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From Publishers Weekly
The opulent interior of the first airliner, the Pan American Clipper, on a transatlantic flight from Southampton, England, to New York in war-darkened 1939, is the setting for Follett's high-flying caper, guaranteed to hold the reader in his seat. Recalling a time when air travel was an exotic adventure, master of epic suspense Follett ( Pillars of the Earth ) spins an excruciatingly taut drama on the aerial equivalent of the Orient Express. Persons unknown kidnap the wife of Clipper engineer Eddie Deakin from their home in Maine in order to force Deakin to maneuver an emergency landing in the choppy waters off Bangor. Apparently the shadowy conspirators plan to remove one of the passengers, an intriguing group who include an FBI agent transporting an extradited mafioso; a Russian princess; a British industrialist chasing his wife and her lover; an American movie star; an Oswald Mosely-like aristocrat turned fascist, his daughter and her lover, a young jewel thief. Details of early aviation firmly establish the cast in their era and a tantalizing mosaic of subplots whisks the reader through a whirlwind of romance and intrigue. Follet soars to a thoroughly satisfying ending with aeronautical precision. This is his best since The Eye of the Needle. Author tour.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Kirkus Reviews
With the Dark Ages (The Pillars of the Earth, 1989) out of his system, Ken Follett returns to the spies, sex, and Nazis that did so well for him in Eye of the Needle. Fascinated by the huge flying boats launched by Pan Am in the late 1930's to fly the north Atlantic route, Follett has cooked up a sort of Airship of Fools or Flying Grand Hotel about a Clipper load of rich folks and lowlifes fleeing England after the declaration of war. The passengers include a fascist marquess and his family--so much like the Mitfords as to include a Nazi daughter and her socialist sister; a cuckolded industrialist chasing his pretty wife; an aging movie star; a Jewish refugee physicist; a suspected mafioso; a rich, powerful, but unloved American widow; the widow's weak, treacherous brother; and the handsome young jewel-thief without whom no such epic is complete. The danger that hangs over all these worthies is sabotage of the flight plan by an otherwise trustworthy flight engineer whose wife is being held captive in Maine by nameless rotten scoundrels. The merciless kidnappers want the plane set down early in order to remove a nameless someone before it reaches New York. Since the plane flies rather slowly and since there are three refueling stops, and since the beds make up into comfortable little berths, there is plenty of time for the passengers to search for the marchioness's priceless rubies, counterplot against the bad guys, stretch the legs in Irish pubs, quarrel, have reconciliations and indulge in a fair amount of good, healthy sex. No technothrills. No psychodrama. No fine writing. Hours of good storytelling. (Book-of-the-Month Split Main Selection for November) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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IT WAS THE MOST romantic plane ever made. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
IT WAS THE MOST romantic plane ever made. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
A pale, period melodrama,
This review is from: Night over Water (Paperback)
Ken Follett is one of those uneven writers who is just as likely to publish a great book as a mediocre one. Unfortunately, this is a mediocre one. In fact, it reminded me a great deal of those early WWII 'B' movies that studios used to turn out every couple of weeks, where the characters and the plot were pretty predictable and the outcome mostly certain. This book has some points of interest, mostly historical detail. Follett obviously has some kind of keen interest in the big flying boats of the period, but he doesn't use that fascination to advance the story well. The characters are stereotypes and the action is melodrama. The reader doesn't come away from this book with much to remember fondly.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Night Over Water,
By
This review is from: Night over Water (Paperback)
Ken Follet is a master storyteller and Night Over Water is a masterpiece of a story. The events take place at the outbreak of World War II and the story is told from the perspective of the multiple passengers on a special plane that flies from England to America. The chapters in the story rotate through the story's main characters (i.e. the passengers), each of whom is coping with some type of personal or professional crisis in their lives. It all comes together though and the story continuously piques the reader's interest without the confusion or malaise that can happen when many characters are active in a story.As always, Follet has researched the subject matter thoroughly and this provides the story with immense credibility and readability. Unlike many other novels within the `thriller' genre, there is never a moment where the reader feels as though they've been taken for a fool because the author has over-sensationalized an event. In this regard, Follet is a first rate story teller and Night Over Water is without doubt one of the jewels in his crown.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great read,
By
This review is from: Night over Water (Paperback)
I really enjoyed reading this book, I had a hard time putting it down actually. The very end is a little cheesy but it still made me smile :) I've enjoyed other books by this author as well. I definitely recommend it but I know its not for everyone
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