Review: The Last Pilot - Benjamin Johncock

Set against the backdrop of an escalating Cold War, and playing out in the hostile terrain of the Mojave Desert, Benjamin Johncock’s debut novel The Last Pilot is an epic family drama which contrasts the scientific advances of the mid-Twentieth century with a sense that, with the possibility of nuclear war ever-present, human life was more vulnerable than at any previous point in history.

The novel begins in 1947, at a barren American Air Force testing station in the Mojave Desert. Here, a few dedicated pilots are flying experimental new planes, designed to fly faster than sound. Amongst them is Jim Harrison, a solid, buttoned-down character regarded as one of the Force’s best flyers. 

Life is harsh: fatal crashes occur on a near-weekly basis, and the men feel like they are being ‘slowly eaten alive by the sun’. The only respite comes from trips to the local bar, run by an adventuress known as Pancho. Married to a minister at 18, Pancho escaped to South America disguised as a man, spent time smuggling rum and guns, as well as a stint as a Hollywood stunt pilot, before buying an old alfalfa farm during the Depression and turning it into a bar for pilots at the base. Johncock captures the rough camaraderie of the base well, the gallows humour and ribbing which the pilots use to cover their nerves. Death itself remains taboo though: pilots are euphemistically said to have ‘augured’.

The pressure on the pilots is increased further by news that the Soviets have launched the Sputnik satellite in 1957. Being beaten into space is seen as a national humiliation, as well as an existential threat: ‘everyone’s terrified! Terrified that the Soviets can and probably will drop atom bombs on any city they want’. In response, President Kennedy pours money into the space race, promising a man on the moon by the end of the Sixties. A new crop of pilots is needed to work on the Apollo missions, and Harrison is a natural choice for the role.

Johncock emphasises the cutting edge nature of the programme: even the term ‘astro-naut’ has to be explained to the potential pilots. Those that accept the role become instant celebrities, moved with their families to brand new homes, invited to meet politicians and profiled in magazine features. For Harrison, the programme has an almost irresistible lure, but his position is complicated. After being told that she would not be able to have children by their doctor, his wife Grace has become pregnant and given birth to a girl, named Florence.

Unfortunately, as the programme begins, Florence falls seriously ill. Harrison’s powerlessness in the face of his daughter’s sickness is contrasted with the poise he exhibits in his job: ‘he knows what he’s doing. At least in the air. It’s down on the ground that’s the problem’. Johncock manages to convey the intense emotion of the situation without compromising the dryness of his prose, whilst also making a wider point that the fear that Jim and Grace have for their daughter’s future reflects a wider concern about the world that their generation would leave for their children. As the situation progresses, Harrison is forced to choose between a historic opportunity to serve his country, and doing the right thing for his family.

Johncock writes well; the dialogue is snappy (‘You came home to make sure I wasn’t in bed with the mailman… you think I’m some kind of floozy? – ‘I think we got a lot of good-lookin’ municipal workers round here’) and the descriptions are memorable (one character is noted for ‘the strict geometry of his suit’). Whenever things threaten to get too monotone, Pancho is able to add some colour to proceedings in a series of memorable cameos. On the downside, the closing sections run the risk of sentimentality, particularly Grace’s redemption through faith.

On the whole, though, I’d recommend The Last Pilot as a strong debut. You can sense the time Johncock has dedicated to honing his prose: this is a lean, evocative novel, which reminded me a little of Niven Govinden’s All The Days and Nights in its tone. The middle section in particular, as Harrison and his wife struggle to come to terms with the severity of their daughter’s illness, is deeply moving and well handled. Harrison’s struggle to maintain the balance between his professional and personal personas is equally well done, although the intervention of Pancho at this stage feels a little far-fetched. The Last Pilot 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, creating an evocative atmosphere which runs through the text.