Starting a new life, Nick believes he’s done chasing foreign spies but Naval Intelligence is not through with him. Sinister forces are a foot and it’s up Nick and friends to disrupt their plans and safe guard America’s cutting edge technology.
Howard Hughes lures Midshipman Nick Grant into a mock dogfight. Afterwards Hughes wants to hire Nick as a pilot. But Nick’s college dreams stand in the way, and he turns Hughes down. However, their paths cross again in an unexpected way. The Japanese Intelligence Services remain active in California and have a new partner, the Third Reich. Agents from both countries team up in their most ambitious plan yet to steal Hughes’ H-1 secrets. It’s up to Nick, Nancy and Leilani to turn the tables and retrieve the stolen goods.
Excerpt
1045 Hours, Friday, August 21, 1936 Miramar Naval Air Station, Coronado Island, California
MIDSHIPMAN NICK GRANT advanced the throttle and the N2S Yellow Peril trainer began to roll. At thirty knots, Nick felt life spring into the controls and the tail wheel lifted. When the airspeed indicator reached fifty-five, he eased back on the stick, and the large biplane gently lifted into the air.
Once airborne, he pushed on the left rudder to compensate for the huge radial engine’s torque. Out of the ground effect, Nick eased the stick forward to maintain sufficient airspeed and avoid a stall. As the biplane climbed steadily into sky, Nick checked for other traffic in the pattern. Satisfied, he banked east toward San Diego. The sun was shining, the sky an azure blue, and he was flying! What could be better?
While Nick found the Yellow Peril a dream to fly, it had earned its deadly moniker. Many cadets had crashed, and a few had died this summer — some on takeoff. If the student pilot didn’t compensate at this crucial transition, he would surely crash back to Earth with disastrous consequences.
Dutifully, he banked the Yellow Peril onto the downwind leg of the pattern and started to set up for his landing. At eighteen, Nick had more flight hours than most of his instructors. He had flown across the Pacific Ocean five times, had hundreds of hours in a variety of commercial and civil aircraft, yet he had to go through initial pilot training with everyone else. It was the Navy way. By God, if Howard Hughes joined the Navy, he’d be right here with Nick learning to fly with the zero-hour pilot wannabes.
The roar of the Wright J-5 Whirlwind was reassuring as he checked for other traffic and banked onto final at about 500 feet A.G.L. — above ground level. He was halfway through his first Navy solo. It required that he takeoff, fly around the pattern once, and then land. Too easy. Nick grinned.
Whoosh! A red biplane flashed by so close that Nick felt the engine’s hot exhaust. The N2S rocked, but he easily brought it back under control. He watched the sleek red biplane climb into the vertical and hang on the prop thrust. A second later, it slipped back, flipped over, and dove straight at him.
Nick kicked the left rudder and yanked the stick to the left. As he banked sharply away from the landing strip, he cursed the other pilot. Five hundred feet is not a lot of altitude to play with, especially when some lunatic wants to play tag with his red airplane.
But what an airplane! It was a heavily modified Boeing 100A, an export version of the Navy’s F4B fighter. By the sound of it, someone had replaced the 450-hp Pratt & Whitney radial with something much bigger. As Nick watched, the pilot flew at him inverted, passing mere feet from his head, before flipping over and coming around on his tail.
Okay, buddy, you want to play. I’m up for it. Game on! Nick executed a quick aileron roll to the right and hauled back on the stick. As the G-forces mounted, the Yellow Peril moaned in protest, and the guy wires sang in the wind. The N2S cart-wheeled across the sky, and Nick’s world spun in a dizzying whirl of colors. His altimeter indicated a frightening 200 feet as he came out of the maneuver and saw the tail of the red Boeing biplane directly ahead.
The pilot turned around, his face obscured by his white silk scarf and goggles, and waved at Nick. Then the other pilot peeled away in a diving turn, and Nick followed. They flew mere feet above the airfield as Nick stuck like glue to the Boeing’s tail. The Boeing was much faster than the Navy trainer — but not as maneuverable.
The red biplane streaked across the airfield at over 100 mph, just feet about the tarmac. It twisted to avoid the surrounding hangars before flying deeper into the naval air station dodging around barracks and headquarters buildings alike. Nick edged closer and realized the Boeing carried no registration numbers. That’s weird.
The Boeing turned to a northerly heading and continued weaving its way through the base at roof-top level. Sailors, Marines, and their officers dove for cover or shook their fists as Nick zoomed by, but the other pilot showed no sign of letting up.
Suddenly, they were over San Diego Bay and headed for Coronado Heights. Once over the far shore, the Boeing lined up on Route 101, El Camino Real, and followed the highway north, away from the air base. Nick clung stubbornly to the red tail, and he wondered why the other pilot didn’t just pull away. The Boeing had almost three times the horsepower and was smaller than his under-powered trainer.
Trainer! Oh my God, I am in so much trouble! Still, Nick just couldn’t let himself end it and pull off. The pilot was leading him somewhere — but where, and who was he? Occasionally the Boeing pilot would look over his shoulder, checking to see if his pursuer had given up. Then the pilot yanked and banked in a half-hearted effort to shake his persistent tail.
Down on the deck again, they flew along 101 low enough to see into the windows of the stores and houses they passed. A few minutes later, they flew into the town of Encinitas. Nick remembered coming here on a weekend pass for some ice cream. Then he remembered the arch over the highway welcoming all to the sleepy ocean-side town.
The Boeing’s engine roared as it climbed for the sky, but the Yellow Peril did not have the power. Nick had no choice and flew through the arch, scattering newspapers and pedestrians alike. The red biplane dove on Nick, and the mock dogfight resumed.
After another twenty minutes, they were at 1,500 feet, and Nick heard the Boeing’s engine throttle back. Then the pilot pointed down to a small airstrip. Nick realized they were just south of LA and it must be Culver City Airport. He was about to pull off when he glanced at his fuel gauge. Notoriously unreliable, the needle hovered over the E. He would have to follow the Boeing down and gas up before he returned. Returned to what, he wondered? A captain’s mast? A court martial? A firing squad? He had truly screwed up this time and couldn’t see a way out.
The Boeing gently touched down and taxied over to a Shell gas sign that hung from a small open hangar. Nick lined up with the runway, landed, and pulled up next to the red Boeing. As Nick killed his engine, the other pilot jumped down from the open cockpit and removed his goggles and white scarf.
A tall man of medium build sporting a pencil-thin moustache walked toward the trainer. Nick jumped down to the tarmac as the pilot extended his hand and spoke.
“I’m Howard Hughes. Welcome to my airport.”
Flabbergasted, Nick extended his hand. “Yes, I know. I’m former Midshipman Nick Grant.”
Hughes frowned. “Former?”
“After this stunt, I’ll be lucky if they don’t shoot me when I get back.”
Professional Reviews
Brace Yourself!
"Okay, brace yourself, Nick Grant fans for another pulse-pounding saga in Jamie Dodson’s classic adventure series. Black Dragons Attack has all the magic ingredients of the previous books: heroes you can root for, villains who reek of evil, non-stop action set against a backdrop of 1930s nostalgia, exotic locales, and a sleek flying machine called the Hughes H-1. First-rate entertainment."
Robert Gandt is an American author and aviator. Gandt has written and published more than a dozen books on military and aviation history and military adventure fiction. Wikipedia . Awards: Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature
Black Dragons Attack is Here!
"I have eagerly looked forward to the next Nick Grant Adventure and finally, here it is! Black Dragons Attack may be the best one yet in this thrilling pre-World War II series that features a great cameo by none other than billionaire engineer Howard Hughes! The Axis powers are on the hunt to steal Hughes' aeronautical secrets but soon find themselves crossing propellers with rough and tough Nick Grant, America's finest and bravest pilot! This series is addictive. Get started today!" Homer Hickam
Homer Hickam, NY Times bestselling author of Rocket Boys/ October Sky http://homerhickam.com/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer_Hickam
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Reviews for "Black Dragons Attack: A Nick Grant Adventure - Book Four"
Reviewed by Michael Hartnett
5/5/2018
A Terrific Novel of Pre-War Heroics
Jamie Dodson’s Black Dragons Attack (A Nick Grant Adventure Novel) is a rip-roaring yarn set in 1936, just as the Japanese are positioning themselves for the impending war. The smart-alecky, incredibly gifted young Nick Grant is a very likeable hero, the best kind of risk-taker, always with a plan, constantly improving his skills. He’s back fighting his old nemesis Toshio Miyazaki. This novel centers on the Japanese (through Miyazaki) doing their darnedest to steal the H-1 aircraft – Howard Hughes’ state-of-the-art plane that may just be the key to the future of aerial superiority.
Part of the fun of this book is capturing pre-World War II America in all its optimism and glamour (hey, Katherine Hepburn gets a nice scene). The figure of the ridiculously rich, charming, and brilliant Howard Hughes gives this novel a distinct sensibility, one that combines ingenuity and a charming hint of innocence. It represents an America where the sky’s the limit. And although we never meet William Randolph Hearst, we get to get to visit his monumental castle under construction and are granted an eyeful of his zoo, featuring the legendary lion Gilmore (that cat has his own key role to play).
Beyond the historical figures, Dodson has a deft hand at incorporating lively, somewhat crotchety characters who serve as fine counterpoints to the prodigy Grant. Commander Boltz, the Navy’s West Coast Counterintelligence Chief, is both a mentor and a cranky boss (“Can it, Midshipman. You are in so much trouble that the Navy dare not let you loose on the civilian population.”). With the help of Boltz and Chief Ellis (who has a grim, humorous professionalism), Nick begins to apply his precocious skill set toward becoming a true leader. That leadership will be tested throughout Black Dragons Attack under a clever assortment of confrontations in evocative locations.
With the Black Dragons (the Japanese warrior spies) always on the hunt for the H-1, the action keeps coming. Those skirmishes become increasingly intriguing as they involve a couple of lively and resourceful heroines in Nancy and Leilani. Without giving away too much, I will just say the climax really delivers.
Black Dragons Attack has many pleasures. Boy, does Dodson know his airplanes. Plus, all of this action and storytelling is presented in a punchy style: “However, he was out of altitude, airspeed, and ideas.” I highly recommended Dodson’s terrific novel. It will transport you to another time, filled with ingenuity, commitment, and heroics.
Shanghai Escapist grabs the faint-of-heart right from the get-go and serves up an ultimatum: What would you do if caught in the same circumstances? From the opening scene, the reader is tossed into the maze of daily intrigue as it existed in 1960s-70
Dublin 1941. A brutal murder. Mistaken identity. And barman Eamon Foley is running for his life.
Nine months later Foley is in a crowded pub, and his brother-in-law is shot dead.
