The Last Bush Pilots

By: Eric Auxier

Narrated by: Thomas Block

Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

"Mayday, mayday! I'm going down, I'm going do- "

Author, airline captain, and popular blogger (capnaux.com) Eric Auxier brings Alaska bush flying to life in his second novel, The Last Bush Pilots. Exhilarating flying, tall tales, and larger-than-life characters abound in a wild land that truly is America's Last Frontier.

Two young pilots, Daniel "D.C." Alva and Allen David Foley, take on the world's most dangerous flying: the Alaska bush. But Mother Nature - and a sexy Native Alaskan - stand in their way.

Southeast Alaska Seaplanes, Juneau: Retired airline captain Chief Pilot Dusty Tucker pilots a renegade band of flying misfits. Meet legendary bush pilot Jake "Crash" Whitakker, equally adept at landing planes and ladies - and "crashin' 'em" as well; prankster pilot Ralph Olaphsen, who once set an extinct volcano ablaze on April Fool's Day; and no-nonsense Check Airman Holly Innes, trying to cut a respectable niche in the notoriously macho bush pilot world - while escaping a dangerous past.

Amid Alaska's soggy skies, D.C. and Allen face escalating challenges in and out of the cockpit. The two cheechackos, or greenhorns, are roped into Crash and Ralph's harebrained scheme, Operation Dirty Harry. Under the suspicious nose of draconian FAA Inspector Frederick Bruner, the pilots hatch a plot to hijack and rescue a planeload of orphaned bear cubs. Moreover, mischievous Tlingit Indian Tonya Hunter, as wild and unpredictable as the land in which she lives, plays the two lovestruck cheechackos against each other.

But the true villain of the story is Mother Nature herself. Alaska's notoriously fickle weather and rugged terrain take on lives of their own. Can the two cheechackos survive her relentless onslaught and launch their fledgling airline careers?

©2012 Eric Auxier (P)2015 Eric Auxier

An entertaining piece of mind candy

It’s clear the author spent a summer flying in Alaska’s Southeast. I found it a good read/listen and especially enjoyed hearing and flying along in my own stomping grounds. I think he did a good job capturing the weather challenges of flying part 135 in SE (as well as some of the technical and regulatory hurtles). As a constructive comment I would offer: Although I enjoyed the readers abilities, I could tell he was a reader only and I would have enjoyed it more had he learned the local pronunciations - it was like listening to a tourist through the whole book without having the benefit of being able to correct pronunciation. And finally, and without bravado, a summer of commercial flying in Alaska does not a Bush Pilot make. Real Bush Pilots have long ago shunned off that title in humility before others start to make that attribution to them. The Bush Pilot is a truly amazing individual - it takes a lot of years, maturity, gas, good fortune, and especially experiential judgement to know you are not yet one.

Excellent book!

I listen to this audiobook in like three days, I was hooked! As a former Alaskan Bush pilot I could not stop listening! I have experience almost all that happened in the book. It was almost like reliving my experience out in the Alaska tundra.

Fiction always has a slice of truth

Liked that it was about flying. Portrayal of new low time pilots building hours by flying in Alaska. Dislikes , the storytelling could have been better. Description by multiple adjectives gets very tiring. Mispronunciations by the ready as well as his slurred almost drunk sounding voice got old. The voices he used were inconsistent at best.

Thomas Block does a great job.

Thomas Block does a great job. Fun book to listen to. Really enjoyed this book.

Excellent book! Terrible narration.

The book itself is wonderful. Great characters, imagery, plot, themes etc. Cannot say enough good things about it.

Thomas Block may be a nice guy, and perhaps an aviation enthusiast, but he is just not a very good narrator. He accent is thick and ever present, and his voice inflection and tones, NEVER change. He just drones in a monotone.

A Layover In Alaska

Would you listen to The Last Bush Pilots again? Why?

Yes. It was an enjoyable but realistic look into bush flying in Alaska that taught you about the profession while giving you an interesting backdrop of characters, landscapes and interesting, if slow, plot. Listening again would be an enjoyable way to pass the time on a long flight.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It's a toss up. But, I think "Crash" is my favorite. He is complex and demonstrates a man with some experience still learning his craft.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I thought the performance was so so. The characters voices didn't vary enough which can make it hard to follow at times and you can hear a few edits here and there. But, that is made up for by the narrator's passion and knowledge of aviation.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Due to the slow start I stopped and started a lot. But, the last third of the book or so I listened to in one shot.

Any additional comments?

I really would like to hear a squeal

loved it

this book was engaging and realistic which is what I like. i normally don't read fiction, but happy I did.

Narrator Sounds Like a Drunk Airline Pilot

I had to stop listening. The narration is just awful. Maybe the story gets better, but I can’t stick with it to find out.

Engulfing

This book sucks you in like weather does the planes. Makes you want to go fly

Cheesy Story, Terrible Narration

The story is predictable but entertaining. The narration, however, is hardly bearable. Variation of inflections and tone from character to character is minimal, women’s voices are raspy at best, accents are poorly executed, and more. I will be avoiding books read by this narrator in the future.