Bomber by Len Deighton

In playing Nightfighter with Mark B he recommended this book to me, even going so far as being prepared to lend me his copy. I was eager for some background and inspiration for the game and took up his offer. I am so glad I did. Challenging at times (it is about one of the most terrifying and indiscriminate aspects of war after all) but most engaging and atmospheric.

It is a big book even though it is set all in one day June 31st 1943.  The author was at pains to make sure it was accepted as a work of fiction, even right down to the date, but it has been meticulously researched and seemed very real and alive with a large cast of very varied characters, and while it was tricky to remember who was who, they were all brought to life in just a few pages.

The tension was compelling.  The horror of what the bulk of the characters went through was impactful.  I felt for them all, well, nearly all of them.