The Last Pilot

by Benjamin Johncock

Overview

With echoes of Raymond Carver as well as Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff and Richard Yates’ Revolutionary Road, The Last Pilot re-ignites the thrill and excitement of the space race through the story of one man’s courage in the face of unthinkable loss.

Set against the backdrop of one of the most emotionally charged periods in American history, The Last Pilot by Benjamin Johncock begins in the bone-dry Mojave Desert during the late 1940s, where US Air Force test pilots are racing to break the sound barrier. Among the exalted few is Jim Harrison: dedicated to his wife, Grace, and their baby daughter.

By the 1960s, the space race is underway and Harrison and his colleagues are offered a place in history as the world’s first astronauts. But when his young family is thrown into crisis, Jim is faced with a decision that will affect the course of the rest of his life—whether to accept his ticket to the moon and at what cost.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781908434845
Publisher:	New Internationalist
Publication date:	07/09/2015
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.80(h) x (d)

About the Author

Benjamin Johncock is an award-winning novelist, short story writer and journalist. He was born in Canterbury in 1978 and studied ancient history and archaeology at the University of Birmingham. His debut novel, The Last Pilot, was published in the U.S. (Picador) and U.K. (Myriad) in 2015 to widespread critical acclaim. It won the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award, was shortlisted for the East Anglian Book of the Year, selected for Brave New Reads, and was one of The Observer’s Hidden Gems of 2016. His award-winning short stories have been published by The Fiction Desk, The Junket, Comma Press and Storgy. His journalism has appeared in the Guardian, The Spectator, and many others, and he has worked as an editor and copywriter. He’s on the editorial board of The Letters Page, a literary journal edited by Jon McGregor at the University of Nottingham, and for two years was a mentor for the National Centre for Writing’s Escalator writing programme. He is also a recipient of two Arts Council England grants. He lives in Norwich with his wife, his daughter, and his son.

Editorial Reviews

‘By far the best debut novel I've read in years... the beauty of this novel is in the balance of the dialogue; the sustained emotion that runs through the whole; the haiku-like simplicity of the prose… To me, it reads like the reclusive disciple of Cormac McCarthy and Saint-Exupéry.’ – Joanne Harris

The Guardian Favourite reads of 2017 as chosen by scientists

‘The author’s grasp of the intricacies of life among test pilots and their perilous pursuit of the demon of speed is striking enough. What gives the novel its emotional lift-off is its portrait of a marriage going wrong, harrowed by the pressures of American machismo and familial loss.’ – The Observer Hidden Gems of 2016

‘The Last Pilot made me cry and brought back all my old Right Stuff feels. A brilliant debut. I loved it.’ – Helen Macdonald

‘The Last Pilot nods to some august literary forebears – Tom Wolfe, Raymond Carver, James Salter – and yet moves to an internal beat of its own...its dry, laconic prose is as acute in unpicking the mysteries of marriage and bereavement as it is in conveying the vertiginous limits of ambition and daring.’ – Anthony Quinn, judging the 2016 Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award

‘Reading Johncock one is reminded of Hemingway, Cormac McCarthy and especially of James Salter’s The Hunters... a first-rate novel by a major new talent.– The Spectator

‘Nostalgic and heart-rending... the effect is supercharged Hemingway at 70,000 feet.’ – Washington Post

‘Benjamin Johncock is a writer of great craft and integrity. His dialogue is desert-dry, and his sentences crackle with the energy of things unsaid.’ – Jon McGregor

‘A remarkable achievement... Johncock weaves a beguiling story... This is a book that hooks the reader from the very first sentence... lit by the fire of 1960s adventure, and also by the blazing beauty of a new literary star.’ – Boston Globe

‘A taut domestic drama whose stringent prose evokes the emotional and physical landscape of a time and a place, this is a remarkably accomplished debut.’ – Mail on Sunday

‘Often his descriptive writing has a clean grace that recalls Cormac McCarthy... Benjamin Johncock’s story and characters take flight: this is a very promising debut.’ – New Statesman

‘The writing is machine-cut and spare... like the pilots at this story's centre, Johncock has dared to reach for the stars.’ – DW Wilson

‘A hugely impressive piece of work. I loved it.’ – Ian Rankin

‘Tightly told with searing uncomplicated prose, The Last Pilot is as engaging for its emotional gravitas as it is for its enthralling story of the race to space – I couldn’t put it down.’ – Al Woodworth, Amazon Best Book of July 2015

