Writers are heavily influenced by the books they love when young. Though the term "young" may be debatable in this case, since I first read a paperback edition in 1986, at the age of 27, "Gray Eagles most definitely influenced me as a novelist. It's no surprise that Duane Unkefer has for years taught fiction writing, and though I haven't taken any of his classes (yet) I am very grateful to have been exposed to this wonderful story, and am a better writer because of it.
"Gray Eagles" is probably my favorite novel. It's well written, suspenseful and exciting. The flying scenes, though not overly technical, puts the reader in the cockpit of a meticulously restore BF-109G, the main workhorse of the German war machine during World War Two. Set in 1970s Phoenix, it's the story of a group of former Luftwaffe pilots, who led by a wealthy, former pilot, meet for a "two week flyng vacation" that is in fact, the Luftwaffe's last hurrah. The author successfully draws comparisons between the surviving German war vets and American Vietnam war veterans, who served their countries in losing conflicts and missed out on the gratitude of those they served. It's a story that could only be set in the 1970s, where technology was changing, but not so exponentially that skill and experience couldn't overcome the state of the art.
I think the author was ahead of the curve with this book, offering believable anti-heroes, men on the wrong side of history and the law, who are also likeable, their motivations easy to understand. You find yourselves rooting for the Germans, thrilled when they win, sad when they fall. It's a reminder that seldom are conflicts black and white, good and evil, even when both sides believe right is on their side. That being said, as in life and war, the higher up you go, the more polarized are the personalities of the leaders, Oberst Theo Heinrich, the German industrialist who conceives of the mad plan to strike one more blow for the defeated Luftwaffe and Colonel Roger Lowen are the most one-dimensional of the characters, Theo's charisma used to incite his pilots' participation in the highly illegal, and in some cases treasonous (some of the Germans became American citizens after the war) and Lowen's belief that the Americans' innate goodness in the war forgave his less than honorable final act in the conflict bring the two men and their followers into conflict.
I particularly enjoyed Unkefer's use of Gary Cooper's "High Noon" as the archetype that motivates him. "Gray Eagles" is, in many ways, both literal and figurative, a retelling of the classic western film, much like the current television show "Sons of Anarchy" is thinly veiled Shakespeare. If SOA is Hamlet on motorcycles, "Gray Eagles" is "High Noon" in the air.
When the book was first published in the mid 80s, adapting it to film would have been tremendously difficult. The costs of building and filming a story that involved eight BF-109s, not to mention the complexity of producing the flying sequences would have been extremely difficult. In today's CG-based movie industry, "Gray Eagles" would translate beautifully to the big screen. The book is currently out of print, and not available as an ebook, and though I'm sure the film rights were at some point, acquired, I'm not holding my breath, waiting to pay my $15 to see it at the cineplex.
But, I can dream, can't I?
I love this book so much, a few years ago, I bought a used first edition hard cover copy, and came across it recently. The decision to pick it up and read it again was a good one. It still resonates for me, and as a writer and pilot, "Gray Eagles" I'm happy to say I still love it, possibly even more than before.
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Titanic enthusiast. (Ken)
The Luftwaffe flys again.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 21, 2017