In a book club and starting to plan your reads for next year? Check out our 2025 picks.

Excerpt from The Last Pilot by Benjamin Johncock, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reading Guide |  Reviews |  Beyond the Book |  Readalikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

The Last Pilot by Benjamin Johncock

The Last Pilot

by Benjamin Johncock
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus:
  • First Published:
  • Jul 7, 2015, 320 pages
  • Paperback:
  • May 2016, 320 pages
  • Rate this book

  • Buy This Book

About this Book

Print Excerpt


Bright and early.

Gonna be a hell of a day, Pancho said.

Say, hon, Yeager said to Glennis, what say we saddle up a coupla Pancho's best mares an have ourselves a little ride? Damn pretty night, tonight.

Sure, she said, assuming you can catch me.

Yeager watched her stand and leave. He smiled, then followed.

Harrison, Pancho said, come here, would you?

She led him over to the serving hatch and picked up a brown paper package.

Saw Gracie earlier, she said.

She told you?

Pancho nodded.

Couple steaks, she said, handing him the package. Give her a big kiss from me.

Thanks, Pancho.

Get out of here, would you? You're making this place look like a goddamn soup kitchen.

*   *   *

He got home at midnight. The bedroom was dark. Grace breathed into the silence, sleeping on her side. He sat on the edge of the bed, unbuttoned his shirt, unlaced his shoes. He pulled open the curtains. The desert was white. The milky light fell into the room. He felt heavy. He pulled a pack of Luckies from his shirt pocket, tapped it on his leg, put one in his mouth. He reached over to the box of matches on his bedside table. Grace stirred. The flame flared orange on her bare shoulder. He sat and smoked and thought of nothing.

First light was a diesel spill across the sky. The ground was gray. The hard silence of the desert sung. In the main hangar, men worked in old fatigues and brown coveralls. They worked in yellow light. When they got tired, they drank dark coffee from the pot at the back. When they got cold, they smoked cigarettes in the janitor's office. Black leads laid thick across the concrete floor. The X-1 sat quiet in the commotion. Harrison ate a sweet roll, drank hot coffee and watched the men work.

Anyone get that Drene? he said.

We got it, one of the mechanics called out.

Hey, Harrison, got a minute?

It was Yeager.

Sure.

They stepped out of the hangar to talk. It was cold.

Got me a little ol problem, Yeager said. Horse threw me at Pancho's last night. Sorta dinged my goddamn ribs.

What do you mean, sorta dinged?

Well, guess you might say I damn near like to broke a coupla sonsabitches.

You seen a doctor?

Hell, no. I made Glen call out the vet. Taped me up pretty tight. Told me to take it easy an get myself to a doctor. Old man ground me if he found out.

No doubt about that, Harrison said. How's it feelin?

Feels kinda okay now but last night damn near killed me.

Uh-huh.

If this was the first flight, Yeager said, I wouldn't even think about tryin it, but, hell, I know every move I gotta make.

Okay, Harrison said, if you think you can do it, but how in the hell are you gonna lock the cockpit door? That takes some liftin and shovin.

Hadn't thought of that, Yeager said.

Hang on a second, Harrison said. I got an idea.

He walked over to the janitor's office.

Hey, Sam, he said.

Captain Harrison. You look like a man who needs something.

You could say that. You got a broom?

Sure do.

Mind if I borrow it a second? We got a little situation here.

Be my guest, Sam said, nodding to where the broom leaned against the wall. Harrison picked it up and laid it on the table.

Here, he said to Sam. Hold this.

Sam held the end of the handle. Harrison found a saw and cut a foot off the end.

That ought to do it, he said.

Yes, sir, Sam said.

Thanks, Sam. Sorry about the broom.

What you got? Yeager said, as Harrison walked back.

Latest breakthrough in supersonic flight engineering, he said, handing Yeager the broom handle. That'll fit right into the door handle. You can use your left hand to raise it up and shove it locked.

Excerpted from The Last Pilot by Benjamin Johncock. Copyright © 2015 by Benjamin Johncock. Excerpted by permission of Picador. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Beyond the Book:
  The Space Race

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket
    A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens
    by Raul Palma
    Raul Palma's debut novel A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens introduces Hugo Contreras, who came to the ...
  • Book Jacket
    The MANIAC
    by Benjamin Labatut
    The MANIAC by Benjamin Labatut is an ambitious work that falls squarely into the category of fiction...
  • Book Jacket: Blood Test
    Blood Test
    by Charles Baxter
    Brock Hobson is a loving single father, a Sunday School teacher, and an upstanding and honest ...
  • Book Jacket: The Barn
    The Barn
    by Wright Thompson
    The barn doesn't reek of catastrophe at first glance. It is on the southwest quarter of Section 2, ...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Libby Lost and Found
    by Stephanie Booth

    Libby Lost and Found is a book for people who don't know who they are without the books they love.

Who Said...

To win without risk is to triumph without glory

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

H I O the G

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.