A Military-Aviation Thriller - The Devil Dragon Pilot

As an aviation buff, I enjoyed the read. But seriously, the premise was good, that storyline was well told, but when it came to the actual execution of the caper, and the ending, I had to roll my eyes. Unbelievable, and sappy. I understand Cheese was carrier qualified, so you would think his story about stealing a foreign stealth plane that overflies a land base, to land on a carrier, without the mention of any ICLS or even an ILS heads up display in the Devildragon...or a tailhook?III?

Could be a fun Bruce Willis movie......but hard to read if you know anything about aviation or national security.....or if you have any common sense. The plot is ridiculous....so farfetched as to be laughable, and its hard to stay engaged. Full of undeveloped, simple characters. But at least the ending was fun!

This book was not my cup-of-tea. I gather this book might appeal to someone who has a more direct interest inthe technical apsects of flying, and flying as related to military related activities. I had to work very heard to get to the end of this book. This book is no longer part of my library. Sorry, nope!

A very good 1st novel. Great plot, plenty of technofun for nerds like me, and likeable characters (even if they have some rough edges). I sincerely enjoyed it. It seems to be a kind of modern variation on Firefox.

I do have a couple of suggestions for the author that would make it even better:
The characters are likeable, but they need more development. The relationships are too easy. You need to have a little more disagreement/conflict for them to feel real. This is especially true of the Ford/Emily relationship. For example, when they first discuss Ford's big mission, Emily seems to have no hesitations at all about her soulmate heading off on a very risky and dangerous mission. There should have been more struggle over this.
Use caution when writing from the POV of characters from other countries/cultures. There is a very fine line between inserting local color, and unintended cultural stereotyping, . This is very hard to pull off convincingly, even if you have some experience with the cultures in question. You ran into this to varying degrees both with Wu and with Emily, and it could possibly alienate some readers. Best regards, and I look forward to your next novel.

The issues with editing have been corrected in this outstanding first effort military thriller. Lawrence Colby clearly has a future in this genre. The way the story developed and intertwined kept me engaged and wanting to see what happened next.
I particularly enjoyed a smart, tough woman as one of the main characters as well.
The story could not be more timely or relevant. It highlights the struggles we face (as the U.S.) staying ahead of the technology bow wave. I am looking forward to the next book.

I absolutely enjoyed reading this book, the perverbial one you can't put down! The characters were well done and believable and the premise and technical aspects were enjoyable. The emotional ending was stunning! It's been a long time since I reacted emotionally to a book the way I did to this one. Maybe this former active duty Marine is getting softer as I'm getting older, but it's also a testament to the quality of the writing.I believe most people who like these kind of novels will enjoy The Devil Dragon Pilot.

Author was apparently well read in the workings of our government. Also on our technology and how all of the things they can do together to accomplish the impossible. Story a bit overloaded with convenient coincidences! Also throws a liberal liberal volume of roadblocks and then overcomes them with an unlikely series of recoveries. Lastly, after 27 years active duty in the US Army, I don't think you would prefer to a Navy E6 as Chief! If memory serves me right a Chief would be a senior NC0 or an E7, E8, or an E9.

Wow. This was just a great ride and old-fashioned fun. The author clearly knows both the military aviation and intelligence worlds. He provides the right amount of technical information and mechanics for the reader to understand what is happening with an aircraft or communications system, but without going into so much detail that a layman gets lost. The characters were well developed and likable. The story had a logical and exciting flow that did not lose itself in needless tangents or character angst. I'm looking forward to the sequel.

I enjoyed this book. It started a bit slow but picked up and kept my interest. The writer includes a lot of detail and descriptions of people, places, and things that tends to get old. Then at one point his facts were so incorrect it made me question all the other details he was providing.

