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Alexander Fullerton

Stark Realities Hardcover – 5 January 2005

by Alexander Fullerton (Author)

16 ratings

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October 1918: Germany is suing for peace, terms for an armistice are being negotiated between the several capitals, all U-boats have meanwhile been ordered home from patrol. Among them is U81, commanded by Otto von Mettendorff: he's young, dynamic, already approaching the status of an 'Ace', and is infatuated with a new girlfriend who works not far from Wilhelmshaven, to which port U81 is now returning. However, U81 is 'holed' by a destroyer and sent to the bottom of forty fathoms of English sea.

Meanwhile in London, Anne Laurie, a young war widow now being courted by an American naval officer, and by virtue of her fluent German employed in the Intelligence Division of the Royal Navy, learns of Otto's death. It jolts memories of a pre-war weekend in Berlin in the summer of 1913, the genesis of a compulsive story of two magnetic people torn apart by global conflict.

STARK REALITIES is a grippingly authentic First World war adventure.

Product details

Publisher : Little, Brown; 1st edition (5 January 2005)
Language : English
Hardcover : 320 pages
ISBN-10 : 0316727024
ISBN-13 : 978-0316727020
Dimensions : 14.1 x 2.9 x 22.3 cm

Customer Reviews:
16 ratings

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Review

'His action passages are superb, and he never puts a period foot wrong' - Observer

'You don't read a novel by Alexander Fullerton. You LIVE it' - South Wales Echo

'The research is unimpeachable and the scent of battle quite overpowering' - Sunday Times

Book Description

Gripping First World War adventure of U-boat conflict and thwarted desire.

5 star		45%
4 star		24%
3 star		8%
2 star		14%
1 star		9%

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Baz H

The quality goes without saying...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 November 2018

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... and being so close to the known conclusion of the attempt made in late 1918 for a grand finale, made for a great story creation. Fullerton at his usual high standards of both story and readable tech. The old installations around Scarpa are still there and add to the feeling of reality. The tech of the day was revolutionary and is of the same principle today... although taking up a little less space. 5 *

Marshall Lord

Superb WW1 submarine suspense story and romance

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 October 2012

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This exciting novel of submarines and romance is set towards the end of the First World War. The German army is losing the war, their surface fleet are on the brink of mutiny, but the U-boats are still fighting hard. Even as the war is coming to an end, certain U-boat officers are determined to strike a final blow for German honour and pride which might put their country in a less hopeless position at the negotiating table ...

The book was inspired by and very loosely based on a real event in late 1918, though the characters are purely fictional. The author, Alexander Fullerton, who as a very young man served in submarines during World War II, points out with a certain amount of glee in a historical note at the end of the book that Winston Churchill made a mistake when describing the real event in one of his books about the First World war. This error was duly picked up and repeated by C.S. Forester in his play U 97 : A Play in Three Acts based on the same incident.

Don't flip ahead and read the historical note until you have completed the book. The story is designed to keep you in suspense over the outcome, both in terms of what will happen or has happened to some of the characters and whether the Germans will succeed in sinking the British or U.S. navy battleships they plan to attack.

I don't want to say too much more about the plot to avoid spoiling the story, but here is a precis of what it says on the back of the book.

The novel starts in late 1918 with an order for all German submarines, including U81 commanded by a handsome young officer called Otto von Mettendorf, to return to base. On the way von Mettendorf can't resist firing his remaining torpedoes at a final target. This turns out to be one attack too many. Caught by the destroyers escorting his target, U81 is depth-charged to the surface and then sent to the bottom of the English Channel by allied gunfire.

British naval intelligence receives a report that U81 has been sunk with all hands. One of the people working there is a young war widow, Anne Laurie, who speaks fluent german which is why she had been given the job. Before the war and before her marriage, Anne had spent some time in Germany. She hears that "Your friend Otto's dead" from a colleague who knew that Anne had met him in Germany.

Anne replies sharply that von Mettendorf had been her friend's brother, and was not her friend himself.

Had there been something more than that between them? You'll have to read the book if you want to find out!

An absolutely excellent suspense story of war at sea, with a series of ironic twists and surprises. In particular this novel has a sting in the tail: the final twist at the end is worthy of C.S. Forester and reminded me of the conclusion of Forester's " Brown on Resolution ."

Like most of Fullerton's books this novel can be very warmly recommended.

AK46

Stark indeed.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 July 2018

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5 stars simply because although there are some inexplicable typos towards the end of the novel, the rest 'reads like a true story, which of course it's not. Brings to mind the penetration of Scapa Flow by Gunther Prien in U39!

P. Adey

Still Fullerton stands out as a great author, but this was not one of his ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 February 2018

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A little bit disappointing, certainly after the fabulous 9 volume set of the Nicholas Everard saga, Still Fullerton stands out as a great author, but this was not one of his best.

Roger Barnard

Boring

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 December 2018

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i ENJOY READING NAVAL STORIES , ACTION STORIES, THIS IS MORE A STORY IN WHICH NAVAL MATTERS ARE SECONDARY, COULDN'T FINNISH IT

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Stark Realities Hardcover – 5 January 2005

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