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D'eau et de feu
Une tempête fait rage au large de l?Écosse ? une tempête d?hiver comme on en a rarement vu. Combinée à une marée de forte amplitude, elle s?engouffre dans la mer du Nord en détruisant tout sur son passage, coulant les bateaux, ravageant les côtes, emportant les digues. À Londres, les habitants font leurs emplettes de Noël, rassurés par la présence de la Barrière, cette ligne d?écluses aménagées dans le lit de la Tamise en aval de la capitale, qui les protège depuis vingt ans des crues provoquées par les marées d?une mer toute proche.
Mais cette fois c?est différent. Sous des rafales à 140 km/h, un supertanker négocie mal sa mise à quai dans le complexe pétrochimique de Coryton, à l?embouchure de la Tamise. Incapable de remonter au vent, il percute le terminal gazier de ses 500 000 tonnes. Bientôt, poussée par des vents de force 10 et une marée montante de coefficient 110, une montagne d?eau et de pétrole en flammes s?engouffre dans l?estuaire et remonte la Tamise. La Barrière tiendra-t-elle ?
Tandis que les autorités militaires et civiles déclenchent les plans d?alerte maximum, les Londoniens s?avisent, un peu tard, que tout le vieux Londres est situé en dessous du niveau de la mer. Deux mille ans d?histoire risquent d?être anéantis en quelques heures. Cinq cent mille personnes, piégées par des embouteillages monstres et des transports en commun saturés, sont en danger de mort. La panique est indescriptible?
Fruit de vingt-cinq ans de recherches minutieuses, D?eau et de feu est un thriller glaçant car redoutablement plausible. Dans une langue économe de ses effets, Richard Doyle s?appuie sur quelques personnages héroïques que le devoir ou le hasard a placés au coeur du désastre. Il crée un suspense qui vous fera tourner les pages avec d?autant plus d?émotion que le réchauffement climatique a cessé partout dans le monde d?être une abstraction.
Traduit de l'anglais par William Olivier Desmond
Mais cette fois c?est différent. Sous des rafales à 140 km/h, un supertanker négocie mal sa mise à quai dans le complexe pétrochimique de Coryton, à l?embouchure de la Tamise. Incapable de remonter au vent, il percute le terminal gazier de ses 500 000 tonnes. Bientôt, poussée par des vents de force 10 et une marée montante de coefficient 110, une montagne d?eau et de pétrole en flammes s?engouffre dans l?estuaire et remonte la Tamise. La Barrière tiendra-t-elle ?
Tandis que les autorités militaires et civiles déclenchent les plans d?alerte maximum, les Londoniens s?avisent, un peu tard, que tout le vieux Londres est situé en dessous du niveau de la mer. Deux mille ans d?histoire risquent d?être anéantis en quelques heures. Cinq cent mille personnes, piégées par des embouteillages monstres et des transports en commun saturés, sont en danger de mort. La panique est indescriptible?
Fruit de vingt-cinq ans de recherches minutieuses, D?eau et de feu est un thriller glaçant car redoutablement plausible. Dans une langue économe de ses effets, Richard Doyle s?appuie sur quelques personnages héroïques que le devoir ou le hasard a placés au coeur du désastre. Il crée un suspense qui vous fera tourner les pages avec d?autant plus d?émotion que le réchauffement climatique a cessé partout dans le monde d?être une abstraction.
Traduit de l'anglais par William Olivier Desmond
- GenresFiction
600 pages, Paperback
First published January 16, 1976
About the author
Richard Doyle
9 books11 followersI'm a fiction writer trying to break away from typecasting. For a while I was focusing on disasters, books like Flood and Volcano - London threatened by a storm surge, an eruption-caused tsunami devastating the coast of Maine.
I could have gone on with the theme - publishers always want more of the same and Flood had made it into a movie - bit I couldn't face it. So I'm back to straight thrillers with MUTE, out now on amazon kindle. It's about a little guy taking on the big ones. Nothing earth shattering, just a simple story of a fellow who doesn't give up when threatened.
A bit about me. I'm a Brit who's spent most of his life elsewhere. I was raised in North Africa and Kuwait and I've lived in lots of countries since - USA, France, Ireland, West Indies and the UK. Hard to say which was the most fun. I married a girl who likes travelling and she's usually planning where to go next. Any suggestions welcome. We love sailing and our son is a yachtsman so a bit of water would be good.
If any of you decide to stray on to my amazon kindle entry, you'll see I've put Imperial 109 out there too. It's a novel I wrote in 1978 about a flying boat service between South Africa and America. It sold a million copies.
I could have gone on with the theme - publishers always want more of the same and Flood had made it into a movie - bit I couldn't face it. So I'm back to straight thrillers with MUTE, out now on amazon kindle. It's about a little guy taking on the big ones. Nothing earth shattering, just a simple story of a fellow who doesn't give up when threatened.
