Good

A group of Muslim extremists steal nuclear fuel from a power plant then proceed to manufacture nuclear bombs by kidnapping nuclear scientists and setting them to work.

The terrorist leader then tries to blackmail the United States under threat of nuclear blast triggered earthquakes. All the while a local police officer whose wife was kidnapped at the power plant attempts to uncover the terror plot.

Interesting premise, keeps your attention, at 256 pages it's a quick read. ( )

A madman has 10 nukes and is threatening to blow up California unless he is given a huge amount of money. A local detective, whose wife and daughter are being held hostage by the madman, works to bring him down. Maclean is more fitted for teens and young 20's, or those who can't appreciate a subtle plot. Not badmouthing Maclean at all though. ( )

The front cover of my copy of Goodbye California claims that it is Alistair Maclean's best since HMS Ulysses. Given that HMS Ulysses was Maclean's first novel, and that he managed to write Ice Station Zebra, Where Eagles Dare AND The Guns of Navarone in the period between HMS Ulysses and Goodbye California, that blurb created some very high expectations. Unfortunately, I have to conclude that the blurb was actually supposed to be added to the cover of one of Maclean's other books instead. Goodbye California is nowhere near his best work, at least for this reader. In fact it is downright unreadable.

First, let's have a dose of positivity. This is a great premise. It begins with the theft of nuclear material and a terrorist plot to use nuclear bombs to trigger earthquakes along some of California's many fault lines. Chaos would therefore ensue. The stakes would be high indeed. But you wouldn't know it from the book.

The story actually begins with an author's note that provides a potted summary of how earthquakes work and tectonic plates and all that. Mildly interesting if you don't know that sort of thing, and also a bit giggle-worthy because the book was first written in the 1970s and it refers to 1982 as the future. Hee hee! I love books with "futures" that have already happened. Anyway, the author's preface did not bother me much. The first two chapters did, with their mind-numbingly detailed and inexplicably placed infodumps.

"Gee Bob, here I am, a California police sergeant, in your nuclear power plant, where my wife works and from which she has been kidnapped. Before you tell me anything actually important about how she was captured so that I can go out and get her back, please tell me how nuclear energy works."

"Sure Doug, I would be glad to do so, for almost an entire chapter that the readers are probably frantically skipping over!"

And while I sympathized with the sergeant's plight, I found his corrupt superior officer to be a bit too caricaturish to be believable as a villain. Also, the terrorist leader who captured the sergeant's wife was just as prone to infodumpy monologues.

"Hello captives, welcome to your new humble abode. Allow me to give you a detailed primer about seismic activity in southern California and give you a rough idea of our scheme. Muahaha."

This is the only Maclean I haven't bothered finishing. I would not recommend it unless you have a very high tolerance for long passages of explanation and have already read his more established classics (e.g. The Guns of Navarone or Ice Station Zebra). This is definitely not the one to start out with. ( )

USA, Californien, San Francisco, ca 1977
Et atomkraftværk i San Francisco bliver udsat for et røveri, ledet af en mand der kalder sig Morro. Pænt store mængder fissibelt materiale bliver stjålet og flere af de tilstedeværende bliver kidnappet. En af dem er Susan Ryder, Jeff Ryders mor og John Ryders kone. Jeff og John går på jagt efter at have sagt deres job som betjente op.
Susan har efterladt et spor og Jeff og John følger det til Adlerheim, en milliardærs dårskab, nu overtaget af en flok fanatiske muslimer, der vil true San Francisco med undergang. Undervejs begår de selvtægt mod en korrupt politichef, et par af hans håndlangere og en korrupt dommer, der dog er sværere at få ram på end politichefen.
Johns datter, Peggy på 18 år, bliver kidnappet trods FBI bevogtning og bliver såret under aktionen. Det får kun John til at blive endnu mere sur og uvenlig.
Morro sender en video ud, hvor han advarer om at han vil demonstrere en atombombe i Yucca Flats. Og det gør han. Derefter sender han en video ud hvor han på troværdig vis afslører at han har 11 mere og at det er brintbomber på 2-4 megatons. Den næste er klar til at eksplodere i havet ud for Los Angeles og det gør den også. I mellemtiden har Ryder fundet frem til at Morro er philipinsk muslim og ude på at skaffe våben til at vippe Marcos af pinden.
De ti brintbomber passer nydeligt ned i 10 boreskakter, der er boret for at se om man kan udløse jordskælv i små bidder. 10 brintbomber vil dog udløse et gigantisk jordskælv og formentlig betyde et farvel til Californien.
Jeff Ryder udtænker en plan til at fuppe Morro med. Nogle skuespillere og nogle frivillige med lighed med præsident og finansminister og stabschef - samt selvfølgelig Ryder og søn - tager til forhandlingsmøde med Morro, men i stedet for penge får han selvfølgelig varmt bly.
Meget morsomt har al snakken om jordskælv fået Ryder til at overveje at flytte fra Californien og i stedet har han kastet sit blik på New Orleans.
En værre knaldroman hvor selvtægt og brutale forhørsmetoder forekommer på hver anden side og hvor kvinderne blot er med for at heltene kan redde dem ( )