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Solid as a super quick and digestible read. Short chapters, and a sense that the author (with a flight attendant background) actually knows what she's talking about. But if you pause to think about anything happening in the book... nothing really makes sense. I assume the book is banking on the fact that you won't and just take it as a fun action movie.
So, yeah, the thrill wears off fast. This book clearly wants to be a movie (and surprise, surprise: there was a bidding war over movie options. but also: why? but also: good for TJ!), and it reads like a screenplay draft that got padded into a novel. The characters are one-dimensional cardboard cutouts with awkward and/or cliche dialogue and some silly plot points and forced plot twists. Plus, there's a cast of authorities who are reckless at best and totally incompetent at worst. Take every disaster-movie cliche and pull them out of a hat!
Theo, the rebellious FBI agent/nephew of the main flight attendant Jo, in his scene speeding through traffic to get to a beach near LAX was hilariously over-the-top. It felt more like a TV pilot for a mini-series than for an airplane pilot thriller. Which, I guess this is a thriller, but I feel like it's more of a suspense type than what I normally consider thrillers. Side note distracting me to brush up on genres. Also, why does the in-flight Wi-Fi suddenly allow FaceTime-quality video during a hijacking?
So, yeah, the thrill wears off fast. This book clearly wants to be a movie (and surprise, surprise: there was a bidding war over movie options. but also: why? but also: good for TJ!), and it reads like a screenplay draft that got padded into a novel. The characters are one-dimensional cardboard cutouts with awkward and/or cliche dialogue and some silly plot points and forced plot twists. Plus, there's a cast of authorities who are reckless at best and totally incompetent at worst. Take every disaster-movie cliche and pull them out of a hat!
Theo, the rebellious FBI agent/nephew of the main flight attendant Jo, in his scene speeding through traffic to get to a beach near LAX was hilariously over-the-top. It felt more like a TV pilot for a mini-series than for an airplane pilot thriller. Which, I guess this is a thriller, but I feel like it's more of a suspense type than what I normally consider thrillers. Side note distracting me to brush up on genres. Also, why does the in-flight Wi-Fi suddenly allow FaceTime-quality video during a hijacking?
The "villians" (Sam and Ben) are a bit tropey and possibly problematic if/when you pause to think about it. Vaguely Middle Eastern (specifically Kurdish; from when asking pilot Bill's wife if she can locate Kurdistan on a map) men with thin “we were wronged by America” backstories isn’t edgy or complex. It leans on post-9/11 stereotypes that give me pause. The attempt at “depth” doesn't land for me through vague tragic, unimaginative back stories. Plus, for the YEARS (getting pilot lesson, getting a job at a tech company under a false name, setting up the tech service visit) spent planning this (to "bring awareness to Kurdistan allegedly???) they (Sam and Ben that is) are quite sloppy overall.
And that baseball scene at the end? I was cringing. A weird fever dream of American resilience that belongs in a parody. It felt like sentimentality turned propaganda. Especially given various divides in America, this just feels so manipulative and fantastical (flag-waving!).
By the end, Falling feels less like a thriller (or suspense, back to my genre debate) and more like a checklist of action clichés: emotional flashbacks, reckless government agents, implausible tech (even with the wifi being knocked out specifically at the pilot's home and the set up of the repair man), and a heavy dose of “America saves the day.” There’s potential in places: the moments that highlight Jo and the other flight attendants’ calm and camaraderie; some of the reactions of the crew [though I cringed at Big Daddy calling the woman "Karen" :( but that's just me], but it's buried under a pile of tropes and kind of tone-deaf choices.
I kept reading, because it is quick to get through. Actually it's kind of similar to a mediocre disaster movie that you'd only watch because you're on a plane (Haha!). Sometimes that’s exactly what you want. For a palate cleanser, it works; but there's not much memorable or lasting here. Honestly, I was more interested in reading about the author's backstory, the rejections, and the scribbling ideas on napkins during her job as a flight attendent.