Sven Hassel

[Malbork]

Just noticed while surfing that Sven Hassel,  or at least the person who wrote all those war novels under that name depending on your point of view, laid down his pen for good on 21 September;

Read and re-read all his books when I was a teenager and still sometimes dip into them for scenario ideas.

[Steve J]

I remember reading one of his books many, many years ago. I think he also wrote other books under different names.

[NTM]

I remember reading one of his books many, many years ago. I think he also wrote other books under different names.

Not aware of Sven Hassel using another name to write other books. There was a similar series of books by Leo Kessler which was a pen name of Charles Whiting.

[Steve J]

Ooops NTM, you're right . Thanks for correcting me.

Steve 'Kermit' J.

[Maenoferren]

ye gods there is a blast from the past
had both Sven Hassel and Leo Kessler libraries at one point

[Jim Ando]

Hi

Laid his pen down, I thought he had years ago.

The last book under his name was The Commisar written in about 1984.

I thought he was dead.

Bloody good books, though have to be taken with a pinch of salt.

Jim   

[Hertsblue]

He was born in 1917 so he would be 95 now. So probably long retired.

[NTM]

Apparently he had a 15th novel in progress in the late 90's but poor health prevented completion. It was based on the July Bomb Plot.

[Malbork]

Apparently he had a 15th novel in progress in the late 90's but poor health prevented completion. It was based on the July Bomb Plot.

That would have been interesting. The 27th and von Stauffenberg

NTM: yep, had a lot of Kessler's stuff too; Lots of us at school bought different books and then we swapped them; Read about 8 or 9 I think, but they weren't in quite the same league as Hassel, although they had wonderfully weird expressions translated literally from the German.

I read somewhere that a compnay was republishing Kessler/Whiting's stuff but don't know if this actually happened or not.

[Gran76]

I remember reading SS General and laughing out loud when the squad were riding on the back of cows across a field to escape the Russians 

[sixsideddice]

Just got rid of all my Sven Hassel books at the local charity store.... what an iiiiijit I am 

.... and there I am, just starting to get back into Squad Leader again