SUNDOG
A Novel set on the Eastern Front in World War II
When two German fighter pilots are flung into the terrible siege of Stalingrad during the Second World War, they discover that the conflict in the air is as fierce as in the frozen streets below. These young men must somehow survive long enough to learn the skills of air combat so they can challenge their powerful enemy and protect those they have come to love and respect.
As madness threatens to overtake one of the traumatized pilots, they try every tactic to overcome the bitter odds trapping their comrades in the Stalingrad pocket. A story of determination and the discovery of personal strength, Sundog shows the importance of duty and loyalty and friendship at a time when the entire world had turned itself to war.
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We at TVC are not particularly interested in the experiences of German pilots stationed in Southern Russia in December 1942, and so we would not have picked up Sundog, had we not known that its author, Canadian Jeff Janoda was also the author of the terrific, Saga A Novel of Medieval Iceland. Janoda justified our faith. It would have been our loss, had we judged this book by its subject matter. The settings of the two novels could not be more different, but the concise, detailed and historically rich style are the same.
Sundog is a truly ripping yarn, a tale of derring-do for adults, told with psychological depth and consistency. The story of each of the pilots – compassionate Fraser, his disturbingly dependent protege Lau, Leutnant Eichorn of the ravaged face, intense Major Konnet and even Air Marshall von Richthofen (cousin of the more famous baron) is given thoughtful treatment as we follow the struggles for supremacy within the German ranks in the wasteland of a war that is lost. The erstwhile stringent tiers of military hierarchy are strained by personal triumphs, failures and preferences.
Sundog is action-packed. The reader would do well to pay attention to the historical notes, glossaries and maps at the rear of the book, or there is a danger of losing track of the to-ing and fro-ing between airbases.
It’s important to keep track of German military terms such as gruppe and staffel. (We have two minor quibbles, about this meticulously drawn book. Firstly strangely, although there are descriptions of aircraft such as the Russian Yak and the German Stuka, there is no description in the glossary of the most commonly-appearing German workhorse fighter, the Gustav. Second – there is a risk of confusing some of the many lesser characters.
They are not always readily distinguishable – the reader is advised to keep a list.)
Janoda draws us into the vivid world of the last days of World War II in Russia – the snow, fear, hunger and illness. Men living in burnt-out airplane shells in below freezing temperatures. Young pilots learning intricate flying manoeuvres one day and executing them the next, for real, against enemy fighters, mere hundreds of feet from the frozen ground. The fights are excitingly told:
“The Yak disintegrated under the burst, throwing back a storm of debris. Fraser screamed out in triumph, his teeth bared as if in a fight of the flesh. Thuds sounded along his fighter’s wing root, the Gustav pitching from the impacts of the doomed enemy aircraft’s pieces. Gouts of oil struck his windscreen suddenly, startling him out of his savage fugue, lubricants released from the Yak’s torn engine. He could see nothing ahead of him.
”Break!” Eichorn shouted, “Break!”
Fraser braked away frantically into the clear. The side of his canopy remained open in broad swatches, although heavily dotted with oil. He watched the destroyed Yak plummet to the ground, trailing flames.”
Sundog is on a par with Saga, – addictive and thrilling – despite its vastly different subject matter. We await Mr Janoda’s next novel with interest. Where will he go next? We are sure to be going with him.
The Varnished Culture (Lesley Jacobsen)
An ambitious historical novel set on the eastern front during World War II follows a band of German pilots.
Nazi Germany’s 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union included a large air contingent. While the Germans initially dominated the Russians, the Soviet Air Force came to mount a fierce resistance over the next two years. Janoda (Saga: A Novel of Medieval Iceland, 2005) makes the unusual choice to depict this historical moment from the perspective of the German military, particularly that of a group of Luftwaffe pilots stationed on the remote, freezing, and brutal Russian front. While the cast of characters features devoted Nazi officers intent on earning medals and honors, it also includes more complex figures, such as a highly skilled but mentally unstable German pilot, a reluctantly accepted Ukrainian volunteer worker, and Lt. Daniel Fraser, a pilot raised in America. Fraser emerges as the closest thing the novel has to a protagonist. While a student in the United States, Fraser considered joining the U.S. Air Force, but after returning to Germany on the eve of the war, he eagerly joined the Luftwaffe instead. When questioned about his loyalties, he doesn’t hesitate to answer, “I am a Luftwaffe officer, sir.” At the same time, Fraser’s outsider status—and the influence of his investigative journalist father—allows him a greater perspective on Nazi politics than those of most of the men he serves with. The story mixes plenty of interpersonal conflicts with scenes of intense combat. The plot, however, could easily have fit into a book of two-thirds the length. Meticulous explorations of German military bureaucracy and equipment fill many pages. Janoda’s novel, which is more thorough than many history books, even provides a healthy set of appendices featuring historical notes, a glossary, a rank table, and two maps. Military history buffs should relish the opportunity to spend so much time in a fully realized World War II environment, but many other readers will find the novel daunting.”
Kirkus Reviews