Flight of the Serpent [Mass Market Paperback]

Val Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1998

Nick Scott is back in the desert, this time leading a university-funded dig of her own in a ghost town near Boot Hill in Arizona. Walking into a canyon in search of cave-dwelling ruins left by ancient Anasazi, Nick hears the unmistakable sound of helicopters right before stumbling across the downed wreckage of what was once the plane of reporter Matt Gault. Joining forces with John Gault, Matt's grandfather, Nick quickly finds herself taken from the world of academic archeology into a world of government subterfuge and murder. Swept up in the mystery, and determined to uncover the truth, Nick and Gault call together the crew of a WW II B-24 Liberator for one last mission under the blazing skies of the Arizona sun.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Federal investigators rule a mysterious plane crash in the Arizona desert a "pilot error," but archaeologist Nicolette Scott knows there is more to the story than authorities are letting on. When her eyewitness account of the incident is discredited, she joins forces with the dead pilot's grandfather, John Gault, a man who shares her expertise in aviation and her determination to uncover the truth. Their quest leads them to the discovery of a top-secret facility near the crash site, and, ultimately, to a chilling conspiracy allowing illegal aliens to be detained there for use as human guinea pigs in radiation testing. The action kicks in when the pair decides to take Gault's WWII bomber on its final flight to avenge his grandson's death.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

Nick Scott is back in the desert, this time leading a university-funded dig of her own in a ghost town near Boot Hill in Arizona. Walking into a canyon in search of cave-dwelling ruins left by ancient Anasazi, Nick hears the unmistakable sound of helicopters right before stumbling across the downed wreckage of what was once the plane of reporter Matt Gault. Joining forces with John Gault, Matt's grandfather, Nick quickly finds herself taken from the world of academic archeology into a world of government subterfuge and murder. Swept up in the mystery, and determined to uncover the truth, Nick and Gault call together the crew of a WW II B-24 Liberator for one last mission under the blazing skies of the Arizona sun.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (December 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553578030
• ISBN-13: 978-0553578034
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,689,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nice try -- but this serpent is a garden snake, June 6, 2004

By 

Theodore A. Rushton (PHOENIX, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flight of the Serpent (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a disappointing book, long on potential but short on the reality of Cochise County where it is supposedly set and absent on the black arts of rogue government agents.

The basic plot is feasible; some years ago the commander of the Arizona National Guard referred to the black arts of federal agencies with the comment, "I don't know what goes on there, I'm not about to ask, and I don't want to know." The story is set in the vicinity of Fort Huachuca, a major base for army intelligence which produced some interrogators who went to Abu Ghraib and other US prisons in Afghanistan and Iraq. In addition, Arizona is littered with abandoned military facilities and open land. Most of the northwest quarter of the state is empty and roadless; setting this story in a land of urban ranchettes is hardly credible.

Setting aside her depiction of Nicolette Scott as an archaeologist, the first jarring element is her description of a single-engine Cessna crashing into a canyon wall and ending up on the floor of the canyon. Supposedly, the fuselage was intact enough to walk up to the dead pilot to check for signs of life. It makes me wonder if Davis has ever seen a real aircraft crash, or even read about one.

Another oddity is the focus on rebuilding a World War II B-24 Liberator, which takes place almost overnight. I'm somewhat familiar with reconstruction of WW II aircraft as done by the Commemorative Air Force (former Confederate Air Force, based in Arizona). It takes months to accomplish the work she describes.

These flaws, based on my ignorance from personal experience or her unfamiliarity based on limited or flawed research, create jarring anomalies in an otherwise interesting, plausible and feasible story. Let's put it this way: if you don't know much about archaeologists, the military, aircraft or the Sonoran desert -- it could be interesting.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Left Me Wanting More, July 16, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Flight of the Serpent (Mass Market Paperback)

This book worked on certain levels and on certain levels it fell short. Many of the characters were not as well developed as I would have liked them to be, and the book seemed to end without letting the reader know the fate of certain characters. I would have liked for there to have been another chapter or at least an epilogue that let you know what happened to the characters.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Whiff of the Supernatural, June 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Flight of the Serpent (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is a clasic love triangle, but one of the lovers is not a human being. One lover has been waiting for fifty years, the other has no time to wait. Only two of the triangle are aware of the rivlary. The object of their affection is totally unaware of what if going on. On the surface this book is an action-adventure, but underneath there is the whiff of the supernatural.