Customer Reviews

Fire Flight

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've been in the business of wildland firefighting and airtankering for more than three decades, and I'm darn proud of the image of my brethren that John Nance paints in this grand novel. Clark Maxwell and Bill Deason, if not psuedonyms for real airtanker pilots, represent the best among us, and the flight sequences are steller. So, for that matter, is the character development, and the depth of Clark's attitudes and opinions and struggles, especially where Karen Jones is concerned. I've known at least three Karen Jones in the smokejumper circles, and Nance's descriptions are dead on. I'm aware there are some rancid comments from one of my mad-about-everything fellow pilots posted here, but disregard his nonsense. This is great fiction against the background of the real deal, and you can take that from one who's been there. Recommend this to evryone you can. If they listen to this man, we just might get some things fixed in Washington!

It's often a treat and a privilege to hear an audio book read by the author. Such is the case with "Fire Flight" read by popular John J. Nance. He brings an understanding and nuance to the tale that even the best vocal performer may not achieve.

Fiery infernos are spreading rapidly, very quickly out of control and threatening to engulf two national parks. Flames will also level countless homes and buildings in the park. Fighting the fires is an antiquated fleet of aircraft called air tankers. These planes should have been replaced long ago to say nothing of risking their pilots lives as they attempt to contain the raging blazes.

Clark Maxwell, an experienced pilot had no intention of joining this battle until he receives a call from Jerry Stein, a friend and owner of a fleet of air tankers. Soon after Maxwell becomes a part of the fire fighters mysterious air disasters begin to occur. It's not long before he has good reason to believe that an evil force is behind these crashes.

Winds are fanning the flames and people are panicking. As Maxwell probes further his investigation causes him to question officials he would never have believed might be involved in such a horrific conflagration.

Those who like their thrillers laced with action will find much to like in "Fire Flight".

- Gail Cooke

Clark Maxwell came out of retirement to help fight the fires that are raging in the west because his ex-boss, somewhat sleazy, kind of cheap, Jerry Stein said he needed him. Clark and his new co-pilot are flying a DC6B watertanker when the tanker in front goes down with his friend Jeff Maze aboard. One of the wings came off in midair. Clark believes that the planes have had all of their required maintenance checks, because Stein is his friend and a pilot himself. He wouldn't send his crew out in planes that weren't fit.

But Clark can't help himself and he checks out a plane on the ground and sees that the maintenance had not been performed. He calls the FBI, but Stein's security chief overhears the call and calls the feds back, pretending he's Maxwell, and he says he was concerned over nothing, then he impersonates an FBI agent to find out just what it is Clark knows and Clark is about to fall into the trap.

Nance is a master when it comes to the airplane thriller and he's out done himself this time. His portrayal of wild fires, the destruction they cause, the lives they destroy will have ice shooting up your spine while you read about disaster after disaster as Clark and his comrades combat one of the worst fires in history in their aging planes that appear to be held together with only spit and chewing gum.

Reviewed by Vesta Irene

I didn't really like this book that much. Nance does show that he is an aviation expert, as he goes into a new realm that is outside the traditional aviation disaster genre, but I just felt like the whole plot dragged and was very predictable. In my opinion, Nance's earlier works were much better. If there was one book of his I would not get, there's a good chance it would be this one.

I stopped in at one of those bookstores that serves coffee, has cozy chairs and friendly people that don't mind if you sit for a spell and glance through a magazine or two. I picked up FIRE FLIGHT, because a friend of mine had raved about how good it was and because of the fires in Southern California, where I'm temporarily staying. I plopped into a cushy chair, intending to just glance through the book and see if it was worth buying. Four hours later I pulled myself up, went to the checkout and bought it. I didn't need it, because I'd finished it, but I just had to own it, it was that good.

Mr. Nance spends a good deal of time on description, but he places it between the action of a plane going down or a raging fire that's consuming everything in its path or something as simple as two men vying for the attention of a pretty girl in a bar. Somehow he paints his pages with burning detail and you don't even know he's doing it. You smell the fire, taste the smoke, feel the fear of the pilots of the DC6B watertakers as they stay calm under terrifying, life and death circumstances, and when you finish, you're gonna want to read it all over again.

This book is sort of a change for Mr. Nance as it's not one of his usual super thriller, ticking clock, nonstop action efforts. This is better, way better. It's a gripping story of friendship, love lost and gained, jealousy, rivalry, deception and deceit, good guys and maybe even a bad guy or two, depending on your point of view. But most of all, it's a damn fine read, a book that belongs in anybody's library. I can't recommend it highly enough.

I am the owner of a contract wildland firefighting operation in Roswell, New Mexico and a pilot. I also worked for the Federal Gov't in fire before going to contracting so I have a perspective from both sides of the fence. I read this book a few days ago and I think it is excellent reading for anyone who has an interest in air tankers or wildland firefighting in general. I know that many of the things that are spoken of in the book are relating to things that have really happened, granted some were pretty far out also. The only thing I did not like was the fact that Mr. Nance seemed to portray fire contract operations as a low rent bunch. I keep my equipment way above government standards as a lot of other contractors do, in reguards to fire engines or air tankers so the very end of the book angered me somewhat when Mr. Nance suggested that the national airtanker fleet be federalized. All in all though, this was an excellent book and I really enjoyed the detailed information and the issues addressed in the book and could tell that a lot of research went into it.

