The Pilots

By James Spencer

Book Overview

Seven Superhero Blue Knight Adventures Are Set in Chicago, New York City, Big Island, Hawaii and, Through a Time Portal, into the Future. Blue Knight's powers make him feel invincible. The Artiste uses this vulnerability to trap Superhero/Blue Knight in the hold of a dark ship on Lake Michigan. He is safe there from personal harm and Artiste cannot hold him captive indefinitely. However, Artiste only needs enough time to secure ransoms for precious world sculptures he has stolen. Mission helpers Frank and Ned are on the way and Blue Knight hopes they find and free him soon. Waiting is not easy but he has no choice. He slips off into reveries recalling everything to the present day including coming to Chicago and becoming Superhero/Blue Knight. The exciting Blue Knight adventures begin with The Artiste as the principal antagonist. In the second episode, Roger, Blue Knight's alternate identity is in New York City when a powerful jinni is unleashed and holds Manhattan captive. The jinni demands a huge sum of money to free the city. In the third episode, Chicago's Russian Mafia boss, Ivan, wants to stop Superhero's interference with the Mafia's criminal activities. The next adventure brings a change of pace and location as Roger accepts an invitation to join his Chicago rooming house friends on the Big Island of Hawaii. Pele, the Kilauea volcano goddess awakens accidentally and Blue Knight must find a way to stop the lava flow threatening the city of Hilo. In subsequent episodes, Blue Knight confronts Tony Capone, who is convinced he is in the lineage of legendary Chicago crime boss, Al Capone. Tony and his gang move to the Windy City. Tony is committed to bringing back the glory days of the earlier Capone. Tony's actions to eradicate Blue Knight endanger other citizens of Chicago as well. Blue Knight ultimately travels twenty years into the future through a time portal to settle with Capone. Superhero presents non-stop adversaries and challenges along with plenty of twists and turns. All the while, Superhero treats readers to the evolution that takes place in the lives of Roger and his friends at Rosie's Rooming House... a distinctly human touch.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425194167
• ISBN13: 9780425194164
• Release Date: March 2004
• Publisher: Berkley Trade
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.9" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

An excellent book of vignettes about World War II's Pacific Theater

Some of the other reviewers of this book are apparently unfamiliar with the literary style of the vignette. This book is an excellent example of it in use. the book consists of a series of short stories, mostly about American pilots in the Pacific Theater in World War II. The stories are all related to one another but any one of them is also a stand-alone story on its own (in fact, the author notes in the back note that 5 of the stories were previously published independent of one another in magazines). The dust jacket liner notes call it a novel-in-stories. Many are complaining that the stories are disjointed. Yes, that's the intention. It is similar to the difference between a movie about an event and a few snapshots of that same event. The movie is smooth, a series of photographs is disjointed - but each picture can stand on its own. Anyway, Spencer's book consists of 15 vignettes about the lives of two pilots. The first one is about their childhood. It is by far the weakest of the stories. It has the least to do with the war, but it is a decent little story about the Great Depression. The rest of them give us a little taste of the action in the air over the Pacific but also a sense of life back on base and on leave. The book is a breeze to read and quite enjoyable. As a memoir in fiction, one can assume that some of it really happened to Spencer, some of it is based on things he heard about and some of it he just made up. Either way, I enjoyed it. I give this one a grade of A-

Story of combat from someone who lived it.

I read this book this year. I picked it up because my Grandpa was a B-24 pilot in the war and said it was a good fictionalised account of 'his war'. I started reading and was sucked in. The way he describes dogfights and bomb runs is in great detail. The book is based on two characters, Lieutenants Stevie Larkin and Blake Hurlingame. Both are childhood friends who both join the Army Air Forces during WWII. One is a fighter pilot and the other a bomber pilot. The book bounces between different characters but the stories are intertwined. If you want a well written, tragic WWII novel, "The Pilots" is a great choice.

Very visceral look at WWII...

I read this book at the recommendation of a friend, and I must say, I have never been endowed with such a clear perception of what it was like to actually be in WWII. The gritty characters, intricate settings, and detailed descriptions made the book seem very, very real... I would recommend this book to anyone who would like a thrilling glimpse at what it was like to actually BE THERE. An enjoyable and gripping novel overall.

Been There, Done That--And this guy HAS

This is just a super book. Well written, warm, and yet frightening in its description of combat flying. Jim Spencer has a wonderful way of getting into the stories and making them real for us. Having lived just a bit of that life (USMC pilot)I felt in the cockpit and in the ready room with Jim. The out of combat R & R in Australia was just the right tone, and the craziness that permeates everything was right on.All the guys I know would love this book. There is hardly a pilot alive or that has lived that has not dreamed of air-to-air combat. This is a piece of that dream.