Falcons

This well-crafted first novel tells the story of U.S. heavy bombers at war, from the debacle of Pearl Harbor to the low-level raid on Ploesti, Romania, in 1943. Its central characters are bitter rivals: rough-hewn warrior Ross Colyer and Broderick Templeton III, a senator's son more at home in a staff billet than in the cockpit of a B-24. Their interaction, predictable and conventional, is shaped by Rosenbaum's sensitivity to the novel's milieu. A veteran of the 8th Air Force, he is remarkably successful in presenting the training and operational problems of the war's early years, and in establishing the complex human relationships of a bomber crew. Crisp dialogue, plausible scenarios, and a page-turning, hair-raising climax make this work a must for both techno-thriller fans and students of World War II. (Feb.)