wilmot
Vogel had always dreamed of being awarded an Iron Cross. He had demonstrated
his bravery and courage in Russia, and his dream had come true. Wilmot wears
his Iron Cross with pride. He had hoped his next post would be in Europe,
somewhere less inhospitable. Instead, Wilmot finds himself in Libya, with the
Afrika Korps under the command of Erwin Rommel. However, this is a different
type of war to the one Wilmot has fought in before. The heat is relentless, the
food disagreeable, and the Allies are under the command of Field Marshal
Montgomery. Wilmot knew the war in Africa would be no easy win. But he was beginning to suspect that he would be lucky if he came out of this with his life.
Max
Vogel was also in Africa, but unlike his brothers, he had been a member of the
British Special Operations Executive (SOE), from the very beginning. He could
not stand and fight for a country that had so fundamentally lost its way.
Thrown into a world of espionage, Max must keep his wits and his courage, for
the Allies depend upon the information he can uncover.
Compelling,
engrossing, the most vivid of tales, filled with moments of pure heroism as
well as the deepest of tragedy, Before The Brightest Dawn (The Half-Blood
Trilogy Book #3) by Jana Petken is the story of one family who is torn apart by
the deadliest war in recorded history.
Having
tutored Modern European History for many years, I have seen more than my fair
share of black and white photographs of soldiers, taken during World War II,
and while doing so, I have often wondered who these soldiers were and what
happened to them. This story reminded me of those photographs and, although
fictional in the telling, Before The Brightest Dawn gives us an insight into
what it was like to fight on both sides of the war.
Wilmot,
who despite mistaking nationalism for patriotism, is at heart a good man. He
has lived through the horrors of being a Soviet prisoner of war only to find
himself fighting for his life in the deserts of Libya. His war is an incredibly
hard one, and yet his determination, and his loyalty and caring attitude,
especially towards Egon — a shell-shocked young soldier — made him a very
likeable character. He is young and full of life despite the terrible suffering
he has endured, and his cheeky arrogance helps him to survive the war and all
her horrors. When I started reading Book 1, I did have my doubts about Wilmot,
he is almost besotted with the idea of Hitler and the Party, and because of
this I feared I was going to struggle to connect with him, but in the end, I
think he was one of my favourite characters in this series. He starts this
series young and naïvely idealistic, but by Book #3 he is a seasoned soldier,
and Hitler has well and truly fallen off the golden pedestal that Wilmot had
initially put him on.
Despite
it all, Wilmot also has an air of vulnerability about him. He is still a young
man at the close of Before The Brightest Dawn, and he finds himself on the
losing side. Much is written about the allied victory in works of historical
fiction, but not as much is written about the German defeat from the German
perspective. By showing both sides of the war, Petken has painted a very vivid
and rounded story that swept me away in its brilliance.
The
dangerous game of espionage that Max plays, and the risks that he takes to
gather information made this story tautly gripping. I adored Max’s
characterisation. He is incredibly driven, and he gets the job done despite the
risks to himself. But there is another side to him. He is a brother, a son, and
a fiancé. He wants to protect his family by bringing about an end to the war so
that they can all be reunited.
Paul’s
story is a cross between Thomas Keneally’s Schindler’s Ark and Wish Me
Luck, a British television series about the resistance that was first
broadcast in 1988. So many times, I found myself in tears as Paul’s story
unfolded in front of me. Here is a decent, caring man who is being asked to do
things that go against every fibre of his being. Paul is a very moral man, and
he does not get caught up in party politics. Unlike Wilmot, Paul is a patriot, but
he can see nationalism and the Nazi Party for what it truly is. His choice is
simple. Either he toes the party lines and does as he is told without question,
or he fights back. But if he does that, then he may well find himself in front
of a firing squad. His decisions and actions really helped to drive this story
forward, and I liked him very much. In truth, I was enthralled by Paul’s story
from start to finish. His character is incredibly well drawn. A photograph come
to life.
Once
again, Petken has presented her readers with a historical rich tale, where
nothing is beneath her attention. The hours of research that has gone into this
book, and indeed this series, clearly shines through in the impressive prose
and the persuasive narrative. Petken is one of those authors who makes history
come alive.
I
have enjoyed every minute of this series and now feel slightly bereft that it
has come to an end. If you are looking for your next World War II historical
fiction series which shows both sides of the war, then look no further than The
Half-Blood Trilogy. I look forward to reading more books by this author.
I
Highly Recommend.
Review
by Mary Anne Yarde.
The
Coffee Pot Book Club.
*“The best political weapon is
the weapon of terror. Cruelty commands respect. Men may hate us. But, we don’t
ask for their love; only for their fear.” Heinrich Himmler (original
year not specified).
Pick up your copy of
Before The Brightest Dawn
(The Half-Blood Trilogy Book #3)
Jana Petken
Jana Petken is a bestselling historical
fiction novelist and screenwriter.
She is critically acclaimed as a bestselling, gritty, author who produces bold, colourful characters and riveting storylines. She is the recipient of numerous major international awards for her works of historical fiction and is presently in talks with film producers regarding one of her titles.
Before life as
an author, she served in the British Royal Navy. During her service, she
studied Naval Law and history. After the Navy, she worked for British Airways
and turned to writing after an accident on board an aircraft forced her to
retire prematurely.
