Goodbye California

by Alistair MacLean

The classic tale of terrorism, where a criminal fanatic is hell-bent on blasting San Francisco into the ocean, from the acclaimed master of action and suspense.

'Earthquake country,'
said the Professor. 'San Francisco is geologically and seismologically a city that waits to die. Los Angeles is ringed by earthquake centres - seven massive quakes so far. We have no idea where the next, the monster, will hit…'

…until a criminal fanatic kidnaps a nuclear scientist and builds his own atomic bombs. If exploded on California's fault lines they could trigger off the mightiest earthquake of them all - killing half its population and dumping the entire city of San Francisco into the sea.

Goodbye California…

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Adventure, Crime, Suspense, Action

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Alistair Stuart MacLean (Scottish Gaelic: Alasdair MacGill-Eain), the son of a Scots Minister, was brought up in the Scottish Highlands. In 1941, at the age of eighteen, he joined the Royal Navy; two and a half years spent aboard a cruiser were to give him the background for HMS Ulysses, his first novel, the outstanding documentary novel on the war at sea. After the war he gained an English Honours degree at Glasgow University, and became a schoolmaster. In 1983, he was awarded a D. Litt. from the same university.

Maclean is the author of twenty-nine world bestsellers and recognised as an outstanding writer in his own genre. Many of his titles have been adapted for film - The Guns of the Navarone, The Satan Bug, Force Ten from Navarone, Where Eagles Dare and Bear Island are among the most famous.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This first I should start with an admission - This book took far longer to read than I hoped and it was nothing to do with the story.

That said I can see why this is not one of MacLeans more famous stories. Without spoilers the book does feel rather dated. The scenario although scarily possible (made all the more so by the matter of fact style of discussing the science and technicalities) has got some rather dated views and attitudes - but not in the manner you would expect.

However the action is fast paced and the rather swift changes in scenes and action do help keep moving things at a pace.

So what of the story itself - well like many such storylines - the challenge is to keep the pressure up without going all out and I will admit that MacLean is good with his action sequences walking that line between threat and hope. I will admit that it did not always go the way I was expecting but for me that was all part of the enjoyment.

The book was originally printed in 1977 - thinking back then and reading this story it is scary how both the world has changed so much and is in fact not that far different. I know that MacLean is not everyones choice of action but this was an interesting read in to one of his lesser known books.

[Lenny Husen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love MacLean but this book was not well written and was boring.
The book consisted of basically one main character who was over the top, "Ryder" (no first name) who was a LAPD Sergeant who is smarter than the entire FBI and CIA combined, shows no emotion or worry although his beautiful wife and beautiful daughter are being held captive (and his daughter has been shot), is able to understand everything there is to know about Earthquakes by reading library books for 90 minutes, and basically, (after much tedium and lack of any action except Ryder beating the shit out of bad guys mentally and physically), saves the day.

[Britt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

I really love MacLean books and this is a solid entry. Ryder and Susan and the rest of the cast are superb. It’s an interesting plot, technical jargon not withstanding. We all could use a Sgt Ryder in our lives.

[Maria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terroristgruppe tar over California.. men slapp av.. en eks-politimann er ikke redd for å ta saken... og han spiller mildt sagt utenfor reglene ;-)))

[Kimia Wood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alistair MacLean is known for action-packed, fast-moving, high-stakes mysteries. Goodbye California is no different.

Terrorists have attacked a nuclear power station, stolen truck-loads of nuclear fuel, and kidnapped several nuclear physicist professors and some female secretaries. What is their plan? What do they want?

The husband of one of the kidnapped women is a detective sergeant – a “cop” who can be a terror to those both inside and outside the law. He and his son (CHP) lay down their badges to pursue their own lines of inquiry…all of them racing against the clock once the villain threatens to detonate a nuclear device to create a tidal wave across Los Angeles.

Sgt. Ryder is a tough Robin-Hood type who answers to no one and doesn’t flinch at dispensing his own justice. Icily calm in the face of crisis and with a brilliant instinct for connecting disparate puzzle pieces, he begins his campaign of justice by “interrogating” (AKA beating up) the corrupt chief of police and other baddies.

The evidence he forces out with his Fist of Terror seems at first unrelated to the thief of nuclear fuel – a cultured, sophisticated man of mysterious past and foreign extraction. Can bribes in the police structure really relate to an armed compound full of Muslims? (Muslims that freely help themselves to Scotch and treat their women prisoners with respect, I might add.)

Yes – Mr. MacLean can relate these things. And he does. As Ryder digs deeper into the conspiracy – ordering an official of the FBI around to do his legwork – he hits upon the true conspiracy, and his instinctive conclusions are accepted by the hovering intelligence officials because, well, they don’t have any better ideas!

