Review: The Flight of the Mayday Squadron by Steve A. Madison ★★★★

The Flight of the Mayday Squadron is a high-octane conspiracy thriller about an epic battle between good and evil. The North American Order is a nefarious group with origins all the way back to the Roman Empire, and have been responsible for everything from the rise of Hitler to the JFK assassination. Their goal is to create a feudal utopia, and it’s up to a group of pious combat veterans to put a stop to a plot that is centuries in the making.

In order to talk about this book, it’s important to understand the author’s intention from his biography on Amazon:

Using professional research methods, he analyzed declassified government documents, obscure history texts, modern reference material, and witness accounts from the period. The results of the analysis showed startling evidence of a secret government hidden within the federal system, a dark brotherhood that operates it, and a hidden hand that steers it – all very real products of the little known National Security Act of 1947. His debut novel, “The Flight of the Mayday Squadron” is an historic thriller that presents the results of his research in narrative form and reconsiders the Vietnam War as a for-profit corporate prototype for the 911 War on Terror. The story is written from the point of view of American soldiers, then and now, who willingly place themselves in harm’s way for the sake of our Constitutional Republic and the people of the United States of America – may God protect them every one.

This is a very politically-driven novel with a inherent religious slant. It is so thorough and well-researched that it graduates from “fiction” to elaborate thesis. Steve Madison knows his subject inside and out. The book is Christian fiction that veers to the right, but with a twist: it connects conspiracies of the JFK assassination and 9-11, so it’s an all-purpose conspiracy novel. However, it’s probably best enjoyed, and understood, by those with Madison’s political and religious bent.

At its core, this is a “New World Order” conspiracy novel, and as a pure conspiracy thriller, it’s an excellent one, spanning the globe and connecting a large swath of vibrant and well-drawn characters. Madison is a fine writer who pens crystal-clear sentences. Sometimes he crams too much info in a sentence, and whole paragraphs can be one sentence long, but this is a reflection of how much passion and energy he has for his subject.

On that front, the entire book is, at times, well researched to a fault. It’s clear that Madison could write a work of non-fiction with the amount of research he’s amassed, and so the book sometimes like a collection of facts, even when describing minor traits of a character. It’s not a dialogue-less tome, the way some over-researched books can be, but everything in the book is given a fairly similar weight, so the main protagonist has the same propulsion as minor characters. Some of this could have been pared down to make the book’s message more effective. At the same time, this is meant to be the first book in a long series, so there’s a lot to establish. Once the story gets going, this issue is less of a problem.

Overall, the book may be too pedantic for some, but this is what gives the book its drive. The novel isn’t merely a “thriller,” it feels like it’s unearthing hidden secrets. Madison’s belief in the conspiracy, and his strong religious conviction, make the book compelling even if you don’t particularly agree with elements of his premise. The book is at its best when it’s not preaching, but if you already agree with his worldview, this is a book that’s sure to please.

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