ON BLAZING WINGS

David Duane, an American fighter pilot, is fighting in Finland against the Russians in the 1940s. The story starts out as if it’s a documentary about Duane’s life, with narration as matter-of-fact as a newsreel. The action-packed war story is made vivid by sounds of gunfire, airplane engines, and men screaming. Then it eerily veers into fantasy as Duane’s plane is shot down and he visits a mysterious land whose ruler sends him back to his real life—doomed to die unless he can change his fate. The full cast does a great job with the various accents, while music and sound effects add to the strange story, making it an even more surreal experience. M.M.G. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2011]