Official Review: The Pilot by Victoria Winters
Posted: 22 Dec 2013, 05:21
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Pilot" by Victoria Winters.]
As The Pilot opens, Ben Johnson is crashing his plane. Now facing his death, his thoughts dwell on his life, its joys and disappointments, and how he ended up an RAF pilot about to die a fiery death. Ben’s voice narrates his story to the reader, spinning a tale of love and loss and new beginnings. From the tragic death of his father to his troubled adolescence and then into the struggles of his adulthood, Ben reflects on the people who influenced him, loved him, and inspired him to make something of himself.
Victoria Winters has given the world a romance. To be sure, it’s no fairy-tale, and Ben Johnson isn’t always hero material. On the contrary, the type of romance described is more realistic. It is laced with heartbreak, misunderstanding, and trepidation, but still sweet, steadfast, and passionate. One element I really appreciate in Ms. Winters’ story is the way that the primary romance(s) are reflected in the secondary character’s lives. Obviously, too much elaboration on this point would spoil the story, but any who are reading this review should keep their eyes open for the parallels. They’re there, and they are lovely enhancements to the book.
Another important theme that Ms. Winters has woven into her story is that of rebirth. Because she is trying to give the reader realistic characters, they are necessarily flawed and find themselves occasionally on the losing end of life. However, Ms. Winters provides her characters with the strength and support to start again. There are false starts, and there are always more challenges and setbacks, but the characters clearly are learning from their mistakes and doing better every time they fall down.
However, while the premise of the story is excellent, the craft of telling it could be improved. Much of the story is told in dialogue, and, while this probably enlivens the telling, the dialogue is weak and stilted. It sounds forced and unnatural, and sometimes difficult problems are solved in a matter of a few sentences. In my opinion, this detracts from the potential depth of the characters and the perceived realism in the story overall. Additionally, in an effort to focus on the unfolding romance, many events that would fundamentally change characters’ lives are totally glossed over and ignored. There are enormous time gaps, and the impression I got was that the author wants to focus on the romance alone. This sacrifices character development in a huge way, and makes it really difficult to imagine the developing relationships between characters. Even primary characters seem too one-dimensional to relate to, and many of the secondary characters cease to matter to the reader emotionally.
I would like to give this story two and a half stars, if I could. I give it an official rating of 2 out of 4 stars. It has great potential, but lost much of it through the failure to cultivate it in the writing process itself. If I could speak to Ms. Winters, I would advise her to consider expanding the story, including more detail in the time gaps, and working harder at depicting the inter-character relationships. Ben Johnson’s support networks play such an enormous role in his life; it would be nice to have a better idea about the real nature of those friendships. As I can’t use fractions to rate the story, I will have to officially award it two stars and urge Ms. Winters to continue to edit and add, as it would be wonderful to see this story truly flourish the way it could.
***
Buy "The Pilot" on Amazon
As The Pilot opens, Ben Johnson is crashing his plane. Now facing his death, his thoughts dwell on his life, its joys and disappointments, and how he ended up an RAF pilot about to die a fiery death. Ben’s voice narrates his story to the reader, spinning a tale of love and loss and new beginnings. From the tragic death of his father to his troubled adolescence and then into the struggles of his adulthood, Ben reflects on the people who influenced him, loved him, and inspired him to make something of himself.
Victoria Winters has given the world a romance. To be sure, it’s no fairy-tale, and Ben Johnson isn’t always hero material. On the contrary, the type of romance described is more realistic. It is laced with heartbreak, misunderstanding, and trepidation, but still sweet, steadfast, and passionate. One element I really appreciate in Ms. Winters’ story is the way that the primary romance(s) are reflected in the secondary character’s lives. Obviously, too much elaboration on this point would spoil the story, but any who are reading this review should keep their eyes open for the parallels. They’re there, and they are lovely enhancements to the book.
Another important theme that Ms. Winters has woven into her story is that of rebirth. Because she is trying to give the reader realistic characters, they are necessarily flawed and find themselves occasionally on the losing end of life. However, Ms. Winters provides her characters with the strength and support to start again. There are false starts, and there are always more challenges and setbacks, but the characters clearly are learning from their mistakes and doing better every time they fall down.
However, while the premise of the story is excellent, the craft of telling it could be improved. Much of the story is told in dialogue, and, while this probably enlivens the telling, the dialogue is weak and stilted. It sounds forced and unnatural, and sometimes difficult problems are solved in a matter of a few sentences. In my opinion, this detracts from the potential depth of the characters and the perceived realism in the story overall. Additionally, in an effort to focus on the unfolding romance, many events that would fundamentally change characters’ lives are totally glossed over and ignored. There are enormous time gaps, and the impression I got was that the author wants to focus on the romance alone. This sacrifices character development in a huge way, and makes it really difficult to imagine the developing relationships between characters. Even primary characters seem too one-dimensional to relate to, and many of the secondary characters cease to matter to the reader emotionally.
I would like to give this story two and a half stars, if I could. I give it an official rating of 2 out of 4 stars. It has great potential, but lost much of it through the failure to cultivate it in the writing process itself. If I could speak to Ms. Winters, I would advise her to consider expanding the story, including more detail in the time gaps, and working harder at depicting the inter-character relationships. Ben Johnson’s support networks play such an enormous role in his life; it would be nice to have a better idea about the real nature of those friendships. As I can’t use fractions to rate the story, I will have to officially award it two stars and urge Ms. Winters to continue to edit and add, as it would be wonderful to see this story truly flourish the way it could.
***
Buy "The Pilot" on Amazon