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Black Sheep Squadron #1
The Black Sheep Squadron: Devil In The Slot
TV tie-in paperback
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
About the author
Michael Jahn
67 books14 followersI'm a reporter, photographer, and professional novelist. A newspaperman's son, I began my daily newspaper career at The New York Times, where I was hired in 1968 to cover the music beat (folk, blues, and rock), making me the first full-time rock journalist for major media.
That made me well-enough known (or notorious, maybe) so that a few years on I switched to writing fiction, mostly detective novels, and have published 50 books, one of which won the prestigious Edgar Award.
In reviewing "Night Rituals" (1982), the New Yorker wrote that "Jahn writes with a flourish that is entirely his own." And they didn't say "and he can keep it too" so I've been using that quote ever since.
Right now (2012) I'm publishing Kindle editions of my critically acclaimed Bill Donovan Mysteries, which I published from 1982 to 2008. Up so far: "Murder in Coney Island," "Murder in Central Park," "Murder on Theatre Row," "Murder on the Waterfront," and "Murder at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine" (originally published as "City of God"). My Edgar winner, "The Quark Maneuver," also is up in Kindle.
I've begun writing a memoir, not so much of me but of my very unusual ancestors, who had this Forest Gumpian ability to find themselves standing next to fame or infamy. An ancestor on the Spanish side, a sailor, went to Japan with Perry, fought in the Civil War under Farragut (and, I like to think, was the man the Admiral was thinking about when he hollered "Damn the torpedoes ... full speed ahead!"), and later helped rescue a man-eating meteorologist who was frozen in the Arctic ice. My newspaperman dad survived a car chase with Dutch Schultz and drank bourbon on a transcontinental train with Harry Truman.
I'll write about all this stuff. Wouldn't you? The working title is "Told to Me by a Sailor who Died (I'll Never Know if the Bastard Lied)."
I live in New York City.
That made me well-enough known (or notorious, maybe) so that a few years on I switched to writing fiction, mostly detective novels, and have published 50 books, one of which won the prestigious Edgar Award.
In reviewing "Night Rituals" (1982), the New Yorker wrote that "Jahn writes with a flourish that is entirely his own." And they didn't say "and he can keep it too" so I've been using that quote ever since.
Right now (2012) I'm publishing Kindle editions of my critically acclaimed Bill Donovan Mysteries, which I published from 1982 to 2008. Up so far: "Murder in Coney Island," "Murder in Central Park," "Murder on Theatre Row," "Murder on the Waterfront," and "Murder at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine" (originally published as "City of God"). My Edgar winner, "The Quark Maneuver," also is up in Kindle.
I've begun writing a memoir, not so much of me but of my very unusual ancestors, who had this Forest Gumpian ability to find themselves standing next to fame or infamy. An ancestor on the Spanish side, a sailor, went to Japan with Perry, fought in the Civil War under Farragut (and, I like to think, was the man the Admiral was thinking about when he hollered "Damn the torpedoes ... full speed ahead!"), and later helped rescue a man-eating meteorologist who was frozen in the Arctic ice. My newspaperman dad survived a car chase with Dutch Schultz and drank bourbon on a transcontinental train with Harry Truman.
I'll write about all this stuff. Wouldn't you? The working title is "Told to Me by a Sailor who Died (I'll Never Know if the Bastard Lied)."
I live in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 29, 2024
A tie-in novel to the 1976-78 TV series that starred Robert Conrad as real-life Medal of Honor winner Pappy Boyington. Boyington commanded a squadron of fighter planes in the Solomons in late 1943 until January 1944, when he was shot down and captured. He was credited with shooting down 28 Japanese planes.
The TV show was very much a fictional version of the Black Sheep squadron. In fact, several real-life members were appalled at being portrayed as drunken, ill-disciplined misfits. In the TV show, Conrad's version of Boyington deliberately recruits misfit pilots. In real life, the squadron was formed from a pool of replacement pilots.
But the show made no pretense of being realistic (Real-life Boyington called it fiction, though he liked it and had a small role as a general in a few early episodes). Also, Conrad was the only one playing a real person--the other pilots in the TV show were all fictional. I only saw one or two episodes and remember thinking they were fun. I actually don't know why I didn't watch it regularly, since as a child & teenager, I would watch anything with a WW2 setting regardless of quality. My local library has the DVDs--now that I've read this book, I kind of want to see what I think of the series as a grown-up.
The book is a novelization of two episodes, combined into one story. Since both episodes involve a Japanese ace who had become Boyington's nemesis, the author is able to do this smoothly. It climaxes with Boyington and the enemy pilot agreeing to meet each other for a one-on-one duel in the skies over the Solomon Islands. The two men have come to respect one another, but are dedicated to trying to kill one another.
Mixed in with this are a few character arcs. Another pilot, after being shot down, gets the jitters and is unable to fly effectively. An ill-tempered sergeant, who has no respect for officers, arrives at the airbase to be the new head mechanic. In both cases, Boyington has to figure out the best way to deal with the problems and both situations tie in to the main plot to an extent. There's another subplot about an efficiency expert visiting the squadron, but this adds nothing to the overall story. I'm guessing the actor in that particular episode aimed for comic relief, but the character falls flat in the novel.
Overall, it's an entertaining novel, though the premise of two pilots eventually fighting a duel is so similar to Martin Caidin's superb 1974 novel "The Last Dogfight" that its impossible not to compare the two. "The Last Dogfight" (like most of Caidin's fiction, inexcusably out-of-print) is a brilliant work of fiction with the aerial action described in intense, edge-of-your-seat terms. "Devil in the Slot" is very much in the minor leagues compared to it. But minor league games are still worthwhile.
The TV show was very much a fictional version of the Black Sheep squadron. In fact, several real-life members were appalled at being portrayed as drunken, ill-disciplined misfits. In the TV show, Conrad's version of Boyington deliberately recruits misfit pilots. In real life, the squadron was formed from a pool of replacement pilots.
But the show made no pretense of being realistic (Real-life Boyington called it fiction, though he liked it and had a small role as a general in a few early episodes). Also, Conrad was the only one playing a real person--the other pilots in the TV show were all fictional. I only saw one or two episodes and remember thinking they were fun. I actually don't know why I didn't watch it regularly, since as a child & teenager, I would watch anything with a WW2 setting regardless of quality. My local library has the DVDs--now that I've read this book, I kind of want to see what I think of the series as a grown-up.
The book is a novelization of two episodes, combined into one story. Since both episodes involve a Japanese ace who had become Boyington's nemesis, the author is able to do this smoothly. It climaxes with Boyington and the enemy pilot agreeing to meet each other for a one-on-one duel in the skies over the Solomon Islands. The two men have come to respect one another, but are dedicated to trying to kill one another.
Mixed in with this are a few character arcs. Another pilot, after being shot down, gets the jitters and is unable to fly effectively. An ill-tempered sergeant, who has no respect for officers, arrives at the airbase to be the new head mechanic. In both cases, Boyington has to figure out the best way to deal with the problems and both situations tie in to the main plot to an extent. There's another subplot about an efficiency expert visiting the squadron, but this adds nothing to the overall story. I'm guessing the actor in that particular episode aimed for comic relief, but the character falls flat in the novel.
Overall, it's an entertaining novel, though the premise of two pilots eventually fighting a duel is so similar to Martin Caidin's superb 1974 novel "The Last Dogfight" that its impossible not to compare the two. "The Last Dogfight" (like most of Caidin's fiction, inexcusably out-of-print) is a brilliant work of fiction with the aerial action described in intense, edge-of-your-seat terms. "Devil in the Slot" is very much in the minor leagues compared to it. But minor league games are still worthwhile.
