Following Richard's post on the Weekend Nazis TV programme, I was intrigued to see what others thought out there in the blogosphere. During my search, I came across historian James Holland's post on his Second World War Forum.
Aside from echoing many of Richard's sentiments, he was also discussing his new historical fiction series about daring lead character Jack Tanner. A fan of James Holland's work since his first book Fortress Malta: A Island Under Siege 1940-43, I was intrigued to find out more.
It seems Jack Tanner is a WWII Sharpe. Just a regular, yet charismatic and ingenious, soldier fighting the bad guy. Holland describes how he decided on the idea: "Really it was a no-brainer. Everyone's interested in the Second World War, yet amazingly no one has ever thought to put a Sharpe-type character into it. So there was a huge hole in the market."
He also mentions how inspiring the backdrop of the war is. "Instead of just the grey rock of the Peninsula or the trenches of the First World War, you've got as many exotic settings as a James Bond movie: snowy fjords, Aegean islands, the desert, the Normandy bocage. The weapons are so much more interesting too: Spitfires, Tigers, Nebelwerfers…"
Having been a fan of Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe books, and indeed of the accompanying British TV series, the thought of a WWII version sounds fantastic for a WWII enthusiast - myself included. Although there isn't much more information out there yet about the series, Holland is writing a blog of his progress, and after reading it, I for one can't wait to read the real thing.
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