I have always been fascinated by airplanes from as far as I remember – probably most children are. An airplane with it’s gigantic size and roaring engines is such a beauty to watch, and as it takes off or lands – it looks so majestic! “Air Crash Investigation” on Nat Geo has been one of my favorite knowledge based shows. It just intrigues such a great deal to see what caused such a dream machine to meet a disaster, or maybe avert one. Thus, when I picked up this book, I had all these expectations of it – it would definitely be a crisis situation (maybe a technical failure, maybe a natural factor or maybe a hijack) and how the captain, crew & passengers come together to face it, and overcome it – with some heroic deeds that would stand tall – something like Titanic. I had for long been wanting to read a book on similar lines. And with “Falling”, you do get ‘most’ of it.
The premise of the book – a crisis situation it is, a hijacking – but in a way that was least expected. A hijack being controlled from the ground was a whole new idea in itself. I don’t think that has ever happened, so T.J. Newman scores well there – an unexpected & unique plot that promises to be a thrilling ride.
As it happens to be, there are two stories running – one at the ground where the hijacking is being controlled from and the involvement of the FBI, air traffic controllers and others trying to deal with it. And the second up in the skies with the plane headed for disaster. Fittingly, there were 2 heroes for me – Theo on the ground and Aunt Jo in the air. The stand out part of the book for me is the beautifully crafted character of Theo who almost always finds himself at the wrong side of things. And equally comical his relation with his boss Liu – always threatening with dire consequences, but never quite being able to get rid of him. And the ever so vexatious aunt Jo who manages to irritate Liu from miles away with her televised speech. She is always in the thick of things doing everything from catching canisters to fighting the bad guy to barging into the compromised cockpit & finally landing the plane! Wonderful! The other characters too are well woven, specially the lil boy Scott and how in the given situation he acts as the big brother is heart warming.
T.J Newman keeps treating the reader with such small little unexpected turns (see spoiler above). The change in the target at the last moment after evacuation was already underway at Washington again one such instance.
The other high point in the book was the actual landing. Probably that was expected to an extent, but still doesn’t make it any less exciting. The good old Jo landing the plane with instructions from a half conscious Bill. It added the much necessary technicality about flying & the plane itself that had otherwise been missing in the book. And finally, once all was over, how these crew members come together almost like a family was heart warming to see. Adversity brings the people together for life.
While Falling has most things working for it, I do feel there were a few places the author missed the trick. There was vast opportunity for creating some wonderful moments that could have been heart wrenching, brave, heroic, romantic, sacrificial, over whelming and defining. Anyone heard of the band playing their music as the Titanic went down? Its a missed opportunity that had so much scope. The passengers helping one another. Or some personal insight into maybe a few of them that would have created a personal connect for the reader with the characters. The crew doing something that stood out in a time like this. Yes, they did – but truly speaking, the way they were catching the canisters and dumping into a trash bag made me laugh more than feel tense with the gravity of the situation. It was enjoyable nevertheless!
There were two sequences where defining speeches were made. The first by Jo, when she goes live on the news channels describing their situation and trying to bring the passengers together on their side. And the second when Carrie goes live to basically induce the President to halt the shooting down of the plane. These were two instances where the speeches should have been far more emphatic & intelligently written – which left you saying Wow! But both of these turned out to be damp squibs in a way. While you get the basic point and their purpose. But I truly think they should have been extraordinarily worded – precise & potent.
I also felt the captain was tied down for most of the time – he never got to do anything heroic. Yes, in the end they saved the plane. But it was only after Jo had entered the cockpit. What if she hadn’t? Until then, Bill was just plainly going through emotions and doing as told.
But the above certainly does not take away the credit due towards this exciting & enjoyable leisure read. The fresh plot, exciting situations & some well crafted characters make it a book not to be missed, specially if you are fascinated by aviation. The overall impact of “Falling” is thrilling!
Before I wrap this up, some books with ‘best guarded suspense’ which was hard to guess – The Maidens (Alex Michaelides), A Flicker In The Dark (Stacy Willingham)