Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Goshawk Squadron | 1971 | Derek Robinson | Buy |
| 2 | Piece of Cake | 1983 | Derek Robinson | N/A |
| 3 | War Story | 1987 | Derek Robinson | Buy |
| 4 | A Good Clean Fight | 1993 | Derek Robinson | N/A |
| 5 | Hornet’s Sting | 1999 | Derek Robinson | Buy |
| 6 | Damned Good Show | 2002 | Derek Robinson | N/A |
The RFC series follows pilots of the Royal Flying Corps during World War I, when flying was barely a decade old and combat in the air was a new kind of horror. Goshawk Squadron (1971), Robinson’s debut and a Booker Prize shortlist entry, set the tone with its refusal to romanticize the killing.
The six books span the war years, with War Story (1987) and Hornet’s Sting (1999) filling in different chapters of the RFC’s history. Robinson wrote about aviation with technical accuracy and emotional honesty, treating his pilot characters as real people rather than heroic archetypes.