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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Story Well Told, September 24, 2000
Daniel Ford's non-fiction history the Flying Tigers is in a class by itself, and his novel "Remains" continues his work of reminding us that the members of the American Volunteer Group were real men who became heroes under the worst imaginable conditions. His latest work, a novel, does a great job of creating the feel of Burma in 1941-42. The characters of Fitz and Blackie are all the more believable for their foibles and youthful innocence as the grim reality of war overtakes them. Mr. Ford writes equally well describing dogfights over Rangoon or social clashes in the caste-divided clubs below. "Remains", like his earlier non-fiction work on the Tigers, is a grittier but ultimately more heroic flip side to the John Wayne-fantasy versions of these remarkable but all too human warriors. I read the original downloaded version of this book and I'm delighted to see it in hard copy. I highly recommend it to anyone even slightly interested in the AVG, the period, the East or aviation. An absolute must-have for Flying Tiger buffs.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
cracking good yarn about the Flying Tigers, November 9, 2000
I was a great fan of Daniel Ford's history of the Flying Tigers, and because of that I checked out his novel about college students in the 1960s--"Now Comes Theodora" which I'm glad to see is back in print. So naturally I was excited to hear that he'd combined his two great talents, writing fiction and writing about military aviation. Here's a novel about the Flying Tigers. The whole cast is there, including Claire Chennault and General George Marshal. But the heroes of the piece are American pilots Blackie and Fitz, their British and mixed-blood girlfriends, and a Japanese suicide pilot whose name translates as "tree of the sun"--Sergeant Hinoki, who is both sympathetic and blood-chilling. They meet, they fight, and some of them die. It's a cracking good yarn. -- Paddy
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Was that Pappy Boyington I saw?, March 14, 2001
In any novel that's based on real events, it's a huge temptation to look for real people amongst the fictional characters. I suspect that Dan Ford had the famous Pappy Boyington in mind when he dreamed up the character of "Uncle Wiggly"--the hard-drinking, two-fisted pilot who lamed his knees in a landing accident at Rangoon. Likewise the sweet-natured squadron leader has got to be based on Bob Neale, who as a civilian was the high-scoring American fighter pilot in the spring of 1942. It's great fun picking these characters out of a story that pounds along like a novel by Jack Higgins. Definately a five-star book. Anyone whose read Dan Ford's excellent history of the Flying Tigers will want to have this novel in his collection also. And anyone who hasn't, will find it the best possible introduction to the men of the American Volunteer Group--not to mention a Japanese air force pilot and some of the English and Burmese girls who populated Rangoon in the last days of the British Empire. Mark Hallet in Denver
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