From Ashes

The Airshipmen Trilogy, Book One

By: David Dennington

Narrated by: Lauren Dennington

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

The Airshipmen Trilogy, book one–From Ashes. The opening scenes of one of the most exciting periods in British history. Adapted from The Airshipmen.

After World War I, Lou Remington leaves the Marine Corps and joins the Navy to fly airships. He is sent to England to train with his crew to fly R38/ZR-2 back to New Jersey. After a terrible accident, he falls in love and settles down to a blissful life in rural Yorkshire. But the British come knocking at his door with offers for him to assist in building the safest and mightiest airships the world has ever seen. Accepting the position could lead to a spectacular career with infinite rewards—or maybe cost him his life.

The British Airship Program is a morass of infighting and political intrigue. Two teams are pitted against each other, each to design and build their own massive airship, modeled as ocean liners of the sky—one will fly to Canada, the other to India. By design, only one team will survive this deadly competition.

As an outsider and seconded liaison officer between the two teams, Lou Remington’s mission is simple: keep the peace between the warring parties and help prevent another national tragedy. But it is the misguided passions of the charismatic Lord Thomson, which have more to do with a certain Romanian princess than with aviation, which threaten Lou’s goals and forever change the lives of all involved, foreshadowing the demise of the British Empire.

©2015, 2016, 2021, 2022 David Dennington (P)2023 Lauren Dennington

Critic reviews

"A very big novel in every way, unique, beautifully written and perfectly paced...setting the scene so well...the first of a true new genre...weaving us around events of the great Airship R101 tragedy, the people and places we know well...with wonderfully rich characters...researched in immaculate detail." (Alastair Lawson, Airship Heritage Trust, Cardington)

"An impressively crafted multilayered novel, a fully absorbing read from beginning to end and clearly showcases author David Dennington as a gifted storyteller of the first order. A solidly entertaining novel, The Airshipmen is very highly recommended for community library General Fiction collections." (Midwest Book Review)

Intense, Exciting and Powerful

Following World War I, the British Empire seeks to build up its Airship corps by recruiting Lou Remington, a former Navy pilot, to help run the program. His mission is to keep the peace, keep everyone focused, and build the greatest and safest Airship Program. As expected, it is politics, lust, greed, personal gain, and more that help derail and jeopardize this program.

The author, David Dennington, crafts a creative story of the British Empire’s drive to build the safest and largest Airshipmen Program ever. Dennington accurately details the emotional, mental, and physical drive the characters each faced to accomplish this as well as the stumbling blocks Lou Remington experiences in this venture. I found the opening prologue to be very powerful and set the appropriate stage for the tone of the book. The frustration specifically. The storyline is well developed, presented, and blended smoothly with the historical pieces as well. With a strong author, David Dennington provides enough background, action, and dialogue for the listeners to feel the pain of the characters as well as become emotionally connected.

The narrator, Lauren Dennington, captures and projects the emotional feelings and essences of each character accurately and believably with her voice. I enjoyed listening to her perform. Her delivery is even and projects the energy of each scene and interaction believably as well. I can actually feel the loss, pain, anger, and frustration vividly through the author’s descriptions and Lauren’s performance.

This is a powerful book with intense insight into historical events with a realistic feel. Highly recommend.
There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook.