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The Last Flight of the Arrow
February 20, 1959, the Canadian prime minister stood before the House of Commons to announce that his government had decided to cancel the CF-105 Avro Arrow supersonic fighter-interceptor program. What were the reasons... the real reasons? Were the Americans involved? In this tale of intrigue, the Russians plan an air strike on North America. Canadian and American Intelligence get wind of it through secret channels. The Canadians pretend to terminate the Arrow and then - with the help of the Americans - deploy the machine for what it was designed for. It's mission: catch the Russians with evidence of its strike force. While the public mourns the death of the supersonic fighter, the Arrow blasts its way across the Pacific on a vital, long-range, photo-recon mission to save the Free World and avert World War III. Behind the controls is a hand-picked Royal Canadian Air Force pilot. Target - Siberia.
- GenresFiction
287 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 17, 2021
The Avro Arrow is one of those incredible what-if stories to come out of the Cold War. A Canadian-built fighter aircraft, the Arrow was a plane ahead of its time in the 1950s, not to mention the pride of Canada. And, like the British TSR-2, cut down before its time in circumstances that remain controversial and mysterious decades later. It's perhaps no surprise then that Canadian author Daniel Wyatt re-imagined the fate of this famous aircraft for his 1990 technothriller.
Taking place across the late 1950s, Last Flight of the Arrow puts the fighter straight into the Cold War stand-off between NATO and the Soviet Union, involving spies, lies, and the titular journey by a daring Polish-Canadian pilot into Siberia. Wyatt writes compelling aerial sequences, from the prologue during the Second World War to the Arrow's test flights and subsequent journey into Soviet airspace. Unfortunately, Wyatt's skills elsewhere can be lacking at times with cardboard characters and prose that often reads as if they came from a dry history of Canadian politics or the Arrow itself.
The results leave Last Flight of the Arrow as thrilling in the air but otherwise underwhelming.
Taking place across the late 1950s, Last Flight of the Arrow puts the fighter straight into the Cold War stand-off between NATO and the Soviet Union, involving spies, lies, and the titular journey by a daring Polish-Canadian pilot into Siberia. Wyatt writes compelling aerial sequences, from the prologue during the Second World War to the Arrow's test flights and subsequent journey into Soviet airspace. Unfortunately, Wyatt's skills elsewhere can be lacking at times with cardboard characters and prose that often reads as if they came from a dry history of Canadian politics or the Arrow itself.
The results leave Last Flight of the Arrow as thrilling in the air but otherwise underwhelming.
Displaying 1 of 1 review