Product Description

The most daring - and deadly - terrorist plot of all time is about to unfold aboard the supercarrier USS United States. If it succeeds, the balance of nuclear power will change for ever. And it looks as if no one can stop it - except Navy pilot Jake Grafton. Grafton is one helluva pilot and his F-14 Tomcat is one helluva plane. But some of Jake's crewmates have already vanished. And a woman reporter who boarded the ship in Tangiers may not be who she claims to be. Jake Grafton may have to disobey a direct order from the President himself for one spine-tingling, hair-raising, final flight.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #347829 in Books
• Published on: 2003-12-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

About the Author
Stephen Coonts is a former naval aviator who flew combat missions during the Vietnam War. His previous novels have been worldwide bestsellers. A former attorney, he resides with his wife and son in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Customer Reviews

Good techno-thriller with real people
"Final Flight" really appealed to me as a techno-thriller where at least most of the people came across as real people, not shallow clichés.

Most of the story takes place on the aircraft carrier USS United States, and I found the descriptions of how a modern aircraft carrier functions fascinating. A ship like this and the aircraft on board it are an incredibly complicated yet awesomely powerful fighting machine.

Stephen Coonts describes in detail many of the procedures involved in launching and recovering the airplanes on an aircraft carrier. The level of complication is such that I found myself surprised that these things function at all, let alone function reliably.

The assault on the aircraft carrier by a group of ruthless terrorists, and its defense by the seamen and marines made great reading. I also loved the description of the dog fight between the lone F-14 Tomcat and four MiG-23 Floggers. This was a real edge-of-the-seat climax to the story.

As mentioned above, I found it appealing that most of the characters in the story actually come across as real people, with real people's problems and worries and motivations and good sides and bad sides. Also, the U.S. Navy is depicted as an organization with certain deficiencies, such as excessive bureaucracy, suppression of private initiative and lack of rewards for individual thought.

This is in contrast with most techno-thrillers, where all the characters are stereotyped and shallow "good guys" or "bad guys", and the western military organizations are the epitome of efficiency and functionality.

Despite what I've just said about the characters, I did find the top bad guy somewhat unrealistic, and this is the reason for the lack of the fifth star. Am I really supposed to believe in someone who,
- makes love to a female assistant in the locked trunk of a limousine?
- talks to a Russian General via a radio transmitter in a belt buckle?
- spends 1/2 hour burning a top secret manual for a nuclear bomb a few pages at a time in a furnace in the basement of a hotel?

But despite my problem with the top bad guy I really liked this book, and am looking forward to reading more of Stephen Coonts' books.

Rennie Petersen

Detailed Terrorist Tale
Final Flight is an action yarn that is packed with detail. The basic premise centres around a terrorist's attempt to board a new American super-carrier to slip away with the nukes. It's Die Hard at sea. However, Coonts ensures this tale is as close to reality as possible, through good research and detailed characterisation. The build up, which is difficult at times due to the heady amount of acronyms the navy use, sets a solid background for the final two-thirds of the book, which is non-stop action and intrigue. It's gripping once you get past the initial scene-setting. There is however a lack of compassion for the lead roles. This is a result of their behaviours, which are realistic portrayals of those in armed forces management, but create a level of dislike for them at times. All in all, Final Flight is an enjoyable book, more factual that Cussler, less techno than Crichton, but worth a read.

Read as a Trillogy
I cannot comment or this book, without considering the two books before it, they are awesome. A must read for all Stephen Coonts fans, Jake grafton, his early years. From the non stop action in the skies of Vietnam as well as life on board a carrier in combat (Flight of the Intruder), to a year(almost) in the life of a pilot on a carrier, cruising the seas, (The Intruders) through to the intense techno-thriller thriller (Final Flight). These three book, should be classed as a trillogy, with five star tagged onto it. Trully awesome.