By far the best debut novel I've read in years... the beauty of this novel is in the balance of the dialogue; the sustained emotion that runs through the whole; the haiku-like simplicity of the prose… To me, it reads like the reclusive disciple of Cormac McCarthy and Saint-Exupéry.
Joanne Harris
Read full reviewThe author’s grasp of the intricacies of life among test pilots and their perilous pursuit of the demon of speed is striking enough. What gives the novel its emotional lift-off is its portrait of a marriage going wrong, harrowed by the pressures of American machismo and familial loss.
Observer Hidden Gems of 2016
Read full reviewThe Last Pilot made me cry and brought back all my old Right Stuff feels. A brilliant debut. I loved it.
Helen Macdonald
Read full reviewThe Last Pilot nods to some august literary forebears – Tom Wolfe, Raymond Carver, James Salter – and yet moves to an internal beat of its own...its dry, laconic prose is as acute in unpicking the mysteries of marriage and bereavement as it is in conveying the vertiginous limits of ambition and daring.
Anthony Quinn, judging the 2016 Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award
Read full reviewReading Johncock one is reminded of Hemingway, Cormac McCarthy and especially of James Salter's The Hunters... a first-rate novel by a major new talent.
The Spectator
Read full reviewNostalgic and heart-rending... the effect is supercharged Hemingway at 70,000 feet.
Washington Post
Read full reviewBenjamin Johncock is a writer of great craft and integrity. His dialogue is desert-dry, and his sentences crackle with the energy of things unsaid.
Jon McGregor
Read full reviewA remarkable achievement... Johncock weaves a beguiling story... This is a book that hooks the reader from the very first sentence... lit by the fire of 1960s adventure, and also by the blazing beauty of a new literary star.
Boston Globe
Read full reviewA taut domestic drama whose stringent prose evokes the emotional and physical landscape of a time and a place, this is a remarkably accomplished debut.
Mail on Sunday
Often his descriptive writing has a clean grace that recalls Cormac McCarthy... Benjamin Johncock's story and characters take flight: this is a very promising debut.
New Statesman
The writing is machine-cut and spare... like the pilots at this story's centre, Johncock has dared to reach for the stars.
DW Wilson
Read full reviewA hugely impressive piece of work. I loved it.
Ian Rankin
Tightly told with searing uncomplicated prose, The Last Pilot is as engaging for its emotional gravitas as it is for its enthralling story of the race to space – I couldn’t put it down.
Al Woodworth, Amazon Best Book of July 2015
His sentences are taut, quivering units, vibrant under pressure like the desert heat shimmer or engine casing... a truly impressive achievement. Indeed, The Last Pilot is one of the best debuts I’ve read in a long time. Sentence by sentence, it’s one of my favourite books of the last few years.
Words of Mercury
Read full reviewA confident, engrossing debut novel with great warmth and a real sense of time and place. Great stuff.
A.L. Kennedy
[The Last Pilot's] greatest attribute is the exuberant life beaming from the gorgeous prose... this debut novel is undoubtedly one of the most authentic pieces of fiction set in America in years… Johncock shatter[s] previous attempts at writing about American life from an outsider's perspective.
Huffington Post
Read full reviewTold in language as beautifully spare – and unsparing – as a desert or a moonscape, The Last Pilot reminds us in powerful ways that the real unknown frontier still lies within the mysteries of the human heart.
Kim Edwards
Read full review[In] this spare gem of a novel... Johncock is superb at crafting suspenseful scenes. A dramatic tale.
BBC Culture, Jane Ciabattari
Johncock’s characters are his real accomplishment. The author offers such emotional insight that readers will find themselves gripped and involved with his protagonist’s difficult choice.
Big Issue
Read full reviewProvides a much-needed fix for those suffering from Mad Men withdrawal.
The National
An ideal read for history buffs and space race enthusiasts.
Kirkus
A soaring, exhilarating, emotional read, a mesmerising family story.
Eastern Daily Press
Read full reviewCinematic descriptions of the desert setting plus excellent characters and dialogue enliven this debut novel.
The Bookbag
Read full reviewThis clever fusion of fact and fiction, combined with a sparse writing style, is a Great American Novel – written by a Brit.
Times Higher Education
Read full reviewThe same thrill I felt as a kid watching Apollo 11, I felt reading The Last Pilot – it captures the spirit of the time and the complexities of being human in any time rather beautifully.
Raging Biblioholism
Read full reviewBrings new insights to the emotional landscape of those who took part in the space race… one of the most beautiful novels I’ve ever read about the infinite capacity of the human heart.
Pamreader
Read full reviewThis marvellous book captures the excitement of the space race alongside the emotions of Jim and Grace. Johncock seamlessly blends history and fiction, science and intimacy.
Sunday Express
Johncock manages to blend the facts with the fiction to give us something that is thrilling, so profoundly touching too, you can’t help but be moved by this novel.
Shiny New Books
Read full reviewA big, muscular novel… tenderly undercut by the quite different theme of a marriage and a family under unbearable stress... convincing and moving.
Guardian
Read full reviewThe Last Pilot may be Benjamin Johncock's first book, but it reads like he's a seasoned pro.
Metro
Read full reviewUtterly fascinating and absorbing as well as intensely exciting… it is simply wonderful – an extraordinary achievement.
For Winter Nights
Read full reviewThis book was as near perfect as it’s possible to be when it comes to genius storytelling, emotionally resonant use of language and the ability to get you right in the heart.
Liz Loves Books
Read full reviewJohncock evokes the years of America's ramp-up to the space program so skillfully, a reader can almost feel the sandblasted landing strips… He's earned his 'right stuff' merit badge.
Milwaukee Journal
Read full reviewAn exploration of a marriage at the same time as frontiers are being pushed... beautifully executed. [Benjamin Johncock's] is a name that you'll be hearing more of.
BBC Radio Oxford
Punchy, spare dialogue that makes the action pop… a contemplative book that will spark many a conversation about who did what, and when, in the Space Race.
The Missourian
Read full reviewThis big-hearted, atmospheric narrative is charged with the tension of the times and carried along by its compassionately imagined characters.
The Lady
Read full reviewA strong debut… this is a lean, evocative novel… [that] explores the conflict between loyalty to one’s country and one’s family, and a particular form of tight-lipped masculinity which prizes practical skills over emotional sensibility.
Workshy Fop
Read full reviewAn arresting debut… Comparisons to Cormac McCarthy aren’t wide of the mark – heartbreaking and brilliant.
Portsmouth News
This riveting and beautifully written novel... The story of the American space race in the Sixties, set in the wilds of the Mojave desert, has inspired many movies and books in the past but Johncock brings fresh perspective and new energy to this old story ground.
Daily Mail
A very comprehensive and tightly written first novel… a great debut.
TripFiction
A touching and fascinating tale of a man forced to choose between family and his place in the history books.
We Love This Book: Book of the Week
Read full reviewThe transcendent beauty of the prose owes much to its restraint and rawness, absolutely symbiotic with the story it sets out to tell.
On the Literary Sofa
Read full reviewAn accomplished and assured debut about the early days of space flight and the impact it has on one man and his family.
Scott Pack, Me and My Big Mouth
Captures a sense of time and place in a very evocative way… reminiscent of Mad Men. There are some beautiful, sad moments as well as a fascinating insight into the space race and the sacrifices and courage it required.
Soho House: 7 Books To Read In July
Read full reviewThe dialogue is clean and smooth and Johncock’s spare prose gallops along.
Herald
Draws on true-life historical details to tell, in beautifully measured prose, a riveting good yarn about the U.S. astronaut-training programme.
Booklist
Ingeniously plotted, deftly written and engrossing.
People Magazine