This is some of the best disaster fiction out there. At first, it seems to follow the basic pattern of such novels: there's some sort of disaster, and a few people are randomly picked to survive, and have to find a way to get back home. Mayday, however, deviated from this basic formula. The plot can be easily summed up: Flight 52, a huge airliner with around 300 people aboard is hit by a missile illegally test-fired by the US Navy. At 62,000 feet, the oxygen deprivation is so severe that almost the entire load of passengers and crew are permanently brain damaged - large sections of their brains just wiped out. A lucky few survive, however - trapped in pressurized and stable areas at the time of the disaster. These few - including passenger John Berry and Sharon Crandell - have to find a way to fly and land the plane in the face of enormous odds. SPOILERS!!!If you are a nut about spoilers, skip this next paragraph.The plot deviates from the normal formula when, instead of trying to get them home safely, both the Navy and certain top officials in the airliner company try to bring Flight 52 down. The Navy cannot allow their test-firing of the missile to become known, as the missiles were illegal under international law. The airline company and an insurance company also want the plane down, because it could crash into San Francisco, and all the brain-dead passengers would have to be financially supported, becoming a massive drain on resources. Thus, instead of just focusing on the problem of trying to get the craft home, John Berry and his fellow survivors have to do it in the face of the US Navy and the aircraft corporation trying to destroy them. This adds a whole new element of challenge and pain into the story.This was a spectacularly thrilling and expertly written book - fast paced, gripping, character AND plot-driven, suspenseful, the whole 9 yards. Chances are you picked up this book because you wanted a good thrilling edge-of-your-seat disaster novel, and that's exactly what you will get. Recommended.
I don't give out a lot of 5's, so I really need to explain this one for this very reason in addition to this book is way outside of my usual reading genres. I've always felt that if the author can properly evoke an intended emotional response in a reader, then the book is fairly well written. And while this book does stray outside of the realm of possibility on a number of occasions, I don't necessarily discount stories that take creative liberties. Isn't that why they are called stories? With all of that in mind, this book is one hell of a ride. The suspense is palpable, the horror gut wrenching and the spirit invigorating. There were times where I was actually angry with the authors for taking the detail to the levels that they did. In the end, I couldn't stop with this book. I had to see it through to completion. And while yes the ending was predictable, that didn't keep me from liking the book. I felt compelled and had to experience this from end-to-end. This isn't the most intellectually challenging of reads, but the story is more than solid. Boil it all down, and you will be entertained when you finish with Flight 52.
What do You think about Mayday (1998)?
If you're into planes or disaster scenarios, you should definitely pick up this book. It's written by a pilot so the descriptions of the plane, protocols, etc. are extremely detailed (almost too detailed for the average person). It's actually pretty gory in some parts and that turned me off although I can see why some of those parts were in the book. The book has characters you'll cheer for, characters you'll hate, and even those you'll feel sorry for. I've heard that some people have problems with the decompression "zombies" on the plane and while I did have problems once or twice, I honestly don't know enough about decompression to accurately gauge whether the book hammed it up or not. I thought the ending was movie-ish. (view spoiler)[The final showdown between the pilot and the guy who tried to kill him. (hide spoiler)]
—Drucilla
This is a book that can be discussed on so many levels. It is fast paced and more about being "very afraid" of government cover ups and big business-$$$, than the fear of flying. Because that is a true fear on its own. It is full of agonizing and gut wrenching decisions by all involved. I could hear myself saying, "Don't go down there!; What are you thinking?; Should you really be saying that out loud?" As well as, Yikes, yikes, yikes! My head can't wrap around the aftermath of the ending and there in lies another disturbing discussion. There was a movie going on in my head the whole time, and that is one way, I judge a good book.
—Kitty
Probably not a good novel to read on a plane, I thought this was great fun. A jumbo jet loaded with passengers over the Pacific is accidentally struck by a missile fired by the military. There is decompression, which not only kills the flight crew, but lack of oxygen has turned most of the passengers into brain dead zombies. A few passengers escape this fate by being in a spot on the plane that did not decompress. How will they survive, and land the plane? What will the military do when they realize the situation? It's all really cool. Everyone knows DeMille, of course, but Thomas Block went on to write several more aviation themed thrillers each with a fascinating premise. Such as Orbit where the thrusters on a supersonic passenger jet stick open and end up parking the jet in orbit, or Forced Landing about a plot to hijack a plane full of gold and land it on a stolen aircraft carrier at sea.Good stuff.
—Joe Noir
