Another Kind of War is the second of the Harry Lockwood books. It is 1948, and the Second World War is still fresh in everyone’s memories. Trooper Harry Lockwood is serving the last half of his National Service in the 5th Royal Tank Regiment in Germany. Harry’s best friend from school days, known as ‘the Captain,’ is also in Germany. He has signed on as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Intelligence Corps. The two meet for a skiing holiday at a leave centre in Austria. There, the Captain is drugged and kidnapped by a mysterious blond man and his obnoxious female assistant. They take him across the Iron Curtain, where he is imprisoned in a strange castle. What do they want him for? Will he be executed or released? the company story takes the reader on a roller coaster of excitement and romance from the UK to British Occupied Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia.
Excerpt
The Captain looked down as he stood on the summit of the Zugspitze. From thousands of feet below, the smoke and flames of a burgeoning volcanic eruption billowed upward until finally he was seized in a merciless pyroplastic grip that shook him senseless. Trembling, with sweat beading on his forehead, he awoke to find he was lying on a bed fully clothed in his uniform. As he opened his eyes, a hellish, screaming pain at the back of his skull made him nauseous. In spite of it, he was able to perceive a dim glow on the other side of the room. The light seemed to be coming from outside through a window with a thin curtain. It had a pattern of thick black vertical lines some six inches apart. Then the Captain realized they were the shadows of window bars, thick enough to contain an angry gorilla. The journey from sleep to waking had been a nightmare, but the stark reality of his situation was almost as bad. He was a prisoner.
Professional Reviews
Midwest Book Reviews July 2006
In this second book of three, the intrepid friends from Markham College are no longer boys, but men. This book can easily stand alone, but knowing Harry and Captain from Harry's War added to the excitement. These characters were endearing as boys, and are eminently appealing as men.
Harry is now Trooper Harry Lockwood of the 5th Royal Tank Regiment. His best friend Captain has become Lt. Martin Bulman of the British Intelligence Corps. World War Two is over and the Cold War has begun with Harry on maneuvers in Occupied West Germany. His lover Jenny lives with relatives in Scotland. Both are lonely, forced to maintain a long distance relationship via mail and telephone. Harry and Captain have continued the close ties established at school. A shared leave in the Austrian Alps ends in a mystery when Captain unexpectedly disappears.
Captain has been drugged and transported behind the Iron Curtain by Communist operatives. For what purpose, no one knows at first. His jailer, Fraulein Kellerman, appears to be a hard-nosed agent but Captain eventually spots several large chinks in her armor. Intelligence is his forte, along with courage and a quick mind. He soon learns Fraulein Kellerman's true identity, followed by an unexpected turn of plot. Meanwhile, Captain's Commanding Officer has transferred Harry to his service because no one on earth knows how Captain's mind works better than Harry. Tips from a woman named Kristy Schneider help them track Captain to where he's being held in Czechoslovakia. The situation is desperate, once the truth is known. Captain is to be exchanged with an Eastern Bloc operative. If England does not cooperate, Captain will be executed.
Another Kind of War is fast paced and engaging from the start. Mr. Bradley has developed his characters quite effectively. Jenny has become a strong and loving source of stability for Harry during chaotic, frightening times. The fondness I felt for Harry and Captain in book one has become admiration and respect in book two. Bradley captures the feeling of time, place, and persona in exciting ways in this ongoing story of love, war, and friendship.
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