 First edition cover (UK) | |
| Author | Alistair MacLean |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Thriller novel |
| Publisher | Collins (UK) Doubleday (US) |
Publication date | 1978 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 315 |
| ISBN | 0-449-23834-2 |
| Preceded by | Seawitch |
| Followed by | Athabasca |
Goodbye California is a novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean, first published in 1977. [1] [2]
Set in the United States, an Islamic terrorist kidnaps nuclear scientists and steals radioactive material from a California nuclear power plant. When Detective Sergeant Ryder's wife is kidnapped along with nuclear scientists from the California power station where they all work, he sets out to find her. Facing resistance from within his own police department, he leaves his job and begins taking the law into his own hands. His son Jeff, a highway patrolman, and a few other trusted friends attempt to stop the terrorists from detonating home-built atomic bombs along California's fault lines, which would unleash massive earthquakes killing millions of people and destroying California's major cities.
The inspiration for the plot appears to be acknowledged by Maclean himself in his preface to the 1977 edition of the book where he describes his first experience of an earthquake while in California on 9 February 1971.
Maclean said in a 1975 interview he was working on a book where half of California fell into the ocean. "It's called for 1982 when all the planets are in alignment," he said. "There are people who believe it. The more I get into it the more I believe it myself." [3]
The book became a best seller in 1978. [4]
Director Don Sharp and producer Peter Snell, who had collaborated on the film Bear Island , based on another MacLean novel, tried to make a film version of Goodbye California, starring Charlton Heston, for Time Life. Just before filming was to begin however Time Life sold its film division and the film did not go ahead. [5]
Alistair Stuart MacLean was a Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers and adventure stories. Many of his novels have been adapted to film, most notably The Guns of Navarone (1957) and Ice Station Zebra (1963). In the late 1960s, encouraged by film producer Elliott Kastner, MacLean began to write original screenplays, concurrently with an accompanying novel. The most successful was the first of these, the 1968 film Where Eagles Dare, which was also a bestselling novel. MacLean also published two novels under the pseudonym Ian Stuart. His books are estimated to have sold over 150 million copies, making him one of the best-selling fiction authors of all time.
Ice Station Zebra is a 1963 thriller novel written by Scottish author Alistair MacLean. It marked a return to MacLean's classic Arctic setting. After completing this novel, whose plot line parallels real-life events during the Cold War, MacLean retired from writing for three years. In 1968 it was loosely adapted into a film of the same name.
Force 10 from Navarone is a 1978 British war film loosely based on Alistair MacLean's 1968 novel of the same name. It is a sequel to the 1961 film The Guns of Navarone. The parts of Mallory and Miller are played by Robert Shaw, and Edward Fox, succeeding in the roles originally portrayed by Gregory Peck and David Niven. It was directed by Guy Hamilton and also stars Harrison Ford, Carl Weathers, Barbara Bach, Franco Nero, and Richard Kiel.
Bear Island is a thriller novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean. Originally published in 1971 with a cover by Norman Weaver, it was the last of MacLean's novels to be written in first-person narrative. This novel is a murder mystery with the added twist that the scene of the crimes is Bear Island, an island in the Svalbard archipelago of the Norwegian Arctic.
Circus is a novel written by the Scottish author Alistair MacLean. It was first released in the United Kingdom by Collins in 1975 and later in the same year by Doubleday in the United States.
The Golden Rendezvous is a novel written by Scottish author Alistair MacLean, and was first published in 1962. One of MacLean's most popular works, it combines mystery, suspense, action, clever bluffs and double bluffs, with MacLean's trademark self-deprecating wit.
Breakheart Pass is a novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean (1922–1987), first published in 1974. It was a departure for MacLean in that, despite the thriller novel plot, the setting is essentially that of a western novel, set in the Sierra Nevada of the American West in the late 19th century. Fans of MacLean will recognize the usual plots twists, thrill-packed finale, and trademark sardonic dialogue. For American audiences, MacLean was less successful capturing an authentic tone of the western frontier, and the 1975 movie version starring Charles Bronson, Richard Crenna, Ben Johnson, and Jill Ireland, proved to be more popular with the public than the novel.
Puppet on a Chain is a novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean. Originally published in 1969 with a cover by Norman Weaver, it is set in the late 1960s narcotics underworld of Amsterdam and other locations in the Netherlands.
Floodgate is a novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean, first published in 1983.
River of Death is a novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean, first published in 1981. As with most of MacLean's novels, it depicts adventure, treachery, and murder in an unforgiving environment, set this time in the steamy jungles of South America.
Seawitch is a novel written by the Scottish author Alistair MacLean. It was first released in the United Kingdom by Collins in 1977 and later in the same year by Doubleday in the United States.
The Golden Gate is a novel written by the Scottish author Alistair MacLean. It was first released in the United Kingdom by Collins in 1976 and later in the same year by Doubleday in the United States.
The Way to Dusty Death is a thriller novel written by Scottish author Alistair MacLean. It was originally published in 1973. The title is a quotation from the famous soliloquy in Act 5, Scene 5 in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth.
Caravan to Vaccarès is a novel by author Alistair MacLean, originally published in 1970. This novel is set in the Provence region of southern France. The novel was originally written as a screenplay for producer Elliot Kastner.
Partisans is a novel by the Scottish author Alistair MacLean, first published in 1982. MacLean used portions of the plot from the 1978 film Force 10 from Navarone as the basis of the plot for this novel. MacLean reverted to the theme of the Second World War, with which he was successful and highly popular in his early career.
Bear Island is a 1979 thriller film based on Alistair MacLean's 1971 novel of the same name. It was directed by Don Sharp, and starring Donald Sutherland, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee and Lloyd Bridges.
Puppet on a Chain is a 1970 British thriller film directed by Geoffrey Reeve and starring Sven-Bertil Taube, Barbara Parkins and Alexander Knox. It is based on the 1969 novel Puppet on a Chain by Alistair MacLean.
Fear Is the Key is a 1972 British action thriller film directed by Michael Tuchner and starring Barry Newman and Suzy Kendall. It is based on the 1961 novel of the same title by Alistair MacLean. It was the feature film debut of Ben Kingsley. The soundtrack is by Roy Budd.
Air Force One Is Down is a 2013 action television miniseries divided in two parts loosely based on a story by Alistair MacLean that was improvised on a 1981 novel by John Denis. The film stars Jeremy Sisto, Jamie Thomas King, Emilie de Ravin, Rupert Graves, Ken Duken and Linda Hamilton.
Peter Snell is a Canadian film producer. He is notable for the films he made with Alistair MacLean, Don Sharp and Charlton Heston as well as The Wicker Man (1973).
 | This article about a thriller novel of the 1970s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page. |