May 10, 2020
Mike Jahn does as good a job as he can novelizing a pair of scripts from this lackluster TV series. One critic called the show "war is swell", which pretty much sums up the attitude of the series. The fliers in this book are juvenile, drunken idiots who, from time to time, get their acts together to shoot down enemy planes - quite bloodlessly, because it's a Steven J. Cannell show in which people walk away unhurt from the most appalling crashes.
March 28, 2019
Good History of the Black Sheep Squadron. Should be read in conjunction with Baa Baa Black Sheep by Pappy Boyington.
June 4, 2016
A fun and quick read! If you enjoyed the TV series "Black Sheep Squadron" (originally known as "Baa Baa Black Sheep") then you'll likely enjoy this read. In fact, this novel - first in a series of only two that were written by Michael Jahn in the late 1970's - is actually based upon 2 scripts from the original TV series "Devil in the Slot" and "The Fastest Gun". Although those episodes didn't originally air back-to-back, the two stories connect quite logically in novel form and work cohesively together.
While this novel doesn't really add anything new that wasn't already in the episode itself, there are some subtle touches. MINOR SPOILER ALERT. For example, at one point the Black Sheep's executive officer, Jim Gutterman, relates (in his thoughts) to a fellow Black Sheep's fear of being shot down, as Gutterman himself was recently shot down. This brief moment occurs in the storyline of the episode "The Fastest Gun" but references events from the previous story "Devil in the Slot". Again, these episodes weren't directly connected in the TV series (separated by 6 episodes or so in between). But the novel designs the events of these two storylines to be consecutive, which allows for some cohesion between the two storylines. Although its pretty clear in the book where one episode's storyline ends and the next begins, the stories do work well back-to-back. Don't go looking for any expanded scenes or deep added insight into the characters. John Tiger's "Mission Impossible" and "I Spy" novels still hold the gold standard for what TV tie-in novels can truly be when adding subtle characterization while still remaining true to the feel of their source series.
Nevertheless the characters in this Black Sheep Squadron book ring true and it reads just like the episodes its based upon. In short it "feels" just like the Black Sheep Squadron TV show but in novel form. Which honestly makes for a great weekend diversion. It also leaves me wishing there were more than only 2 books in this series.
While this novel doesn't really add anything new that wasn't already in the episode itself, there are some subtle touches. MINOR SPOILER ALERT. For example, at one point the Black Sheep's executive officer, Jim Gutterman, relates (in his thoughts) to a fellow Black Sheep's fear of being shot down, as Gutterman himself was recently shot down. This brief moment occurs in the storyline of the episode "The Fastest Gun" but references events from the previous story "Devil in the Slot". Again, these episodes weren't directly connected in the TV series (separated by 6 episodes or so in between). But the novel designs the events of these two storylines to be consecutive, which allows for some cohesion between the two storylines. Although its pretty clear in the book where one episode's storyline ends and the next begins, the stories do work well back-to-back. Don't go looking for any expanded scenes or deep added insight into the characters. John Tiger's "Mission Impossible" and "I Spy" novels still hold the gold standard for what TV tie-in novels can truly be when adding subtle characterization while still remaining true to the feel of their source series.
Nevertheless the characters in this Black Sheep Squadron book ring true and it reads just like the episodes its based upon. In short it "feels" just like the Black Sheep Squadron TV show but in novel form. Which honestly makes for a great weekend diversion. It also leaves me wishing there were more than only 2 books in this series.
Read
March 26, 2014good ol' bunch of 'misfit' Marines getting it done, integrity / code of ethics / respect & honesty outright. No real thrill or mystery, but a nice quick read. Took me a minute to get the reference of "Doris Day" and "Mae West" as the life/survival vests the airmen wore.
January 17, 2008
Trying to ride the fanfare of the Black Sheep Squadron, this book is a quick and poorly written book. If you can get tyhrough it, you can probably read one in an afternon.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews