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Upstart
Owen Swift had reached the pinnacle of his profession. As a Boeing 757 Captain flying for a major US airline he was well paid and appreciated for his skill and experience. Then, depending on whose story you want to believe, as a result of airline deregulation, management ineptitude, union intransigence or some combination of the three, the airline had gone into bankruptcy and disappeared. For Owen it was more a precipitous financial tumble than a step back to flying night freight to pay the rent, while searching for a way to resume his airline career. Then, in a nearly identical repeat of the serendipitous events that landed Owen in an Eastern Airline cockpit thirty years earlier, he spotted an advertisement in the Sunday Salt Lake "Airline Captains wanted." Times had changed, however. In 1964 there were more pilot jobs than pilots. In 1994 that was no longer the case. Owen would have to get lucky...again.
275 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 31, 2017
52 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
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October 30, 2019Great book!
Having read a huge amount of books on aviation, both of the fiction and non-fictional variety, this is one of the better ones of the former variety
Having read a huge amount of books on aviation, both of the fiction and non-fictional variety, this is one of the better ones of the former variety
February 17, 2019
First, the good: This author does a nice job with descriptions about flying. Technical and historical information are accurate. For example, the Colorado Springs and Pittsburgh accidents and the problems with Boeing 727's yaw dampers, as well as airline history.
Concerns: It seems the author was confused about who his intended audience was. The book seems to be written for pilots, and those who understand the flying life, yet quite often acronyms and words are explained parenthetically, which makes it seem as though the author's target audience was the non-pilot. This can be quite frustrating for a pilot to read.
The not-so-good: The punctuation is atrocious. Many spelling errors, including the word "hangar" which is spelled "hanger" throughout the book. Many other typos as well, such as extra words and missing words. The punctuation though is the worst. It appears from the front of the book that there may have been an editor involved, but there isn't evidence of that in the book.
As for storytelling, it's okay. Parts are told well, other parts drag. I started this book and just put it down for several months until I had the patience to wade through all the errors to see how the story was.
In addition, the portrayal of women is horrible. For example, portraying a female pilot who, during training, can only think of jumping in the sack with the main character (same name as author's pen name). A pilot in training is inundated with the training material and is busy studying, not doing as was described in this book. That part, along with other parts, are not realistic. Rather, they are fantasy.
Conclusion: Pilots may like this more than non-pilots, but readers will have to be willing to trudge through an apparently unedited manuscript. In addition, this story as it is now degrades women through some of the female characters. Before the end of the book, I felt that the author just wanted to write a story where he would be the hero. It became ridiculous, especially saving the airplane at 200' when it experienced the rudder hard-over due to yaw damper malfunction. Lost credibility there, and turned the story into one man's fantasy.
I would like to see this book rewritten, fully edited professionally, as I do think the potential is there.
Concerns: It seems the author was confused about who his intended audience was. The book seems to be written for pilots, and those who understand the flying life, yet quite often acronyms and words are explained parenthetically, which makes it seem as though the author's target audience was the non-pilot. This can be quite frustrating for a pilot to read.
The not-so-good: The punctuation is atrocious. Many spelling errors, including the word "hangar" which is spelled "hanger" throughout the book. Many other typos as well, such as extra words and missing words. The punctuation though is the worst. It appears from the front of the book that there may have been an editor involved, but there isn't evidence of that in the book.
As for storytelling, it's okay. Parts are told well, other parts drag. I started this book and just put it down for several months until I had the patience to wade through all the errors to see how the story was.
In addition, the portrayal of women is horrible. For example, portraying a female pilot who, during training, can only think of jumping in the sack with the main character (same name as author's pen name). A pilot in training is inundated with the training material and is busy studying, not doing as was described in this book. That part, along with other parts, are not realistic. Rather, they are fantasy.
Conclusion: Pilots may like this more than non-pilots, but readers will have to be willing to trudge through an apparently unedited manuscript. In addition, this story as it is now degrades women through some of the female characters. Before the end of the book, I felt that the author just wanted to write a story where he would be the hero. It became ridiculous, especially saving the airplane at 200' when it experienced the rudder hard-over due to yaw damper malfunction. Lost credibility there, and turned the story into one man's fantasy.
I would like to see this book rewritten, fully edited professionally, as I do think the potential is there.
January 24, 2025
I downloaded this as I thought it was a fiction title, but I don't think it is, I am under the impression it is the story of the author's flying career, but it was under the Fiction category, & the synopsis reads like an aviation thriller. All in all, I thought it was an OK read - as I thought it was fiction I expected there to be a main thread to the story, but Owen Swift was the main thread, there wasn't really a story per-se. Something had clearly happened in Owen's career before he was recruited by ALPHA - that something is alluded to, but never actually discussed.
This appears to be the story of Owen's climb through the ranks in the aviation industry, but reading the synopsis I assumed that the story was fiction, so I was expecting some twists & turns, & maybe even some big reveal, but that doesn't happen, the author just bumbles along with his story.
Owen definitely seemed to know & understand the aviation industry, & had the pilot's best interests at heart, but we don't really get to know him as such, it's all about his ability to instruct wannabe pilots & get them through the door at ALPHA. There is a lot of discussions about the financial condition of ALPHA, with the people at the top of the food chain having never flown an aircraft, there is also quite a lot of details about the wannabe recruits interviews & their simulator experiences, but on the whole, I just felt that this book was missold.
Had I known I was reading non-fiction I would have approached this book as an education, but because the synopsis is written in such a way that I thought I was going to be getting an aviation thriller with maybe some business espionage & a bit of a thrill ride I was left feeling disappointed.
The writing is good, but someone needs to alter the synopsis because I cannot be the only person who thought they were going on a thrill ride only to be taken for a stroll along memory lane - I finished the book thinking I will never get those hours back, I was actually very disappointed with the ending because it just didn't go anywhere, a bit like the entire book.
Very Meh!
This appears to be the story of Owen's climb through the ranks in the aviation industry, but reading the synopsis I assumed that the story was fiction, so I was expecting some twists & turns, & maybe even some big reveal, but that doesn't happen, the author just bumbles along with his story.
Owen definitely seemed to know & understand the aviation industry, & had the pilot's best interests at heart, but we don't really get to know him as such, it's all about his ability to instruct wannabe pilots & get them through the door at ALPHA. There is a lot of discussions about the financial condition of ALPHA, with the people at the top of the food chain having never flown an aircraft, there is also quite a lot of details about the wannabe recruits interviews & their simulator experiences, but on the whole, I just felt that this book was missold.
Had I known I was reading non-fiction I would have approached this book as an education, but because the synopsis is written in such a way that I thought I was going to be getting an aviation thriller with maybe some business espionage & a bit of a thrill ride I was left feeling disappointed.
The writing is good, but someone needs to alter the synopsis because I cannot be the only person who thought they were going on a thrill ride only to be taken for a stroll along memory lane - I finished the book thinking I will never get those hours back, I was actually very disappointed with the ending because it just didn't go anywhere, a bit like the entire book.
Very Meh!
December 3, 2020
Good read
This looks to have the makings of a good series of books. There is a good storyline and well developed characters that keep the interest going from start to finish. Looking forward to the next book.
This looks to have the makings of a good series of books. There is a good storyline and well developed characters that keep the interest going from start to finish. Looking forward to the next book.
June 3, 2020
Great book, can't wait for the next one !!!!!!!!!!
July 1, 2021
2nd to almost none
Any pilot of any level would thoroughly enjoy this book. Owen where is the follow up? I enjoy this..hated it to end. Ready for the next chapter.
Any pilot of any level would thoroughly enjoy this book. Owen where is the follow up? I enjoy this..hated it to end. Ready for the next chapter.
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April 7, 2025Great reading!
You will not want put it down if you are a pilot! You will want to see what is going to happen next.
You will not want put it down if you are a pilot! You will want to see what is going to happen next.
June 1, 2025
upstart
If you like aviation this is a good quick read. The end page does not reveal a link to a following book. Mistake.
If you like aviation this is a good quick read. The end page does not reveal a link to a following book. Mistake.
October 31, 2025
This book had no plot and a terrible ending. I chose this book because I like aviation but was not expecting an education on how to fly a plane and what mechanical problems a 737 has and how not to run an airline. Terrible story line and I kept reading wondering where it was leading only to find out-nowhere! If you are afraid of flying don’t read this book. It will describe events that are quite fictional regarding decisions that an airline would make putting lives in danger. Ridiculous!
December 17, 2019
Only half a book
Not bad, but the cover and the book are markedly different. It's the story of a chief pilot for a small airline who wants to fix the world. I would have given it a 3 (wiring needs to be a little more concise (to much time spent on the adjectives for lots of soft situations.
You get a lot of build up implying possible flight problems, but nothing happens... when something finally happens, there's no foreshadowing.
Then it ends. Right after building up a scenario for a deadly crash involving people he cares about. He gets on the phone, lets the pilot know that the past that needs replacing wasn't replaced, to be careful, contemplates grounding it, then walks into a meeting to improve safety and profitability worrying about his tie and wardrobe.
What happened to the flight? Was this just another empty buildup? Is the story about flying or about airline management (how not to run a small airline)?
Don't read it unless you're looking for a severe case of Novela Interruptus
Not bad, but the cover and the book are markedly different. It's the story of a chief pilot for a small airline who wants to fix the world. I would have given it a 3 (wiring needs to be a little more concise (to much time spent on the adjectives for lots of soft situations.
You get a lot of build up implying possible flight problems, but nothing happens... when something finally happens, there's no foreshadowing.
Then it ends. Right after building up a scenario for a deadly crash involving people he cares about. He gets on the phone, lets the pilot know that the past that needs replacing wasn't replaced, to be careful, contemplates grounding it, then walks into a meeting to improve safety and profitability worrying about his tie and wardrobe.
What happened to the flight? Was this just another empty buildup? Is the story about flying or about airline management (how not to run a small airline)?
Don't read it unless you're looking for a severe case of Novela Interruptus
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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November 1, 2018The book was ok. Very slow to get into and once you got past chapter 1 it started to pick-up. However, I HATED the way it ended. I hope that there is a book 2 to answer all of the questions that you are left hanging with.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews