A terrible book. Outlandish idea suitable for 2012. There is no nuclear reactor at any Antarctic base and the landing of a plane at base that has been Neutron Bombed, and no one gets sick? A lot of Anti-American sentiment in this book as well. For a good nuclear holocoaust book, try Brother in the Land or Davy. This book deserves a pass.
I found this to be a fascinating read, and I recommend it. It is the story of airline personnel, their passengers, and their adventures while trying to find a safe haven in a post-nuclear war world.
Seems Mr. Graham has read William Brinkley. This book, while gripping in some scenes, is comprised of two dimensional characters who are largely stereotypes and some rather VERY bad science along with an extreme amount of quite annoying and unnecessary information regarding the moment to moment piloting of a plane. Give it a pass, read "The Last Ship", instead.
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 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.