A bit about me. I'm a Brit who's spent most of his life elsewhere. I was raised in North Africa and Kuwait and I've lived in lots of countries since - USA, France, Ireland, West Indies and the UK. Hard to say which was the most fun. I married a girl who likes travelling and she's usually planning where to go next. Any suggestions welcome. We love sailing and our son is a yachtsman so a bit of water would be good.
If any of you decide to stray on to my amazon kindle entry, you'll see I've put Imperial 109 out there too. It's a novel I wrote in 1978 about a flying boat service between South Africa and America. It sold a million copies.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 24, 2018
A classic of the disaster genre.
April 5, 2022
Brilliant. Quite a comment on society. Bit scary considering climate change
December 12, 2013
In 1953 a combination of factors led to a huge storm surge moving down the east coast of Great Britain. The surge made it as far as the Thames Estuary and caused some flooding around London. It could have been worse, but World War II was recent enough that London had no grand illusions about being invulnerable. The response was the planning of a mighty barrier to be built across the river that could be raised and lowered depending on the conditions. Work on it started in 1974. Alas, complacency had perhaps started to settle by then, thirty years after the war and twenty years after the floods of 1953. And so construction on the Thames Barrier dawdled. It went over budget and over schedule, and was used as a bargaining piece by the increasingly bold unions. To hasten work on the project would mean giving in to the unions or spending large sums of money. So no one did.
The Barrier was finally operational in 1982, eight years after work started on it, and was officially opened in 1984. Enter Deluge. It was written in the mid-1970s, when work on the Barrier was starting to stall. It is not so much a novel as a question. And the question is: “How stupid would all you politicians and unionists feel if a massive storm surge were to hit London in those few years between when the Barrier was supposed to be finished and when it was actually finished?” The cynical answer, it suggests, is not stupid at all. Everyone who survived would be too busy congratulating themselves on getting through the crisis to worry about the fact it could have been averted.
Sitting here, thirty years after the Barrier was finished, it's a tricky message to appreciate. Did people back then genuinely believe that the Barrier would go so astonishingly over schedule that one of these once-in-a-millennium floods could happen before it was finished? Obviously it's theoretically possible; even if the Barrier was only finished one day late then there could be a biblical deluge on that single night when the Barrier should have been there but wasn't. But it would be unlikely.
So then, as an advert for the Barrier and an attack on modern complacency, Deluge didn't really work for me. But what about the trappings used to convey these messages? It's standard disaster-thriller fare told through the eyes of a couple of people in the disaster control room and a few more groups dotted around the flooded areas, and with a few vignette-episodes thrown in for good measure.
Perhaps because the author was so keen to convey a message (always dangerous in fiction), the writing often come across as forced. I suppose I was hoping for some trashy B-movie style disaster fiction fun. The fiction here isn't disastrous, but, unfortunately, nor is that fun.
The Barrier was finally operational in 1982, eight years after work started on it, and was officially opened in 1984. Enter Deluge. It was written in the mid-1970s, when work on the Barrier was starting to stall. It is not so much a novel as a question. And the question is: “How stupid would all you politicians and unionists feel if a massive storm surge were to hit London in those few years between when the Barrier was supposed to be finished and when it was actually finished?” The cynical answer, it suggests, is not stupid at all. Everyone who survived would be too busy congratulating themselves on getting through the crisis to worry about the fact it could have been averted.
Sitting here, thirty years after the Barrier was finished, it's a tricky message to appreciate. Did people back then genuinely believe that the Barrier would go so astonishingly over schedule that one of these once-in-a-millennium floods could happen before it was finished? Obviously it's theoretically possible; even if the Barrier was only finished one day late then there could be a biblical deluge on that single night when the Barrier should have been there but wasn't. But it would be unlikely.
So then, as an advert for the Barrier and an attack on modern complacency, Deluge didn't really work for me. But what about the trappings used to convey these messages? It's standard disaster-thriller fare told through the eyes of a couple of people in the disaster control room and a few more groups dotted around the flooded areas, and with a few vignette-episodes thrown in for good measure.
Perhaps because the author was so keen to convey a message (always dangerous in fiction), the writing often come across as forced. I suppose I was hoping for some trashy B-movie style disaster fiction fun. The fiction here isn't disastrous, but, unfortunately, nor is that fun.
June 23, 2017
I'm rating this book highly for research but it's extremely depressing.
This was written about London before the Thames Barrier was completed, a chain of barriers across the Thames south of Greenwich which can be raised to halt an inrush of the North Sea during storms. At the time, the barrier work was under way but huge difficulties had slowed the construction over years, with the silty water called blackwater by the divers because nothing at all can be seen, the then-powerful unions holding the city to ransom and the city officials reluctant to overspend budgets on something not immediately needed and visibly helpful. Of course, the storyline demands a storm surge.
