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Customer Reviews of Hwelte

Just Another Sexist Male Fantasy
First of all, the Russian women fighter pilots were never a secret. And second, the true stories of the courageous women are interesting in and of themselves. Why do we need another sexist-male-ain't-never-gonna-happen fantasy? Lilya Litviak had the short dramatic life that Hollywood dreams about. Her father was executed as an enemy of the state during the Purge. Lilya had to keep this secret or face banishment from society, not to mention flying, which she loved. Was posthumously awarded Russia's highest honor. She went from enemy of the state to Hero of the Soviet Union in about 5 short years. She was 22 years old when she died. Why can't we just tell the truth?

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Thunderbird among the ACEs
Stalingrad 1941: "Hwelte" opens with as brutally graphic a scene of carnage as the beginning of the film "Enemy at the Gates". A procession of Russian civilians evacuating their embattled city has been attacked by a trio of Stukas. Relentlessly the German planes strafe the helpless crowd -- until a single bold, blonde Soviet fighter pilot arrives to the rescue.
Flagstaff 1942: US Army Air Transport pilot Chuck Hewitt visits his Navaho grandmother on the eve of his departure to war. The old medicine woman wants to impart to her half-White grandson his Native heritage. He will need the protection of his "hwelte" (Navaho word for a fortress or place of refuge). During a sweat-lodge ceremony, Chuck receives a vision of the Thunderbird -- and soars with a mystical golden-haired woman above the Arizona canyons.
Over the USSR: Chuck's LendLease B-25 becomes separated from its Russian escort and suddenly comes under Messersmitt fire. Chuck is wounded and struggling to keep his stricken plane aloft, until a bold Soviet fighter arrives to scatter the Germans and lead him to a Russian airfield. Just before he loses consciousness, Chuck sees a startling sight -- the wavy golden tresses of the woman pilot who has saved his life!
Stalingrad 1942: Chuck finds himself the guest of a Soviet fighter regiment whose air and ground crews are all women. In the course of his recovery, he begins to suspect that his heroine, Tamara, is the woman from his vision of the Thunderbird. "Hwelte" is a unique novel which combines Native American shamanism with a little-known aspect of World War ll. A lot of admiration and research went into this book, and it shows. Tamara's regiment is based loosely on the historical 186th. Her character and the deeds of her comrades are composited from actual female ACEs of that and other regiments. Such historical figures as Lilya Litvyak, Olga Yamschikova, Raya Belyayeva, Tamara Pamyatnykh, and Katya Budanova are readily recognizable to readers familiar with their biographies. The author's stated intent is to honor "these magnificent Russian women fighter pilots, and their sacrifices". And "Hwelte" does that. But it also occasionally suffers from the same political correctness as the film "Enemy at the Gates": heaven forbid it be accused of being "Red"! Captain Iosef Zelenko provides the mandatory Western conscience. This fictional officer does not remotely resemble Aleksandr Gridnev, the real-life CO of the 186th. Zelenko is British-educated, anti-communist; a genteel host but a mean (and scary) drunk after imbibing too much vodka. There are some other unwelcome Russian stereotypes, the most over-the-top being a tyrannical female commissar. And the women ground crew -- mechanics, armorers, medics, guards -- are too often described in unflattering terms: "heavy-set", "stout", even "beefy". (Given Chuck's constant griping about Stalingrad starvation-rations, one wonders how the regimental personnel managed to get so fat.) McShane's female pilots fare better; they are all beautiful and likable. Tamara's simple English made me smile; I could "hear" her accent! Although "Hwelte" alternately pleases and annoys, overall I appreciate and recommend the book. Thank you, spacibo, Roy McShane. The Soviet female fighter ACEs do indeed deserve recognition and respect, and "Hwelte" gives them both.

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Fiction at its Best
I thoroughly enjoyed this World War Two novel which is written in traditional style which I find so easy to read. It is fast moving with vivid action and soft romance, tying folklore and historical facts into a fine story. Great stuff.