Book Review & Tour: Night of Flames by Douglas J. Jacobson

Join Douglas W. Jacobson, author of the historical fiction novel, Night of Flames: A Novel of World War Two (McBooks Press), as he virtually tours the blogosphere in September and October on his first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion!



Douglas W. Jacobson is an engineer, business owner and World War Two history enthusiast. Doug has traveled extensively in Europe researching stories of the courage of common people caught up in extraordinary circumstances. His debut novel, Night of Flames: A Novel of World War Two was published in 2007 by McBooks Press, and was released in paperback in 2008. Night of Flames won the 2007 OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD from the Wisconsin Library Association. Doug has also published articles on Belgium’s WW2 escape organization, the Comete Line; Poland’s 1st Armored Division; and the liberation of Antwerp. Doug has just completed his second novel set in Europe at the end of WW2. You can visit his blog at www.douglaswjacobson.blogspot.com.



In 1939 the Germans invade Poland, setting off a rising storm of violence and destruction. For Anna and Jan Kopernik the loss is unimaginable. She is an assistant professor at a university in Krakow; he, an officer in the Polish cavalry. Separated by war, they must find their own way in a world where everything they ever knew is gone.

Anna’s father, a prominent intellectual, is deported to a death camp, and Anna must flee to Belgium where she joins the Resistance. Meanwhile, Jan escapes with the battered remnants of the Polish army to Britain. When British intelligence asks him to return to Poland in an undercover mission to contact the Resistance, he seizes the opportunity to search for his missing wife.

Through the long night of Nazi occupation, Anna, Jan, and ordinary people across Europe fight a covert war of sabotage and resistance against the overwhelming might of the German war machine. The struggle seems hopeless, but they are determined to take back what is theirs.


My Review (4.5/5.0):

This story is so much more that I expected. I wanted to read it and requested it from Pump Up Your Book Promotions. I knew it was a novel of WWII and I knew it involved Poland which I knew little about. I believe reading this have given me a better understanding of some of the lesser known, yet very important battles of WWII. The story moves along at a wonderful pace, always moving forward and it kept me turning the pages.

Anna and Jan are the main characters in this novel, a married couple separated by the war, but always thinking of each other and searching each other out. They never give up even when hopes seem dim. Jan is in the Polish Army when the German occupation takes place and Anna is trying to return from Warsaw to Krakow. The book starts before the occupation and then resumes four years later in Begium and other areas of Europe. I learned a lot of the everyday person in the war. This was not a story of the battles so much as a story of life in an occupied country during the war and the hopes and fears of the people who were the resistance.

A fascinating read with wonderful characters. It’s heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. Mr. Jacobson’s characters show what the true human spirit is capable of even in times of true horror. It is well researched and well written. Night of Flames is a book that will stay with you long after reading it. I have recommended it to my husband who is a huge WWII buff and he will be reading it next.

Anna’s eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright. The shrill sound blasted into her brain, penetrating through the fog of sleep like an icy wind. She blinked and looked around the dark room, trying to focus on shadowy images as the sound wailed on and on.

She ran to the window. It was still dark but the night sky held a hint of gray. An early morning mist shrouded the street lamps casting a gloomy, almost spooky glow along the deserted sidewalk below. The grating noise of the air-raid siren raised the hair on the back of her neck and suddenly she was shivering. Anna crossed her arms over her chest and stared into the dull, charcoal sky. Then she heard another sound.

It came from the west, a deep angry drone like a swarm of giant bees, growing louder by the second. Anna tried to move but her feet didn’t respond.

Immobilized, riveted in place, she stared out the open window as the pounding vibration of a hundred propellers enveloped her. The thunderous roar of the bombers drowned out the air raid sirens and the entire building seemed to sway in rhythm with the oscillations.

Anna snapped out of the spell and instinctively reached out to pull the window closed. A flash of light blinded her and an ear-shattering blast threw her backwards amidst a shower of glass and falling plaster. She fell heavily against a small wooden night table and collapsed on the floor.

Watch the trailer!






Pump Up Your Book Promotion would like to thank the following sponsors of Douglas W. Jacobson's NIGHT OF FLAMES VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR '09:

(to be announced)

Douglas W. Jacobson NIGHT OF FLAMES VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR '09 will officially begin on September 1 and end on October 30. You can visit Douglas' blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of September and October to find out more about this great book and talented author!

As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors' blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.