My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Atmosphere Press for an advanced copy of this historical wartime adventure.

During World War I, a new front was found for man to fight and die in and for the air, not just the ground where trenches scarred the landscape and victories were decided by body counts. The big difference was not just the lack of mud and that the smell of gas was gasoline, not mustard, but that these combatants tried to make this is war of knights, of gentleman fighting for more than country, but honor. Songs were written, heroes made by newspapers as gallant airmen shot plane after plane down, Aces were given medals, and even the boys at the front would dream about soaring over the landscape, not reeking of blood and mud.

Iain Steward in his novel Knights of the Air, Book 1: Rage!, strips this away, showing a war only decades after men attained flight now learning to kill each others, troops on the ground and civilians far from the battle lines. Lance Fitch learns early that war is vile, disgusting and crushing of both soul and spirit, and that only the most brutal can survive. If shooting a pilot after his machine gun jams finishes the war, than fine. In planes prone to crashing on clear days, where parachutes are still new, or unmanly this form of warfare is as barbaric as the ground war. Mr. Stewart does a good job of showing both the beauty of flight, and the smell of burning oil, flaming canopies and the sweet that comes from seeing a red plane with three wings diving out of the sun.

A mix of fictional and historical characters help the story grow and adds a strong level of realism, including the flight passages which are very descriptive and interesting. Lance Fitch is an interesting character, but the presence of real aces, like the aforementioned Red Baron, and Albert Ball, a famed British pilot, give the story a sense of gravitas. Not Boys' Own or Biggles, but true to what the air war must have been, with a very good adventure story and writing. Fans of Wilbur Smith and Douglas Reeman will definitely enjoy this series.