A novel of George Orwell in 1920s BURMA
Novel set in the Mojave Desert, Houston, and Cape Canaveral
6th July 2015
The Last Pilot by Benjamin Johncock – novel set in the Mojave Desert, Houston, and Cape Canaveral.
I feel very lucky. The Last Pilot by Benjamin Johncock is the third debut novel by a British writer that I have read in recent weeks. All have been quite excellent… First was The Killing of Bobbi Lomax by Cal Moriarty, then came White Crocodile by K T Medina – and now, The Last Pilot. Two of the three (The Killing of Bobbi Lomax and The Last Pilot) are set in the States, and written with an authentic American feel. White Crocodile is set in Cambodia.
The Last Pilot is a very comprehensive and tightly written first novel. It starts in the Mojave Desert in the 1940s when a group of US test pilots are trying to break the sound barrier. Jim Harrison is one of the group. They are a hard drinking and hard living bunch (nothing wrong with a couple of stiffeners before a flight…). Harrison is married to Grace on whom he dotes. They eventually (after some problems) have a daughter. After a family tragedy, the story moves on to Houston in the early 1960s where Jim has become one of the select few astronauts at the beginning of the US space programme. He and Grace live in a ‘village’ alongside the Glenns, the Lovells, and the Bormans… It is a strange existence, Kennedy has committed to having a man on the moon by 1970, and that is the absolute focus. At the same time, though, the families have all become media celebrities – with all that entails. The stress and pressure grow, both for Harrison himself and for his marriage. No spoilers, but he heads rapidly downhill… All quite believable until the slightly strained and unlikely (to my mind) denouement.
The Last Pilot is a very interesting book that examines in some detail a more than significant period of recent American history. Perhaps particularly so because, although clearly a work of fiction, it is well researched (see the list of references and sources at the end…) and you feel as though Harrison is actually part of the project. No doubt aided by the device of his living alongside, and being friends with, some of the real astronauts. Perhaps, though, a little worrying in that one wonders how much of the story is true and how much is fiction. I feel I could give a lecture on the early US space programme – but I wouldn’t be quite sure that I might not make a fool of myself!
The Last Pilot is a great debut novel from a British writer who will be very well worth following.
Tony for the TripFiction team
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