‘His sentences are taut, quivering units, vibrant under pressure like the desert heat shimmer or engine casing... a truly impressive achievement. Indeed, The Last Pilot is one of the best debuts I’ve read in a long time. Sentence by sentence, it’s one of my favourite books of the last few years.’ – Words of Mercury

‘A confident, engrossing debut novel with great warmth and a real sense of time and place. Great stuff.’ – A.L. Kennedy

‘[The Last Pilot’s] greatest attribute is the exuberant life beaming from the gorgeous prose... this debut novel is undoubtedly one of the most authentic pieces of fiction set in America in years… Johncock shatter[s] previous attempts at writing about American life from an outsider's perspective.’ – Huffington Post

‘Told in language as beautifully spare – and unsparing – as a desert or a moonscape, The Last Pilot reminds us in powerful ways that the real unknown frontier still lies within the mysteries of the human heart.’ – Kim Edwards

‘ [In] this spare gem of a novel... Johncock is superb at crafting suspenseful scenes. A dramatic tale.’ – BBC Culture, Jane Ciabattari

‘Provides a much-needed fix for those suffering from Mad Men withdrawal.’ – The National

‘Johncock’s characters are his real accomplishment. The author offers such emotional insight that readers will find themselves gripped and involved with his protagonist’s difficult choice.’ – Big Issue

‘An ideal read for history buffs and space race enthusiasts.’ – Kirkus

‘A soaring, exhilarating, emotional read, a mesmerising family story.’ – Eastern Daily Press

‘Cinematic descriptions of the desert setting plus excellent characters and dialogue enliven this debut novel.’ – The Bookbag

‘This clever fusion of fact and fiction, combined with a sparse writing style, is a Great American Novel – written by a Brit.’ – Times Higher Education

‘The same thrill I felt as a kid watching Apollo 11, I felt reading The Last Pilot – it captures the spirit of the time and the complexities of being human in any time rather beautifully.’ – Raging Biblioholism

‘Brings new insights to the emotional landscape of those who took part in the space race… one of the most beautiful novels I’ve ever read about the infinite capacity of the human heart.’ – Pamreader

‘This marvellous book captures the excitement of the space race alongside the emotions of Jim and Grace. Johncock seamlessly blends history and fiction, science and intimacy.’ – Sunday Express

‘Johncock manages to blend the facts with the fiction to give us something thrilling, so profoundly touching too, you can’t help but be moved by this novel.’ – Shiny New Books

‘A big, muscular novel… tenderly undercut by the quite different theme of a marriage and a family under unbearable stress... convincing and moving.’ – The Guardian

‘The Last Pilot may be Benjamin Johncock's first book, but it reads like he's a seasoned pro.’ – Metro

‘Utterly fascinating and absorbing as well as intensely exciting… it is simply wonderful – an extraordinary achievement.’ – For Winter Nights

‘This book was as near perfect as it’s possible to be when it comes to genius storytelling, emotionally resonant use of language and the ability to get you right in the heart.’ – Liz Loves Books

‘Johncock evokes the years of America's ramp-up to the space program so skilfully, a reader can almost feel the sandblasted landing strips… He's earned his 'right stuff' merit badge.’ – Milwaukee Journal

‘An exploration of a marriage at the same time as frontiers are being pushed... beautifully executed. [Benjamin Johncock’s] is a name that you'll be hearing more of.’ – BBC Radio Oxford

‘Punchy, spare dialogue that makes the action pop… a contemplative book that will spark many a conversation about who did what, and when, in the Space Race.’ – The Missourian

‘This big-hearted, atmospheric narrative is charged with the tension of the times and carried along by its compassionately imagined characters.’ – The Lady

‘A strong debut… this is a lean, evocative novel… [that] explores the conflict between loyalty to one’s country and one’s family, and a particular form of tight-lipped masculinity which prizes practical skills over emotional sensibility.’ – Workshy Fop

‘An arresting debut… Comparisons to Cormac McCarthy aren’t wide of the mark – heart-breaking and brilliant.’ –

Portsmouth News

‘This riveting and beautifully written novel... The story of the American space race in the Sixties, set in the wilds of the Mojave Desert, has inspired many movies and books in the past but Johncock brings a fresh perspective and new energy to this old story ground.’ – Daily Mail

‘A very comprehensive and tightly written first novel… a great debut.’ – TripFiction

‘A touching and fascinating tale of a man forced to choose between family and his place in the history books.’ – We Love This Book: Book of the Week

‘The transcendent beauty of the prose owes much to its restraint and rawness, absolutely symbiotic with the story it sets out to tell.’ – On the Literary Sofa

