Product Description

An airliner on a routine flight from San Francisco to Tokyo is struck by a U.S. Navy missile. Because of the sudden change in cabin pressure, all but five people on board are either dead, comatose, or raving mad. As Flight 52 becomes the ultimate test of survival, onboard horrors begin to mount. In addition, the airline, the insurance company, and the Navy are desperate to cover up the mishap--no matter what the cost. Simultaneous paperback release from Warner Books. 10 cassettes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1639528 in Books
• Published on: 1998-01-01
• Formats: Audiobook, Unabridged
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 10
• Binding: Audio Cassette

Review
"An intelligent and accomplished storyteller" WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD "DeMille's narrative energy is unflagging" BOSTON GLOBE "A marvellous contemporary writer" NEW YORK DAILY NEWS "Fascinating, frightening, and furiously paced...a story of almost unrelenting suspense" NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

About the Author
Nelson DeMille collaborated on MAYDAY with Thomas Block and the novel was first published under Block's name in 1979, becoming an international bestseller. Nelson DeMille has written eight other novels and lives on Long Island, New York.

From AudioFile
An unusual twist is added to the "airplane in peril" plot. A high-altitude supersonic jumbo jet has been hit by a drone missile; oxygen deprivation kills some but leaves most passengers brain-damaged zombies. Five passengers and flight attendants escape injury and must land the plane. The authors defeat predictability by mixing in the military and the airline company: Both want this embarrassing problem to vanish without a trace. David Dukes establishes individual vocal personalities, bringing to the narration the fear and tension of those fighting to save the plane, as well as those desperate to destroy it. Especially chilling is his expression of the unintelligible grunts and moans of the injured passengers who are milling through the plane, terrified. Expect a knotted stomach throughout this thriller. M.A.M. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Taut, tense and terrific.
I was coerced into buying this book because of an interest in flying and action/adventure novels. But once I started reading it I didn't remember why I needed coersion. It simply a terrific read from begginning to end. I thought that it would be similar to books like Arthur Hailey's 'Airport' which I had read years ago and quite enjoyed but I wondered how DeMille was going to do anything new with the genre. Although a big fan of the 'X-Files' and the like I was just about "conspiracied" out. But DeMille makes the missile tragedy and cover-up very believable. The attention to detail (as he acknowledged, Thomas Block's aeronautical knowledge was vital)is excellent but he never lets the technicalities (either the problems experienced at the altitude or the militaria) bog the story down. You find yourself in the cockpit right next to John Berry with your heart pounding.

Interestingly the romantic sub plot was barely touched on and was refreshing in this age of sex/sexual tension influencing everything. Rightly, the protaganists put this to one side to concentrate on the more important issues at hand. This leads to the sexual tension being there, just in the periphery. 'Mayday' is brilliantly written and while originally published in the late 1970s, the version that I bought was updated for the 1990s (in much the same way the Stephen King updated 'The Stand') and I can honestly say it's an excellent book. I bought 'Mayday' about 3 months ago and quickly got my hands on and read 'Spencerville' and 'The General's Daughter' by DeMille (both of which are excellent) and we also now have 'Gold Coast', 'Plum Island' 'Word of Honour', 'The Talbot Odyssey' and 'By the Rivers of Babylon' in our bookcase.

For fans of the action side of the story, I can also recommend Clive Cussler, whose earlier books resemble 'Mayday', including coincidentally one called 'Mayday', although I think its American title was 'The Mediterranean Caper'.

DeMilles best
From the first page to the last, the action carrys you in the cockpit with all the fear and excitement possible. As with all his books he does not leave much time for anything else until you are done and then want another. I have read all his books and only wait for his next to make my day.

Early, underwritten work by great action author
Nelson DeMille is one of my three or four favorite authors. He passed Tom Clancy and John Grisham some time ago.

DeMille writes with an almost frantic pace, using regular guy heroes who emerge from the ruins of tragedy or terror. "Mayday", about a jet airliner accidentally damaged by a missle over the Pacific, offered DeMille an early chance to develop his style. Placing almost al of the action in the fuselage of the damaged plane limits his stage. The details of decompression at high altitude are not pretty. The male and female leads are heroic. The victimized pilot of the fighter that fired the deadly shot is a good, if side story.

The conclusions are somewhat predictable. I finished with small disappointment, having read much of his later work earlier.