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The New Zealand Novel 1860-1965
Fear in the Night
Fear in the Night. Very different is Errol Brathwaite's Fear in the Night, 1959, a story of the crew of a Ventura bomber forced to land in Japanese territory, and struggling desperately through the brief hours to effect repairs before the enemy can arrive to the attack. The crisis, described with mounting tension, through which the technical terms thread their realistic way, tests and reveals the individual quality of the men. Brathwaite had a tour of duty as an air-gunner in the Pacific during the war. Those to whom Air Force lingo is an open book appreciate his verbal accuracy and effective excitement. His method of switching from the consciousness of one man to that of another, and from friend to Japanese foe as time slides relentlessly on, is a factor in the success of the book. (See also chapter eight.)