“The more Ingo Six competes, the greater the hunger to race; but the more he succeeds, the greater the danger his secret will be discovered”
Faster Than The Bullet, Mike Breslin
Mike Breslin has released his new novel, Faster than the Bullet, an action-packed epic of motor racing and warfare which is a follow-up to his successful 2014 book, Pieces of Silver.
Faster than the Bullet is the London-based Welsh author’s third novel and fifth book. It is set within the racing scene in Argentina and Italy in the 1950s, and also during the Second World War in Poland, Britain and Russia.
“I wanted to tell a story of someone who is hiding, who has a terrible secret, yet also a talent that refuses to be hidden, and with my background that had to be for racing,” says Breslin, a motorsport writer and former Formula Ford racer. “Also, I’ve always been interested in how ordinary people behave when they find themselves caught up in extraordinary, and sometimes unimaginably horrific, events, and that’s the other driving force behind this novel.”
The narrative is split between the war in the ’40s and racing in the ’50s, alternating between both strands as the story develops, while encompassing cataclysmic episodes in history such as the Battle of Kursk and the Warsaw Uprising, plus the greatest road race of them all, the Mille Miglia (see cover blurb below).
“I think there is a strong link between the military and motor racing, particularly during the times this novel is set,” Breslin says. “You need only visit the Goodwood Revival to see that, while I also believe the success of Pieces of Silver shows this, too. For many, World War II aeroplanes and vehicles stir the soul in the very same way old racing cars can.
“This is not a sequel to Pieces of Silver,” Breslin adds. “But it is similar in its scope, being part saga and part thriller, and with its themes, and also with its many set-piece action sequences – in racing cars, in tanks, and in the air – so I’m hoping the very many who seem to have enjoyed, and continue to enjoy, that novel will also enjoy Faster than the Bullet.”
This is Breslin’s second book this year, the first being Road Trip: a Practical Manual (Haynes), a non-fiction work which offers inspiration and advice for driving road trips around the world – including 50 suggested routes – based on the author’s own journeys and adventures on six continents. For more on Mike Breslin go to www.bresmedia.co.uk
Faster than the Bullet is published by Pie Shop Publishing and is available as a 440-page large format paperback.