On page 370 of 584
Paragraph states “… Captain Gabe Peoples partnered Ford with an E-6, a senior chief by rank, to ensure…”
A Senior Chief is an E-8, not an E-6 and that’s something that should not be mistaken and could easily be researched with Google.
In the next paragraph there is a statement that, “Tosca’s rank, used solely by SEAL’s, is …” The rank is Senior Chief, the rate is Special Warfare Operator, not Special Warfare Officer. So the pay grade is E-8, the rank is Senior Chief, which is not considered an officer but are senior Non-Commissioned Officers, and the rate in this case is Special Warfare Operator.
The designation of E-1, or E-6, etc. is a pay grade. In the Navy and Coast Guard the pay grade E-8 is called a Senior Chief, which is the rank. The rate is Special Warfare Operator.
Page 502 of 584
The writer referrers to, “... chief petty officer of the ship...” The person who he is referring to is more accurately called the Command Master Chief, and on submarines more often called the Chief of the Boat. .
A Chief Petty Officer is pay grade E-7 and a Master Chief if pay grade E-9.

Considering all of the detailed explanation the writer goes through in this book I would like to think he could get this correct. Messing it up as bad as he did shows a total lack of understanding of the Navy enlisted rank/rate structure and puts all facts listed in the story in question.

A brilliant read with unforgettable plotlines. Lawrence “Cheese” Colby has found the perfect mix of action, suspense and drama shrouded in authenticity not often found in works of fiction. His research is profound and his ability to synthesize complex aviation, military and intelligence technical details into easy to understand lay-person’s terms adds to the realism of the novel.

I couldn’t put the book down and found myself wanting to know more about what happens next to the heroes and villains (hence the “Volume 1” reference on the store). Cheese does a phenomenal job developing characters over decades while bridging stories through ingenious plot arcs with unexpected twists! His protagonists are the type of people you want be friends with while completely trusting their competence in our national security matters.

I appreciate the ingenuity and clever plot, knowing that I am reading a work of fiction and did not expect the book to be too immersed in reality (I would pick up a few good newspapers to satiate that urge). Rather, Cheese perfectly stretches my imagination while providing a comfortable escape from the everyday actuality of life. This is a must read for anyone fascinated by aviation, the military or our intelligence community!

Wow, I gave this five stars because I found myself looking at the clock at 3:30 am and could not put the book down. Haven't had this good of a read in awhile.
Which as any of us now China or any ! major power would never let any high value project go with out giving chase, and what happened to General Chen????.

This was an amazing story. Unbelievable storyline and fantastic Characters. I really enjoyed the emotional ending and nearly cried myself. Could not put this book down until I read the last page. I rated this book as five stars because it is probably the best book I have read in very long time. Thank you.

TMI is what comes to mind.. reader doesn't need to know EVERY minute technical detail.. this was written like author was being paid by the page count. It could have been a nice, engaging read at half the size.. but want to add it was well written and delivered just what it promised and never any side plots.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to the sequel. It was one of those books that I couldn't put down as I got into it... finding myself "racing" through the end, so much so that I went back and read the last 20% right after I finished it to pick-up on the things that I might have missed in my hurry to find out what happens.

Great plot - fun topic. Lots of good and true data on the aircraft and CONOPS for missions. Great character development and good detail on each person's background - really get to know the characters.
One draw back - the ending was too abrupt - wanted more on what happened after the mission was completed.

Lawrence “Cheese” Colby has written a thriller. I really enjoyed reading this book. I’m a retired Naval Officer and have flown tactical jets and have served in many Air and Maritime Operations Centers and find this book very descriptive of life on the tip of the spear. The action is great and the characters in this novel are awesome. I strongly recommend The Devil Dragon Pilot, it will entertain you. Sierra Hotel, Cheese!

Mark Crissman, CDR USNR ret

What an amazing read. As a college student, I rarely have the time to read an entire book that isn't school related, but this one captivated me so much, I could barely put it down. The action and drama combined with the technical accuracies and emotions were awesome and intriguing. By the end of the book, I felt a connection with the characters and even found myself imagining which real world actors would be able to play the parts... I highly recommend this book!

To be honest I do not read much but once I started reading this book I could not put it down. I loved the details the author provided throughout the book. The book combined action, drama, military history and compassion all in a single helping. I am glad the author didn't go down the romance path because there were a few times it seemed like it could have gone in that direction. I can not wait for the next book.

A "good" read; well written, with a generally intriguing plot. Three-stars because it seemed to primarily dwell on rather intricate, lengthy and (I thought) elaborately embellished internal ponderings of/by the various characteristics; for a "techno-thriller" interestingly little time / effort was spent developing, or elaborating on the actual technology? And, thou no real tech-detail was presented, some of what WAS seemed to me, curiously inaccurate? I'm retired military / civil cockpit, and I found myself 'cringing' a bit, at times. One small example was "welders quickly cutting the wings off"; I found myself thinking "wings loaded with fuel, or fuel-vapor "; what an opportunity for a major explosion... would have liked to have seen more detail on the Chinese stealth airplane technology, perhaps using some of the paragraph space spent elaborating on how the characters "feel". That said, I personally couldn't write myself out of a paper-bag, so .... "grain of salt" might aptly be implied?

Colby's characters, reserve Air Force pilot, Ford Stevens and Chinese Air Force pilot Wu Lee are life long friends; who manage to do the impossible. The plot is great, the action non stop, both lead characters are tops in their respective fields, and if their feat actually happened, it totally was kept from the public and showed what our military and our intelligence agencies are really capable of doing. Anxious to see what happens next in Black Scorpion novel. Thanks for letting me get to know a new author. If you enjoy military stories, this is one to read.

This is a hard book to rate. The plot and the story are very interesting (probably 4.5 stars), the technical details are really good (5 stars), but the writing is in need of another round of editing that adheres to the "less is more" principle, not only on the sentence level but the paragraph level as well. It would make the prose more snappy and crisp. The author clearly knows his material and writes about flying as only a military pilot can, but there is material that would be better left out of the book. The realism aspect (as in, "this could really happen") was strained, but it's fiction after all and the strength of the story made up for this deficit.

The net effect is that in the first chapter or three I was tempted to abandon the book, but as the plot unfolded I got caught up into the story. It's a fun book. If you decide to read it, hang in there and you will ultimately be rewarded with a good tale.

Generally speaking this story was enjoyable to read. The story covers the character's personal and professional lives. While there are many developments that are exciting and adventurous there are too many times where the story seems to stall because of information not really pertinent to the story's theme. The author could have spent a little less on character background and more on depth and detail in the areas of action and adventure. Those areas that really grip your attention seem to leave you wondering and wanting more detail. Overall, if you can't find something that peaks your interest then read this book.

Generally speaking this story was enjoyable to read. The story covers the character's personal and professional lives. While there are many developments that are exciting and adventurous there are too many times where the story seems to stall because of information not really pertinent to the story's theme. The author could have spent a little less on character background and more on depth and detail in the areas of action and adventure. Those areas that really grip your attention seem to leave you wondering and wanting more detail. Overall, if you can't find something that peaks your interest then read this book.

A story that could well be true. Two kids growing up together. Two Countries, one mindset. A touching tale of friendship across thousands of miles. Aircraft designed to do most anything. Yet only the friendship will survive.

Neither fish nor fowl. Plot is very predictable. Quickness of events is not believable. No real description of the supposed "Stealth Bomber". Carrier ops are out of someone's imagination. From personal experience, DIA or not , no 3 civilians would ever be up
on the flight deck, let alone the CIC.

The Devil Dragon Pilot is a great story of two men who both served their countries as their lives intertwined. Written by Lawrence "Cheese" Colby (disclosure: I served with him in the Marines) with an obvious insiders edge, this book is a worthy addition to any thrill junkie's library. Semper Fi.

First time a read a novel by Mr. Colby. I really enjoyed it. Great story and I had tough tie putting down. Highly recommended reading this book. Looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

Great read! Colby weaves a fantastic storyline for the aviation enthusiast. He also captures the complex nature of the national command structure and how complex problems may be tackled at the highest levels of power. Highly recommended!

Way too much explanations. These seem to be add in from the editor to fill space.
Please contact Dale Brown or Clive Cuddler for help. The political statement on page 273 about the 1% is not needed.

Somewhat similar to an earlier story and movie, that had an air force officer stealing a Russian aeroplane. Too many coincidences that just seemed to happen and unbelievable civilian, military, goverment agency cooperation.

Sorry, just a terrible book. I'll give any book one incredibly unlikely coincidence, but when I lose count of them, forget it. I got about half-way through and even the tech got ridiculous. No idea how this book got 4+ stars.