I often find a villain point-0f-view (POV) lacking in tension, but the “behind the scenes” scenes with our bad guys in Goodbye California held my attention – partly because we don’t actually get into the mastermind’s head, and his motivations remain as mysterious for us as for the police; partly because one of the nuclear professors held hostage is such a colorful character that he keeps the momentum going (keeping these scenes from being over-heavy exposition, or simply a chance to cackle ominously).

There is a fair amount of exposition in this book. If you wanted to know anything about the fault lines in California, the use (and misuse) of nuclear fuel in the country’s power plants, or just how precarious a combination of these things could make life in the Golden State, you need look no further. Especially early in the book, great chunks of time are spent with characters laying out the exact facts for other characters.

A bit draggy, perhaps, but Sgt. Ryder pays attention through the whole thing – and uses that knowledge for his brilliant conclusion at the climax. See, kids? Pay attention in school, and you can outsmart international terrorists!

Mr. MacLean does an excellent job describing characters. The writing-nazis of today might complain that it’s “head-hopping”, or not staying strictly within one person’s point-of-view, but the vibrant language he uses to paint his people make up for it. MacLean’s writing is what my writing would be grown up – language stood on its head, forcing the audience to look at it sideways before understanding the joke, then carrying them along on a vivacious cartwheel of exposition.

There are a lot of characters, and once in a while some too-similar names got me tangled up, but the descriptions are clear and help differentiate each person. Personalities are also described, then lived out, and because we are introduced so thoroughly to begin with, we remember better who’s who.

The nuclear professor above, for instance, is a large, fiery, heavy-drinking man with a mouth like a sailor. Ryder’s wife is slender, calm, young-looking, and highly intelligent. Ryder’s son is young, upright, and not so quick as his father (probably because of his lesser experience), but they make an excellent team – and young Ryder gets to make the final brilliant plan that is their last chance against the villain’s mad schemes.

There are some caveats, I’m afraid. There’s quite an amount of sprinkled profanity. One of the bad guys is caught in bed “not alone” with a pretty young girl (nothing graphic, but anyone who knows how life works will figure out the score). And, of course, Ryder takes the law into his own hands, gets away with it, and even gets the cooperation of the official intelligence forces for his brilliant counter-offensives.

There’s plenty of humor, though, and plenty of delightful phrases and sneaky word-acrobatics. The plot ratchets up without a let-down of “Really? That’s all there was?” Punching, car-chasing, nuclear devices, destruct-buttons, mass panic of the population, out-smarting of villain masterminds…everything we expect from Alistair MacLean is here. For the mature of mind and conscience, this is a solid diversion.

[Subhojit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must say I am surprised that this book had so few takers! This is one of Maclean's best works after Guns of Navarone! Bits and pieces were boring especially a lot of seismological references.. but this one kept us holding our breath till the last page, to say nothing of the dry humour. A map would have been excellent with the text... being a non-American naturally I had no idea about the geographical references. If you are a Maclean (or for all that matters suspense) lover... this is a must for you!

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't remember a damn thing about this book, but DO know now exactly when I read it - 25 Jan 1979 - because Jennifer and I are reading through my ancient diaries from when I first moved to Taipei, and marveling about how different everything was back then. Like, EVERYTHING.

Among other things, Taipei was infamous for their pirate book industry - so noted in my diary that I picked this up in hardcover for about 90 cents, (and this was MacLean's latest book, just released a few months earlier). Cool.

[Henri Moreaux · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Thomas Stroemquist · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another late MacLean, another terrorist with enormous ransom demands. This one has his own nuclear weapons and knows where to set them of to say Goodbye to California. A definite pick-up after the poor Seawitch, but not a very memorable one from the author.

[Alayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book - my only criticism is: "Can we please have a map to go with it?"
The author kept talking about areas of California & nearby Cities and I have no idea where they are in relation to each other. A map would have made the book even more enjoyable

[Elker Kamel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am reading this book now. but after reading the reviews ' I don't know if I can read it all

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up because it was the only book in English at the hotel in Bali and it wasn't bad holiday reading.

In some ways the book had to be read from a bit of a historical perspective, for example, cops resigning, then running their own investigation on a major terrorist threat outside the law wouldn't really be getting congratulated in the middle of it, and the gentleman terrorist, who doesn't really want to kill anyone is also a little far fetched. However, the characters were interesting and likeable and the book had some really interesting ideas.

[Mike Grady · Rating 2 out of 5]

A one - off from Alistair MacLean. While I did have issue with the premise of a rogue off duty police detective taking the law into his own hands and preventing a terrorist attack, I did appreciate the scientific explanations and liked going down memory lane with the late 70's technology.

Don't go out of your way to read this book.

[Cindy S. Allwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read!!

This is a quick paced, interesting novel that was written and takes place in the 1970's. Its a novel about terrorism by a weird sect of Muslims in the US, written before 9/11 was even dreamed about. I really liked the characters in this novel....the author really made them come alive.!!

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nuclear weapons are placed along the San Andreas fault so that, upon detonation, most of California's biggest cities will fall into the ocean. MacLean's thrillers are older but still seem timely today.

