Seelőwe Nord

A brilliant follow up to his first novel, the author is on steady ground here with a well researched historical action novel. The pace is excellent and his characters believable.

R Hampshire (From a 5 Star review on www.amazon.co.uk)

Well researeched and written. Really enjoyed it, for me it was in the same vein as flashman, great characters interwoven with an historical narrative.

Chris Jones (From a 5 Star review on www.amazon.co.uk)

I just got done reading this book and it was worth the money. The author makes you feel as if you are there watching the action unfold. He starts you off in the trenches along the English coast line. You feel the tension the British Soldiers are feeling. You too are wondering if or when the Germans are coming.

He then transports you to the German side and the pre-invasion jitters creep into you as you await to jump from an airplane or bob in the sea on an invasion barge.

Once the invasion begins you are thrown from one side to the other, feeling the impact of the bullets, the thud of the shells the sheer ferocity of the combatants. You feel the panic of the British, the exhaustion of the first wave of German Soldiers, the evilness of the SS, the terror of the Home Guardsmen. All of this leads to an exciting climax that you will just have to buy this book to find out what happens.

It is a long read, but he keeps your interest and brings the characters alive with his pen.

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time and I am very impressed by it. Worth every penny!

Dog of War “ozmorphus2″, USA - (From 5 Star review on www.amazon.com)  

I have not been able to put the book down and have nothing but praise for the writer. His style is set at exactly the level I love for pace, detail, tech know how, plot and characterisation. Can’t fault it, may I have another please Mr Johnson soon as poss?

Jonothan Balmer (From 5 Star review on www.amazon.co.uk)

I have read the hard copy of this – and did not begrudge a penny of the purchase price …but the Kindle price is a real steal . The characters are very well crafted in this novel , written by an ex soldier , who has the ability to really bring to life the “backs to the wall” situation we faced in 1940 – battle scenes are a joy to read ! I can only hope that Andy Johnson has more alternative history in the pipeline – I shall certainly purchase any that he publishes!

Andrew Fergar – (From 5 Star review of Seelowe Nord on www.amazon.co.uk)

I’m a big fan of alternate histories and this book I have to say is excellently written. Once started I could not put it down and hope that there will be more to come from this author as I give his book 10 out of 10! Great present for Christmas!

Andrew Coakley – Cardiff, Wales (From 5 Star review of Seelowe Nord on www.amazon.co.uk)

I have just finished reading your book. As an ex RAF Mover I would just like to say how refreshing it was to read a book that shows the real language and in my (humble) opinion, is one of the most original alternative histories I have read in a long time, and I have read a few. I enjoyed the idea of Hitler invading Yorkshire so much I have already bought the prequel. I also like the idea that by buying your books I am contributing to military charities. Thanks again for the cracking read.

John R McGrath (Received as a message to the author via this website)

An Excellent Book: Andy Johnson has produced a genuinely excellent read in Thunder in May. This is the story of the Western Europe Blitzkreig as seen from the perspective of a number of protagonists, Allied and German. The story rips along and flows nicely despite the number of perspectives being used. There is plenty of action as well as character development.

Andy has also managed to produce a story with minimal jingoism, I found myself as interested and involved with the German tales as I was with the Allied. This helps the story to maintain its momentum and reader engagement.

I see in a previous review Andy Johnson is not signed to a publisher. If any publishers read comments here (and they should) then they ought to sign him up pretty quick, he’s a very talented story teller.

TM Wilson – UK (From 5 Star review on www.amazon.co.uk)

I took three days, one more than your review, to read your gripping Thunder in May… Having read Thunder in May with informed interest I now want to read Seelowe Nord. My congratulations on your book.

Name protected (From a private letter to the author from a Coldstream Guards Officer who served during World War Two)

Andy Johnson once more produces a corking war novel… There is a lot of good War Fiction out there at the moment but recently retired WO1 (RSM) Andy Johnson of the Coldstream Guards is in my opinion knocking them all for six.

He traces the events of 1940 from the assault on Eben Emael to the last boat leaving Dunkirk, he follows the fortunes of various Tommies & Huns with the odd Frenchman and Belgian thrown in to produce a well paced page turner.

I hope to see a third novel soon.

P Brooks, Manchester (from 5 Star review of Thunder in May on www.amazon.co.uk )

‘Unputdownable’ isn’t in the Oxford English dictionary, but if it was it’d surely mention ‘Thunder in May’ as an example. Andy Johnson has perfected the ability to write an historical novel using character that zips along with pace, unfolding events informatively without boring the reader. Both sides of the conflict are dealt equal time to explain perspectives and experiences with such vividness, at the end I fully expected to find dirt under my fingernails. You do feel right there in the midst of the action following Sergeant Jackson through thick and thin as he looks after the men under his charge, fighting a retreat back to Dunkirk, picking up stragglers he inspires to fight alongside him and his troop.

A brilliant adventure.

Don’t forget, a part of the purchase price goes towards charity.

A great prequel to ‘Seelowe Nord’ and I can’t wait for the third book. Well done, Andy.

M Ogden, Manchester (From 5 star review on www.amazon.co.uk)

Andy Johnson’s honest characterisations are all realistic and believable. The story is anchored by Sgt Davey Jackson, an endearing Dunkirk veteran, who while recuperating from his injuries is posted to the Home Guard as an Instructor. His heroic adventures bind the story together throughout. Johnson’s squaddie wit and turn of phrase keeps up its ebb and flow throughout the story and adds to the authenticity of this fictionalised account of the invasion of Britain. There are some humorous sparks, of which I would have liked to have seen more, but this is also a grizzly account of just how dirty war can be. No need for a map as I’m from East Yorkshire but other far flung readers may have found one useful. As I’ve said in my title, it’s an enjoyable read which has prompted me to to purchase Andy Johnson’s second book Thunder in May.

