Author | Roderick Thorp |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Thriller novel |
Publisher | W. W. Norton & Company |
Publication date
|
1979 |
Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
ISBN | |
OCLC | 5101628 |
813/.5/4 | |
LC Class | PZ4.T55 No 1979 PS3570.H67 |
Preceded by | The Detective |
Nothing Lasts Forever is a 1979 thriller novel by Roderick Thorp, a sequel to his 1966 novel The Detective. It is mostly known through its film adaptation, Die Hard. In December 2012, the book was brought back into print and released as an ebook for the 25th anniversary of the film.
In the year 1975, author Roderick Thorp saw the film The Towering Inferno, which is about a skyscraper that catches on fire. After seeing the film, Thorp fell asleep and had a dream of seeing a man being chased through a skyscraper by men with guns. He woke up and later took that idea and turned it into the The Detective sequel, Nothing Lasts Forever.
Retired NYPD Detective Joe Leland is visiting the 40-story office headquarters of the Klaxon Oil Corporation in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve, where his daughter Stephanie Leland Gennaro works. While he is waiting for his daughter's Christmas party to end, a group of German Autumn-era terrorists take over the skyscraper. The gang is led by the brutal Anton "Little Tony" Gruber. Joe met Gruber during World War II when Joe was a fighter pilot.
The terrorists plan to steal documents that will publicly expose the Klaxon corporation's dealings with Chile's Junta. They also intend to deprive Klaxon of the proceeds of the corrupt deal by dumping $6,000,000 in cash out of the tower's windows. Leland not only believes their claims, but also that his daughter is involved.
Barefoot, Leland slips away and manages to remain undetected in the gigantic office complex. Aided outside only by LAPD Sergeant Al Powell and armed with only his police-issue Browning Hi-Power pistol, Leland fights off the terrorists one by one in an attempt to save the 74 hostages, including his daughter and grandchildren.