Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Review - Man-Killers of the Air

Man-Killers of the Air
Director: Jim Meskimen
Starring: Shane Johnson, Cory Burton, R.F. Daley, Keli Daniels and Jim Meskimen
Studio: Galaxy Press
Release Date: April 15, 2009
ISBN: 978-1592122295
Approx. 2 hours

Review:

During the 1930s and 1940s, newsstands were overflowing with magazines, especially those made from cheap brown pulp paper, or otherwise known as Pulp magazines which featured popular authors such as Louis L'Amour, Robert E. Howard, Erle Stanley Gardner, and John D. MacDonald. In its hey-day pulp magazines had over thirty million avid readers each and every month. Pulp fiction authors only got paid one cent per word, forcing the majority of authors to write aggressively at times. They didn't write to impress critics, but instead they wrote for the readers, who devoured story after story and adventure after adventure.

Author L. Ron Hubbard also wrote over 150 short stories during the golden age and now Galaxy Press is releasing the stories onto audiobooks with talented voice actors and dazzling sound effects. Galaxy Press nicely sent me a complimentary copy of the award-winning Man-Killers of the Air, which first appeared in the June 1935 issue of Five Novels Monthly.

Smoke Burnham zooms in the sky in his mystery plane along with his flying companion, a pet cheetah named Patty. The crowd loves to watch him fly at the air shows, but Girard, a newspaper mogul that invested in Burnham, doesn't like him. Sure, he gives Girard great publicity, but Girard just wants the plans to his secret plane, which legally belongs to Smoke's girlfriend, the lovely Melanie King.

Despite winning countless air races, Smoke is secretly broke. He can't even pay his publicist and friend, Alex. Seeing no other way to pay his debt, he agrees to participate in the International Air Derby. If he wins - Girard will rebuild his hanger and pay for a fleet of planes. If he loses - Girard will own the secret plane. There is one little problem, he doesn't have a plane because Melanie is the true owner and doesn't want to see him risk his life. After some quick thinking, Smoke acquires a mammoth sea plane, but he's not flying alone as he takes Patty, Melanie and Alex with him across the dangerous horizons.

I guess you can say I was a little skeptical about listening to Man-Killers of the Air as I have never cared much for air shows, but I became intrigued within the first five minutes. The main character, Smoke Burnham, is a definitely a daredevil as he travels with a cheetah! The plot is cleverly written and so is the dialogue. The sound effects are outstanding, making me feel like I was right there in the cockpit. The audiobook's length is two hours, but I became so involved with the characters that it felt more like one hour. Man-Killers of the Air is a fun flying adventure from the very start to the finish line.


CymLowell

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