SAS Band of Brothers is very much about bringing history alive. Making WWII – a decades-old conflict, with so few veterans still with us – resonate and feel real. Bringing Remembrance home. I love the fact that my readers range from teenagers to octogenarians, and so many of the messages I receive start out with: ‘I’m was never one for reading books until I picked up your …’
I open SAS Band of Brothers in a dramatic time and place with a compelling cast of characters: a twelve-man SAS patrol, under command of Captain Patrick Garstin, speeding into Nazi-occupied France in the dark and echoing belly of a Stirling heavy bomber, about to parachute behind the lines. The narrative sticks with these twelve incredibly colourful characters on the rollercoaster ride that then unfolds – of action, courage, tragedy, raw survival and ultimate vengeance.
Likewise, I tend to read gripping history. Don’t be put off by the tome-like expanse of Erik Larsen’s The Splendid and the Vile. Sub-titled ‘A saga of Churchill, family and defiance during the Blitz’ it is just that – conjuring up a cast of characters and a sense of place that is gripping and visceral and makes for compelling reading. Larsen makes such towering figures human: Churchill openly in tears as he walks through London’s blasted streets, endearing him to Londoners …
But historic fiction can be equally rewarding. Robert Harris’s V2 conjurs up the sheer size and fearsome potency of the Nazi’s Vergeltungswaffen – Vengeance Weapons – whose and technological superiority almost tipped the scales in the war. As the massive rockets steam and snort and arrow their way from a freezing Dutch woodland towards London, at supersonic speed, a desperate plot to stop them is launched against all odds …
I’m presently reading an advance copy of Simon Scarrow’s Blackout – which published in March 2021. Set in 1939 in Germany, I’m transfixed by the scenes of Nazi party dignitaries and the Berlin glitterati stomping the snow from their boots, as they gather for a decadent winter ball to celebrate how the Blitzkrieg – the lightning-war – has crushed Poland, with most of Western Europe set to follow.
Pivotal moments in history; utterly authentic characters; a gripping plot. The perfect way to bring history alive.
By Damien Lewis
Damien Lewis is a Sunday Times no 1 bestselling author whose books have been translated into forty languages worldwide. For twenty years Damien worked as a war and conflict reporter for the world’s major broadcasters, reporting across Africa, South America, the Middle East and Far East winning numerous awards. Several of his books are being made into feature films.
SAS Band Of Brothers continues Damien’s iconic WWII elite forces series: Churchill’s Secret Warriors, The Nazi Hunters, Hunting The Nazi Bomb, SAS Ghost Patrol, SAS Italian Job and SAS Shadow Raiders.
Frost will be reviewing SAS Band of Brothers by Damien Lewis shortly
SAS Band of Brothers by Damien Lewis Published by Quercus Books in hardback on 5th November 2020 @ £20