In the late 30’s Fighter Pilot Major Rodger Brown of the Flying Tigers is deep in the thick of World War II. Back home, his pregnant wife, long time friend, parents and younger sisters anxiously await his return. Torn between his obligations to his country and family, Rodger is a man tormented by the realization that he prefers battle in the air rather than the drudgery of everyday life on the ground.
For Major Brown, and other military pilots, every day is a game of survival, from the dangerous air battles that tap his strength, knowledge and control, to the personal battles as a long-distance husband, son. But at the end of the day, it is also a game of fate. With every maneuver, no matter how accomplished a pilot he is, Rodger knows that the final decision as to who will live or die, is God’s. Yet every time he climbs into his cockpit to face the enemy, not knowing the outcome of his life or mission, he is ultimately forcing the hand of God.
Forcing the Hand of God, a new historical fiction novel by author Jacquie Ream is garnering readership from the general public and military personnel alike as the Flying Tigers celebrate their 65th anniversary in 2009. Ream’s latest book, evolved from a series of short stories originally written for her Master’s thesis several years ago.
“I was learning to fly at the time and several of my instructors were former military pilots,” says Ream. “I was really fascinated by them. They are really a different breed. Real risk takers and I admired”
With a writer’s curiosity, Ream spent a lot of time probing her instructors about their lives, motivations and actions. Over time, she felt a deep connection with them and was compelled to write down some of their stories. When she decided to take the stories she had written for her thesis and turn them into a book, a Flying Tiger Fighter Pilot, Major Rodger Brown became the central character.
It wasn’t long before Brown was joined by another central character, Ada. A longtime friend, Ada waited patiently for Brown’s return home.
“It was so strange,” Ream says, “Ada just appeared one day fully formed as if I had known her my whole life. She was the Ying for Rodger’s Yang and together they just made sense.”
Where the Major is young, strong and coarse, the female character of Ada, with a long complex history, is mature, soft and earthy, a pseudo-mother to Rodger. There is an undertone throughout the story that there might be something more to their connection, despite their age difference and the fact that Brown is married. Ream purposefully keeps you wondering as she gently pulls back the layers of the onion of their past.
“It’s what I loved most about writing Forcing the Hand of God,” says Ream. “Their relationship is a juxtaposition of two characters that for many reasons would never have such an intense relationship, and yet they do. It’s complex and simple at the same time. Where Major Rodger Brown’s story is an external story of action and the ravages of war, Ada’s story is an internal story of a unique kind of love.”
According to Ream, Forcing The Hand of God evokes a time (World War II) when men and women found the courage to do the necessary, the objectionable and even the unthinkable to defend their lives and preserve the essential fabric of this country. It is also a timeless story of self-realization and the internal and external conflicts that are part of life for a military professional and the family and friends that love him/her.
“Within the pages of Forcing the Hand of God, I entered as a silent visitor among the private lives of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary times,. I become a witness to the intense passion for life that only appears when death threatens and I emerged with a greater sense of appreciation for life's gifts, as well as its trials.” William R. Stampe, CMSgt, USAF
