• The Aviators

  • Brotherhood of War, Book 8
  • By: W. E. B. Griffin
  • Narrated by: Eric G. Dove
  • Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (927 ratings)

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The Aviators  By  cover art

The Aviators

By: W. E. B. Griffin
Narrated by: Eric G. Dove
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Publisher's summary

It is 1964. The Vietnam War has begun to escalate, its new style of battle demanding new weapons and tactics and men who can use them. Overnight, it seems, the U.S. Army must scramble to create its first-ever Air Assault Division, a force critical to its chances of success, but the obstacles facing it are staggering: untrained men, mysteriously failing aircraft, vicious inter-service rivalries.

As the hostilities increase, the warriors and the women who love them are swept into the struggle, their personal and professional lives twisting and intertwining as they race against time — and the fortunes of war.

©2008 W.E.B. Griffin (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about The Aviators

Average customer ratings
Overall
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

I recommend stopping after the first 6 books

I assume anyone reading a review on book 8 has already read the first 6. If you haven't, I think it's a mistake to read book 8.

If you liked the first 6, you'll also enjoy the last 3 books, but frankly, I wish I hadn't read the last 3. They tarnished the overall enjoyment. The last 3 books are mostly about covert operations in the Congo and Argentina, and there is a lot of rehash and actual reprinting of excerpts from earlier books. And the number of action reports seem to continue to increase, rather than actual story-telling.

I was disappointed; it felt like the author was just trying to sell books based on the success of the first 6 books, and these were a tack-on to a series that he ended after 6 books.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A non-military person narrating the book.

There are acronyms that need to get pronounced correctly. For instance, "DCSOPS" is not pronounced letter by letter. It's DCS Opps. Drives me crazy.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book to read, re- reread, re-read then audib

As a pilot I loved this book. The audible was even better. It's worth the money.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The redundant one.

W.E.B. is getting redundant. This book and the previous book in the series run parallel and are too often redundant. Although both are excellent, I would have preferred a single, longer book. Or, two books covering all the action in sequence.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

EGD rocks

Doce is fricken masterful. great story great narration hands down
best voice out there
good stuff

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Cant believe I have lasted 8 books

Is there anything you would change about this book?

no

What do you think your next listen will be?

not this series

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

yes

Do you think The Aviators needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

no

Any additional comments?

I can't believe I have gone through 8 of these books.I listen as background while I am working landscaping so I am not looking for anything too deep but I have reached my limit on this series.This is like harlequin for guys, the writing is poor, formulaic and characters shallow.Every book is the same, rich soldiers, virginal girls to be deflowered, stereotypes, even I could write these now that the basic, shallow characters and poor dialog. every sentence ending with "he said" then "he said" like we can't figure out who is talking.You don't realize how bad these are until you listen to a well written story.If you want to hear a well written, well read war story, try Unbroken by Laura Hildebrand read by Edward Hermann.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not much action or adventure in this book. While the rest of the series has been enjoyable I wouldn't recommend this one.

Liked the rest of the series but this book wasn't as engaging and had little excitement.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Wow, a big strike out for Griffin

I really enjoyed the Corps series, and the first six books of this series. Book 6 ended with a good conclusion of the characters. Book 7 then started new characters, with some cameos from the past books. Book 7 was good, tolerable.
But Book 8 the wheels came off. The book basically stalls, and almost seems a repeat of book 7. Also, and this is important, and quite frustrating, he repeats pages if not chapters from the previous book.
On Audible, I literally thought i had somehow accidentally clicked back to the wrong book. No, it was just a repeat from the previous book. I had no idea you can do that from book to book, but it really seems lazy, and easy filler.
And no regard for customers listening to all the books in a row. Save yourself the time, and end at book 7.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Brotherhood Of War Novels

This story and the novels that preceded it are excellent. The character development is such that you really come to know and care about them. I have read this series of novels several times over the last 40 years. Whenever I sit down to enjoy the story again I feel like I'm visiting old friends.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The Behind the Scenes of The New Breed

I would not be surprised to learn that Griffin originally wrote The New Breed and The Aviators as a single novel that his editor suggested he break into two. It is essentially the same story told from the POVs of two separate groups of soldiers. Fit the two POVs together and you have a much more complete tale. The New Breed follows the men who went into the Congo to gain information and rescue hostages during a civil war and The Aviators tells the story of men who helped make the mission in The New Breed possible. It’s interesting to get the second perspective, but the novel is not as exciting as The New Breed was. It did, however, have a subplot about a soldier’s sister trying to steal a couple of million dollars from him that was the only part of the book I remembered from the first time I read it more than 20 years ago.

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