Volume One: A Generation Rising, Fire and Steel

Really enjoy this author! He brings in wonderful history using fictional characters. The setting for this volume starts in a small Bavarian village and the description provided truly makes me want to visit the area.

Only slightly better than Lund's last work of fiction, The Guardian, this first volume as part of a new LDS historical fiction series does not have me thirsting for more like The Work and the Glory.
Plot complication is weak. I found the main character, Hans Otto Eckhardt hard to root for. He's basically a child prodigy, brilliant in everything he sets his mind to, presented with scholarships and job promotions, spoiled rotten by his adoring parents and older sisters as the only male child (and heir) in the family. Thinking he can do no wrong, Hans Otto enlists himself in the German army at the outbreak of WWI and his true nature is revealed: Hans is really just a big baby.
No main love interest but lucky for us, Hans remains a heterosexual virgin throughout the story. Then he meets a VERY important character, one of the biggest bad guys in world history and suddenly it's THE END.
Oh, and there's a few references to the Mormon religion but you'll have to read the book to find out how it affects the matriarch of the Eckhardt family.
Let's hope the story gets better with the next installment.

Overall, a great story. I have been to the places described in the book, and have a fairly good knowledge of the history of Germany, and I enjoyed reading about these aspects, but I felt that trying to explain everything only got in the way of the story. Bernard Cornwell does a great job weaving the history into the story without having to explain the historical context. Elizabeth George Speare doesn't footnote her stories either, but one will learn a great deal about the historical context by reading her stories. I would prefer that the explanation of the history come after.

This book is well-researched and full of incredible facts from the time of the first World War. The storyline is indicative of Lund's talents as he creates characters that we are compelled to care for. That said, I need to warn you that this book is the epitome of historical fiction. There is a lot of historical facts woven into the story and sometimes it felt a little bit text bookish. Sometimes the characters would spout off essays about historical facts, figures, and landmarks that although Lund worked to interweave, it still felt like an information dump at times. That said, I'm really grateful that I have the opportunity to read and review so many books, in some cases it stretches me and encourages me to give books more of a chance than I would have otherwise. That's how I feel about Fire & Steel: A Generation Rising. I'm glad that I kept reading because it gave me a great appreciation for that time of history and what real people went through who lived at the time.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Another fantastic beginning to a historical fiction series. I am amazed at the research he has done and how seamlessly he weaves in his characters. It's always fascinating to see different periods of time through other eyes. Lund is a master at his story/history weaver.

Well Done!! Mr. Lund again delivers as the master author of historical fiction. The notes at the end of the chapters add credibility to the historical background. What happened in Germany in the first half of the 20th century had a huge effect on the history of Europe during the same decades and it changed the world as well. I do love history though I don't know much about WWI and I learned alot here. The cliffhanger at the end wets our appetites for the coming novels. I can hardly wait. Thank you Mr. Lund

I just finished the book today. I learned things about World War 1 that I didn't know before. I was a little disappointed that the book was as short as it was. Mr. Lund usually write more. I did however enjoyed the book. I'm looking forward to reading Volume 2