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paul_cornelius's review
4.0
Nice, imaginative adventure story that is a product of the immediate postwar years. Innes writes in a punchy style, but he is no Hemingway. Nonetheless, his story has a certain drive to it. And his shift in settings, from an abandoned American airstrip in England to Germany and the Berlin Airlift makes for almost two novels. The first half, in England, is a sort of set melodrama. The second half is pure espionage and action. Innes seems to know his aircraft, except for the fact that his beloved Avro Tudor apparently was a bit of a dud, far behind the US in advanced aeronautics. But that doesn't matter. Not only a good adventure, by the way, but some fairly interesting characters. The protagonist, Neil Fraser, is pretty well fleshed out, as is the villain of the piece, Saeton.
hayesstw's review
3.0
Neil Fraser is on the run from the police when he crashes the car is driving and walks up the hill to find a disused airfield, where Bill Saeton and Tubby Carter are refitting a plane in the hope that they can use it to take part in the Berlin Airlift to break the Russian blockade of the city. Fraser is recruited to help them but it isd a shoestring operation, threatening to collapse at any moment.
It soon becomes apparent that Bill Saeton is quite unscrupulous and is prepared to sacrifice anyone or anything to achieve his goals, and to break the law if he thinks it necessary.
It soon becomes apparent that Bill Saeton is quite unscrupulous and is prepared to sacrifice anyone or anything to achieve his goals, and to break the law if he thinks it necessary.
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