Stories by Solsticeman

Shades of Gray

[A complete story in 7 chapters]

The Axis Trilogy

In the Axis trilogy Solsticeman explores the question... "How should a good person behave when faced with being on the wrong side of a war?". Set in World War Two, the three books look at very different aspects of the Axis Powers' losing attempt to dominate Europe.

Wandervogel sees a boy placed right at the centre of the Nazi hierarchy. He plays chess with Himmler on wet afternoons. That close to evil, can he maintain his moral compass?

In The Moor, a dirt-poor Italian boy is befriended by his priest who lifts him out of poverty and sets him on a long journey to Rome and manhood. This is the period known as Italy's Sorrow when Italians had more to fear from the Allied forces liberating them from German domination than they ever had to fear from the Germans.

I'll See You Down There follows a boy into the Fallschirmjäger, the elite paratrooper corps who captured Crete. Just four hundred of them outflanked the Maginot Line and defeated four Belgian Divisions. Life could hardly be boring but can it be emotionally satisfying?

All three protagonists are gay in a period when being gay was so hidden that many boys of that age would not actually be aware that they were homosexual until late in their teens.

Solsticeman has woven fictional characters into real history, having them interact with real historical characters and take part in real events. The three stories stand independently, but the historical context is best appreciated if they are read in the order given above.

So, should German boys have been patriotic? Should an Italian boy have been religious?

Read the Axis Trilogy and come to your own conclusions.

Wandervogel

[A story in 25 chapters, the first book of The Axis Trilogy]

The Moor

[A story in 9 chapters, the second book of The Axis Trilogy]

I'll See You Down There

[A story in 12 chapters, the third book of The Axis Trilogy]

Short Stories

A Royal Achievement

[A ripping yarn in 20 chapters]