Romantic entanglements and a covert mission help this aviation tale take off.
A flier’s new gig as an Alaskan bush pilot is impeded by hazardous weather, an arrogant inspector, and a hasty plan to rescue bear cubs in Auxier’s (Code Name: Dodger, 2012, etc.) adventure.
All Daniel Christopher “DC” Alva has to show for years of flight training is a dreary job flying Grand Canyon tours. So he’s willing to brave unfavorable weather when best friend and fellow pilot, Allen Foley, gives him a heads up on an opening at Southeast Alaska Seaplanes. Working as a bush pilot gives DC access to superior aircraft and could lead to a major airline position. Unfortunately, in Juneau, Alaska, Federal Aviation Administration Inspector Frederick Bruner may have it out for DC, citing him for minor infractions. Add to that pilot Ralph Olafsen’s aggressive behavior toward Bruner, and Southeast Alaska is in danger of the FAA shutting it down completely. Complicating matters is a few pilots’ desire to save three bear cubs, orphaned by poachers but facing termination from game wardens—to save money. Allen, Ralph (sans pilot’s license), and others initiate Operation Dirty Harry to ensure that the bears return to the wild. Mother Nature, however, not to be tamed, takes down a Southeast Alaska flier’s plane, while DC will have to fight to make certain Allen doesn’t suffer the same fate. The novel possesses both suspense and drama in spades. Check airwoman Holly Innes, for one, hides from a menacing someone actively looking for her—and getting closer. Popular local Tonya Hunter, meanwhile, creates a rift between DC and Allen, amorously toying with the friends, and in true soap-opera fashion, DC’s pseudo-ex Stephanie (they “sorta broke up”) makes a surprise appearance in Juneau. There are disappointingly no strong women: Tonya’s aimlessly manipulative, Stephanie’s clingy, and Holly’s authority is undermined by male pilots (“Lady, you need to get laid,” Ralph tactlessly declares). But aviator Auxier’s intelligent and comprehensive descriptions of the story’s numerous flights, or characters discussing them, will put readers in the pilot’s seat. There’s plenty of context to help understand the jargon and an exhaustive glossary at the end, even including a few terms not in the narrative.
Romantic entanglements and a covert mission help this aviation tale take off.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4802-7988-9
Page Count: 306
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Spielman’s debut charms as Brett briskly careens from catastrophe to disaster to enlightenment.
Devastated by her mother’s death, Brett Bohlinger consumes a bottle of outrageously expensive Champagne and trips down the stairs at the funeral luncheon. Add embarrassed to devastated. Could things get any worse? Of course they can, and they do—at the reading of the will.
Instead of inheriting the position of CEO at the family’s cosmetics firm—a position she has been groomed for—she’s given a life list she wrote when she was 14 and an ultimatum: Complete the goals, or lose her inheritance. Luckily, her mother, Elizabeth, has crossed off some of the more whimsical goals, including running with the bulls—too risky! Having a child, buying a horse, building a relationship with her (dead) father, however, all remain. Brad, the handsome attorney charged with making sure Brett achieves her goals, doles out a letter from her mother with each success. Warmly comforting, Elizabeth’s letters uncannily—and quite humorously—predict Brett’s side of the conversations. Brett grudgingly begins by performing at a local comedy club, an experience that proves both humiliating and instructive: Perfection is overrated, and taking risks is exhilarating. Becoming an awesome teacher, however, seems impossible given her utter lack of classroom management skills. Teaching homebound children offers surprising rewards, though. Along Brett’s journey, many of the friends (and family) she thought would support her instead betray her. Luckily, Brett’s new life is populated with quirky, sharply drawn characters, including a pregnant high school student living in a homeless shelter, a psychiatrist with plenty of time to chat about troubled children, and one of her mother’s dearest, most secret companions. A 10-step program for the grief-stricken, Brett’s quest brings her back to love, the best inheritance of all.
Spielman’s debut charms as Brett briskly careens from catastrophe to disaster to enlightenment.Pub Date: July 30, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-345-54087-4
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bantam
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extremely powerful story of a young Southern Negro, from his late high school days through three years of college to his life in Harlem.
His early training prepared him for a life of humility before white men, but through injustices- large and small, he came to realize that he was an "invisible man". People saw in him only a reflection of their preconceived ideas of what he was, denied his individuality, and ultimately did not see him at all. This theme, which has implications far beyond the obvious racial parallel, is skillfully handled. The incidents of the story are wholly absorbing. The boy's dismissal from college because of an innocent mistake, his shocked reaction to the anonymity of the North and to Harlem, his nightmare experiences on a one-day job in a paint factory and in the hospital, his lightning success as the Harlem leader of a communistic organization known as the Brotherhood, his involvement in black versus white and black versus black clashes and his disillusion and understanding of his invisibility- all climax naturally in scenes of violence and riot, followed by a retreat which is both literal and figurative. Parts of this experience may have been told before, but never with such freshness, intensity and power.
This is Ellison's first novel, but he has complete control of his story and his style. Watch it.
Pub Date: April 7, 1952
ISBN: 0679732764
Page Count: 616
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 22, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1952
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