Brent’s World Book Review

The Devil Dragon Pilot and Defector

It has been a moment since I have posted a book review, so I thought I would catch up with review not one but two of the recent novels I have read.  The Devil Dragon Pilot by Lawrence Colby and Defector by David Gledhill.

Let’s start off with The Devil Dragon Pilot, written by Lawrence Colby a retired military pilot and one of the few who have completed both the US Navy and US Airforce flight training programs the first in the Ford Stevens military aviation series.  The story focuses on a new highly advanced stealth Chinese attack bomber being developed in complete secrecy by the Chinese.  The aircraft is capable of complete stealth, high altitude, and speeds in excess of MACH 5!  It’s capable test pilot Wu Lee, who at an early age made a lasting friendship with an American family, has a strong bong with the United States.  After discovering he is dying of terminal Leukemia decides he does not want to die alone in China and decides to defect with the experimental aircraft with the help of his childhood friend United States Airforce Major Ford Stevens!

The book was fast paced and kept my interest, my only problem with the novel was that it was basically Firefox without the tension building espionage sub plot and character development and set in China instead of the cold war Soviet Union.  The comparison with Firefox also led to another letdown of sorts.  Except for a brief fight with the Chinese copilot while the aircraft was being stolen, there was really no action at the conclusion of the book. After all this is supposed to be a military thriller, so where is the military action?

I am not disappointed I chose to try this book from a new author, it still was a good read, and the premise did have potential.  I saw where the author was trying to go, but the lack of Chinese response at the realization that one of their most advanced pieces of military hardware was just taken from them made the ending seemed rushed, and the potential energy build up throughout the story wasted. 

I give The Devil Dragon Pilot 2 and a half stars, a good book if you need to kill time on vacation, though not something that will really knock your socks off.  I am on the fence if I am going to pick up the second book in the Ford Stevens series, though at $3.00 for the Kindle edition what do I have to lose?   

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M5JE20X/ref=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o01_?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Defector by David Gledhill is also a military aviation techno thriller, set in the early 1980s at the height of the cold war,  Due to major advances in aeronatics in the west, such as the General Dynamics F-16, and McDonnel Douglas F-15, the Soviets find their venerable but aging Mig 21s and similar aircraft are afraid of being unable to be able to obtain air superiority.  Enter the Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker.  A revolutionary twin engine, twin tail fighter aircraft, that will go head to head with the likes of the F-15, and F-14 Tomcat!

There is only one problem, It’s test pilot Soviet Air Force Colonel Yuri Andrenev, whose wife has terminal cancer and tired of bumbling Soviet hierarchy decides to defect to West Germany with the Su-27 prototype.  Promising an intelligence coup for the West, and dealing a serious blow to Soviet aerospace development at the same time.

The book was well written, and in contrast with the Devil Dragon Pilot, there is plenty of good military aviation action in this book.  Sometimes too detailed, which tended to slow me down, as the details and minutiae became a little to dense.  However, it was interesting to be able to get a small (If even fictional) glimpse into the life of a front-line fighter poised both figuratively and latterly on the razors edge defending the border of East and West Germany.

I give the book 3 and half stars, and enjoyed it more than The Devil Dragon Pilot,  as it had more aerial action, which is why we buy military aviation thrillers to begin with! I would have liked to have given it more stars, but tendancy of the author to get into too much detail sometimes really slowed down the pace.  Though this may not bother some people.

Defector is currently available on Kindle for $2.99 at Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Defector-Phantom-Air-Combat-Book-ebook/dp/B00EUYEUDK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1490817621&sr=8-3&keywords=defector

(NOTE: This links are provided for your convenience, Brent’s World has NO monetized content.  I do not receive any payment for the review or endorsement of any product.)