The Aviator Omnibus

The Aviator and The Warfighter (The Aviator: Stories of Future Wars Series, Books 1 and 2)

By: Craig DiLouie

Narrated by: Garrett Michael Brown

Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

In The Aviator, Navy fighter pilot Jack Knapp reports to the aircraft carrier Independence for his first deployment in the Pacific. As a “nugget”, he must learn the ropes and gain acceptance among the tight-knit tribe of the squadron called the Gargoyles. Soon, war erupts, and everything he learned will be tested in high-speed aerial combat in the Philippine Sea and over Taiwan.

In The Warfighter, Jack returns to Independence, which is now bound for war games in South Korea. Once aboard, he must contend with a tough new commander and a failed romance. When a series of mishaps and miscalculations results in the outbreak of war in the Koreas, he finds himself back in combat with even greater stakes involving nuclear weapons.

The Aviator series is the tale of an ordinary man doing an extraordinary job in sometimes impossible circumstances. It’s about survival, combat, the stories we tell about war, and the debt that people in the military owe each other and those they lose. Gritty and realistic, the Aviator series takes you onto an aircraft carrier and into the cockpit of an F/A-18 Super Hornet in incredible battles with the existence of nations and the global order at stake.

©2021 Craig DiLouie (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing

Quick pace

I liked it but did not love it.
This was my third, after Armor and Crash Dive series. I missed the dialogues frim those series, which were mostly replaced by monologues from the main character.
Still fast paced, insight into military tactics and mindset, but not as endearing as the WWII series.

Mostly impressive.

I have enjoyed Dilouie's other works and found this one to be enjoyable as well. The book sounded a bit "preachy" on a couple of occasions with regards to the topic of war but that wouldn't discourage me from recommending it.

fantastic story well-red

One of the best war stories and best narrations have come across in a long long time a must read or a must listen

Great entertainment

I seldom write a full review, but if you want something very entertaining this is it. Read very well on audible

Fun liste

It is an entertaing series. it contains some mistakes that will make you cringe a bit if you are a bit familiar with aviation lingo and procedures but it is still enjoyable.

But I miss the dialogues and character development you can find on the crash dive or armor series from the same author. I enjoyed those books more.

outstanding at every level. !

Outstanding story. Narrated exceptionally. The almost playful tone added another layer of entertainment I wasn't expecting.

Well done

I fully enjoyed these two military thrillers. Excellent story, excellent characters, and well done narration.

A fun listen

The author does a great job of character development. The characters are relatable and it’s very easy to find yourself rooting for the main character. The narrator does a fantastic job with a fun story. Highly recommend. I will listen to these stories again.

A USAF point of view

I am a retired USAF WSO/EWO, in ancient times I flew the F-4G, F-111A, and EF-111A.

I really enjoyed this novel. I liked that the Hero suffered from imposter syndrome, which many pilots and WSOs do, at first anyway. He's pretty modest by fighter pilot standards.

Having flown from Japan, the Philippines, and Korea the future wars in Taiwan and Korea hit home. The author's scenario was fairly realistic, although some of his weapons selections would be inappropriate these days. The radio chatter and dogfight descriptions are surprisingly accurate.

In this novel the wars are won by carriers, with little mention of the Air Force at all, except for some nice words about A-10s. I guess a Squid would say that. ;)

One thing that bothered me a little that I hope isn't really present in real Navy squadrons is the amount of hazing and ass chewing that goes in Dilouie's Navy. Every military unit has that to some extent, but it's way over the top in these squadrons.

Air Force Commanders do not yell at their subordinates, at least I never saw that. If a Commander needs to leave by yelling then he is probably not going to last long in the USAF. Typically when they get quiet is when you need to worry. They can be stern, but in the USAF we try to be professional without being assholes.

Incompetent commanders are rare but they are in this book, They do occur, even in the USAF, so I'll allow it.

As near as I can tell, Dilouie has never flown a fighter, or even been in the Navy at all. I have to give him a lot of credit for this being a very well researched work of fiction with a good story.

Wow just wow

This was so so good, I lost sleep listening to this. Performance was outstanding too.