The Second World War was the bloodiest of all wars. Mass armies of men trudged, flew or rode from battlefields as far away as North Africa to central Europe, from India to Burma, from the Philippines to the borders of Japan. It saw the first aircraft carrier sea battle, and the indiscriminate use of terror against civilian populations in ways not seen since the Thirty Years War. Nuclear and incendiary bombs erased entire cities. V weapons brought new horror from the skies: the V1 with their hideous grumbling engines, the V2 with sudden, unexpected death. People were systematically starved: in Britain food had to be rationed because of the stranglehold of U-Boats, while in Holland the German blockage of food and fuel saw 30,000 die of starvation in the winter of 1944-45. It was a catastrophe for millions.
At a time of such enormous crisis, scientists sought ever more inventive weapons, or devices to help halt the war. Civilians were involved as never before, with women taking up new trades, proving themselves as capable as their male predecessors whether in the factories or the fields.
The stories in this book are of courage, of ingenuity, of hilarity in some cases, or of great sadness, but they are all thought-provoking – and rather weird. So whether you are interested in the last Polish cavalry charge, the Blackout Ripper, Dada, or Ghandi’s attempt to stop the bloodshed, welcome to the Weirder War Two!
Click Bait
By Gillian Philip
A funny joke’s a funny joke. Eddie Doolan doesn’t think twice about adapting it to fit a tragic local news story and posting it on social media.
It’s less of a joke when his drunken post goes viral. It stops being funny altogether when Eddie ends up jobless, friendless and ostracised by the whole town of Langburn. This isn’t how he wanted to achieve fame.
Eddie knows he’s blown his relationship with rich girl Lily Cumnock. It’s Lily’s possessive and controlling father Brodie who fires him from his job – and makes sure he won’t find another decent one in Langburn. And Eddie doesn’t even have Flo to fall back on – his old nan died some six months ago, and Eddie is still recovering from the death of the woman who raised him and who loved him unconditionally.
Under siege from the press, and facing charges not just for the joke but for a history of abusive behaviour on the internet, Eddie grows increasingly paranoid and desperate. The only people still speaking to him are Crow, a neglected kid who relies on Eddie for food and company, and Sid, the local gamekeeper’s granddaughter. It’s Sid who offers Eddie a refuge and an understanding ear.
But she also offers him an illegal shotgun – and as Eddie’s life spirals downwards, and his efforts at redemption are thwarted at every turn, the gun starts to look like the answer to all his problems.
Father of Storms
By Dean Jones
Imagine losing everything you loved as well as the future you’d wished for so long to come true.
Seth was born with the gift to manipulate energy; unfortunately, his skills mark him as a target for one who wishes to control everything. So began a life running from those who would seek to command him, a life that spans over a thousand years waiting for the day when all will be once again as it was.
Captured in modern day London, Seth needs the help of his companions, the Mara, to show him who he is through dreams of his past, so he can save the family he has waited so long to have.
A warrior bred for battle must fight once more but this time the battlefield is his mind. Can Seth win, or will he finally lose who he is and become the weapon of the man who started his nightmare all those years ago?
Father of Storms is a story told through time, a tale of love and hope where there seems to be none and above all it is a reminder that if you believe, truly believe then even from the darkest places, good things come to those who wait.
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