Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Somewhere in a very fun space that runs with the pacing of Sean Connery's James Bond and the wink/wink humor of Roger Moore, with a strong dash of the stiff upper lip-ness of The 39 Steps' Richard Hannay, this novel moves, moves, moves right until the end (although the last few pages are a bit of a steep cliff). We are definitely NOT in the shadowy corners of Alan Furst's Vichy France although we do get a bit of the red-eyed tenseness that would inevitably come with a spy novel set in one of the Nazi-occupied nations. It's a fast read and an enjoyable one - definite recommend.

Basil St. Florian sets off to France to find a text to uncover a spy! But his problems are compounded the German occupiers, not to mention the French and his own command. He hopes to get in and out quietly, but that does not happen so Basil has to improvise on his way to returning to jolly ole England! A fun, quick tale of WWII derring-do!

received an advanced reader copy of Basil’s War through Net Galley . My thanks to Net Galley, author and publisher.
Stephen Hunter , who has many novels to his credit featuring the retired USMC sniper Bob Lee Swaggart, gives the reader a different setting, style and hero in “Basil’s War”.
“Basil’s War” is an entertainingly exciting and often amusing novel of the adventures of a British spy during WW2. Captain Basil St. Florian is dropped into German occupied France and with a mission takes him into Paris which is filled with German soldiers, both Wehrmacht and SS and Gestapo troops. An Allied agent who fell into their hands seldom survived interrogation, or if he or she did, faced a trip to a concentration camp. That shadow hangs over the story, but Basil is the man for the job. Basil St.Florian is sort of a Flashman figure ( if you do not know about his novelistic adventures, you should) . He is a fighter, lover, rogue, not too heroically inclined as befits a proper British hero - all traits that hide the fact that he is very good at what he does. He has managed to survive numerous missions into occupied territory, so far, but the Germans are getting better at finding British agents.

Mr. Hunter’s plot is divided in alternating chapters: the briefing and the mission. The Briefing takes place in the war room , deep below the Exchequer in London, where Basil learns what is required of him. Present is Basil, various stuffed shirt senior officers and a civilian or two, one of whom is a chap named Turing. The verbal interplay among this group raises a smile as they discuss the captain’s past missions( I killed the sod with a cricket bat, relates Basil) and current love affair with one Vivian Leigh (Gone With The Wind star and currently married to Olivier) in between setting up the need to infiltrate Paris a find a copy of a 300- year old religious tract being used in as format for a book - based code. That tract is part of an elaborate espionage/ counter - espionage plan hatched by intelligence services.
In France Basil goes about the mission with cunning skill.The author makes most of the Germans seem buffoonish, but never loses sight of the fact that most secret agents dropped into France do not survive long.His portrait of the French people of enduring occupation by trying to ignore the Germans and of a Resistance as inept as is at variance with most current fiction, though. It is is in these chapters that the Author’s skill at thriller writing comes though in a tautly written exciting tightening of the search for Basil as he goes about completing the mission. No spoilers, but it all comes down to a satisfying climax with an interesting ending of a spy in the Secret Service.
Summing: a fine story that is well- written and fun to read.

Basil's War is an interesting take on the intelligence side of World War Two. I enjoyed the book. The book was fast paced.

Published by Mysterious Press on May 4, 2021

Basil’s War is an expanded version of the short story “Citadel.” That story is fun. The novel, with the addition of new adventures as Basil carries out his mission, is even more fun.

Basil St. Florian is a spy, but he’s not a James Bond clone. He combines the wit and charm of Bertie Wooster with the sly intelligence of Jeeves. Basil is a captain in the British Army during World War II. He has a fondness for cocktails and actresses.

The British believe that a German spy is using a book code to transmit secrets. The book is actually a manuscript, The Path to Jesus, published in 1767. To break the code, the Brits need the manuscript, but there are only two copies in existence. They can’t access the one in the Oxford Library because the German spy would learn that they have tumbled to the source of the code. Hence, Basil is to make his way into France and photograph relevant pages of the second manuscript, where it is housed in a rare document collection at the Institut de France in Paris.

Basil changes the mission plan while entering France for reasons that are revealed in the end. He uses his wits and pickpocketing talents to avoid the Germans who are searching for him. More Germans need to be foiled to complete his mission. All the while, Basil’s attitude is one of breezy self-confidence. In the British tradition, he is self-effacing rather than cocky, but he brings a “nothing ventured” philosophy to the more dangerous aspects of his mission. For example, he decides to steal an airplane, and having watched pilots fly them in the past, he thinks it really can’t be that hard. Landing turns out to be trickier than he anticipated.

The light tone distinguishes Basil’s War from a James Bond or George Smiley novel. Since the story isn’t meant to be taken seriously, it would be easy to forgive improbabilities. Yet Stephen Hunter tells a credible story, avoiding the outrageous while spicing the plot with believable action scenes. Well, maybe sleeping with Vivian Leigh and working with Alan Turing is a stretch, but it all adds to the fun. Basil’s War is easy to read and easy to enjoy.

