Tom Burkhalter writes dramatic stories in the tradition of James Jones, W.E.B. Griffin and C.S. Forester that share a no-nonsense view towards war and an attention to substance that is extraordinary.
Author Tom Burkhalter has announced the release of a new WWII novel, The New Kids: A Novel of the Air War on the Home Front August-September 1942. The novel is Book 5 in the No Merciful War series. The Kindle version of the book will be available for 99 cents on Amazon through July, 2021.
As The New Kids begins, Jack Davis recovers from tropical fevers. He is released from hospital and, at Hickam Field near Honolulu, meets his brother Charlie and Al Stern, who are recovering wounds sustained in their last combat mission over Rabaul. The three return to the States together.
In Hollywood, California, Jack’s fiancée Irina Aradhana waits for Jack, as she has waited for the years of his service in the Air Corps. She has no intention of waiting much longer.
In Connecticut, across the country from California, Jack and Charlie’s mother Laura Lea Davis waits for the return of her sons, while reliving haunting memories of her own war and lost love.
The reach of the war is now universal, touching everyone, and as the story moves temporarily from the battlefields of the Pacific to the home front, the air war in Europe looms ahead, and any happiness must be snatched from under the threat of the sword.
Burkhalter is lauded for his ability to take readers back in time, placing them squarely into the very center of the action. Edge-of-the-seat airwar scenes are blended with technical and tactical details to create not just a great novel, but also an immersive experience.
All of Burkhalter's books are enhanced by an unparalleled level of technical and historical detail. He maintains a laser-sharp focus on providing the reader with an experience that will take them into the very heart and soul of WWII. In addition to James Jones, W.E.B. Griffin and C.S. Forester, his writing style has been compared to Louis L'Amour, David Baldacci and Vince Flynn.
Burkhalter has received rave reviews for all of his books. Harold Coyle, author of Team Yankee, said, "Brilliant! The books that are part of Tom Burkhalter’s ‘No Merciful War’ series are, without exception, rare gems that are entertaining, historically spot on, and a joy to read. Tom has not only created a cast of characters who are as real as the officers and enlisted men I have had the privilege of serving with, he leaves you wanting to see more of them. Even more impressive is his ability to succinctly depict the tactical and technical aspects of aerial combat. A must read for anyone interested in the Pacific War when victory was far from certain."
Another reviewer said, “Buy it, read it and tell everyone you know. Tom Burkhalter is as good as Clancy and Griffin.” Mark Lardas, writing in the Daily News of Galveston County, wrote of the first book, Everything We Had, that it “feels like a book which could have been written in the 1950s or 1960s by a veteran of the Pacific War.”
Top 500 Reviewer Dee Arr said, "Mr. Burkhalter has an incredible command of airplane knowledge, and is able to describe how each plane works, the sights and sounds one would experience if flying the planes in the book, and even adds items that spice up the action, such as the height when the atmosphere begins to play havoc with the engine and may possibly cause it to stall. This is the author’s five-star element."
A seventh book in the series, working title Gomorrah, is in preparation. No release date as yet, but hopefully it will be available some time between August 31 and December 31 of 2021.
Other books by Tom Burkhalter include:
Everything We Had: a Novel of the Southwest Pacific Air War, November-December 1941
Japan surrounds American possessions in the Philippines with overwhelming force on three sides. The US Army desperately attempts to reinforce the Philippines garrison, but the armed forces of Imperial Japan may attack at any moment. Two brothers, Jack and Charlie Davis, are pilots in the US Army Air Forces. When they are sent to the Far Eastern Air Forces in the Philippines, they must depend on every ounce of courage, training, and skill they have to survive the coming war.
A Snowball’s Chance: a Novel of the Pacific Air War, January-February 1942
The victorious Japanese come south in overwhelming numbers, heading for the rich oil fields of Dutch possessions in Java and Borneo. The Allies send Jack and Charlie Davis and their friends, outnumbered and in obsolescent airplanes at the end of a long vulnerable supply line, to help the British and Dutch attempt to stop the Japanese Army and Navy. As the Dutch say, “Luck to the fighters!”
Boxcar Red Leader: a Novel of the Pacific Air War, May 1942
The Imperial Japanese Navy sails to invade Port Moresby, the last Allied base between the Japanese and Australia. It the Japanese take Port Moresby, Australia’s supply line to the United States will be cut. Jack Davis is sent to Port Moresby to command a flight of untrained young pilots flying a dangerous airplane no one wants, the P-39D Airacobra. Charlie Davis, now flying the B-17E Bronco Buster II, flies dangerous reconnaissance missions looking for the Japanese fleet. The Allies have lost the Philippines and Java. Can they hold Port Moresby?
Thanks for the Memories: a Novel of the SW Pacific Air War July-September 1942
It is July 1, 1942. The United States has been fighting in the Pacific for nearly seven months. The Japanese advance halted west of Australia at the island of Timor, and from Timor the Japanese stage bombing raids on Darwin. In the north, the Japanese hold the former Australian possessions of New Ireland and New Britain, including the town of Rabaul in the north of New Britain. Holding Rabaul gives the Japanese possession of Simpson Harbor, a deep-water port that the Japanese turn into a formidable forward base, swarming with Zeros and antiaircraft weapons. Rabaul begins to earn an evil reputation among the bomber crews of the USAAF and RAAF who fly there.
Shoestring's End: a Novel of the Pacific Air War, Dec 1942 - March 1943
Shoestring’s End begins as the disastrous year of 1942 ends. The Japanese toehold on the northern New Guinea coast, remnant of their advance almost to the gates of Port Moresby, has nearly been wiped out. The Japanese focus their efforts on reinforcing their forward base at Lae, on the Huon Gulf. The mission of the 5th Air Force is to cut off Lae. They must do this while fighting at the end of a shoestring, a supply line ten thousand miles long, using airplanes like the much-patched B-17E Bronco Buster II or the worn P-39D Airacobras of the 35th Fighter Group. New airplanes and new tactics arrive in an uncertain trickle. The Allied infantry, Australian and American, based in New Guinea, are exhausted from fighting and jungle diseases. If the Japanese reinforce Lae, the outcome of the war in the SW Pacific will remain unpredictable.
Tom Burkhalter is available for media interviews and can be reached using the information below or by email at boxcarred3@gmail.com. All of his books are available at major book retailers. More information is available at his website at http://www.thomasburkhalter.com.
About Tom Burkhalter:
Tom Burkhalter was born in Georgia. His parents could never decide if the first word he ever said was “airplane” or “star”. He lives in Hickory, NC, where he volunteers at the Hickory Aviation Museum and pursues his omnivorous tastes in reading.
Contact:
Tom Burkhalter
http://www.thomasburkhalter.com
boxcarred3@gmail.com
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