In a half-dozen previous novels, headed by "The High and the Mighty," Ernest Gann has at times effectively drawn upon his air and ground experience as a multimillion-mile pilot. The technical litany of a plane in flight. The diversely selected passengers bound by a taut situation to which they respond in diverse ways. The aloof and lonely skipper occupied with the terrible responsibility of craft and human lives. Add a bravura plot to hold dramatic material intact for passage in and out of the clouds or through the inscrutable back streets of Hong Kong and San Francisco, and the basic components are pretty well identified. Lacking the poesy of St. Exupéry, for instance, or the dazzling simple power of Capt. Joshua Slocum, Mr. Gann nevertheless writes colorfully of humans pitting themselves against the natural elements. [In "Twilight for the Gods" we] … have the drama as before except that the setting this time is aboard one of the last of the commercial sailing ships suspensefully outward bound.
When he deals with the rhythms of the sea, the gale-tossed sailors aloft or braced at the wheel, the fuguelike shipboard jargon, Mr. Gann steers a true course. But midway in the novel he turns to character conflicts and the rigors of plot, at which time things come uncaulked….
This is a free excerpt of 215 words. There are 416 words (approx.
1 page at 300 words per page) in the full critical essay.
Read the rest of this Criticism with our Gann, Ernest K(ellogg) 1910–: Critical Essay by James Kelly Access Pass.