RECOMMENDED

Meh, I didn't enjoy this book and im not really sure why. Im a fan of Stephen Hunter but I could have stopped reading this at any point. The old English expressions were tiresome, I didn't understand some of them and the kindle dictionary didn't know either. Also there were lots of words that weren't spaced correctly. It was just an ok read for me.

Protagonist Basil St. Florian is parachuted one night, into occupied France in the Spring of 1943. His mission: to somehow get from the northern French coast, down to Paris, where his job is to locate a rare copy of a handwritten pamphlet entitled The Path to Jesus. It was created by an obscure 18th century Scottish clergyman, and held in the access-controlled rare documents section of the French National Museum. Basil hopes to photograph a half-dozen or so pages . . . then return with them to England. It seems that the pamphlet is being used by a British academic—who’s a traitor—to send coded messages back to his masters. The Brits know they have a spy who’s operating somewhere in Bletchley Park, where the code-breakers for the entire Allied war effort work. St. Florian can’t just steal the pamphlet, because doing so would let the Germans know that the English are aware of the mole and the code would simply be changed. It’s a situation with the direst of consequences—thousands more deaths because the war could go on until 1946 or ‘47—and the slimmest of chances for success. Can Basil St. Florian survive a mission with almost impossible odds; can he possibly outwit the smartest of German spy catchers and his SS cohort? You’ll just have to read Basil’s War for yourself and see. You’ll be glad you did!

Basil St. Florian is a womanizer, enjoys a good drink and has a quick wit. He claims to have a boring desk job, but when the War Office has a mission that needs immediate action they call on Basil. His current mission is to enter occupied Paris and photograph the pages of a manuscript from 1789. While the original is in Cambridge, they can not access it. It is being used to encode messages to a Russian agent and they must crack the code without alerting the agent or his contact. An action in Russia by the Germans that could extend the war has been discovered and Stalin must be warned. He is distrustful and ignores communication from his allies. If the warning comes from his own agent he may take action. From the time that Basil departs for France the mission does not go as expected. Basil must use all of his skills and his ability to charm people if he is to complete the mission. Almost from the beginning the Germans are close on his heels, providing a tense chase.

Stephen Hunter alternates scenes of Basil’s mission with his briefings. Here he meets Alan Turing, who will be responsible for cracking the code. There are also brief appearances by Vivian Leigh and Lawrence Olivier. The action moves quickly and Basil’s escapades are full of surprises. With the war still raging, Hunter will hopefully have Basil return for further missions in the future. I would like to thank NetGalley and Mysterious Press for providing this book for my review.

My thanks to the Author publishers and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
The Basil of the title is Basil St. Florian swashbuckling spy and proper hero, also a bit of a cad and ladies man full of charm and wit. Brave clever resourceful and somewhat ruthless, with a typically British stuff upper lip.
Well written with a mix of genuine historical figures and well drawn fictional characters in an absorbing intriguing story. One moment tense the next laugh out loud funny, but always interesting if a little far fetched.
Recommended.

The British SOE has a problem. There's an unidentified Communist mole at Bletchley Park and the only way to identify him/her is through a code book, unfortunately in a Library controlled by a known spy. The only way to identify the mole is to access a second copy of the code book located in occupied Paris. Enter Basil St. Florian, hard-drinking womanizer and agent extraordinaire. The novel is an adventure in spy-craft punctuated by Basil's wry observations and unique approaches to problem solving. A thrilling yet slightly humorous twist on the usual SOE mission.

I really looked forward to reading Basil’s War. I like Stephen Hunter and tHis type of book is right up my alley. However, I just couldn’t embrace the characters. The book was well written and full of intrigue. But it just didn’t resonate for me.

The ending was clever but seemed like a copy of Casablanca. It seemed like the author couldn’t decide between a thriller and a James Bond campy hero. I was disappointed as I like Hunter’s other books. This one seemed like a rushed effort.

Stephen Hunter's name has become associated with realistic sniper novels, starring his protagonist Bob Lee Swagger. But in Hunter’s newest novel, we meet Basil St. Florian, an agent in the British Army. Set during WWII, he has to go undercover in Nazi-occupied France.

In a classic spy novel, with scents of Nelson DeMille’s Charm School and LeCarre’s Smiley books, Hunter has created a fantastic spy thriller with Basil’s War.

It felt strange stepping away from the Swagger series, and I am a huge fan of Bob Lee. I missed reading about the sniper, but I do appreciate how Hunter never froze Swagger in time. We’ve seen him slowly get older, and it’s great to see Hunter introduce a new character in Basil. I thought this novel was fantastically written, and it instantly felt like a classic spy novel. Although it is not the high-octane shoot-em-up thriller, it is a slow burn that keeps burning through the novel’s entirety. Hunter has always had well-crafted novels that suck the reading in immediately, and Basil’s War is no different.

A fantastic thriller that perfectly accompanies a cold beer on a hot day. If you’re a fan of Hunter, you’ll love this novel, or if you just enjoy a good spy novel, make sure you grab a copy.

Basil’s War is a classic spy vs. spy story with old school James Bond vibes. Taking it one step further, Stephen Hunter has channeled John le Carré and combined it with Ted Bell’s character Alexander Hawke to create an alluring WWII tale pitting the British against the Germans in occupied France. This book has all the hallmarks of a timeless spy thriller – a debonair gentleman spy who’s got financial means and a deft touch with the ladies, a dangerous mission requiring impeccable spy craft to survive in enemy territory, a cat and mouse game with the players trying to guess the other side’s motivations in order to outwit them, and a few twists in the tail to keep the reader guessing.

Known for the Bob Lee Swagger series, this book reminds readers that Stephen Hunter is a talented writer who has range beyond the fictional sniper. Basil’s War feels like it could be real, dipping its toe into the historical fiction waters without actually diving into that genre. Hunter vividly paints the picture of the environment surrounding the war and puts the reader in the middle of the action. It might not contain flashy action with guns blazing all over the place and explosions left and right, but it does have plenty of suspense, tension and intrigue via a tête-à-tête between adversaries. Like I said, more of a classic spy novel where each side attempts to read the intentions of their enemy, focusing on the chessboard to see several moves ahead in an effort to best their opponent without them even knowing they’ve been had.

As a result, Basil’s War is an enjoyable book by a fantastic author that will appeal to a broad range of thriller fans. If you are into historical fiction and/or WWII, this is a book you should definitely check out. But even if those aren’t your genres, I encourage you to read this book and enjoy a well crafted story.

An odd little short war story about an SOE mission to France carried out by a charismatic officer who has an interlude with Vivian Leigh at the beginning. Various other famous characters are involved such as Alan Turing in the plot to acquire a copy of an old manuscript used in a code. Lots of exciting escapades with dastardly Germans in the chase all conspire in a diverting short yarn!

A decent, quick spy thriller. There was some silly, overly British dialogue and the whole thing had a very "stiff upper-lip" vibe to it. But, overall I did enjoy the story. The formatting was slightly off on my Kindle and I had to pay close attention as the story jumped between mission, pre-mission and debrief.

To give you an idea how I didn’t want Stephen Hunter’s rousing new novel #Basil’s War to end ,upon finishing I immediately read it again. What a book - action, adventure, espionage, mystery - quite simply a thriller that never lets up thanks to its charming rogue protagonist, Basil St. Florian. It’s World War Two London and Basil is about to bed his most recent and glamorous lady friend when an “ Action This Day” memo arrives sending Basil into a very intriguing and dangerous mission that could drastically alter the outcome of the war. Behind enemy lines ,to Paris ,Basil must clandestinely travel to retrieve information that will be used to hopefully break enemy codes. Relying on his wiles, wisdom and wit, he sets upon his mission impossible with the savoir faire of James Bond. Perhaps the most amazing thing about #Basil’s War is the fact that this seemingly very British tale was written by an American - a bit of literary prestidigitation that allows Mr. Hunter to pay homage to his predecessors admirably. Another big plus is the pacing : the story moves like a bat out of hell, with a style that is lean and mean. All in all, five stars to Stephen Hunter for #Basil’sWar and a sincere wish that this is just the beginning of Basil’s adventures.

I was recently privileged to receive an ARC of the upcoming novel, "Basil's War", by Stephen Hunter. I had read and enjoyed a number of Hunter's works in the past; consequently, I must confess that I had high expectations for this foray into the literature of World War II. With the caveat of noting my high expectations, I must confess my disappointment at this book. The tone is reminiscent of that associated with the Flashman novels, for those of you familiar with those irreverent romps through the 19th century British Empire and its battlefields and boudoirs, and it struck me as self-consciously irreverent with a kind of forced wit about it that grated upon my expectations.
A kind of amalgam of spy thriller and military action work, I found that it failed on both levels (but do recall my high expectations). I found the humor forced and tedious, especially in view of the World War II context. I enjoy fast paced military fiction, heavy on action, and that is emphatically not what one finds here. In short, this reader was disappointed with this text. I don't doubt that there is an audience out there for this, but despite my avid interest in the literature of and about World War II, I simply find that I am not part of that audience.

I think that I have read all of Hunter's many books. My favorites were the early Swagger novels. I'm happy that he has now moved on to a new character, one Basil St. Florian. He's a British spy with a witty sense of humor. Quite a difference from the Swagger series. I found it refreshing. I hope that Hunter continues the St. Florian storyline. The story itself is quite good. I found myself intrigued, interested, and surprised throughout the book. The ending was quite surprising. This is a short read, I finished it in two evenings. But it's highly satisfying. It's good to have Hunter back on top of his game!