[D Wedd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a lot of action in this one, it's all about the investigation,the inevitable final battle takes about 4 pages. It's as if the author just decided to rap it up quickly. If you are interested in earthquakes you might find it interesting.

[Richard van Balen · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first time ever I've not been able to actually finish a book. Not because the book is bad, the story poorly written but entirely due to personal preference.
The lengthy dialogues and a type of story that had been told numerous times made me lose my interest.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was just ok. There was not much chance of figuring things out, just the slow reveal of the plot. The story had a too abrupt ending, and Maclean did not write the actual climax of the plot, just a hint of how it started and then it was over. Too bad.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

After an earthquake in California, it is discovered that five nuclear scientists have disappeared. Could these events be related? Ryder is tasked to find out and to prevent more disaster.

[Edward Lengel · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of talking, a lot of boozing (MacLean's alcoholism was well advanced by this point) but not much action till the last 10 pages. Strangely, though, it's still readable.

[Divakar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not in the same class as Caravan to Vaccares or Ice Station Zebra, but it is interesting nevertheless.

[Iain Cosgrove · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this again recently and really liked it. I loved the main protagonist, and some of the humour was brilliantly done. JUst as exciting now as it was when I was a teenager!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good thriller

[Alistaire King · Rating 4 out of 5]

By late MacLean standards this isn't bad. At times the pace flags with overlong discussions on seismology.

[Albert Belcher · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is an odd occurrence for me; in regard to an Alistair MacLean book. It was so very boring!

[Marvin Suther · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though the story line was a bit far-fetched (in my opinion), it was an enjoyable read.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course, everyone expects the Big Earthquake to hit California someday, what if someone decides to help mother nature along. Alistair MacLean is the go to author for suspense thrillers

[Erik Prime · Rating 2 out of 5]

This 1977 novel by English author Alistair MacLean reads not like a thriller, but rather as a pedantic textbook primer on earthquakes, the ozone layer, how nuclear weapons work, and many other esoteric topics. At one point, he names every fault line in California. All too often I found myself thinking, oh, here’s another large chunk of educational material.

The characters are black-and-white cardboard cutouts; they are either totally evil or supremely good. There are no nuanced characters working in the gray areas. The author also spends a lot of time explaining how many kooks and “eccentrics” live in CA…he returns to this theme again and again.

The Muslim antagonists are racially profiled with cliché descriptions that might be mildly offensive to modern readers. Here’s a prime example: “Unlike Christianity, the Muslim religion has no moral laws against the killing of mankind in general—just against the killing of Muslims, period. The concept of a holy war is an integral part of their lives.”

Finally, on three separate occasions, MacLean uses the term “mentally retarded” as a demeaning pejorative and not to describe someone with a learning disability. This might have been business as usual in the 1970’s, but forty years later it just feels wrong.

CODA: This was the last of the author's 28 books that I read. Only a few warrant a second look: Ice Station Zebra, The Guns of Navarone, possibly Bear Island, and my personal favorite, Breakheart Pass.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

This thriller recycles elements of The Satan Bug (stolen deadly technology in the hands of a madman), The Golden Gate (a presidential hostage), and Seawitch (dual protagonists, here a father and son motivated by the kidnapping of wife and daughter rather than brothers motivated by kidnapped fiancés) all to lesser effect (except in the case of Seawitch, where any effect is greater).

It's a shame, really, because there's a genuinely intriguing idea here--that of causing earthquakes in California through setting off nukes at spots in fault lines. Our main protagonist, Ryder, is essentially a fascist, throwing out all police procedure and quitting the force due to the corrupt police department he's a part of. He assaults and tortures suspects throughout, yet everyone understands because his wife has been kidnapped, and he is also invariably correct in his hunches and assumptions, and other people continually go along with him. This makes him much less interesting than the protagonist of, say, Puppet on a Chain, who is also brutal but who is also nearly always wrong in his initial hunches.

The book moves slowly but was still interesting enough to keep me reading, and the end generates some genuine excitement before concluding abruptly.

[Mel]

I grew up in California with the constant looming possibility of 'the next big one' and checking MacLean's adventure paperbacks out from the library, so I was excited for this . . . but, oof.

The concept is solid enough, including the disdain for corrupt public servants and opportunist government/new officials. I don't mind Ryder feeling like an almost supernaturally competent operative, and sure his wife is captured but she's no damsel, and does plenty of good work on the inside (as both MacLean and Ryder himself point out).

But then about halfway through it peters out before ending not with a bang but a whimper. Begins the downslide by hammering home several points too many times, before tossing in an [illogical to boot] pro-Christianity / anti-Muslim rant which seemed to ignore oh the ENTIRETY of the Crusades before a preemptive wrap-up which skimped on the logistics of the action (often a MacLean specialty).

Ah well, can't nail em all.