The Sea Witch

Three Novellas

By: Stephen Coonts

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 5 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Stephen Coonts weaves three unforgettable tales of men and women at war with the sort of dramatic military action and undercover technology for which he is known. Included in this collection are:

"The Sea Witch": When a young, dauntless dive-bomber pilot is sacked for reckless behavior, he’s reassigned to a Black Cat squadron as the copilot of a giant Catalina seaplane, The Sea Witch. He’s thrown into a whole new world, where a Catalina carries five tons of bombs, a half-dozen machine guns, and a crew that walks a fine line between valor and a death wish.

A daring night bombing mission against Rabaul forces the crew of The Sea Witch to band together as never before. Each man will soon find out what he’s made of...and not everyone will make it back alive.

"The 17th Day": Seventeen days...the average life expectancy of a British aviator during World War I. Last three weeks and you were practically a veteran. Paul Hyde dropped out of college to join the Royal Flying Corps, looking for a grand adventure. And grand it was, or so he assured himself when planes were crashing all around him. Today is his 17th day. Will he be able to beat the odds?

"Al-Jihad": Charles Dean is retired from the military, determined to be done with that part of his life. But when Julie Giraud, the daughter of his old commander, seeks him out, he can’t say no to a simple lunch. What she has in mind isn’t quite so simple. She wants Dean to help her kill the terrorists who murdered her parents. She offers him three million dollars and the chance to avenge his commander’s death. But all is not as it seems, and before long Dean and Giraud must use all their skills just to stay alive....

This novella collection gathers these three evocative tales from New York Times best-selling author Stephen Coonts into one cohesive audiobook. Here is Coonts doing what he does best - writing about men and women at war.

©2012 Stephen Coonts (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Good not great

Would you consider the audio edition of The Sea Witch to be better than the print version?

I have read most of what Stephen Coonts has written. I was looking forward to this when I first heard about it. While it's not the best he has written but it was not bad. The narrator was very good. The stories were different from Stephen's past efforts. I was hoping for more. Still I would recommend this book to any of Coonts fans.

Three airplane stories

This book is 3 short stories about airplanes in war. Dick Hill does a great job narrating the stories. He is one of my favorite readers. Enjoyed the introduction by Stephen Coonts and thought it was great he listed air museum that display the type of planes in each of the stories. I would like to travel to see the air museum. The first story is a about "Sea Witch", a Catalina in the south pacific in WW11. The second story "17 Days" is about an American in the British Air Corp in WW1. 17 days was the average life expectancy of a British pilot in WW1. The third story "Al-Jihad" takes place in the current time frame and is about a retired marine that is contacted by the daughter of his former commanding officer. She is an Air force Osprey pilot and wants him to help her kill the Liberian terrorist that bombed the air liner her parents were on. All the stories have lots of suspense and realism. The book is only 6 hours so is great to use as a break between longer books.

Good cross country listen.

Do you have any additional comments?

I bought this trilogy to get me from LA to Phoenix. It's a good book for a cross country drive. Not a lot of plot development or detail and doesn't require a lot of attention. It's worth the price for a one time listen. Dick Hill does an amazing woman's voice in "Al-Jihad". Enough language that I would have turned it off if I'd had kids in the car.

Stephen Coonts latest

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Left me wanting more! Excellent stories in one package, highly recommended!

What did you like best about this story?

Each addressed little known historical aviation stories.

Any additional comments?

Glad I purchased it!