Rating: 
Summary: BORING
Review: After reading all of the glowing reviews I purchased this book and was extremely disappointed - I found the characters uninteresting and the story extremely boring...I forced myself to keep reading, but after several chapters I just couldn't go on. I strongly suggest you read a few pages before purchasing, you may save yourself some money!!
Rating: 
Summary: It Has It's Moments
Review: As a retired firefighter and private pilot I was hoping for something really good from Nance. It turned out to be mediocre, but worth reading, especially if you're interested in the topic...fighting fires from the air.I've always had the greatest respect for air tanker pilots. Having fought several campaign fires in my career, I know how valuable they are to fire attack, and I know firsthand (from the ground that is) the kinds of risks the pilots take every flight. The simple truth is that when conditions are bad there is no chance of containing a fire without air attack...period, end of story. Because Nance is an experienced pilot, I enjoyed his descriptions of the flights and the dangers faced when aircraft fly into places they are not supposed to go. But I was disappointed with the incredible scenarios he drew to make the novel more exciting. Some of the pickles he put his pilots into were just flat out too hard to believe, even for fiction. And even though I like the characters he created, they were so larger than life, that I had a tough time relating to them. The dialogue he put into their mouths seemed almost laughable at times, yet I must say, I kept on reading, and I grew to like the characters the more I read. However, I was tempted at one point just to throw down the book in disgust and say "Come on John, this is just too much...it's simply not believable...even for fiction." But I stuck with the book and Nance reclaimed his credibility to some degree as he finished the story. I think the best fiction should read like good non-fiction. John had an opportunity to deliver some insider information re air tanker firefighting, and he only did a halfway decent job describing that reality. The tale he weaves seems more fitting for a Grade B movie than a novel, and that was my final impression. This story is more a screenplay than a book. But in summary I've got to admit that "Fire Flight" held my interest long enough for me to read the book in two sittings. Perhaps it is the fact that I hold air tanker pilots in such high esteem that I will read about them just to show my respect. They are truly heroes, and their actions have saved lives, property and valuable enviromental resources. You can trash them as Type A, egotistical adrenaline junkies if you want to, but thank God for the air tanker and air attack pilots. I will be forever grateful to them. Finally, I have a friend who is also a firefighter and private pilot. He's going to get a copy for Christmas.
Rating: 
Summary: All too Real, Frightening Suspense
Review: As I'm writing this Southern California is burning. Millions of dollars worth of damage, hundreds of acres ablaze, hundreds of homes destroyed, eleven souls lost and no end to the fires in sight. Last night, as I was reading, FIRE FLIGHT, I had the radio on, was listening to Drudge, but instead of his usual political chatter, he was only taking calls from California, from the fire zone. It was eerie, ghostly, listening to desperate people describing the fire, their loss, their despair, as I was reading similar descriptions in Nance's all too real character driven novel. I don't know, maybe it was the timing, but this story was frightening. You can't help but feel the heat as you read, smell the smoke, see the fire. Unlike his other heart-thumping, action-driven thrillers, FIRE FLIGHT is powered by powerful characters and Stephen King like description. The suspense just drips from the pages as the sweat pours from your forehead while your fingers burn through the pages. But first and foremost FIRE FLIGHT is a mystery. Tired planes are being used as watertankers to fight a raging fire. Pilots go down as planes fail. Is it sabotage? Had the maintenance been performed as required? We're the planes used illegally and the hours not logged, thus putting extra stress on the air frames? Several theories, plausible bad guys and an ending that the most sophisticated reader will never figure out make this my pick of the year. Ken Douglas, Underpaid Writer
Rating:
Summary: A Nail Biting Thriller Combined with a Superb Mystery
Review: Clark Maxwell came out of retirement to help fight the fires that are raging in the west because his ex-boss, somewhat sleazy, kind of cheap, Jerry Stein said he needed him. Clark and his new co-pilot are flying a DC6B watertanker when the tanker in front goes down with his friend Jeff Maze aboard. One of the wings came off in midair. Clark believes that the planes have had all of their required maintenance checks, because Stein is his friend and a pilot himself. He wouldn't send his crew out in planes that weren't fit. But Clark can't help himself and he checks out a plane on the ground and sees that the maintenance had not been performed. He calls the FBI, but Stein's security chief overhears the call and calls the feds back, pretending he's Maxwell, and he says he was concerned over nothing, then he impersonates an FBI agent to find out just what it is Clark knows and Clark is about to fall into the trap. Nance is a master when it comes to the airplane thriller and he's out done himself this time. His portrayal of wild fires, the destruction they cause, the lives they destroy will have ice shooting up your spine while you read about disaster after disaster as Clark and his comrades combat one of the worst fires in history in their aging planes that appear to be held together with only spit and chewing gum. Reviewed by Vesta Irene
Rating:
Summary: A Thriller that is all too Real
Review: Fire Flight is about the brave pilots that fly the air-tankers and fight the wild fires that often rage out of control. Clark Maxwell is one of these pilots who has come out of retirement, because his old boss needs help flying his aging fleet. A tanker goes down in front of Clark's eyes and by the time he lands his own tanker, he's got questions. Has his boss been skimping on the maintenence checks to save money? Are the logs really up to date? He looks for answers and comes up against a fake FBI guy, maybe some real CIA shenanigans and possibly murder in this thriller that is all too real. If you want to see the dangers these brave men face, plus get a darned good story to boot, then this is the book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book
Review: I am the owner of a contract wildland firefighting operation in Roswell, New Mexico and a pilot. I also worked for the Federal Gov't in fire before going to contracting so I have a perspective from both sides of the fence. I read this book a few days ago and I think it is excellent reading for anyone who has an interest in air tankers or wildland firefighting in general. I know that many of the things that are spoken of in the book are relating to things that have really happened, granted some were pretty far out also. The only thing I did not like was the fact that Mr. Nance seemed to portray fire contract operations as a low rent bunch. I keep my equipment way above government standards as a lot of other contractors do, in reguards to fire engines or air tankers so the very end of the book angered me somewhat when Mr. Nance suggested that the national airtanker fleet be federalized. All in all though, this was an excellent book and I really enjoyed the detailed information and the issues addressed in the book and could tell that a lot of research went into it.