Ravenser, UK – (From a 4 Star review on www.amazon.co.uk)

An excellent read, very hard to put down and has a great narrative flow… I was disappointed when I finished it, it is too short! A definite buy for his next book.

SAFC (From 4 star review on wwww.amazon.co.uk)

“Damn you. Another stupidly late night reading your book. It’s unputdownable! Finished it now though. What a great romp!”

charlie_film (gratefully received via twitter)

“The proposed German invasion of Britain in 1940 has engendered plenty of ‘what ifs’, few of them novels. This fine book redresses the balance. The main characters, both historical and fictional; Britsh and German are introduced quickly but are all well rounded and far from superficially treated. Then we get into the action. And what action. It is relentless and it is clear that the author (an ex-squadddie like myself) knows both the period and the terryfing thrill of warfare.”

C N Braid – Llanelli (from 4 star review on www.amazon.co.uk)

“Well just finished the book, am suffering withdrawal symptoms so please crack on with the prequel! Excellent writing, if I may say so, really fast paced yet with what seems to be an authentic feel. As a ‘former naval person’ I was thrilled that the Royal Navy’s role was so well interwoven into the plot. I liked the German comment about the Swordfish torpedo bombers being ‘absurd little biplanes’ or some such. How true! Yet in the hands of the Fleet Air Arm, quite devastating.

As a recent serviceman, one of the greatest priviledges was meeting and talking with some of the vets who flew and crewed these ‘stringbags’, to get an inkling of what it was that allowed them to succeed with this kind of gear!

Great book – more please!”

Sparker – comment posted on this site

“130 pages in the first sitting, more sleepless hours waiting for me. A well thought out story with action scenes that drag you into the plot deeper and deeper by the page.”

From a review by The Angry Peasant (Australia) on www.amazon.co.uk

“A 500 page book normally takes me weeks to read. This I read in 2 days! Literally a page turner, I couldn’t put it down until I’d finished it. If Andy Johnson writes another book, I’ll definately read it.”

Mark O’Shea - North Yorkshire

“This is a very well written and fast paced alternative history novel set in 1940 covering very familiar ground, what if the Germans invade England in the summer of 1940 soon after Dunkirk and the fall of France. However, this writer has placed the scene not on Kent or the south coast where the story is usually told but in Yorkshire! The Germans storm ashore at Bridlington, Spurn Head, Filey and Scarborough!

Very original and written with a lot of action, some great characters and a lot of detail. The scene shifts from the North Sea where the Fleets fight it out with U Boats sniping away on the edges, from Churchill and Alan Brooke in Whitehall to Jodl and Kietel in the German HQ to a series of German and British characters fighting it out in the Yorkshire countryside or its beaches.

Would recommend to any fan of this genre or anyone who enjoys a good war story. It could have done with a map of this region but I cant really fault this book, its a brilliant example of military alternative history. Much better than a lot of others on the market at the moment.”

Review by Sean on www.livingsocial.com

“Fantastic pace and realistic – top read. I came across this book by accident but I am glad I did… I was impressed that the story told from both sides was treated fairly and the German soldiers weren’t treated as the evil bogey men so many writers would have us believe they were. I totally enjoyed this book and recommend it.”

Gary Wale - England (Quoted from 5 star review on www.amazon.co.uk)

First the good news (and there is a lot of it). Andy Johnson is a fine writer with a marvellous knowledge of soldiers and soldiering. As an ex-infantryman he is naturally most at home describing war on land, and that is where the great majority of this book’s action takes place. If I say that “Seeloewe Nord” stands comparison with the American authors Tom Clancy, Ralph Peters, and Harold Coyle at their best, I hope you will agree that is high praise; and it’s wonderful to see such excellent story-telling from a British writer. Right from the very first sentence, we are plunged into the action as German airmen are briefed for their sorties covering the planned landings on the Yorkshire coast north of the Humber. The scene shifts excitingly between the Luftwaffe fliers, the lead elements of the German ground forces coming in secretly to capture crucial defensive strongpoints, the local Home Guard, and the British top brass in Whitehall as they struggle to understand the unfolding German strategy, and hastily plan a defence in depth and a sledgehammer counterattack.

This is by no means a short book – it runs to nearly 500 pages – yet I found it very hard to put down, and wished it was longer when I reached the end. The tension builds up as we look over the shoulders of the general staffs on both sides, and wonder which of them will prevail. Some of the characters – especially Sergeant Davy Jackson of the Coldstream Guards – engage our sympathies very strongly as their personalities emerge and take shape. After a while you feel you know what Sergeant (“not Sarge!”) Jackson would say or do in a given situation.

T D Wells – Basingstoke, UK (Quoted from 4 star review on www.amazon.co.uk – full review can be seen there)

“I received the book as a Christmas present and could hardly put it down.”

David Holden- London (Quote from 5 star review on www.amazon.co.uk)

“Just finished Seelowe Nord. Superb book!!! Have you any plans on a series of WWII Alternate History novels? Cannot wait for book 2. Keep up the great work!!!”

Scott McSloy – UK