A Good Clean Fight

By: Derek Robinson

Narrated by: Michael Tudor Barnes

North Africa, 1942. Dust, heat, thirst, flies. For those who liked that sort of thing, it was a good clean fight: nothing to harm but the sand, the enemy and yourself. Striking hard and escaping fast, Fanny Barton’s squadron play Russian roulette, flying their clapped out Tomahawks on ground-strafing forays. On the ground, the men of Captain Lampard’s SAS patrol drive hundreds of miles behind enemy lines to plant bombs on German aircraft. This is the story of the desert war waged by the men of the RAF and SAS versus the Luftwaffe and the Afrika Korps – a war of no glamour and few heroes in a setting often more lethal than the enemy.

©1993 Derek Robinson (P)2011 Soundings

Brilliantly Narrated an interesting story

Would you listen to A Good Clean Fight again? Why?

yes brilliantly narrated brining the characters to life and making the story easy to follow and a pleasure to listen to.

Long, gritty, cynical, slice of time from WWII

Would you try another book from Derek Robinson and/or Michael Tudor Barnes?

Probably, especially if other reviews were good. The reader did a good job with voices, pacing and such, which really helped with this book. Otherwise it would have gotten tedious quickly.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

There really isn't a "story." This is one of those that follows a slice of time in the WWII deserts of North Africa before the US got into the war. Normally I'm not a big fan of these stories that use the time, place, external events as both the main character and a substitute for a "story," but this one somehow caught my attention and I just kept listening. There were enough small events on both sides to keep you tuned in. Both the German and British characters are such an oddball mix of good-bad-crazy that I never cheered anyone, but still wanted to see what would happen next.

Which scene was your favorite?

Probably the last SAS strike on the German fighter base. Incredibly brazen, yet actually well played. Meanwhile the Sr. German officers, just have a seat and watch the show, knowing by the time their infantry gets there, the SAS will all be gone and all the BF109s will have been destroyed.

Was A Good Clean Fight worth the listening time?

Mostly. Could have been a bit shorter and tighter, but I'd probably try another of this author's works.

Any additional comments?

This would be a good book to augment with a PDF map.

Cynical and gritty

This author does a great job of placing you in the desert showing you what it was like. I was expecting a war story but got nice education on flies, desert terrain, and all sorts of weapons. The smooth part is that setting is more important than the characters and you never notice how much you're being taught. As a WW2 buff the book is satisfying down to the equipment and correct details. On the other hand this author seems to cut most of his characters out of the same cloth and the 'heros are jerks' theme my bug you. The Germans seem kind of stupid and the British seem kind of murderous. I loved the book because it brought the Africa theatre to life for me, and the desert raiding parts were outstanding. My only complaint would be all the minutes I had to listen to of the main German character doing his middle aged angst that never made a point. As a pilot and an aviation buff it can tell you that 'A Piece of Cake' has the better flying scenes. If you like WW2 stories that feel 'real', this is a good one.

More of this author please

I've been a big fan of Robinson's RFC/RAF graphic novels for some time. Often revisit them and still both laugh out loud at the sparkling repartee and cringe at the all too involving scenes of conflict. Narrator Tudor Barnes is simply terrific in tone, pace, comic timing and, the Robinson trademark, conveying irony. The Desert War will never feel the same after this.

More, much more, Derek Robinson...please!

How about a Piece of Cake?

Would you listen to A Good Clean Fight again? Why?

Maybe. Maybe not, but only because there are so many books, and so little time.

What did you like best about this story?

Robinson's usual cynicism/realism about war and the many types of personalities that make up a group thrust together for a common goal (more or less). Brilliant characterisations as always.

What about Michael Tudor Barnes’s performance did you like?

Well read, and characterised, although a bit toffee-nosed where it shouldn't have been (e.g. enlisted men). Just one bit of constructive criticism - Fanny Barton is a New Zealander, not an Australian. There is a very distinctive difference between how NZers pronounce 'a', 'e' and 'i' and how Aussies do. Something akin to South Africans. Fanny sounds like an Ocker (rough Aussie). Otherwise, great reading.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Would have, if I could have.

Any additional comments?

Please do Piece of Cake!

Good, But How About "A Piece of Cake?"

I enjoyed "A Good Clean Fight" very much. Having said that, I would caution anyone who selects this title believing that it picks up the story of Hornet Squadron from Derek Robinson's "A Piece of Cake" should be aware that this book is far broader in scope and only partially about Hornet Squadron. The story takes place across the vast deserts of North Africa, and involves units of the British SAS, German Luftwaffe, Italian army, American newspaper reporters, army widows fueled with alcohol and sex, and the badly pummeled Hornet Squadron, relegated to the least glamorous and highly dangerous mission in a backwater theater of operations. Hornet Squadron are flying the clapped out and nearly obsolete P-40 Tomahawks, not the elegant Spitfires, as depicted on the cover photo.

Robinson does a nice job weaving several plots from both adversaries of the desert war together. As in A Piece of Cake, he pulls no punches in describing the brutality of war, nor shy away from depicting those characters who revel in the destruction and killing. It's an unblinking look at the human toll of war, especially the cost to the human psyche.

As a retired military pilot, I found A Good Clean Fight to be enjoyable book that flows well and has well developed, interesting characters. Although not quite as thrilling and captivating as A Piece of Cake (at least to my taste), it's still worth a listen.

If there's one criticism I would level at A Good Clean Fight, is that Michael Tudor Barnes' performance was mediocre. His narration was fine, but his voices and accents were, well... I found his German accent sounded Russian, his Italian accent sounded Russian, his Polish accent sounded Russian, his Greek accent sounded Russian, and his American accent sounded obnoxious (perhaps that was the point).

A Good Clean Fight was an interesting look at lesser known types of warfare in a lesser known theater of operation. I enjoyed it and recommend it.

a good what

Would you try another book from Derek Robinson and/or Michael Tudor Barnes?

no i don,t like the he said story,s you don,t need to put he said after every sentence and if the s.a.s had that big a food larder they would need a roadtrain to move around 20 minute,s in is enough

Would you ever listen to anything by Derek Robinson again?

again probably not

How did the narrator detract from the book?

i can,t tell as i haven,t seen the print version

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment from the start it make,s the soldier appear to be stupid

Any additional comments?

no i think that covers it can,t return it so it will sit in library in rubbish deptment