‘An accomplished and assured debut about the early days of space flight and the impact it has on one man and his family.’ – Scott Pack, Me and My Big Mouth

‘Captures a sense of time and place in a very evocative way… reminiscent of Mad Men. There are some beautiful, sad moments as well as a fascinating insight into the space race and the sacrifices and courage it required.’ – Soho House: 7 Books To Read In July

‘The dialogue is clean and smooth and Johncock’s spare prose gallops along.’ – Herald

‘Draws on true-life historical details to tell, in beautifully measured prose, a riveting good yarn about the U.S. astronaut-training programme.’ – Booklist

‘Ingeniously plotted, deftly written and engrossing.’ – People Magazine

From the Publisher

★ 04/20/2015
Using the early days of the U.S. space exploration program as a backdrop, Johncock’s impressive debut laces fact with fiction to tell the tale of Jim Harrison, an Air Force test pilot, and his wife, Grace. The story opens in the Mojave Desert in 1947, where Jim pushes innovative aircraft to their extremes and rubs elbows with the likes of Chuck Yeager and Jack Ridley. Jim and Grace pine for a child and eventually welcome a daughter, Florence. But Florence becomes gravely ill at the age of two, and despite his vast knowledge of cutting-edge aerospace technology, Jim can do little to save her life. Devastated, he throws himself into his work instead of mourning her death, volunteering for the upstart NASA program and moving with Grace to Houston. Once there, Jim must race against a ticking clock—the president expects a mission to the moon by 1970—and he slowly drifts away from Grace, develops anxious ticks, and suffers through disturbing visions of Florence, all as he prepares to participate in one of the Gemini space shuttles. Jim’s story is fascinating, and the author writes with a strong ear for dialogue, which rattles the pages with intensity. A marvelous, emotionally powerful novel. (July)

Publishers Weekly

I read The Last Pilot in a single sitting, drawn into this story of a couple's journey through love and grief as it unfolds during the tense early days of the Space Race. Told in language as beautifully spare-and unsparing-as a desert or a moonscape, The Last Pilot reminds us in powerful ways that the real unknown frontier still lies within the mysteries of the human heart.

No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lak Kim Edwards

06/01/2015
Involved in the evolution of high-speed flight in the Mojave Desert in California in the late 1940s and 1950s, test pilot Jim Harrison has little time for family life. But that changes when his wife, Grace, gives birth to a baby girl. After the child's sudden death from a rare form of cancer, Jim readily accepts an offer to become an astronaut, and the family relocates to Houston, a move for which Grace is not prepared. While Jim commits himself totally to the task of space flight, he tries to ignore not only his own deeply rooted grief but also Grace's unhappiness in Houston and unwillingness to let her daughter go. Eventually Jim must face that he can't continue to tough it out in military fashion. VERDICT A child's death is enough to unravel anyone, and it's not always clear whether Johncock is exploring a family's grief or linking it to the larger theme of the American space program. Yet this first novel is engaging and believable, and it's compelling to revisit the events of the space program. [See Prepub Alert, 3/9/15.]—James Coan, SUNY at Oneonta Lib.

Library Journal

2015-04-14
British novelist Johncock's debut takes place on American soil—and in American airspace—at the peak of the space race, from 1947 to 1968. Fictional Air Force test pilot Jim Harrison works in Muroc, California, at the future Edwards Air Force Base. He and his wife, Grace, struggle to accept infertility; are thrilled by a surprise pregnancy and parenthood; and drift away from each other after a tragic loss. Grace, who's grown accustomed to being alone as a pilot's wife, needs more from her husband after the death of their daughter. Instead, Harrison throws himself into his role as a member of the New Nine—the second class of astronauts and, more importantly, the first that will fly manned missions into space. Harrison's career leads him to interactions with real-life characters Gus Grissom, Jim Lovell, and Pancho Barnes. The novel moves quickly as a result of minimalist, quotation-mark-free dialogue. At times, multiple characters named Grace and Jim cause confusion—an awkward choice on the writer's part. Johncock's extensive research, as evidenced by his long list of book and film sources, is a double-edged sword. The novel gains significant life from Pancho Barnes, the kind of character who can't be invented, and Johncock's mastery of the jargon and mechanics of test piloting and space flight is impressive. However, the flight process and lingo can diminish focus on the characters. The space race is as much a character here as the Harrisons and their social circle, so much so that the people are sometimes overpowered by the mechanics. The book ends with things as they should be between Grace and Jim, but their happy ending is overshadowed by other astronauts' achievements. An ideal read for history buffs and space race enthusiasts.

Kirkus Reviews