In 1938, Nazi Germany prepares to extend its reach far beyond its borders. The key to domination lies in a secret that would make their army not only unbeatable, but un-killable.
MI-6, knowing that something potentially devastating is developing, recruits scholar and novelist John Ronald Reuel Tolkien to travel to Germany to find out what this might be, using the German popularity of his children’s novel THE HOBBIT as cover. Joining him there is MI-6 agent Ian Fleming, still years away from his own writing career but posing as a Reuters journalist. Together, Tolkien and Fleming will get to the heart of the secret – and they will face a fury greater than even their prodigious imaginations considered possible.
Both an astounding work of suspense and a literary treasure trove to delight fans of either author, NO DAWN FOR MEN is a nonstop adventure.
From Booklist
It’s 1938, and a German professor is working on a top-secret project for the Nazis, something involving Norse mythology. As it happens, a British author is scheduled to go to Germany to promote the launch of a translation of his popular children’s novel. Accompanied by a Reuters journalist, who’s also an MI-6 operative, the author is tasked with finding out what the German scholar is up to and what importance his project might have for Nazi Germany’s impending global expansion. An interesting-enough premise as is, but see what happens when we give the main characters their names: the British author is John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, author of The Hobbit (and, later, the Lord of the Rings trilogy), and the Reuters journalist and MI-6 agent is Ian Fleming (later to create James Bond). Oh, and toss this into the mix, too: the project the professor is working on involves finding a way for the Nazis to make their troops invincible. There are dozens of ways this novel could have failed, but, instead, it’s a rousing success, a thrilling adventure that does its clever frame story justice. --David Pitt |