Rating:
Summary: Repulsive and Misinformed to one that has been there.
Review: I have been involved with the Airtanker industry for over twenty years. I had been an airtanker captain for twelve of those years. During that time I have lost 38 good friends in tanker accidents. Many of us are still in the grieving process over the most recent accidents. In reading the reviews to this book, I am repulsed in the thought of anyone reading it and thinking it was anything but fiction. I was reminded of the effects of the movie "Always" on the industry ten years ago. The fictional movie had people thinking that firefighting from the air was done as Spielberg showed it on the screen.
The airtanker industry has been through bad press, hard times, and major loss of fellow pilots. It is a shame that anyone would use an opportunity, such as this, to further his literary wealth. I am sure if Mr. Nance had spent some time with or around a few real airtanker pilots, his book would have taken a different turn. I hope that Mr. Nance will make a nice donation to the Associated Airtanker Pilots Memorial Fund to help the families of fallen airtanker pilots. ...
Rating:
Summary: A Mighty Fine Book, No Matter What Anybody Says
Review: I read a review that chastised John Nance and his book FIRE FLIGHT, because Mr. Nance dared to write about the airtanker fleet in the way he did. The reviewer claimed to have been in the business for over twenty years and added that he'd lost several comrades over the years. He implied that it was scurrilous for Mr. Nance to make money writing about the firefighting community. Well I suppose then that reviewer would agree that it would be wrong to say, write a book critical of an Army General, because soldiers have fallen in combat. It would also be wrong to write a book about a bad cop, because so many good ones have lost their lives in the line of duty. Wrong to write about a crooked president, after all Kennedy was slain, wasn't he? You see where I'm going with this? I read FIRE FLIGHT specifically because of the reviews posted here and I enjoyed every sentence of it. Not for one second did I think that just because the owner of the airtanker fleet in the story was a bit of a slime-ball that every one connected with the business was like that. As another reviewer said, "Mr. Nance writes about brave men and woman," and that part I did believe. Anybody who fights fires as a tanker pilot, a smoke jumper or as a grunt on the ground is a hero and Mr. Nance makes that plain as day. Heck even the slimy tanker boss guy sort of redeems himself in the end. I'm sorry we lose young men to war. I'm sorry police have to die protecting us. And I'm sorry firefighters have to die doing the brave work they do, but that's no reason to ban a wonderful book or to slam it in a review. Frankly if it hadn't been for Mr. Nance and this book, I never would have known spit about tanker pilots or smoke jumpers. Not only did Mr. Nance show me what it was like to fight a raging wildfire, he did it in an entertaining way that I'll never forget. Ms. Mindy Adams
Rating:
Summary: Portrays characters as firefighting heros they represent.
Review: I read this can't-put-down book in 4 lazy Maui vacation afternoons. It's not a documentary nor a textbook; it is a look inside the dangerous but wild ride of initial attack firefighting. I enjoyed the characterizations & the technical edification. The book did a great job giving me enough flight detail to gain general understanding of piloting without losing me in the technical aspects. I took John's advice to visit his website & read further on his link: The National Crisis Behind FIREFLIGHT. I'm sure I represent his target audience whereas some reviewers might not. Did prior reviewers who complained about the technical or moral value of this story chose to ignore Nance's effort to provide the non-fire readership excellent background & understanding of the aerial firefighting issues? Do yourself a favor: buy, read & discuss this novel.
Rating:
Summary: You smell the Fire, Taste the Smoke, Feel the Fear
Review: I stopped in at one of those bookstores that serves coffee, has cozy chairs and friendly people that don't mind if you sit for a spell and glance through a magazine or two. I picked up FIRE FLIGHT, because a friend of mine had raved about how good it was and because of the fires in Southern California, where I'm temporarily land locked. I plopped into a cushy chair, intending to just glance through the book and see if it was worth buying. Four hours later I pulled myself up, went to the checkout and bought it. I didn't need it, because I'd finished it, but I just had to own it, it was that good. Mr. Nance spends a good deal of time on description, but he places it between the action of a plane going down or a raging fire that's consuming everything in its path or something as simple as two men vying for the attention of a pretty girl in a bar. Somehow he paints his pages with burning detail and you don't even know he's doing it. You smell the fire, taste the smoke, feel the fear of the pilots of the DC6B watertakers as they stay calm under terrifying, life and death circumstances, and when you finish, you're gonna want to read it all over again. This book is sort of a change for Mr. Nance as it's not one of his usual super thriller, ticking clock, nonstop action efforts. This is better, way better. It's a gripping story of friendship, love lost and gained, jealousy, rivalry, deception and deceit, good guys and maybe even a bad guy or two, depending on your point of view. But most of all, it's a damn fine read, a book that belongs in anybody's library. I can't recommend it highly enough. Jack Priest, Writer from the Darkside
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