The Reluctant Copilot by Kelly Durham is a World War II story that follows the lives of two soldiers who were B17 Bomber pilots at the time of the war.
I’m not necessarily a World War II buff or aficionado but I do happen to like a good wartime movie or story. I was a huge fan of Band of Brothers because the era was seductive and even during the midst of War, the imagery was unrivaled. Put that together with the timeframe, setting, and the courage of those men, and those are all the components of what great action movies are made of and also what a great WWII book is made of as well. Author Kelly Durham knows how to take all these components and write a great story.
The Reluctant Co-Pilot is Kelly Durham’s latest historical fiction novel in his long collection of WWII novels and it’s some of the best writing I’ve read when it comes to WWII stories. His words read smoothly with impeccable dialogue and descriptions are written with so much detail that you can’t help but feel like you are one of his characters aboard a B17 Bomber.
Durham’s story of comradery, bravery, and making the best of a bad situation is delicately woven between intense fight scenes and scenes of everyday soldier life during WWII, including life for those not so fortunate during the War, the POW’s.
Although we loved the storyline and scenes, we do recommend this book for mainly WWII enthusiasts especially because of its detailed accounts which may be a little too drawn out for the someone looking for a softer WWII tale. On another note, this book doesn’t really have a romance factor which I have found to be something of some importance to many historical fiction readers (again, it gives a story a broader appeal). But if you are looking for a great and detailed account of soldiers, and friendship during WWII then this is the book is definitely that. I recommend this for the WWII enthusiast. If you liked Saving Private Ryan, or Band of Brothers, then I recommend The Reluctant Copilot by Kelly Durham.