I went out and bought this book because of the reviews below. Everyone just seemed to be singing FIRE FLIGHT'S praises. Every review so positive, and then there was the bit about all those fires in California in the news. Anyway, I figured I couldn't go wrong and I was I ever right. FIRE FIGHT is one super thriller. From the very beginning, when Jeff Maze is spotted in the Caymans, we know something is not right, then when his plane crashes in the next chapter, it puts us on our guard through the rest of the book, on the edge of our seats, wondering what's going to happen next.

I especially liked the part where the rock star Jimmy Wolf uses his influence with the government to pull a water carrying helicopter away from a town that was threatened by the fire to save his expensive home. The chopper drizzles water on the house, but Jimmy gets on the phone, calls his influential pals, demands they unload it all. The pilot says no, because he knows that to do so would destroy the home. Jimmy is furious, threatens the pilot, the pilot dumps the agua and Jimmy's home is flattened under the deluge. Poetic justice, I liked that. Then Jimmy went on to become a hero. I liked that too.

There's lots of stuff going on in FIRE FLIGHT, but it's very easy to keep track of everybody, I never got lost and I didn't put the book down till I finished. Again this is a super thriller, a super book, a wonderful story and a mystery to boot.

John Nance has long been one of my favorite authors. He does for the airplane what Dick Frances does for the race horse. When Nance writes he puts you in the cockpit with the pilot and copilot. You're there as they take the plane off, as they fly it, as they land it and as they get in trouble in it. He puts his pilots in incredibly unbelievable situations and, with a deft few lines of prose, manages to make us buy into it. Is it possible for a lone pilot to land a plane upside down on a truck racing down a runway and have the pilot survive? Well, I guess so, because I was there, I felt the pilots fear, than his acceptance when he knew he was going to die, then his hope when offered a possible solution, than his cool detachment as he went about doing what he had to do to get the aircraft down, and finally his relief when he walked away from it all. Only John Nance could write a scene like that.

In Mr. Nance's other works you pretty much knew who the good guys and bad guys are. In "Fire Flight" you kind of don't. The distinction between good and bad is blurred, the characters are more flawed than in his past books, more human. So human that you might almost be reading about someone you know. However there is one bad guy that stands out and that's the fire. The fire is definitely a very bad hombre and it takes some very brave people to combat it. Nance gives us brave pilots, brave smokejumpers, a brave but sleazy owner of the firefighting watertanker fleet, a brave but arrogant rock star and assorted other brave individuals. Even the guys we don't like are brave, I suppose because, good or bad, it takes a mighty brave person to combat a raging wildfire.

The book opens in the Caymans where we see Jeff Maze, one of the DC6B watertanker pilots. We instinctively know he's up to no good, after all, if you've done any kind of reading, you know the Cayman Islands are the Caribbean's answer to Switzerland, secret bank accounts abound. However Maze goes down to a fiery death in the next chapter, so we know right away that there is something rotten in Denmark, as Shakespeare would say, because we learn the plane should have been inspected and any problems should have been detected and fixed.

So there you have it, the beginning of a super story that has it all. Death, duty, honor, love, treachery, lying, deceit, bravery, exciting flying scenes, bar brawls and the backdrop of it all, a fire that will take your breath away as your fingers burn through the pages. Pardon the pun.

I found this book under the christmas tree and it became a wonderful
christmas surpirse. The book flows well and keeps a good pace, I never found myself wanting to skip ahead or being bored with a dragging moment in the storyline. I found the characters to be solid, but nothing ground breaking. Jerry the manager was the character I found the most complex.
Your never quite sure of his motives till later in the story. The flying scenes were exciting and not to confusing with all the technical jargon.
Having a aviation background helped me but isn't needed for the average reader. I felt the ending felt alittle to be desired, but I was hoping for a more sinister twist involving the government.
I knew very little about fire fighting in the wilderness, but this book has stirred my interest in wildfire fighting, especially the topic of smoke jumpers. All in all a great book to pick up if you enjoy a good aviation thriller. I have already recommened this book to relatives and friends. Give it a try!

I went out and bought this book because of the reviews below. Everyone just seemed to be singing FIRE FLIGHT'S praises. Every review so positive, and then there was the bit about all those fires in California in the news. Anyway, I figured I couldn't go wrong and I was I ever right. FIRE FIGHT is one super thriller. From the very beginning, when Jeff Maze is spotted in the Caymans, we know something is not right, then when his plane crashes in the next chapter, it puts us on our guard through the rest of the book, on the edge of our seats, wondering what's going to happen next.

I especially liked the part where the rock star Jimmy Wolf uses his influence with the government to pull a water carrying helicopter away from a town that was threatened by the fire to save his expensive home. The chopper drizzles water on the house, but Jimmy gets on the phone, calls his influential pals, demands they unload it all. The pilot says no, because he knows that to do so would destroy the home. Jimmy is furious, threatens the pilot, the pilot dumps the agua and Jimmy's home is flattened under the deluge. Poetic justice, I liked that. Then Jimmy went on to become a hero. I liked that too.

There's lots of stuff going on in FIRE FLIGHT, but it's very easy to keep track of everybody, I never got lost and I didn't put the book down till I finished. Again this is a super thriller, a super book, a wonderful story and a mystery to boot.