Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Macmillan (1981), Edition: First Thus, Paperback, 316 pages
Description
The six hundred passengers and crew members aboard a jumbo jetliner are left without a destination and a country when nuclear war breaks out and spreads devastation around the world. A collapsed economy and an increasingly savage society were causing thousands to abandon America. Captain Jonah Scott was a pilot, hired to fly some lucky refugees to London. But once in the air, nuclear war broke out, and Scott became responsible for the entire human race.
User reviews
LibraryThing member auntmarge64
Terrific apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic fiction from 1979. A bit dated, and slow for the first quarter of the book, but then edge-of-the-seat suspenseful until the very last page.
Jonah Scott, a British pilot who makes rescue flights across the Atlantic to a failed and violent post-oil America, tells
A keeper to read again.
Jonah Scott, a British pilot who makes rescue flights across the Atlantic to a failed and violent post-oil America, tells
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of the days before and after uncontrolled nuclear war erupts. Among those on board a flight from New York to London are 150 children, several scientists, a large group of returning British soldiers, diplomats from several competing countries, and two stowaways Jonah is hoping to sneak through heavily-armed British customs. They are mid-way across the Atlantic when they hear reports of cities being bombed, and one by one their possible landing sites become unapproachable. Desperate to find somewhere, anywhere, they can land, Jonah and his crew search for a landing site or a ship to contact if they have to ditch in the water.A keeper to read again.
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LibraryThing member elwood_mom
The US is in economic chaos which doesn't seem to matter as someone decides to launch nuclear weapons. This book follows two planeloads of people (one from the US, one from Russia) as they try to find a safe haven. Written during the Cold War, so the usual anti-Soviet propaganda is present, but not
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over-whelming. Just keep in mind the date at which the book was written and you can tolerate the sexism and bigotry better. Show Less
LibraryThing member unclebob53703
A solid page turner that seems to go on auto pilot in the last part of the book--the whole final leg is literally devoid of tension or coflict, and there's a twist at the very end that buggers belief. Still worth the read, if only for the very believable dystopian world he creates at the beginning,
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complete with a nail-biter of a scheme that literally goes up in smoke. Show Less
LibraryThing member ramtops
I've read this book many times - sadly, my copy is vanished. But a friend lent me his, and I read it again. The ending is hideously mawkish, but I love the book all the same.
LibraryThing member puttocklibrary
I really enjoyed this book, despite its gloomy premise about what would happen after nuclear war; its a very interesting character study of the actions of normal people in an extraordinary situation.
LibraryThing member TheLiveSoundGuy
This pre/post nuclear war meltdown story felt so real that I found myself unable to put the book down. It is one of those books that makes you stay up all night because you just can't go to sleep while the character's future is still unresolved.
The science was skeptical, and some of the scenarios
The science was skeptical, and some of the scenarios
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were in the 'too good to be true' category, but as with any goods book or movie there is a certain suspension of disbelief you must have going into it. Overall I enjoyed the book Show Less
LibraryThing member Rynooo
A shallow thriller replete with thinly-veiled racism and out-and-out bigotry. It is dated, implausible and misogynistic.
LibraryThing member john257hopper
Rather uneven post-apocalyptic novel. The first 100 pages are a bit slow, with preparations for a plane leaving the US taking 600 people away from a society that has collapsed in the wake of economic disaster. Just after they take off, drama and tension explode as nuclear war breaks out, engulfing
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the entire world. The crew attempt to find somewhere to land, but their alternatives run out as nuclear holocaust covers more and more places. As I said, this is uneven. There are some incidents of drama, tension, excitement, horror and pathos. The characters, on the other hand, are very cliched, especially when male- female relations are described and the dialogue is often quite cheesy. The ending was also a bit strange and unexpected. Despite its faults, there are some incidents in this book that will stay with me for some time. 4/5 Show Less
LibraryThing member cattriona
This was an interesting, believeable cold-war nuclear drama set in the 1980s. Nuclear war breaks out while a large "797" jet is midair on a cross-Atlantic flight, and the crew struggle to find a safe place to land and, potentially, save what remains of the human race. The main character, the
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plane's pilot, is a bit of a chauvinist pig, slapping flight attendants on the rear end by day and sleeping with them by night. There are a few "oh, that's convenient" plot elements which threaten the suspension of disbelief. Also, the story has 3 potential endings, depending on which edition of the book you have. My own copy (a 1986 printing from Fawcett Crest/Ballantine Books with 23 chapters) had the happier "Americanized" ending, which was more satisfying than some of the other options available. My understanding is that some editions end after chapter 21, and chapter 22. Recommended for fans of the post-apocalyptic genre. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1981
Physical description
316 p.; 6.9 inches
ISBN
0330261843 / 9780330261845