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Prestwick
Prestwick by David Hough A freak mid-air collision cripples a trans-Atlantic 747 and a US Air Force jet. Against the clock and overwhelming odds, the planes’ crews – or what’s left of them – struggle to save the on-board survivors. Meanwhile an obsessed narcotics detective tries to pin drug smuggling and murder on two suspects on board the crippled 747. As the weather deteriorates, most Scottish airports are closed, leaving Prestwick the only airport available for a safe landing. However, Prestwick has its own emergency to deal with, something that overshadows all other problems. Landing permission is refused and more than four hundred people are condemned to an almost certain death over icy, blizzard-swept seas. Can things get any worse? They can – and they do... David Hough whips his reader along in a roaring jet stream of action and high tension that buckles the reader to his seat. A breathtaking, whirlwind of a thriller. About the David Hough was born in Cornwall and grew up in the Georgian City of Bath. He spent forty years working as an air traffic controller in Northern Ireland, Scotland and England before retiring early in 2003 and becoming a writer. David has written over 20 novels and enjoys writing "a rattling good yarn with a dose of hard grit". He now lives with his wife in Dorset, on the south coast of England. Katherine Smith, an award winning writer, "Mr. Hough is an immensely gifted writer with a unique voice and he never disappoints. If you want compelling action, riveting dialogue, and characters you will remember long after you've closed the book, I highly recommend anything by this unforgettable author." David's www.thenovelsofdavidhough.com David's www.acloudofbooks.blogspot.co.uk
294 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2009
112 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 11, 2018
Great read! I absolutely loved it. Kept me interested from beginning to end with edge of my seat ending
The story line and the characters came alive with every turn of the page.I am looking forward to another of the authors book's
The story line and the characters came alive with every turn of the page.I am looking forward to another of the authors book's
July 1, 2018
High flying drama
Read this book in two days . Books like this keep me on the ground , too many things can go wrong in today's planes . Older equipment and money saving ways makes for faulty shortcuts . Great read with hair raising ending !
Read this book in two days . Books like this keep me on the ground , too many things can go wrong in today's planes . Older equipment and money saving ways makes for faulty shortcuts . Great read with hair raising ending !
October 30, 2019
Outstanding
A thrilling story of three aircraft in trouble, all vying for the same runway at the same time, and the air traffic controllers that dealt with the situation. You will need to fasten your seat belts and finish this novel in a single read!
A thrilling story of three aircraft in trouble, all vying for the same runway at the same time, and the air traffic controllers that dealt with the situation. You will need to fasten your seat belts and finish this novel in a single read!
July 21, 2023
Not too bad.
You could adjust the American flyer's words .All the time I spent in a tanker didn't sound like this. It's landing gear not undercarriage. And oleo strut is part of the gear.
You could adjust the American flyer's words .All the time I spent in a tanker didn't sound like this. It's landing gear not undercarriage. And oleo strut is part of the gear.
August 26, 2017
Interesting concept
Fairly good characters, although the American use of "ain't" was a over used presumption. Decent intrigue and intensity. Sort of a feel good ending.
Fairly good characters, although the American use of "ain't" was a over used presumption. Decent intrigue and intensity. Sort of a feel good ending.
February 19, 2018
Absolutely stunning.
This is a top aviation thriller that doesn't let go, superbly written with great characters and situations. Do not miss this book.
This is a top aviation thriller that doesn't let go, superbly written with great characters and situations. Do not miss this book.
June 7, 2020
Exciting!!
A great story with plenty of flying! Anyone interested in aviation and suspense will enjoy reading this book—an exciting adventure!.
A great story with plenty of flying! Anyone interested in aviation and suspense will enjoy reading this book—an exciting adventure!.
Read
July 10, 2021Great book!! As an old pilot I really enjoyed reading this book.
December 14, 2021
Brilliant
First book to keep me reading into the night A read page turner. !oved it
A jolly good read 😁
First book to keep me reading into the night A read page turner. !oved it
A jolly good read 😁
December 6, 2014
I was attracted to this book because I am interested in flying and I was brought up near Prestwick Airport where the action is set. And there's plenty of action going on in the book, that's for sure, but it is piled on with a JCB. This could have been a book that focused on characters as opposed to incidents, but there's little room for character development when the author keeps injecting more and more crisis into their lives for them to deal with. As the plots and dramas are heaped into the story the book becomes increasingly ridiculous and the tension begins to seep away. You just cannot take it seriously and I found myself flicking past pages as I neared the end of the novel as I realised that it was all just going to go the way you thought it would. But, as I couldn't lend the characters credibility, I wasn't too bothered about what happened to any of them.
I also have to say that the character development is somewhat "old school". Let's just say that if the 747 pilot, the hero central to the story, had been a woman then this would have been a completely different book with an utterly different tone. But you feel that this thought would never have occurred to the author. A woman? Flying a 747? That's a man's job. Women would at best be serving drinks on a flight, or maybe could do a good job cleaning the 'plane when it landed. Some of the views that the men in the book express about women are borderline hilarious. Here's a fairly typical example: "Lawrence wasn't sure if he approved of women air traffic controllers. It was not the sort of job he would trust to a woman's flighty mind. Women were for minding homes, having children, making love. Not for controlling aeroplanes." Quite. Similar views are regularly expressed through the dialogue, actions and the scenes leaving me chuckling away in anticipation of a woman at the high point of a dramatic set piece being told to go and fix the hero a sandwich. The overall impression is given that this 747 had taken off from a Surrey golf club with a sign at check-in stating "No blacks, no Irish, no dogs."
The main premise of the drama is the threat of a nuclear explosion happening at Prestwick Airport. This had me thinking that such an incident would probably give a much needed facelift to the surrounding towns of Irvine, Saltcoats and Ardrossan. Meanwhile residents of Kilmarnock would celebrate the obliteration of Ayr United in the microsecond before the blast hit them. And rightly so. On the whole though, I've read a lot worse - including many shortlisted for the Booker Prize - and give it One Star because it's not a Five Star read and who reads two, three or four star reviews anyway?
I also have to say that the character development is somewhat "old school". Let's just say that if the 747 pilot, the hero central to the story, had been a woman then this would have been a completely different book with an utterly different tone. But you feel that this thought would never have occurred to the author. A woman? Flying a 747? That's a man's job. Women would at best be serving drinks on a flight, or maybe could do a good job cleaning the 'plane when it landed. Some of the views that the men in the book express about women are borderline hilarious. Here's a fairly typical example: "Lawrence wasn't sure if he approved of women air traffic controllers. It was not the sort of job he would trust to a woman's flighty mind. Women were for minding homes, having children, making love. Not for controlling aeroplanes." Quite. Similar views are regularly expressed through the dialogue, actions and the scenes leaving me chuckling away in anticipation of a woman at the high point of a dramatic set piece being told to go and fix the hero a sandwich. The overall impression is given that this 747 had taken off from a Surrey golf club with a sign at check-in stating "No blacks, no Irish, no dogs."
The main premise of the drama is the threat of a nuclear explosion happening at Prestwick Airport. This had me thinking that such an incident would probably give a much needed facelift to the surrounding towns of Irvine, Saltcoats and Ardrossan. Meanwhile residents of Kilmarnock would celebrate the obliteration of Ayr United in the microsecond before the blast hit them. And rightly so. On the whole though, I've read a lot worse - including many shortlisted for the Booker Prize - and give it One Star because it's not a Five Star read and who reads two, three or four star reviews anyway?
July 22, 2016
Talented writer with a natural ability to weave a story together.
Author was an air traffic controller who got the idea for this book from his experiences, then he incorporated President Ronald Regan's STAR WARS program with his basic idea and came up with an exciting page-turner. I really enjoyed this hair raising story. Thrilling read that I recommend. I did get a chuckle how he switched between English, American, and Scottish/Irish speech patterns.
Author was an air traffic controller who got the idea for this book from his experiences, then he incorporated President Ronald Regan's STAR WARS program with his basic idea and came up with an exciting page-turner. I really enjoyed this hair raising story. Thrilling read that I recommend. I did get a chuckle how he switched between English, American, and Scottish/Irish speech patterns.
June 14, 2015
Excellent Read!!
I love airplane thrillers and this one kept me wondering what was going to happen next. This book accomplished what any author seeks and that is for the reader to keep reading. Prestwick accomplished that mission.
I love airplane thrillers and this one kept me wondering what was going to happen next. This book accomplished what any author seeks and that is for the reader to keep reading. Prestwick accomplished that mission.
January 8, 2016
I'm sorry. I enjoy a good aviation story but this one stretches the limits of credulity. In addition, the author must use the phrase "I reckon" a thousand times in the book. This is not the old West but supposed dialog on the flight deck of a British 747 and a US KC 135.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews