'The Last Sunrise' is set in South East Asia between 1941 and 1948 and centres around an American pilot, Lee Crane. Crane had been rejected as a fighter pilot by the USAAF because he was too tall so instead went to Burma en-route to China to join the Flying Tigers, a volunteer American air force assembled to aid the Chinese in their fight against the Japanese, under Colonel Chennault. Whilst training in Burma he meets an Anglo-Indian widow, Kitten Mahindra, and they start a romantic affair.

When the Japanese attack Pearl Harbour and invades Burma, the Flying Tigers are absorbed into the regular USAAF. However, Crane falls out with Chennault and is transferred from flying fighters to flying cargo planes transporting goods, personnel, mail and gold to fund the Chinese war effort between India and China over the towering Himalayas, 'the hump'.

In 1948 Crane is now based in Singapore and is still ferrying cargo around South East Asia if the price is right but his wartime experiences still haunt him. When a woman from his past unexpectedly turns up he is forced to confront memories of a shared secret.

The narrative shuttles between 1941, 1943/44 and 1948, and draws on real historical events. Yet despite the changes in the timeline, this is a straightforward tale of wartime adventure and romance.

Whilst the flying scenes are well written and the overall story is reasonably engaging peppered with various action sequences I felt it lacked drama and any real surprises. Crane, as the principled but naive pilot, is well drawn but the minor characters (the femme fatale, the scheming spies, the resourceful but straight-laced young operative etc) failed to really sparkle.

Overall I found this a pleasant, quick and easy read, but not as good as others that I've read by the same author.
9 s Venky996 374

Dogfights in P-40s, dalliances with exotic women and wrestling with the controls of a C-47 all make for some riveting reading in Robert Ryan’s thriller, “The Last Sunrise.” The book alternates between the years 1941-1948 and the characters mostly find themselves traversing the terrains that cut across Burma (currently Myanmar), India, China and Singapore. The story begins in the year 1941. The American Voluntary Group, an Air Force unit has been put together by Colonel Claire Lee Chennault. Known as the Flying Tigers, the primary objective of this unit is to aid and abet the Chinese war efforts against the marauding Japanese who after having plundered Nanking, have their sights firmly set on other targets such as Kunming.

A part of the Flying Group set up is the flamboyant Lee Crane. An extraordinary capable fighter pilot, Crane is looking to notch two more kills before he can be designated an ‘ace.’ However, fate and love contrive to put a spanner in the works as Crane develops a dangerous dalliance with a curvy and sultry Anglo-Indian widow named Kitten Mahindra. Falling afoul of Colonel Chennault, when the Flying Tigers are absorbed by the US Air Force, Crane’s flying career almost comes to a careening halt, but for the intervention of Hyram Nelson. A key figure in the Office of Strategic Services, Nelson puts Crane in charge of manning a Cargo plane, to transport men & materiel over the “hump”, – three dangerous ridges forming part of the towering Himalayas. Crane loses touch with Kitten in the process.

On one such trip, Crane is acquainted with a striking young SOE agent, Laura McGill, and her companion a huffing and puffing giant of a man named Walter Gilbert. The trip from Calcutta to Southern China deepens Crane’s friendship with her. This platonic relationship also leads to unintended causal consequences as a chain of tumultuous events are set in motion when Hyram Nelson commands Crane to find out the exact role of Gilbert and Laura in the Asian sphere of operations. And when on a trip his own trusted co-pilot, going by the moniker of Cowboy points a gun at Crane’s temple and asks him to be his perpetrator-in-crime in a daring heist, Crane knows he is living on borrowed time.

Robert Ryan as usual dazzles with his description of various vintage aircraft and their prowess and pitfalls. He is a fish in water expounding on mid-air combats, cockpit technicalities and payload perils. He manages to maintain his reader’s interest by sticking to a constant pace. Even though the narrative weaves back and forth, just one of Crane’s aircrafts – between the years 1941, 1942, 1943 and 1948, the plot never gets either overwhelming or confusing.

The encounters between Kitten and Crane are poignant to the point of being tragi-comic. The Indo China geography is described in a marvelous manner that makes a mental visualization of the entire landscape surrounding the three ridges a veritable pleasure.

The Last Sunrise – A soaring read.fiction3 s Hilmi Isa371 27

Saya tidak menyangka sama sekali bahawa keputusan saya untuk membeli novel ini adalah satu tindakan yang baik dan tepat sekali! Secara peribadi,tidak dinafikan,fokus saya lebih utama membaca buku bukan fiksyen,terutamanya yang berkaitan dengan sejarah. Namun,apabila saya membaca sinopsis cerita di kulit belakang buku,saya tertarik untuk membacanya kerana penulis,Robert Ryan menggunakan Perang Dunia Kedua (Burma/Myanmar) dan pasca perang (tahun 1948) tersebut di Singapura.

Penulis juga memasukkan unsur-unsur dan peristiwa-peristiwa sejarah yang relevan pada masa tersebut yang tambah membuatkan membaca karya beliau sesuatu yang menarik pada saya.novel-antarabangsa2 s AliceAuthor 38 books46

The first and third person need more careful editing, and the word 'instinctive' is hugely overused, but that didn't detract from a cracking read which I finished in a day.aviation war1 Steve Mannion1 review

Read it - you won't be disappointed.

Outstandingly well researched and beautifully written, as are all Ryan's books. This is a great yarn based on a true life tale and situation with a hint of real characters. Russ24

Excellent read. Enjoyed. Danita156 40

Loved the book. Rob KitchinAuthor 50 books102

The Last Sunrise tells the story of Lee Crane’s time in South East Asia between 1941 and 1948. The narrative shuttles back and forth between 1941, 1943/44 and 1948, with the scenes concerning the latter told in the first person. Despite the changes in perspective and the splicing of the timeline, this is a straightforward tale of wartime adventure and romance. It is competently told and is reasonably engaging, and it draws on real historical events, but the story lacks a real edge despite the various action sequences and rivalries between characters. It all seemed a little formulaic and there were no real surprises. Crane is reasonably well drawn as the principled but naive officer, accompanied by a colourful set of stock characters (the femme fatale, the scheming spy, the resourceful but straight-laced young operative, the wide-boy co-pilot, etc), but I never really connected with or cared for any of them. The result was a competent and pleasant read, but one that didn’t sparkle. Chris MortonAuthor 19 books21

It was ok, not really my sort of thing but I'm trying to take a break from reading literary stuff. Well researched and a lot happens, though somehow I found it kind of difficult to give a damn about the characters. Baz356 2

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