Airship Nine

by Thomas Block

This is the original version of Airship Nine; see the Kindle or current paperback version for the edited and updated version!

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, War, Thriller

286 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Thomas Block has written a number of aviation-oriented novels, many which have gone on to acquire best-seller status in numerous countries. His novel writing began with the publication of "Mayday" in 1979. That novel was rewritten with his boyhood friend, novelist Nelson DeMille in 1998 and remains on DeMille's extensive backlist. "Mayday" became a CBS Movie of the Week in October, 2005.

Several of the other novels by Block include "Orbit" (a top bestseller in Germany, among other nations), "Airship Nine", "Forced Landing" (also done as a radio serialization drama in Japan), "Skyfall", "Open Skies" and "Captain". Thomas Block is still writing both fiction and non-fiction, and has edited and updated his earlier novels into ebooks in all the major formats and also into new full-sized (trade soft cover) printed versions.

Block's magazine writing began in 1968 and over the next five decades his work has appeared in numerous publications. He worked 20 years at FLYING Magazine as Contributing Editor, and as Contributing Editor to Plane & Pilot Magazine for 11 years. Block became Editor-at-Large for Piper Flyer Magazine and Cessna Flyer Magazine in 2001. During his long career as an aviation writer he has written on a wide array of subjects that range from involvement with government officials to evaluation reports on most everything that flies.

An airline pilot for US Airways for over 36 years before his retirement in April, 2000, Captain Thomas Block has been a pilot since 1959. Since 2002, he has lived on a ranch in Florida with his wife Sharon where they board, compete and train horses. Complete information (including direct links to booksellers) is available at http://www.ThomasBlockNovels.com or through the author’s additional website at http://www.FlyingB-Ranch.com. For Facebook users, complete information about Thomas Block Novels can also be found at two interlinked Facebook sites:
http://www.Facebook.com/Captain.by.Th...
http://www.Facebook.com/ThomasBlockNo....

Reviews

[Paul Weiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

A typical but enjoyable lightweight techno-thriller!

The premise of Thomas Block's AIRSHIP NINE is hardly new (in fact, one might even quip that it's been done to death). But, we all know the devil is in the details and Block has produced an eminently readable techno-thriller and a noteworthy, strong statement about the futility of war and the insanity of "mutually assured destruction" as a defense policy. Those readers familiar with his other novels, MAYDAY, FORCED LANDING and ORBIT will enjoy the continuing theme of aviation technology. This time the focus is on Airship Nine, a futuristic commercial dirigible carrying both cargo and passengers over the Antarctic during the nuclear accident that turns the rest of the world into a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

When the hammer falls and nuclear fires devastate the earth, the only other survivors are the crew of the Soviet ship Primorye and the residents of the scientific camps located on the ground in the Antarctic. The story quite obviously rests with how the surviving Americans and Russians choose to perceive themselves - enemies to the death in a continuing World War or allies in a struggle for survival after a war that should never have happened in the first place.

Well done, Thomas Block! A high speed enjoyable read in an extremely interesting setting that allowed you to include social studies, geography, science, technology, action and a moral statement as well!

Paul Weiss

[chhaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kellemes kis posztapokaliptikus thriller arról, mi történhetne néhány tucatnyi túlélővel egy globális atomháború után… A szokottól eltérő, izgalmas helyszínt biztosít egy amerikai léghajó, egy szovjet szállítóhajó, valamint kényszerű úti céljuk, az Antarktisz (mivel egyedül csak ott maradt sugárzásmentes és élhető a bolygó). Adjunk hozzá néhány tipikus karaktert (a zaklatott, ám felelős döntést hozni akaró vezető, az elkényeztetett ficsúr, az összetört szívű szőke, a megalomán sz@rkavaró, az elmaradhatatlan fekete, stb.), tegyük őket felváltva váratlan és klisés helyzetekbe, és már kész is az egyszerű, rövid kikapcsolódást nyújtó történet. A stílusa amúgy kifejezetten tetszett, olvastatja magát.

[Ben Savage · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yes it takes place over the skies of Antarctica, but the Russkies are one dimensional, the women are equally flat, everyone dies in the prologue, the sexual scenes feel forced and unnecessary, ( not that I use that as criteria but they were REALLY BAD) Polyism is not subtly or carefully hinted at, just with a flaming cannonball of apparent self righteousness- * deep breath* and the logisitics of McMurdo to the South Pole is casually glossed over ( pre Traverse I grant you but STILL) and a final death is really, really out of place.

[Robin Pike · Rating 3 out of 5]

O enredo acompanha os tripulantes e passageiros de um dirigível, a Aeronave Nove, e os passageiros e tripulantes do navio soviético Primorye. Ambos os grupos encontram-se perto da Antártida, e chegam à conclusão que a estação americana de McMurdo é a sua melhor hipótese de sobreviverem ao desastre nuclear que se está a difundir pelo planeta.

Para uma "rant" um bocadinho maior (só mesmo um bocadinho): https://rpike.blogspot.com/2021/12/ae...

[Matthew Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light and speedy thriller fare; good for besides the pool.

[João C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't finish. Read 1/3 of the book and I just got bored...

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dystopian Ice Station Zebra