V2
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- Create Date：2021-07-05 00:51:38
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Robert Harris
- ISBN：1787460983
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Summary
Victory is close。 Vengeance is closer。
On the brink of defeat， Hitler commissioned 10，000 V2s – ballistic rockets that carried a one-ton warhead at three times the speed of sound， which he believed would win the war。
Dr Rudi Graf who， along with his friend Werner von Braun， had once dreamt of sending a rocket to the moon， now finds himself in November 1944 in a bleak seaside town in Occupied Holland， launching V2s against London。 No one understands the volatile， deadly machine better than Graf， but his disillusionment with the war leads to him being investigated for sabotage。
Kay Caton-Walsh， an officer in the WAAF， has experienced first-hand the horror of a V2 strike。 When 160 Londoners， mostly women and children， are killed by a single missile， the government decides to send a team of WAAFs to newly-liberated Belgium in the hope of discovering the location of the launch sites。 But not all the Germans have left and Kay finds herself in mortal danger。
As the war reaches its desperate end， their twin stories play out， interlocked and separate， until their destinies are finally forced together。
On the brink of defeat， Hitler commissioned 10，000 V2s – ballistic rockets that carried a one-ton warhead at three times the speed of sound， which he believed would win the war。
Dr Rudi Graf who， along with his friend Werner von Braun， had once dreamt of sending a rocket to the moon， now finds himself in November 1944 in a bleak seaside town in Occupied Holland， launching V2s against London。 No one understands the volatile， deadly machine better than Graf， but his disillusionment with the war leads to him being investigated for sabotage。
Kay Caton-Walsh， an officer in the WAAF， has experienced first-hand the horror of a V2 strike。 When 160 Londoners， mostly women and children， are killed by a single missile， the government decides to send a team of WAAFs to newly-liberated Belgium in the hope of discovering the location of the launch sites。 But not all the Germans have left and Kay finds herself in mortal danger。
As the war reaches its desperate end， their twin stories play out， interlocked and separate， until their destinies are finally forced together。
Reviews
Robin
，
I'm a huge fan of Robert Harris's historical thrillers – from the Cicero trilogy to Ghost to An Officer and a Spy。 This one is interesting rather than hugely gripping。 It follows a dual-narrative between Rudi Graf， a conflicted V2 rocket engineer， and WAAF officer Kay Caton-Walsh。 She is armed with a slide rule and is trying to calculate the path the rockets fired at London during the closing stages of World War II are taking in order to determine where in Holland they are being launched so the I'm a huge fan of Robert Harris's historical thrillers – from the Cicero trilogy to Ghost to An Officer and a Spy。 This one is interesting rather than hugely gripping。 It follows a dual-narrative between Rudi Graf， a conflicted V2 rocket engineer， and WAAF officer Kay Caton-Walsh。 She is armed with a slide rule and is trying to calculate the path the rockets fired at London during the closing stages of World War II are taking in order to determine where in Holland they are being launched so the RAF can attack them。 The novel is fascinating but not as rich as many of Harris's previous works， riding the theme of the futility of so many endeavours during wars。 Next up， he's tackling the English Civil War， apparently。 Can't wait。 。。。more
Hornthesecond
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I found this novel an entertaining/suspenseful way of finding out a bit more about V2s without turning to non-fiction。 I prefer Harris when he writes about Rome， I'm not quite so keen on his WW2 writing - I can't quite put my finger on it， but there's something about the attitudes of his main characters that I occasionally suspect I'm feeling is anachronistic - their thoughts feel too modern for me - or maybe it's something else that doesn't feel old enough。 I shouldn't really criticise given th I found this novel an entertaining/suspenseful way of finding out a bit more about V2s without turning to non-fiction。 I prefer Harris when he writes about Rome， I'm not quite so keen on his WW2 writing - I can't quite put my finger on it， but there's something about the attitudes of his main characters that I occasionally suspect I'm feeling is anachronistic - their thoughts feel too modern for me - or maybe it's something else that doesn't feel old enough。 I shouldn't really criticise given that I can't explain what it is exactly， I just mention it in case anyone else has the same feeling。 Having said that I did enjoy this book， much more so than "Munich"， and it was an easy way to find out a little more about a historical topic I was interested in。 Harris gives some information to help separate the history from the fiction in his Acknowledgements， something I always appreciate a historical fiction author doing。 。。。more
Nomdo
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Entertaining but predictable。
Teresa Bolster
，
Robert
Carole
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Great read。 Totally recommend！
Josh
，
Entertaining and fast paced read。 3。5 stars ⭐️
Stephen Castle
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He aimed for the stars but mostly hit LondonI enjoy Robert Harris' books but I found the attitudes of the characters unbelievable。 Finding two WAAFs who would sleep with two men shortly after meeting them would have been difficult in those times。 Von Braun never came to life for me and I was never certain about his motivation。Lastly Harris says that he wrote this book while in lockdown caused by the C19 pandemic。 The lockdown was a result of the Government's reaction to the disease。 He aimed for the stars but mostly hit LondonI enjoy Robert Harris' books but I found the attitudes of the characters unbelievable。 Finding two WAAFs who would sleep with two men shortly after meeting them would have been difficult in those times。 Von Braun never came to life for me and I was never certain about his motivation。Lastly Harris says that he wrote this book while in lockdown caused by the C19 pandemic。 The lockdown was a result of the Government's reaction to the disease。 。。。more
Tom Kirkham
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An outstanding integration of fiction with historic factUsing the known history of the V2 this book has used very believable fictional characters to bring its story to life with a truly absorbing story about how it was used in the closing months of the second world war。
Derek Winterburn
，
Straightforward historical fiction about the V2 rockets from the point of view of both English and German people。 Probably will work well as a film， rather underwhelming as a novel。
Steve Morris
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Reliably good - an historical thriller from a master author。
Nancy
，
This audio CD was good long road-trip entertainment and also some interesting history into the late-in-the-War V2 program。 Two stories: First， the German inventors and engineers who develop rockets （originally intended for space） that der Fuhrer and Himmler realize can be repurposed to bomb England。 Their base for this operation is the Dutch coast。 Second， the Women's Auxiliary Air Force （WAAF） officer who is assigned to a top-secret intelligence operation set up in Belgium to determine the laun This audio CD was good long road-trip entertainment and also some interesting history into the late-in-the-War V2 program。 Two stories: First， the German inventors and engineers who develop rockets （originally intended for space） that der Fuhrer and Himmler realize can be repurposed to bomb England。 Their base for this operation is the Dutch coast。 Second， the Women's Auxiliary Air Force （WAAF） officer who is assigned to a top-secret intelligence operation set up in Belgium to determine the launching sites of the V2 rockets within mere minutes of the launches so that British fighter pilots can try to home in and destroy them。 Aerial photos， radar， trigonometry， slide rules and parabolic curves。 Clever stuff。There is a blend of fact and fiction; this book is a very good evocation of wartime privation， cold， worry， and fear on both sides。 。。。more
Cooch
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Another good book from HarrisA good and authentic feeling book set during WW2， capturing the wartime atmosphere。 A good well written book and a page turner。
James Marland
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A good thriller， with hints of Hidden Figures， and the Lady Astronaut series （The Calculating Stars）， where a series of unlikely female mathematicians save the day。 Harris has a simple style， and the prose reads a bit like a film script。 In fact the story seems almost too perfectly structured for a Hollywood movie。 If you want a WW2 story with two characters on opposite sides who are destined to meet in the occupied Low Countries at the end of the war， I prefer Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We C A good thriller， with hints of Hidden Figures， and the Lady Astronaut series （The Calculating Stars）， where a series of unlikely female mathematicians save the day。 Harris has a simple style， and the prose reads a bit like a film script。 In fact the story seems almost too perfectly structured for a Hollywood movie。 If you want a WW2 story with two characters on opposite sides who are destined to meet in the occupied Low Countries at the end of the war， I prefer Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See， where the writing has much more depth。 。。。more
Eleon397
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Just right in every way。 Could not stop reading until I had to because it ended。 Never once did I skim！
John
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Surprisingly， an entertaining read of fact and fiction surrounding V2 rockets。 I liked how Harris blended the actual history with fiction。 2700 people were killed by V2 rockets in London。 I never knew the rockets were launched from near the Hague。 The story of Braun and Graf was well crafted as was the development of the V2。 After the war Braun went to the USA and was involved in the development of spacecraft。 The love story was farfetched but the description of the rockets exploding and the tra Surprisingly， an entertaining read of fact and fiction surrounding V2 rockets。 I liked how Harris blended the actual history with fiction。 2700 people were killed by V2 rockets in London。 I never knew the rockets were launched from near the Hague。 The story of Braun and Graf was well crafted as was the development of the V2。 After the war Braun went to the USA and was involved in the development of spacecraft。 The love story was farfetched but the description of the rockets exploding and the tracking of their parabolic curve fascinating。 Kay was a one dimensional character and her affairs lacked believability。 Saying that I plan to read more of Harris historical fiction。 。。。more
Hilary
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Gripping and fascinating - Robert Harris is a great storyteller。 And I learnt about an aspect of WW2 that was new to me。
Ruth Dipple
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As usual a well-researched and well-written novel from Robert Harris， but not， in my opinion， one of his best。 There is a dual structure to the novel， half based on the RAF side and half on the German rocket scientist side。 The latter included a lot of technical detail about the V2 which I didn't find very interesting， and somehow the plot seemed to lack a final focus。 As usual a well-researched and well-written novel from Robert Harris， but not， in my opinion， one of his best。 There is a dual structure to the novel， half based on the RAF side and half on the German rocket scientist side。 The latter included a lot of technical detail about the V2 which I didn't find very interesting， and somehow the plot seemed to lack a final focus。 。。。more
Ant Koplowitz
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Interesting thriller from Robert Harris which creates a story about the deployment and impact of the frightening Nazi V2 rockets of the 1940s。 It's also a story of how the largely futile British attempts to stop the V2。 I like Harris's books， but this one seemed， oh I don't know， a bit 'cobbled together'， with no real central narrative drive。 As I said it's an interesting premise， but I feel he would have been better off writing a readable account of the V2， as opposed to trying to squeeze a nov Interesting thriller from Robert Harris which creates a story about the deployment and impact of the frightening Nazi V2 rockets of the 1940s。 It's also a story of how the largely futile British attempts to stop the V2。 I like Harris's books， but this one seemed， oh I don't know， a bit 'cobbled together'， with no real central narrative drive。 As I said it's an interesting premise， but I feel he would have been better off writing a readable account of the V2， as opposed to trying to squeeze a novel out of a fairly thin idea。 None of the characters seemed interesting enough to earn their place in the narrative， and although the V2 was a technically brilliant idea， this wasn't enough to grip as a fictional account。 What did come across well though was the Nazi's sense of paranoia and desperation at realising the war was lost after 1943。 © Koplowitz 2021 。。。more
Elite Group
，
Immaculately presented WW2 thrillerThe plot follows two storylines during the Second World War which come together at the end of the thriller。 Kay Caton-Walsh is a WAAF who becomes involved in tracking the new V2 rockets falling on London。 Rudi Graf is a member of the team， led by Wehrner von Braun， which developed the rockets although von Braun’s ultimate objective was reaching space。 The story follows the lives of both individuals along with the same timelines and it’s fascinating to be able t Immaculately presented WW2 thrillerThe plot follows two storylines during the Second World War which come together at the end of the thriller。 Kay Caton-Walsh is a WAAF who becomes involved in tracking the new V2 rockets falling on London。 Rudi Graf is a member of the team， led by Wehrner von Braun， which developed the rockets although von Braun’s ultimate objective was reaching space。 The story follows the lives of both individuals along with the same timelines and it’s fascinating to be able to experience the thoughts and feelings of both about the same incidents。It was a stunning read。 The level of research was immaculate。。。。。。at least， if it was fiction， it was believable。 Harris manages to effortlessly capture the atmosphere of the time and the reader is effortlessly transported back to the 1940s。 The level of detail is therefore mesmerising， but it never detracted from the enjoyment of the storyline。。。。。merely enhanced it。 I was a third of the way through before realising it， finished it in two sittings and felt huge regret and an almost tangible loss on reaching the last page。I put off reading this book for several weeks as it didn’t seem to be the subject matter I would enjoy。 How wrong can you be？ Superb！mr zorgElite Reviewing group received a copy of the book to review。 。。。more
Jennifer
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Robert Harris is one of my favorites， but I can't quite say the same about this one。 I actually enjoyed the switching back between the two main characters， and the historical detail was， as always， incredible。 It's just that this one didn't have much else to do。 I learned way too much about the rockets， but I could have used a little more human interaction。 The story was a bit too thin for me - but I look forward to the next one！ Robert Harris is one of my favorites， but I can't quite say the same about this one。 I actually enjoyed the switching back between the two main characters， and the historical detail was， as always， incredible。 It's just that this one didn't have much else to do。 I learned way too much about the rockets， but I could have used a little more human interaction。 The story was a bit too thin for me - but I look forward to the next one！ 。。。more
William
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Fast-paced， quickly read and lots to think about between readings; just what I expect in a great read。 Hesitated to pick it up， believing it to be another war story but the quasi data-based approach to the action calmed my apprehension- recommended。
Linda W。 Magowan
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A good historical novel about the v2 rocket; lots of things I didn’t know ， but were accurately revealed by Harris。 A good read！
Rick
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In enjoyed V2， but also found it lacking in some ways。 The book contained many fascinating details about the development of the V2 rocket in WWII， the impact that the weapon had in Britain， and British efforts to find and destroy the launch sites。 I think the story could have made a very good novel if it had been longer， with more character development and a more complex plot。 I enjoyed the book and gave it 3 stars for that reason， but at the end I was left feeling 。。。is that it？ Why isn't there In enjoyed V2， but also found it lacking in some ways。 The book contained many fascinating details about the development of the V2 rocket in WWII， the impact that the weapon had in Britain， and British efforts to find and destroy the launch sites。 I think the story could have made a very good novel if it had been longer， with more character development and a more complex plot。 I enjoyed the book and gave it 3 stars for that reason， but at the end I was left feeling 。。。is that it？ Why isn't there more？ 。。。more
Cassie
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Tomlinson， due Jan 19 2022
Jon
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Gets an extra star for being interesting about the V2 programme and the attempts at counter-measures， but this was otherwise a very thin tale， populated by two protagonists whose characters were barely sketched in。 99p and worth exactly that much。
Jan Norton
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I always enjoy Robert Harris。 When you read this book you can see how much research he put in to writing this novel。 I am looking forward to whatever he writes next。 The author did a fantastic job capturing the period and characters who were involved with and affected by the V2 rocket program during the latter days of WWII。 The most impressive accomplishment was breathing life into two protagonists on opposite sides of the conflict， in Britain and in Nazi occupied Netherlands。 And to think so ma I always enjoy Robert Harris。 When you read this book you can see how much research he put in to writing this novel。 I am looking forward to whatever he writes next。 The author did a fantastic job capturing the period and characters who were involved with and affected by the V2 rocket program during the latter days of WWII。 The most impressive accomplishment was breathing life into two protagonists on opposite sides of the conflict， in Britain and in Nazi occupied Netherlands。 And to think so many of these scientists ended up in America working in our space program。 。。。more
Eric Lee
，
Robert Harris is back。 Having made his reputation with Second World War thrillers such as Enigma and Fatherland， Harris is on familiar territory here and knows how to tell a good story。 I read the book in two days。 It’s actually two stories in parallel。 One features a young woman working for the British， trying to locate the elusive launchpads for the V2 rockets that were causing deaths and damage in London in late 1944。 The other story is about one of the German engineers who helped create the Robert Harris is back。 Having made his reputation with Second World War thrillers such as Enigma and Fatherland， Harris is on familiar territory here and knows how to tell a good story。 I read the book in two days。 It’s actually two stories in parallel。 One features a young woman working for the British， trying to locate the elusive launchpads for the V2 rockets that were causing deaths and damage in London in late 1944。 The other story is about one of the German engineers who helped create the V2 but has grown disenchanted。 The three main problems with the book — no spoilers here — are these: What the German engineer reveals about the British plan to locate the launchpads is actually not a big surprise， and one wonders why no one on the Allied side thought of it。 The ‘good German’ role is itself becoming a tired trop in fiction， as it surely is here， though at least we’re shown someone who notices the tens of thousands of slave labourers employed to make the V2 rockets but shows almost no sympathy for them。 And finally， the very last page of the book — really？ I don’t buy it。 。。。more
Phil Aldis
，
Felt less well written and researched than his books normally are。
Paul
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Thoroughly absorbing from start to finish。 Definitely， up there with his best - Pompeii， Lustrum etc。
Nic
，
V2 is a smart blend of fact and fiction written by probably the most engaging writer in this genre。 It’s the tail end of WWII and the Germans have taken to increasingly blistering V2 rocket attacks on London。 The story revolves around Rudi Graf， the German engineer spearheading the rocket campaign （but dreaming of sending rockets into space not as a means of destruction）， and Kay Caron-Walsh a member of the WAAF who gets caught up with the V2s in more ways than one。 I spotted the negative review V2 is a smart blend of fact and fiction written by probably the most engaging writer in this genre。 It’s the tail end of WWII and the Germans have taken to increasingly blistering V2 rocket attacks on London。 The story revolves around Rudi Graf， the German engineer spearheading the rocket campaign （but dreaming of sending rockets into space not as a means of destruction）， and Kay Caron-Walsh a member of the WAAF who gets caught up with the V2s in more ways than one。 I spotted the negative reviews for V2， mainly by those picking holes in the facts。 However， I read it as a work of fiction and thoroughly enjoyed it throughout。 I did the Audible version and the narration was excellent。 I am a Robert Harris fan and thought this was a masterful work of fact based fiction。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=V2
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=V2&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,V2&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0