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Sabre
Flight time from London to Sydney: ninety minutes. Sabre 005, a synergetic, air-breathing rocket engine, will revolutionise air travel as the world knows it. Paul Santos, a French engineer, developed the aircraft. A jet in the atmosphere and a rocket in space, Sabre 005 is set for its first ever-commercial test flight- and its first fare paying passengers are already scheduled for one year's time. Joe Yavanoski, a compulsorily- retired union boss, knows that the threat Sabre 005 poses. Its success will spell the death of his country's former great aircraft industry and the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs. Including that of top engineer Jean Lesseps. Together, Yavanoski and Lesseps hatch a plan to shatter the publics' confidence for ever- the perfect, undetectable bomb that will wipe out Sabre 005 its passengers and its crew, once and for all. All they have to do is get it on board.
348 pages, Hardcover
First published November 11, 1996
239 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
James Follett
49 books36 followersJames Follett (not "Follet") was an author and screenwriter, born in 1939 in Tolworth, England.
Follett became a full-time fiction writer in 1976, after resigning from contract work as a technical writer for the British Ministry of Defence. He has wrote over 20 novels, several television scripts (including episodes of the BBC's Blake's 7), and many radio dramas. Follett was one of the 400 most popular British authors, measured by the numbers of books borrowed from public libraries in the UK, having spent 11 years in the public lending right's top two bands of authors.
Follett became a full-time fiction writer in 1976, after resigning from contract work as a technical writer for the British Ministry of Defence. He has wrote over 20 novels, several television scripts (including episodes of the BBC's Blake's 7), and many radio dramas. Follett was one of the 400 most popular British authors, measured by the numbers of books borrowed from public libraries in the UK, having spent 11 years in the public lending right's top two bands of authors.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 29, 2012
A very enjoyable thriller indeed. You sort of see where things are going early on, the suspension of disbelief angle is quite necessary if you are to believe that the characters simply fall into place in their allotted roles.
Still, it's easy to get swept up in the drama of what is a gripping thrill ride of a novel. Jez is a very memorable character, the technology is liberal and contemporary in scope but with an eye to the future, although no work of the future can completely escape the anachronisms of its time and that does show here in the dial-up based computer networking infrastructure. Follett was bang on with memory cards though; 15 years ago remember, so that was nice to se.
In short, even though the aviation industry only interests me in a peripheral sort of a way and the idea of a bomb on board an aircraft has been done to death, this was a refreshing take on the story. Throw in a smattering of industrial espionage, deep-sea oil rigs, aerospace political machinations and a young enthusiast with balls and brains and you get a neat, exciting, action-packed yet thought-provoking read.
Still, it's easy to get swept up in the drama of what is a gripping thrill ride of a novel. Jez is a very memorable character, the technology is liberal and contemporary in scope but with an eye to the future, although no work of the future can completely escape the anachronisms of its time and that does show here in the dial-up based computer networking infrastructure. Follett was bang on with memory cards though; 15 years ago remember, so that was nice to se.
In short, even though the aviation industry only interests me in a peripheral sort of a way and the idea of a bomb on board an aircraft has been done to death, this was a refreshing take on the story. Throw in a smattering of industrial espionage, deep-sea oil rigs, aerospace political machinations and a young enthusiast with balls and brains and you get a neat, exciting, action-packed yet thought-provoking read.
October 31, 2021
Confluence of Plots
The beginning chapters seemed to be heading in a direction that was rather boring to me so I almost put this book down. I am glad that I didn’t. As the plot expanded and the connection among characters became more apparent, I found myself enmeshed in the story line. The tempo picked up in this action-packed novel and I was completely hooked! I highly recommend Sabre as a great read! James Follett did not disappoint.
The beginning chapters seemed to be heading in a direction that was rather boring to me so I almost put this book down. I am glad that I didn’t. As the plot expanded and the connection among characters became more apparent, I found myself enmeshed in the story line. The tempo picked up in this action-packed novel and I was completely hooked! I highly recommend Sabre as a great read! James Follett did not disappoint.
August 30, 2024
The blurb does not give a good enough description of just how good this book was. A multitude of different stories coming together at once to create a huge spectacle and a hugely satisfying ending. The beginning of the book was the only gripe I have with the book as it is a chore to get through however once you get to about page 100 it kicks in to full gear and doesn’t stop.
October 2, 2023
Review 20. Sabre by James Follett
Page Count : 400
This is rapidly becoming one of my favourite books.
Having read this book before (but a long time ago), I decided the time was right to read it again. And I loved it.
Sabre is a story about a new method of travel. A space plane which travels from London to Sydney in 90 minutes.
So not only does it read a bit like science fiction, but it is also a thriller.
This book not only holds danger for some of the main characters, but will also leave you with a feeling of hope as the characters are set on creating a better world using the Sabre space plane and Darwin extraction system.
I won't say too much as that would ruin the story, but I have to say that is a great way to start my #greatspaceread books a bit early this year (especially as I didn't get to take part last year).
5*
*****
Page Count : 400
This is rapidly becoming one of my favourite books.
