Griffin's dominant technique is description — often description of seemingly unimportant things, but things which eventually become very significant in the larger context of the novel' s structure. According to David Murray, "What saves the book — and the series — from mediocrity is a generous ration of detailed and fascinating descriptions of weapons, tactics ... Army life and battle." In The Aviators, readers learn more about rotary wing aircraft (helicopters) than they would in a lifetime of otherwise casual reading. Griffin tells the reader how helicopters work — and, in one poignant chapter, what happens when they do not work — and in the process explains more about the men who fly them and the reasons they exist in the Army milieu than could be done in a more direct narration. Therein lies the mastery of Griffin's technique — its indirectness. Griffin examines the personalities and interaction so...