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The Doomsday Ultimatum
It is the mid-1970s. A group of disaffected politicians,businessmen, and servicemen -- fiercely patriotic men and women with the right skills and ambitions -- plan and execute a bizarre operation to stop Britain sliding into what they see as anarchy.They seize a nuclear power station as a means of holding the government to ransom. The twist ending comes as a complete surprise and demonstrates this new author's mastery of indirection.
- GenresMystery
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
61 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
James Follett
49 books36 followersJames Follett (not "Follet") was an author and screenwriter, born in 1939 in Tolworth, England.
Follett became a full-time fiction writer in 1976, after resigning from contract work as a technical writer for the British Ministry of Defence. He has wrote over 20 novels, several television scripts (including episodes of the BBC's Blake's 7), and many radio dramas. Follett was one of the 400 most popular British authors, measured by the numbers of books borrowed from public libraries in the UK, having spent 11 years in the public lending right's top two bands of authors.
Follett became a full-time fiction writer in 1976, after resigning from contract work as a technical writer for the British Ministry of Defence. He has wrote over 20 novels, several television scripts (including episodes of the BBC's Blake's 7), and many radio dramas. Follett was one of the 400 most popular British authors, measured by the numbers of books borrowed from public libraries in the UK, having spent 11 years in the public lending right's top two bands of authors.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 30, 2013
Written in 1976 this novel could quite easily be portraying the near future of Britain - high unemployment, poverty, poorly functioning government, depressed economy.
From this base a group of four decide to take a nuclear power station hostage and force the government to pass legislation to improve the plight of the country.
At 280 pages it's not particularly long, but is a good tale with nice development and a good ending.
From this base a group of four decide to take a nuclear power station hostage and force the government to pass legislation to improve the plight of the country.
At 280 pages it's not particularly long, but is a good tale with nice development and a good ending.
May 9, 2020
This book is awfu!
Besides being poorly organized and difficult to follow it leaves far too many of the story threads unfinished. The ending is far too sudden and leaves much to wonder . I am indeed sorry for the purchase.
Besides being poorly organized and difficult to follow it leaves far too many of the story threads unfinished. The ending is far too sudden and leaves much to wonder . I am indeed sorry for the purchase.
March 16, 2020
Editing Stinks
Missing words, duplicated words, misspelled words. Story only mildly interesting, and not worth the trouble of trying to decipher. At “free”, I paid too much
Missing words, duplicated words, misspelled words. Story only mildly interesting, and not worth the trouble of trying to decipher. At “free”, I paid too much
June 13, 2023
I have read almost all of James Follett’s books and this one just doesn’t fill my expectations. I think it was his first novel and must say he certainly improved with time !
January 30, 2011
"You saw that maniac. We've got to go along with him otherwise he destroys the country. It's as plain and as simple and as stark as that. We've no choice."
The outspoken Welshman is right about having no choice, of course, but quite wrong about the maniac.
"We have a hung parliament of weakness and mediocrity that lacks the drive, initiative, and courage to tackle the country's problems with zeal and determination."
In this crackingly-paced yarn the future does indeed seem very bleak for Britain. The future painted is one of desperate poverty, where even cleanliness of the streets has gone out the window due to economic hardship, and the people depicted all seem keen on power and are quite ruthless in their attempts to obtain it.
The somewhat graphic demise of a character when he's sliced up by a boat's propellers is rather gruesome and it's Turtling, more than Kettling, when the police wade in to break up rampant street riots. The writing has that clipped Britishness to it that so illustrates a work from this side of the Atlantic, and though the ending isn't overly surprising, it's still most, most satisfying.
The outspoken Welshman is right about having no choice, of course, but quite wrong about the maniac.
"We have a hung parliament of weakness and mediocrity that lacks the drive, initiative, and courage to tackle the country's problems with zeal and determination."
In this crackingly-paced yarn the future does indeed seem very bleak for Britain. The future painted is one of desperate poverty, where even cleanliness of the streets has gone out the window due to economic hardship, and the people depicted all seem keen on power and are quite ruthless in their attempts to obtain it.
The somewhat graphic demise of a character when he's sliced up by a boat's propellers is rather gruesome and it's Turtling, more than Kettling, when the police wade in to break up rampant street riots. The writing has that clipped Britishness to it that so illustrates a work from this side of the Atlantic, and though the ending isn't overly surprising, it's still most, most satisfying.
Currently reading
December 8, 2008I bought this book because it was $2 and I do enjoy a good James Follett book (especially The Temple of the Winds Trilogy and Second Atlantis), but I am having some serious trouble getting through The Doomsday Ultimatum. The characters all seem to be blending together, and it's not really holding my attention. I'm hoping it will get better once the Parliament actually responds to the demands (I've only just gotten into the Parliamentary meeting).
I suppose it would help if I didn't keep getting distracted by other books. Damn you Tipping the Velvet and my guilty pleasure, Angel: The Series novels.
I suppose it would help if I didn't keep getting distracted by other books. Damn you Tipping the Velvet and my guilty pleasure, Angel: The Series novels.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews