
Melvyn Fickling - Author
The Bluebirds Trilogy
Melvyn Fickling - Author
The Bluebirds Trilogy
My first novel, Bluebirds, was inspired by the discovery that a boy from my hometown had grown up to become one of Churchill's vaunted Few, had flown in the iconic Spitfire and had scored kills in that pivotal battle. This led me to research his life in detail. That research became the basis for the story-line of Bluebirds.
Out of Bluebirds was born a purely fictional character named Bryan Hale. Blackbirds follows Bryan as he emerges from the end of the Battle of Britain and enters the new world of night-fighting in the dark winter skies of The Blitz.
Falcons follows Bryan Hale to Malta. The stresses of combat flying in England's summer skies during the Battle of Britain, and night-fighting in the icy darkness of The Blitz, together with the loss of friends and a shattered heart, have left him broken and grounded. Fortress Malta, and the unrelenting Nazi siege that aims to grind it away, will be the furnace that forges him anew.
I was fortunate enough to read an advanced edition of this outstanding book. As a regular
consumer of all things aviation in general, and the Battle of Britain specifically I thoroughly
enjoyed this novel. As a pilot myself, I found myself relating to the young men in the book
watching the airplanes from the previous war taking off behind an airport fence, and wanting
nothing more than to be a pilot. The scenes described by the author put you in the cockpit closing
with an ME109 at 400 knots! You can feel the fear and excitement of the engagement. Mr.
Fickling has scored with this novel, and done yet another service to "the few". I can't wait for the
next instalment!
Jay S Huff
Jay S Huff