Excellent Cold War Thriller

This review had similar origins to Mark Dawson’s The Cleaner. I found James because he did several sessions of Mark’s Self Publishing Forum 101 Course. The Final Flight is his first book. Books about planes or flying would not be my usual cup of tea, but cold war certainly would. For example Charles McCarry’s The Tears of Autumn, etc.,so I bought it. Thank you James, I really enjoyed it. If you are a writer you read a novel with the following in mind: a sympathetic lead character the reader can relate to is faced by a seemingly insurmountable problem. Through their own efforts they overcome the problem (or succumb) at crisis time and it finishes with a satisfying denouement. Obviously if you are writing the novel you try to do the same. A strong villain is a definite plus. James ticked all the boxes. He clearly knows the subject and the characterisation, both men and women were most satisfying. The resolution could not have been better - and credible. Full marks James, and later on today I will buy your next book, Dark Flight. Thank you also for your good and easy to follow instructions on Mark’s 101 Course. Highly recommended.
Matt Addis does a fine job of the narration.
Happy reading, Eric.

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An excellent military thriller

The Final Flight by James Blatch, narrated by Matt Addis, was an unexpected thrill ride for me. I was expecting a decent military story about the RAF. What I was not expecting was a first-class thriller that had me scrambling for every five minutes of listening I could find. Blatch has placed compelling characters, authentic research, and a believable storyline in an era that is underrepresented in the thriller genre. Set in 1966, the story is so vivid you can feel the heat of a summer’s afternoon, see the military row houses and period vehicles driving by, and feel the vibration of jet planes taking off and landing. Blatch expertly ratchets up the suspense with sequences of twists and turns that I did not see coming.

As an avid audio listener, I’m very picky about the voices I listen to and Matt Addis has been added to the list of readers I will search for more books by. He has an easy-going style that is similar to Simon Vance. His character voices are consistent, and each character has a unique voice that adds to their personality. My only criticism is how he does women’s voices. They sound less clearly defined than the men’s voices, but not to the point where it’s annoying.

Overall, I found this to be an astonishingly good thriller that I would highly recommend.

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entertaining and a good read

entertaining even if a bit boy's own adventure. suspension of disbelief started to fray at the edges. By 1966 RAF doctor's were not prescribing a dram and cigarette for nerves. The first time I heard a doctor warning me off cigarettes was in the early sixties during an aircrew medical at Biggin Hill

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Great story and nice Vulcan feature

I enjoyed the story with its 1966 setting. Seems authentic with a very good intriguing story.

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Fond flying memories

This was a well written book where the author holds your attention while putting in surprising but realistic turns. I enjoyed the subtle suspensive moments

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Excellent story keeps you listening.

Written so well, the world and the characters become real and when the stakes rise you feel the pressure. Great writing! Great story. Highly recommend.

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This book hit this ex-F-111 navigator hard

This book follows the basic template of many current military fiction novels. The worker bees find themselves under the power of an irrational or dishonest commander or other higher authority. The source of conflict is the non-political lower officers working to save the mission and themselves from the evil politically connected higher authority.

Having said that, this book is an outstanding example of this basic trope. I actually found much of it very hard to listen to, because I could so closely identify with the line crewmen placed in a dangerous situation by misguided and dishonest authorities.

This book tells the story of an RAF Vulcan bomber test unit, testing an experimental terrain following system in 1966.

Once I was an F/EF-111 navigator/EW (AEO to the RAF). I worked closely with the RAF when I was stationed in England. Our F-111 was the first widely deployed fighter with an automatic terrain following system. Lots of people died perfecting this system, several in ways just like the problems with the system in the book's Vulcans.

Anyway, the nightmare of a TF system suddenly going stupid at low level and at night was a rare, but very real possibility to me when I was in the F-111.

Our protagonist is an AEO who sits in the 'pit' of the Vulcan, with no ejection seat and hence no way out in most emergencies, This made the Vulcan flights downright scary to me. What a nightmare the very thought of flying in that Vulcan black hole is to me. You couldn't get me into the basement of that airplane with a bayonet at my back!

The protagonist is a Squadron Leader, the same rank equivalent I was when I was in the F-111. It was easy for me to identity with him.

Anyway, our AEO is flyinig the Vulcan at low level when the 'Guiding Light' TF system does what we would call a 'funky chicken' at low level. He is very concerned, and brings his concerns to his commander. Guiding Light is what the USAF would call a 'black program', similar to something like the F-117 before it came out of the closet.

It's not a program anyone involved can even acknowledge, let alone discuss, with anyone not already in the program. The protagonist's boss has bet his career on the success of this program, and will not tolerate any dissent. Very realistic.

The bulk of the story is basically when the Commander covers up more Guiding Light problems, our Squadron Leader goes off the reservation to try and discover technical evidence of the Guiding Light's occasional tendency to do the Funky Chicken.

I found the very thought of going off the reservation of a Special Access program to be terrifying. And this guy has 37 years in the RAF, only months away from retirement! If he gets caught he's throwing away 37 years of his life!

As the book continues our Squadron Leader doesn't just go off the reservation, he goes so far out of official channels that he can't even see his own rear end, so far out he's hung it out trying to get proof of the problems!

Frankly, I almost gave up on the book, the hero could have stayed in the system and made enough noise to get higher level attention. One example. There is a USAF exchange pilot in the same test squadron, a friend of our hero. The RAF and high level British politicians are excited that the USAF is very interested in buying the Guiding Light system.

One phone call to the Pentagon by this American test pilot could have delayed the program and forced an outside review of the Guiding Light test program.

