All Is Fair by Michael Kenneth Smith follows the painful adventures of a fighter pilot, Jan Orlinski. It is 1939 and Jan is dismayed as he watches the devastation caused by the German blitzgrief. In England, he crashes into the English Channel and is captured by the Germans.  A lot is at stake for Jan and the thought of losing the love of his life drives him to stay alive. He eventually escapes the German prison. But fate doesn't favor him as he is again captured and imprisoned in Spain. When he finally gets freed, what awaits him is betrayal. Can he find a foothold in a world that is completely different from what he has hoped for?

Starting from Jan's training — which is disappointing to him — to the finely wrought scenes of WWI, Michael Kenneth Smith transports readers to a vividly drawn setting. The rugged life of soldiers and their discipline are masterfully detailed in this mesmerizing tale of war and a man's quest for freedom. The characters are stunningly imagined and well-written. The story has strong plot points, with the desolation left by the blitzgrief and the prison experience of the protagonist. The love between Jan and newspaper reporter, Sophie Gordon becomes one of the central themes in the story and the author uses it to enrich the streams of consciousness. This author excels at revealing the deepest fears and motivations of the characters, especially the key character, and it is through this well-executed skill that he creates characters that are not only believable but genuinely flawed.  All Is Fair is a fascinating read for fans of historical fiction with compelling characters.