Shadow 81

by Lucien Nahum

--Los Angeles A pacific global airways jumbojet carrying 187 passengers and 14 crew members was highjacked at one thirty PM (PST) today. It had just taken off from Los Angeles International Airport for Honolulu. The highjacker has threatened to shoot down the airliner unless he is paid twenty (20) million dollars ramsom in gold within the next three hours.

Genres: Fiction

287 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Mehedi Sarwar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast paced thriller, sometimes felt like political satire. It’s about a daring airliner hijacking story which is planned to the details. Can the authorities catch the mastermind behind it. One of those story where you feel rooted for the criminal.

[Daehee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast-paced, entertaining. Definitely underrated; Shadow 81 doesn’t even get a cover photo on Goodreads or Amazon. Had to scour eBay to find this copy. Written by Lucien Nahum who’s since been lost to obscurity after this one work. The author is literally a ghost on Google. Happened to discover only through Hideo Kojima.

The protagonist is a USAF pilot who, in an ingenious scheme, defects in Vietnam and executes the ultimate heist. Many of the political views throughout the story evoke the dejected cynicism of soldiers during the Vietnam War, tired of being used and manipulated by the higher powers. Military leaders, politicians, and the media are all insincere phonies working towards their own personal agendas; don’t trust anyone! Though the referenced events are dated to the 70s, the contemplative triggers are still relevant as ever today.

[Joe Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this it’s great.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Hideo!!

[Masayuki Arai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unique criminal :)
boring politics :(

[Liam_McG · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one's all about the details. I can see why Kojima was so inspired by this, in terms of world building and atmosphere this is a really great book. I'd call Shadow 81 a popcorn action flick but executed extremely well.