Nothing Lasts Forever

Happy New Year! What could be a better start to 2015 than a book review by yours truly? Beer, booze, and uninhibited sex come to your minds, I'm sure. However, since I can offer none of those, a book review is in order.

Our selection today is...Nothing Lasts Forever, by Roderick Thorp, a 1979 novel. The relevance of this novel to your lives is that it was the loose basis for the original blockbuster 1988 Die Hard! And I do mean loose. The book is a very entertaining 245 page read and I did it in two days, I had that much trouble putting it down. Here is a synopsis.

**SPOLIER ALERT** If you want to read it, read it, it is a great story if you can find a copy. Scroll down to the end of spoiler alert. Otherwise, continue on. :)

World War 2 veteran and former detective turned security consultant Joe Leland is on his way to Los Angeles to visit his divorced daughter Stephanie Gennaro and her two kids for Christmas. Stephanie works for Klaxon Oil in a 40-story building on Wilshire Blvd. Upon arriving during a party, Joe learns that Klaxon just completed a major business deal with Chile with Stephanie's help. He also learns that she is screwing one of her colleagues Ellis and probably does coke with him.

While he is washing up after his plane trip from St. Louis, he hears a disturbance in the main party room. After hiding to find a place to figure out the situation, he learns the head of the invasion is a German named Anton Gruber. In fact, all of the invading force of 12 is German. In time, Joe takes care (kills) the men and women of Gruber's force and gains better weapons and a radio. He throws one of his victims over the roof, which eventually gains police attention. He also kills the brother of Karl, another of Gruber's force. The threat of Karl is seen throughout the book, but he is seen only twice. 

As Joe is taking out Gruber's force, he has to contend with a maze-like ventilation system to crawl around in, major injuries from broken glass, his own fear of getting killed, and Gruber's threats over the radio to kill all of the hostages combined with his own rhetoric regarding his and Joe's actions. Ellis tries to intervene but Joe refuses, seeing Ellis's true slimeball nature, and Gruber kills him. Joe also develops a friendly but cautious friendship over the radio with Al Powell, a young black cop who responded to the body thrown from the roof. As the night drags on into early Christmas morning, more and more cops and citizens and the media turn the Klaxon situation into a national sensation. Powell's boss Dwayne Robinson distrusts Joe at first, but comes to accept him once he learns who Joe is, but he still wants Joe to back down and let the cops handle it.

Joe knows how people like Dwayne think, and the resulting actions would get him and the hostages, including Stephanie and her kids, killed. Sure enough, the police send in helicopters at dawn, which are dispatched by rockets. Joe gets back into the building via a fire hose and daring leap from the roof. After saving the majority of the hostages (Gruber killed a few) including his grandchildren, he meets up with Gruber who is holding Stephanie hostage. Joe tries to get a clean shot at Gruber, but she refuses to take cover, Joe kills Gruber, but the terrorist holds onto Stephanie and they both fall through the window to their deaths. Devastated, Joe coldly kills one more female terrorist then heads downstairs, warning the cops that Karl is still loose.

Once with the cops, Karl appears. Dwayne shields Joe, but Karl kills Dwayne and gets a shot into Joe before Al kills him. The book ends as Joe is taken to an ambulance, his fate uncertain.

**SPOLIER END**

This book is an interesting tale of morality and the consequences of one's actions, two aspects we don't see much of in Die Hard. Joe Leland is a man in his 50s or early 60s. He has a dark past filled with divorce and alcoholism. He has become a respected authority on security in many areas including banking and retail, but due to this he has become a lonely workaholic who cannot get a successful relationship going after his marriage.

In the Klaxon Oil tower, he is in fear for his life constantly, and also regrets each kill he makes, especially on the women. He is devastated by the fate of his daughter, but also understands that she made bad choices in men and business and that her fate may have been in spite of his intervention, not because of it.

The remarks about society in 1979 are not all that different from now, especially in regards to the destruction of close neighbors and increasing isolation from others (digital technology makes this very true for many). Another point well made is the fact that we the people expect the good guys to get rid of the bad guys, just don't let us see any gory details on how you do it. Otherwise, you'll look bad as well. I see this in the current bad press about police.

In terms of the Die Hard connection, here's a name compare/contrast.

Die Hard Nothing|Lasts Forever

John McClane |Joe Leland

Holly Gennaro-McClane(wife)| Stephanie Gennaro (daughter)

Al Powell |Al Powell

Karl| Karl

Hans Gruber|Anton Gruber/Tony the Red

Dwayne Robinson| Dwayne Robinson

Joseph Takagi| Rivers

Ellis| Ellis

A few other differences: the book has no Dick Thornberg (sleazy reporter), Karl only appears twice, and the injury from glass happens much earlier.

In conclusion, I highly recommend this book, not just to see source material for a movie, but also to read a good action story that discusses society and morality along the way without getting preachy.