BERLIN Book 5 Loud and Clear
October 1988. Serving in any branch of the US military is still forbidden for gays. Those outed in uniform risk military prison terms and humiliation unimaginable to any straight man or women. Air Force Second Lieutenant Sandy Spencer is checked into the Templehof BOQ room 312. Almost ten years have passed since Brett Walker checked into the same room. Many aspects of life in the military and in West Berlin remain the same, only the characters have changed. Sandy chooses the Air Force as a stepping stone for a journalism career. His assignment to Air Force Network Berlin Radio as the OIC is a perfect fit with his plan. Four years and out.
Sandy has no fear of his homosexuality nor of the straight world that surrounds him. Not even in the military during the late 80s. His closet walls are narrow. Not so for Army Captain Wade Bowden, the Commander of Bravo Company. The tall handsome Captain with icy blue eyes unknowingly becomes the inspiration of the Brigade’s newest comic superhero, Capan Iceman. Friendship with Sandy is rocky at first until it develops into a relationship stifled by anxiety. Wade is torn between his attraction to Sandy and his ultimate goal to achieve the rank of general. The young Lieutenant tries his best to convince him he can do both.
Like so many of the young officers assigned to West Berlin, Sandy finds himself at ground zero on the USBER security team. They are in a frantic search for someone shooting bullets over the wall at the East German and Soviet guards.
Meanwhile, Sandy is unexpectedly introduced to a young soldier on the radio calling himself Corporal X who informs the audience he is tired of the way the Army treats gays and is ready to defect to the other side. They fear Corporal X and the shooter may be the same Soviet spy trying to cause chaos for the Americans. Or is he really a disillusioned soldier ready to run with a bag full of secrets?
As always, members of the USBER security team navigate the dangers of a democracy surrounded by the Iron Curtain and the Berlin wall.
Book reviews for Berlin Book 4
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read!
I highly recommend reading the entire series. The author was successful in keeping reader interested in the characters and their stories. Berlin during the Cold War years is a character on its own, especially for those of us who remember the times and know the city then and now.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good story
Just another example of how a society can shoot itself with its own prejudices. This book is full of well developed characters in an involved plot.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Read
This series needs to be read in order to make sense as each builds on the one before. This is a good story from a different point of view, the military. The stories are realistic, factual and believable. For something more mature and well written this series is a good bet.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good story and interesting characters. .
I like the military theme and the fact LGBT can serve with honor and integrity. Would be easier to read when story line changes were marked. Would hope anyone would like to read as there are interesting bits of real history.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun read. Good continuity with fun references. Also interesting information on Berlin.
Fun read. Good continuity with fun references. Also interesting information on Berlin. Characters always fun and situations enjoyable. Highly recommend.
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's West Berlin at the end of the 1980's. It's suspenseful, encouraging, and challenging.
I read a lot and I do mean a lot so when I find a series I like I tend to plow through it. This series, the Berlin series, by Jon Swank is just such a series. However, I have been reading this more slowly than usual for me because the books are so interesting and the relationships so encompassing that you need to get all the nuances and exposition to really appreciate how well written and enjoyable these books are.
Berlin 5 continues the story of the cold war as experienced in West Berlin by our servicemen and women and their various friends. This book begins the story of Sandy Spencer, Air Force lieutenant, and Wade Bowman, Army captain. These two men are our gay protagonists for books 5 and 6. It's 1988 when the book starts and we sense immediately the shift in atmosphere of West and East Berlin from the earlier four books. Sandy is the OIC at AFN Berlin and fresh from a Peach Corps assignment in Samoa. As with all the books, the author takes us on a journey of discovery of love and commitment even when you must remain tightly ensconced in a closet. The author also weaves in several characters from the earlier books in a seamless way. It was especially nice to revisit with Jack Jones. I really can't say all the good things I would like to say about this book in a short review. It would take a long article to do that. I will add that it is very well paced, has a good bit of humor and some hard to take moments, too. I am so looking forward to finishing book 6. If you remember the events of 1989 in West Berlin you'll want to know what happens with our characters then too. The six book series can each be read alone, but are a better experience read in order.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another great read
Jon Swank has written another heart-warming account of gay relationships in West Berlin while "the Wall" still existed. Perhaps the "Wall" is symbolic of the situation within the military during those years that kept some people excluded from full disclosure of their true sexual identity. Nonetheless, his characters take on real personalities and draw the reader into their lives, endearing each of them. The continuity of stories from one book to the other creates a history of personal lives that influence one another, as they rise and fall to the micro and macro occasions and events that they encounter and shape them. Berlin Book 6 is a next read!