In late 1944, the American Flying Fortress, “Dangerous Dolly”, plunges into an electrical storm to escape destruction by a Nazi jet fighter. Captain Jack Ronan and her aircrew emerge over wartime England in the year 1915. There, they make a forced landing on the estate of an outcast politician named Winston Churchill. Desperate to restore his political career, the erstwhile First Lord of the Admiralty launches Dolly on a one-plane air war against Kaiser Wilhelm. Neither the American aircrew nor the British government know that Churchill is playing a deeper and more dangerous game than he admits.
Churchill and the Americans are unaware of an adversary that could easily destroy Dolly—the jet that pursued her was also drawn into the space-time rift. Ambitious Luftwaffe pilot Fritz Wernher wants to become Imperial Germany’s greatest ace, but instead, is ordered to assist designer Anton Fokker to reverse-engineer the jet. If Fokker succeeds, with overwhelming aerial supremacy, the Central Powers will win the war.
After the American bomber attacks his war industry and humiliates his fleet, the irate Kaiser orders Wernher to destroy the elusive nemesis. When Churchill attacks the infamous Paris Gun, Wernher’s hunt climaxes in a savage air battle. The outcome will change the future of a continent and history as we know it.
Review
Goodbye Dolly is a story of sacrifice, endurance, and determination. It illustrates the complexity of egos in two world wars that cost European lives in both theatres. However, instead of going into a unique perspective on an alternate history of WWII, we have instead travelled to WW1. Captain Jack and his merry crew of the Dangerous Dolly become mired in the events of a tumultuous conflict. What transpires is technological upheaval, a reversal of history, and an excellent display of writing when depicting the naval battles between the Imperial German Navy and the Royal Navy.
The naval aspect of WWI is often not covered in popular media as it deserves. EJ Lake did a ton of research, and it shows from depicting historical figures such as Prime Minister Asquith Churchill with his brand of whiskey he so often likes to consume and the enigmatic Kaiser Wilhelm I. The wide variety of historical characters and their personalities spill onto their page as if Ken Follet had written this novel entirely. That’s how good the writing is! I loved characters like Churchill, Jack, his crew, and many others. The dialogue is rich in historical detail, and no characters feel one-dimensional; instead, they feel like three-dimensional characters. The description makes you feel as if you are in this world. And Dolly the Bomber Airplane? She’s a fantastic plane carrying a brave crew daring to fight against the might of WW1, Germany.
Each character is a testament to the brave men who sacrificed themselves in both world wars. To fight against fierce enemies while defending the right to freedom and democracy against expansionist and imperialist beliefs is not a simple thing to do. That said, the novel does not shy away from depicting the carnage of warfare and the devastating destruction that bombing cities can bring. At some points, I’ve noticed that alternate history novels focus more on the technical details of what has changed than on the story.
At some points, the book often tries to balance between contrasting what changes and what the story should be. I would like to see more alternate history novels focus on the story rather than being hung up on explaining everything that changes. I love books like this, with people from different periods travelling into other areas of history. I once read a story in Quora about Napoleon and his army time travelling back to the Ancient Roman Era. What a story that would be! I want more stuff like this. Where different civilisations meet each other that would never have met. I urge more authors to do this. This is a fantastic novel that I thoroughly recommend you to read!
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