REVIEW: NO HIGHWAY by Nevil Shute
Good story. Nevil Shute’s stories just keep getting better--though my edition by was full of typos (as was Ruined City which was awful). At first, I thought this book about aircraft engineering might be dull. But Shute did not disappoint. He is comfortable telling about his own subject as an expert in aeroplane design, engineering and flying.
A youngish man is put in charge of the British Research Laboratory at Farnborough. He soon learns that one of his employees, a religious eccentric, believes he’s discovered massive faults in a plane that’s recently taken to the skies. Through research he learns the tail could fail after 1400 hours of flight.
Dr. Dennis Scott realizes he has about a 1000 hours to do something before the planes in service fail in the air. It is discovered that one that has crashed over Canada had in fact done almost 1400 hours—since it had been the plane used in testing. Resolving the issue is now urgent and the tension builds nicely.
When Shute describes Mr. Honey, you have to wonder if he is describing some aspects of his own character in a disparaging way. He seems to show sympathy for Mr. Honey, who is a spiritual being, like Shute himself.
I think he may also be describing Barnes Wallis when he references Prendergast who seems like a bit of a tyrant—as one assumes that genius had to be at times. He describes, or I have read, where Wallis used to make himself ill sometimes with the stress of designing and building Airship R100, which he and Nevil Shute were engaged upon – especially due to the song and dance routines of Air Ministry bureaucrats and the Politicians, such as Lord Thomson of Cardington – not to mention the press. Shades of Airship R101 tragedy appear too. High level arguing about airworthiness, profit and prestige at the expense of human life and ambition. The research establishment etc. comes into the story, as it did with the R101 boffins who were not allowed to finish their study of the amended, redesigned airship and come to their conclusions. A whitewash and cover-up was the result.
This story has modern day overtones too: i.e. with the grounding by President Donald J Trump
of 737’s all over the world with profits and prestige affected. Shute talks a lot about psychic phenomena in this book. I had not realized just how far into those subjects he had gone.
The novel seems a little fantastic in parts, but at the end Dr. Scott’s wife tells him he really should write all this down as it will make a good book. I had to wonder if Shute was hinting that much of this story is true? After all, fact is often stranger than fiction. Did he play around with the Ouija board and planchette? Did that happen? We’ll never know.
A youngish man is put in charge of the British Research Laboratory at Farnborough. He soon learns that one of his employees, a religious eccentric, believes he’s discovered massive faults in a plane that’s recently taken to the skies. Through research he learns the tail could fail after 1400 hours of flight.
Dr. Dennis Scott realizes he has about a 1000 hours to do something before the planes in service fail in the air. It is discovered that one that has crashed over Canada had in fact done almost 1400 hours—since it had been the plane used in testing. Resolving the issue is now urgent and the tension builds nicely.
When Shute describes Mr. Honey, you have to wonder if he is describing some aspects of his own character in a disparaging way. He seems to show sympathy for Mr. Honey, who is a spiritual being, like Shute himself.
I think he may also be describing Barnes Wallis when he references Prendergast who seems like a bit of a tyrant—as one assumes that genius had to be at times. He describes, or I have read, where Wallis used to make himself ill sometimes with the stress of designing and building Airship R100, which he and Nevil Shute were engaged upon – especially due to the song and dance routines of Air Ministry bureaucrats and the Politicians, such as Lord Thomson of Cardington – not to mention the press. Shades of Airship R101 tragedy appear too. High level arguing about airworthiness, profit and prestige at the expense of human life and ambition. The research establishment etc. comes into the story, as it did with the R101 boffins who were not allowed to finish their study of the amended, redesigned airship and come to their conclusions. A whitewash and cover-up was the result.
This story has modern day overtones too: i.e. with the grounding by President Donald J Trump
of 737’s all over the world with profits and prestige affected. Shute talks a lot about psychic phenomena in this book. I had not realized just how far into those subjects he had gone.
The novel seems a little fantastic in parts, but at the end Dr. Scott’s wife tells him he really should write all this down as it will make a good book. I had to wonder if Shute was hinting that much of this story is true? After all, fact is often stranger than fiction. Did he play around with the Ouija board and planchette? Did that happen? We’ll never know.
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