The Shepherd

It's too bad Jimmy Stewart is gone, because this book is pretty much a cross between The Spirit of St. Louis and It's a Wonderful Life and he -- a pilot like Mr. Forsyth -- would have made a Christmas classic of it. On Christmas Eve 1957, a young RAF pilot takes off from Germany in his Vampire to fly home to Britain. But first his instrumentation fails on him, including the radio, and then he flies into increasing fog, making it awfully unlikely he'll avoid crashing into the North Sea, nevermind land safely. This prompts a dark night of the soul: Ten minutes went by, nearly two complete triangles. I had not prayed, not really prayed, for many years, and the practice came hard. Lord, please get me out of this bloody mess... No, you mustn't talk like that to Him. "Our Father, which art in Heaven --" He'd heard that a thousand times, and would be hearing it another thousand times tonight. What do you say to Him when you want help? Please, God, make somebody notice me up here; please make someone see me flying in triangles, and send up a shepherd to help me down to a safe landing. Please help me, and I promise -- What on earth could I promise Him? He had no need of me, and I, who now had such need of Him, had taken no notice of Him for so long that He'd probably forgotten all about me. Well, you pretty much know how the rest of it goes, but Mr. Forsyth handles it all quite deftly and the novella certainly belongs on your annual Christmas reading list.

I first became aware of this gem when I was given a now out-of-print audiobook of the same. I acquired the book in hardback shortly thereafter. As others have observed, this masterpiece stands quite on its own as a simple and engaging suspense yarn. But Forsyth is reaching deeper here. Set against the backdrop of Christmas Eve in 1957, the story is detailed with rich and often mysterious religious allegory. Consider, for example, flight Lt. Marks, Old Joe, Jake King, and, most importantly, the now abandoned Air Force Base named Minton, with all its "many rooms". None of this is spoon fed to us, however, and there are a number of dots that we as readers must connect for ourselves. Originally written as a Christmas present for his wife, The Shepherd is most certainly a gift for us as well. There is a magical quality to the story that will make it an annual must for every reader. NOTE: If you can obtain the unabridged audio reading of the story by the great Robert Powell, you'll never spend a Chistmas without it.

It's Christmas Eve 1957, and an English pilot is flying his single-seat fighter from Germany, on his way home for Christmas. But when the electrical circuits fail, he is suddenly on his own in a lonely sky, unable to contact the men below who alone can guide him home through the foggy skies. With fuel running out, radio contact gone, and navigation impossible, and when it seems that he's destined to ditch only to freeze to death in a deserted sea, a miraculous saviour appears. A World War 2 style plane appears out of the gloom, and its brave pilot "shepherds" the helpless flyer down through the frosty night sky towards safety. Will he succeed? And why does the airport seem deserted? And who is the mysterious shepherd?Although "The Shepherd" is a very short novel that can easily be read in under an hour, it doesn't hinder Forsyth from capturing your attention. He cleverly heightens the intensity of the action and suspense by using the first person point of view. The stricken pilot's fears and bewilderment quickly become your own, until they are resolved in a spine-chilling last-page climax that raises as many questions as it answers. The gripping plot is marred only by a few incidences of blasphemy. But the paperback edition is beautifully enhanced by Lou Feck's full-page black and white illustrations. "The Shepherd" may be a departure from Forsyth's usual fare in that it is a short and sweet Christmas story that exploits the season's fondness for supernatural miracles. But it lacks none of his trademark spine-tingling suspense. Unlike the pilot, it will be a while before you come back down to earth after reading this one!

I usually read a book and give it away or donate it to the library, but this is one I've kept for over 20 years and have read many times. It's simple and its imagery is so vivid I am amazed by Forsyth's talent. Having been a military officer and having spent a lot of time on lonely assignments, plus having spent holidays far from home, I think that all these things combined to put me in a position to appreciate Forsyth's little gem. The Shepherd is one of my favorite books...and normally I don't read too much fiction, but I've definitely made an exception in this case.

Christmas eve, 1960 or thereabouts. Night over the North Sea. A young RAF pilot, flying his jet fighter home from Germany for the holidays, suddenly finds himself with no radio and no navigation aids, dwindling fuel supplies, and no way to find an airfield in an English countryside shrouded in night and heavy cloud. In an aircraft whose design would make bailing out an act of suicide, no way to call for help, and too little fuel to return to Germany, he realizes that he is, quite simply--barring a miracle--doomed. But Christmas has been, after all, a season of miracles for tellers of stories for a thousand years, and in Forsyth's short story, the unfolding of this young man's otherwise inexplicable salvation, with supernatural echoes of Ernest Gann's notion of aviation's Band of Brothers, touches the heart. It's an aviation story even for those with no interest in flying, a mystery/suspense story even for those indifferent to the genre, a wonderful read for all ages--and above all a tale that finally it reveals itself, in literally its last lines, for what it is: a genuine, involuntary-intake-of-breath, lump-in-the-throat, tears-in-the-eyes Christmas story. From Frederick Forsyth?? Believe it! Read it in an hour this season, even if you never thought you'd read Forsyth, and prepare to be moved.