It has been nearly two years since I read Hadfield's first novel, The Apollo
Murders, a book I thoroughly enjoyed. While scrolling through the Kindle store,
The Defector showed up on the list of books I might also like. Outside
of the book being written by Hadfield, I was attracted by the cover art.
I got into this story and found it to be a lightening paced tale of intrigue
in a fascinating setting. It grabbed me from the opening and didn't let me down
at all. Hadfield's writing style is like authors I enjoyed who wrote books
during the 1970s and 1980s when I was deep into reading military Science
Fiction. Set during the Cold War, a time when tensions were high between the
world's superpowers, it feels plausible. It is written to be a believable idea
with solid characters who the reader can care about. The backdrops used to
paint pictures in the mind's eye provide completeness to the story, and I think
this is a must read for those who enjoy stories of espionage and intrigue.
As Israel prepares for the Yom Kippur war of October 1973, a Russian pilot
stationed in Syria climbs aboard his MiG 25 Foxbat on an apparent routine
flight. Celebrated Soviet pilot, Alexander Vasilyevich Abramovich, known as
Grief, flies his MiG to the Lod Airport (now known as the Ben Gurion
International Airport) and lands creating quite a stir. To top that off, he
pops the canopy and announces his desire to defect to the United States.
Former fighter pilot and astronaut candidate, Kazimieras (Kaz) Zimeckis of
the US Navy is brought in to aid in discovering if Grief's claim to defect is
legitimate When it is determined Grief is telling the truth, he and his
aircraft are taken to Groom Lake, Nevada, which is also known as Area 51, as
well as many other names.
There the plane is deconstructed and Grief shares secrets about his craft
with the scientists and engineers. Grief also learns about other aircraft and
happenings at the top-secret airbase and becomes friends with several personnel
there.
It isn't long before things start to go a little sideways and problems
arise. Discoveries are made, and not all of them are good.
There are two principal characters in this story.
First there is Kazimieras Zemeckis commonly known as Kaz. In Hadfield's
first novel, The Apollo Murders, we met Kaz, a test pilot and astronaut
candidate. In that story, Kaz lost sight in one eye when he struck a bird that
came through his canopy. He continues working as a commander in the US Navy
without flight status. He is a levelheaded man who likes to get to the bottom
of problems. When he is assigned to keep an eye on the Soviet defector, he
takes on the job with vigor. After all, there are numerous secrets to be
learned from both the defector and his aircraft. One of Kaz's best qualities is
to stay cool under fire and work problems until he finds solutions. This
character reminds me a lot of Dirk Pitt, one of Clive Cussler's favorite
characters, but Kaz is far more believable as a real human being.
The defector, Alexander Vasilyevich Abramovich is identified in the book
going by his call sign, Grief. He is a Soviet top pilot, well respected by his
peers in the service. It would seem unlikely he would be one to defect, but
according to his story, he just wants to go to the United States and fly the
best planes in the world. That's his story, but he has a much deeper story he
isn't telling.
The funny thing about Grief is, he is a likable guy, and he gets along well
with the engineers at Groom Lake. But we also learn he has a stone-cold,
ruthless side to him, and when that is revealed in the book, it's weird, but
one might almost find themselves rooting for his success, but only to a point.
My favorite point of plot in this story is how the author uses the Yom
Kippur War of 1973. It was a conflict in which a coalition of Arab states led
by Syria and Egypt made it their goal to take back Israeli held lands on the
border between Egypt and Israel on the Sinai Pennsula and the Golan Heights. In
this story, the Israelis are monitoring troop buildups along their held
territories and are planning their response. Things are thrown into chaos when
Grief lands his MiG in a major airport on Israeli soil. I this story, we get a
close look at the Prime Minister Golda Meir and her Minister of Defense, Moshe
Dayan. I remember hearing those names in 1973 when I was much younger, still in
my teens. There isn't a great deal about the war in the rest of the story, but
for those who remember those days and the tensions in the world, it did well in
setting the attitudes of the characters in the book.
My takeaway from The Defector is to remember that a gift can
sometimes be a Trojan Horse. A Soviet pilot gives his advanced fighter to the
enemy and wants nothing more than to fly the US's most advanced aircraft in
return. Well, as the story unfolds, Grief wants much more than the freedom to
fly, he has been sent on a mission of espionage, and he has some support, but
mostly has to rely on his own wits, which he seems to have in ample supply.
This was a great spy story written much like those I read in the 1970s by
Cussler and others in the genre. The characters are realistic and there are
relevant historical references to help shape them and their attitudes. The
action in this book starts with the first page and continues through the entire
book to the end. I read this in just a few days because I couldn't put it down.
This story is intense on various levels, with many humorous moments, and there
is also plenty of violent action. While I wouldn't call this a purely Science
Fiction novel, there are numerous elements of science and advanced engineering.
From the author, as a former astronaut, test pilot, and fighter pilot, we get a
lot of factual perspective, but it is presented in a way that the technical
aspects don't get in the way of the story.
This is the second book of The Apollo Murders Series, but it reads very well as a stand alone novel.
All in all, this story was a satisfying and fun read. I recommend The
Defector to those who enjoy Military Sci-Fi as well as stories of
espionage.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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