The thought of a large order of Guiding Light from the USAF, paid with Yankee dollars, drove the chain of command to at a minimum turn a blind eye to problems.

There is a totally unexpected plot twist about halfway through the story, that was excellently written by the author. I never saw it coming.

This is a great Cold War book. I really liked that the pilots and crew members of this Vulcan squadron come across as real, individual human beings. Not living Gods, not robots, not all stamped from the same mold. I wish more military novels were like this.

Highly recommended.
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Now just a few thoughts on details in this book.

It was clear to me that the author knew a lot about airplanes. But there was one technical detail that bothered me. Author Blatch's Vulcans were too slow!!! He has his Vulcans flying at 290 to 320 knots low level. Not having flown a Vulcan I don't know for sure what low level speed they flew at, but I'm sure it was much faster than that! The F-111 could fly supersonic at low level. I don't think the Vulcan could do supersonic at low level, but I'm 100% sure they could get close to Mach .9, which would translate to practical speeds of 420 to 500 knots.

Even the B-52 could do 320, and one look should tell you that the Vulcan was much faster than a Buff.

It is true that everyone in the WWII generation smoked. It was a big deal. The USAF was like until the 80s, when smoking began to fall out of favor.

I entered the USAF in 1974, and pretty much everyone senior to me had fought in Vietnam. Most were smokers and all most all were hard drinkers. Smoking declined, but not drinking.

Even so, it was and is a rare USAF officer who can keep up the the average RAF flyer when it came to drinking. The RAF really, really likes to drink.

One thing briefly mentioned in the book that I found in real life was the RAF, indeed the whole British military, love of formal events. They really dined in splendor,and did it often. Our very occasional 'Dining Ins' and 'Dining outs' are nothing compared to the formal events the RAF has in a typical year. I talked to an RAF Exchange officer, he told me he had to buy a new Mess Dress uniform, a civilian tuxedo, an a new 'Class A' , we called the 'bus driver suit'.

Apparently in 1966, and maybe today, British flight crews only wear their flight suits when actually flying. They change into regular uniforms after each flight, and don't wear flight suits if they are not flying that day,

In USAF flying squadrons guys try to wear their flights every day of the year, and go to great lengths to avoid the bus driver suit.

In the USAF if you eject your first stop is going to see the flight surgeon. In this fictional RAF squadron that step can be waived.

In the real USAF (and I'm sure the RAF), if a guy ejects the leadership wants him or her back in airplane as soon as possible. 'You need to get back on the horse' is widely believed to be very important. You don't want guys sitting around stewing about things.

I really mean it when I say the downstairs of the Vulcan would terrify me. I lost a friend in a low altitude B-52 crash. The Buff wasn't as bad as the Vulcan, the two navigators could eject... downward. The Buffs of the 70s had six crewmembers, two pilots, two navs, one EW office, and one gunner.

My friend was an instructor radar navigator. His Buff took off at Castle AFB in California. Because he was an instructor, he didn't get an ejection seat. He sat literally in the toilet for takeoff and landing, Like the Vulcan navs, was supposed to bail out through the hole left by ejecting crew members. His Buff lost control at low altitude. Lyle never had a chance.

I looked into applying for an RAF exchange, but was politely told I was too damn short and ugly. We only wanted to send exchange officers who looked as much like Steve Canyon as possible. Like the exchange pilot in this novel.

In 1966 the UK was still recovering economically from WWII. The UK was for all intents and purposes flat broke after the war. The US had charged the UK all its gold reserves and forced lowball sales of many British companies and assets to pay for the American arms and supplies the Brits desperately needed. A big hard currency order was something the Brits desperately needed in those days.

Rationing lasted until the late 1950s. Brittan had strict currency controls. You can read about the effects of currency control in the excellent aviation novel 'Trustee from the Toolroom' by Nevil Shute.

One real thing in this book that is totally weird to a USAF office is the thought of a 37 year old Major/Squadron Leader. I met guys like this in the RAF. You really can stay as line crewmember in the RAF for decades. Without being in disgrace.

The USAF is nothing like that. In the USAF, every Second Lieutenant is supposed to be working full time to become the Chief of Staff. There are few, if any, four star USAF General Officers who have been in 37 years.

Every rank has a 'high year of tenure'. If you passed over for the next rank you're going out, hopefully but not always to retirement. It's 'up or out' in our service.

Again, I highly recommend this novel.

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A wonderful story masterfully told.

Balanced is a word that comes to mind when I think of one word to express my experience reading The Final Flight. James Blatch is a skilled and insightful writer who has talent when creating characters that evoke emotion and commitment from his readers.

Once I started the book, I could not put it down. Blatch’s characters come to life through the talented performance of Matt Addis. Addis did not overwhelm the story with his acting. He brought it to life—part of the balance.

The story contains sufficient description and dialogue to confirm for the reader that the author knows his subject matter, without bludgeoning the reader with self aggrandizing minutiae.

I could easily conjure the moments and images portrayed throughout the story.

I hope James Blatch keeps writing

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Fantastic Military/Aviation suspense novel!

Great suspense type thriller novel. As a military/ professional aviator, I found the writing to be mostly spot on as it related to flying. The characters in the book and how they relate in the squadron and military club settings was very realistic. Great story with plenty of tension throughout the book. Extremely well written! The narrator does a phenomenal job of bringing to life "The Final Flight" in the audio version. Looking forward to Red Brunsons story.

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Gripping Cold War thriller!

This story races away, right from the start, and I was glued to it. As a military aircraft fan - with a particular fondness for the Vulcan bomber - this tale was right up my street.
The audio production was very well done.

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