Having read this book before (but a long time ago), I decided the time was right to read it again. And I loved it.
Sabre is a story about a new method of travel. A space plane which travels from London to Sydney in 90 minutes.
So not only does it read a bit like science fiction, but it is also a thriller.
This book not only holds danger for some of the main characters, but will also leave you with a feeling of hope as the characters are set on creating a better world using the Sabre space plane and Darwin extraction system.
I won't say too much as that would ruin the story, but I have to say that is a great way to start my #greatspaceread books a bit early this year (especially as I didn't get to take part last year).
5*
*****
June 20, 2025
Great Book But...
This book houses a great plot, wonderful characters and a healthy non-stop supply of thrills and suspense in a wonderful sci-fi setting. I gave it 4 stars though, because it's clearly unedited, to the point of constant distraction. Words like there're instead of they're, misspellings, corrections that left the mistakes in place often made it difficult to understand paragraphs. PLEASE have the book edited properly and release an updated version! If James Follett's other books are similarly unedited, they should be sold at half the price.
This book houses a great plot, wonderful characters and a healthy non-stop supply of thrills and suspense in a wonderful sci-fi setting. I gave it 4 stars though, because it's clearly unedited, to the point of constant distraction. Words like there're instead of they're, misspellings, corrections that left the mistakes in place often made it difficult to understand paragraphs. PLEASE have the book edited properly and release an updated version! If James Follett's other books are similarly unedited, they should be sold at half the price.
June 5, 2020
Space and our planet
Four different plots. For a long time e I wondered how they would come together. Intrigue! Keeps the reader wondering. Reasonably factual, but still a dream of the future. All with the littlest hero!
Four different plots. For a long time e I wondered how they would come together. Intrigue! Keeps the reader wondering. Reasonably factual, but still a dream of the future. All with the littlest hero!
October 16, 2017
Great story!
Great story & extremely well written. I've spent a week in Ireland enjoying this book every night. I have enjoyed all of Mr. Follett's books.
Great story & extremely well written. I've spent a week in Ireland enjoying this book every night. I have enjoyed all of Mr. Follett's books.
May 21, 2024
This book has no right to be this good. The blurb is horrendous. Quite frankly I’m surprised I even decided to read it based on the offal placed on the back. In terms of narrative, there is not a great deal of action or suspense here. So how does work so well? Good writing that makes the boring seem interesting and super tight pacing that gets even better as the story unfolds.
Overall the book is about the Sabre, a new advanced spacecraft that takes passengers into high orbit so they can travel across the world in short times. Think the Concorde meets space shuttle. Now the owner of these Sabres is trying to sell them so their company can stay alive. And they’re also doing some PR stunts to help sell it to the general public. The CEO is one of the main characters, and his drive is interesting enough. One sour individual wants to destroy it all though, and he leverages somebody on the inside to create a bomb. A young boy is obsessed with the Sabre and manages to get a ticket aboard the first commercial flight, despite the age restriction. Elsewhere, some researchers have found some hydrocarbon sources under the sea, and are hoping it will break the oil industry stalemate. Sounds unrelated but all the stories coalesce nicely. Many of the characters are interesting. It even does a good job of predicting technology in the future. And the ending is terrific.
My biggest negative is that the first third or so has BIG BLAND PARAGRAPHS SLABS, without much dialogue or suitable breaks. It is just a bit of a slog. Also at times it trends towards being sexually deviant. The young boy is sexually assaulted by a random woman and one of the researches is constantly being described as lithe. Not huge blemishes but minor annoyances. Overall this is a 3.5 star book rounded up.
Overall the book is about the Sabre, a new advanced spacecraft that takes passengers into high orbit so they can travel across the world in short times. Think the Concorde meets space shuttle. Now the owner of these Sabres is trying to sell them so their company can stay alive. And they’re also doing some PR stunts to help sell it to the general public. The CEO is one of the main characters, and his drive is interesting enough. One sour individual wants to destroy it all though, and he leverages somebody on the inside to create a bomb. A young boy is obsessed with the Sabre and manages to get a ticket aboard the first commercial flight, despite the age restriction. Elsewhere, some researchers have found some hydrocarbon sources under the sea, and are hoping it will break the oil industry stalemate. Sounds unrelated but all the stories coalesce nicely. Many of the characters are interesting. It even does a good job of predicting technology in the future. And the ending is terrific.
My biggest negative is that the first third or so has BIG BLAND PARAGRAPHS SLABS, without much dialogue or suitable breaks. It is just a bit of a slog. Also at times it trends towards being sexually deviant. The young boy is sexually assaulted by a random woman and one of the researches is constantly being described as lithe. Not huge blemishes but minor annoyances. Overall this is a 3.5 star book rounded up.
December 2, 2012
Thrilling, funny, fast but well thought out and lets face it, a boy who we would all like to be for a day. Brilliant idea and well worth a read.
I can't give it a 5 as was a bit obvious but a very good read.
I can't give it a 5 as was a bit obvious but a very good read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews