The Last Flight of the Arrow

by Daniel Wyatt

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. *** Cindy Penn of WordWeaving says: " Espionage and intrigue abound in Daniel Wyatt's THE LAST FLIGHT OF THE ARROW. This is a fictional tale based on the myth that some of the Arrows escaped destruction and were used to preserve the free world. Originally published by Random House, where it sold 20,000 copies, the novel has been revised to include more intrigue. Indeed, the cloak and dagger games of the CIA, Canadians and Russians lend the novel amazing conviction. As international tension builds, Wyatt's plot moves at a fast clip, skillfully maintaining the pace and the reader's attention. Credible characterizations bring the plot to life, interwoven with the technical jargon and avionic facts that keep the novel firmly grounded in history. Yet the avionic facts never bog the narrative, keeping the tale fresh even for those who are not necessarily aviation buffs. Very highly recommended." [Intrigue/ Suspense/ Military/ Historical]

Genres: Fiction

251 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1989

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the late 1950's Canada is developing the legendary Avro Arrow, the most advanced supersonic aircraft of its day to defend the vast Canadian Arctic. Thanks to pressure from the Americans and Diefenbakers own craven political decisions the Arrow is not only cancelled but Diefenbaker goes the extra step of burning the Canadian aviation industry to the ground and then salting the earth. A decision those of us in 2026 should be cursing him for as that decision has opened up Canada to American aggression.

Author Daniel Wyatt decided that was an unfitting end to the Arrow so he wrote an alternate ending. Fan fiction for real history if you will in which the Soviets are developing their own supersonic fighter interceptor (called the Mig-K Skyjacker in the novel) and planning, for reasons never adequately explained, in using it to deliver a Nuclear First Strike on North America thus starting World War III. The Arrow is secretly built, a mission is launched to stop the Commies, and then everything gets quietly hushed up.

Does a few things right for a techno thriller, especially one published in 1990. However it feels thin by the standards of the genre and doesn't compare to what guys like Tom Clancy, Stephen Coonts, Larry Bond or Joe Weber where putting out. Instead "The Last Flight of the Arrow" reads like something that was ether rushed to publication or edited waaay down. Everything about the novel falls flat. The secret project, possible defectors, impending war, a noisy journalist, even the mission itself fails to ignite. This is a novel that ether 1. needed to lean into its genres (technothriller-hidden history) and really git into the nitty gritty of Soviet war plans, domestic politics, the ins and outs of running a clandestine operation to produced a fleet of warplanes in secret, all culminating in "the Mission" itself. Or 2. It needed to ditch everything and focus almost exclusively on "the Mission" and the pilot flying it. At roughly 250 pages it tries to do both and fails. One suspects the authors background in non-fiction historical writing was seen as an asset. It is not. Non fiction historical writing and novel writing are two different skill sets.

Can't really recommend this one, unless you are super into the subject matter.

[Matthew Kresal · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.