The Midnight Cuckoo
By Ray Drayton
Synopsis:
The storyline takes the reader on an incredible journey into a magical world of Germanic Folklore within the confines of The Black Forest. Goblins, Witches, and a host of characters come to life in a seemingly ‘Parallel Universe.’ The narrative now takes an unexpected twist…
The timeline is during WW2, September 1944. The Battle of The Hurtgen Forest near the German border with Aachen was fought over three months during winter. The longest battle of the war became an integral part of the Allied invasion to free Central Europe.
An American paratrooper officer was separated from his unit due to navigational error during a night drop. He landed in The Black Forest, 300 kilometres southeast of the intended drop zone. The lone paratrooper sustained injuries during landing and was nursed back to health by inhabitants of The Black Forest. He discovered an idyllic world free of drudgery and death that resulted from a long, tedious winter war.
A variety of magical creatures and fairy tale characters emerged and befriended him. They revealed secrets of eternity ensconced within the world of folklore. A realm where chronological time had never existed.
Captain Digby Fontaine, US 17th Airborne Division discovers a life of bliss in what can only be described as a ‘Universe existing in sync with physical reality.’ It all came to an abrupt end when he broke a Cardinal Law of the Forest. The magical surreal world abruptly vanished, and plunged him back into the dross physical reality of war. The conflict was now in its death throes, giving him no choice other than to fight in a sinister theatre of war totally foreign to what he had been trained for.
‘The Midnight Cuckoo’ is a secret code name for the covert world of espionage – a world that for Captain Fontaine consists of deceit and cunning while fighting an unseen enemy. The ever present prospect of a terrifying death lurking in the shadows exists at every turn. In contrast to an idyllic realm he had experienced, now it is ‘Kill or be Killed.’ But is actually worse than that. This fight for survival is close up and personal.
This is the brutal physical reality…
The timeline is during WW2, September 1944. The Battle of The Hurtgen Forest near the German border with Aachen was fought over three months during winter. The longest battle of the war became an integral part of the Allied invasion to free Central Europe.
An American paratrooper officer was separated from his unit due to navigational error during a night drop. He landed in The Black Forest, 300 kilometres southeast of the intended drop zone. The lone paratrooper sustained injuries during landing and was nursed back to health by inhabitants of The Black Forest. He discovered an idyllic world free of drudgery and death that resulted from a long, tedious winter war.
A variety of magical creatures and fairy tale characters emerged and befriended him. They revealed secrets of eternity ensconced within the world of folklore. A realm where chronological time had never existed.
Captain Digby Fontaine, US 17th Airborne Division discovers a life of bliss in what can only be described as a ‘Universe existing in sync with physical reality.’ It all came to an abrupt end when he broke a Cardinal Law of the Forest. The magical surreal world abruptly vanished, and plunged him back into the dross physical reality of war. The conflict was now in its death throes, giving him no choice other than to fight in a sinister theatre of war totally foreign to what he had been trained for.
‘The Midnight Cuckoo’ is a secret code name for the covert world of espionage – a world that for Captain Fontaine consists of deceit and cunning while fighting an unseen enemy. The ever present prospect of a terrifying death lurking in the shadows exists at every turn. In contrast to an idyllic realm he had experienced, now it is ‘Kill or be Killed.’ But is actually worse than that. This fight for survival is close up and personal.
This is the brutal physical reality…