We see that the progress of the storm and surge down the North Sea has to be carefully monitored with watch points along the east coast. Alerts had proved their worth in the past but the storm had always shifted; due to a political visit the politicians are reluctant to issue a city-wide alert and call off ceremonies. One determinedly climbing politician in particular is the human face of the antagonism and inertia. The manager of the flood defence team is stalled from sounding an alert until it is too late to do anything very useful.
We also see that preparations had been established in the previous years but no drills had been held; residents in at-risk areas were unaware of the many related dangers and industry was poorly able to act appropriately in time. Industry like power generating stations, flammable oil storage (the word inflammable is used though engineers at this time used flammable or not flammable) and public transport like the Underground. Oh, also hospitals. The schools were best prepared as they would have systems in place to send children home for many reasons. Much of the city is a natural flood plain and many areas are below sea level.
As this is a disaster story, it's giving nothing away when I warn you not to get too attached to any character. We follow a series of people through dangers. This is really, really depressing. What would have been very useful was a map. Even a map of the Tube lines.
What I also found deeply depressing was that at the time, every job of any importance was held by a man. A few women are shown, one social worker, one doctor, others wives. There is the Queen, gawd bless 'er, but we don't get to see her and she is clearly an irrelevant figurehead unable to exert influence to aid her people. The Whitehall mandarins are removed to a base at Cheltenham when a flood looks imminent, so that's okay then.
Once the Barrier was in place, industry and banking were free to shift from the City and Fleet Street areas to Wapping and Docklands at the top of the Isle of Dogs. So really, the lack of the Barrier was holding back development of the city. At the time it was built, the Barrier was expected to be in raised use a few times at year. At present, with sea level rise, it is raised about once a week. And it will need to be built higher, as the sea threatens to overtop it; in 2016 we have seen flooding at Greenwich because the barrier was raised to keep out a high tide but the river backed up behind it. River protection will still be needed.
This was written about London before the Thames Barrier was completed, a chain of barriers across the Thames south of Greenwich which can be raised to halt an inrush of the North Sea during storms. At the time, the barrier work was under way but huge difficulties had slowed the construction over years, with the silty water called blackwater by the divers because nothing at all can be seen, the then-powerful unions holding the city to ransom and the city officials reluctant to overspend budgets on something not immediately needed and visibly helpful. Of course, the storyline demands a storm surge.
We see that the progress of the storm and surge down the North Sea has to be carefully monitored with watch points along the east coast. Alerts had proved their worth in the past but the storm had always shifted; due to a political visit the politicians are reluctant to issue a city-wide alert and call off ceremonies. One determinedly climbing politician in particular is the human face of the antagonism and inertia. The manager of the flood defence team is stalled from sounding an alert until it is too late to do anything very useful.
We also see that preparations had been established in the previous years but no drills had been held; residents in at-risk areas were unaware of the many related dangers and industry was poorly able to act appropriately in time. Industry like power generating stations, flammable oil storage (the word inflammable is used though engineers at this time used flammable or not flammable) and public transport like the Underground. Oh, also hospitals. The schools were best prepared as they would have systems in place to send children home for many reasons. Much of the city is a natural flood plain and many areas are below sea level.
As this is a disaster story, it's giving nothing away when I warn you not to get too attached to any character. We follow a series of people through dangers. This is really, really depressing. What would have been very useful was a map. Even a map of the Tube lines.
What I also found deeply depressing was that at the time, every job of any importance was held by a man. A few women are shown, one social worker, one doctor, others wives. There is the Queen, gawd bless 'er, but we don't get to see her and she is clearly an irrelevant figurehead unable to exert influence to aid her people. The Whitehall mandarins are removed to a base at Cheltenham when a flood looks imminent, so that's okay then.
Once the Barrier was in place, industry and banking were free to shift from the City and Fleet Street areas to Wapping and Docklands at the top of the Isle of Dogs. So really, the lack of the Barrier was holding back development of the city. At the time it was built, the Barrier was expected to be in raised use a few times at year. At present, with sea level rise, it is raised about once a week. And it will need to be built higher, as the sea threatens to overtop it; in 2016 we have seen flooding at Greenwich because the barrier was raised to keep out a high tide but the river backed up behind it. River protection will still be needed.
May 3, 2016
Not just a disaster tale, this story was a plea for the Thames Barrier to be built. There's also a subplot about the fatal flaw in the design of a particular type of high rise, for good measure.
A storm surge meets a high tide and rain laden Thames, and London is about to be overwhelmed. As the emergency response sees its coordination hampered by politicians trying to manage the news cycle, the water keeps rising, and a series of little dramas are set in play.
The author established early on that he had no problem killing likeable characters you expect to live, giving tension to the final rescue.
Dated in some ways, but the threat of flooding remains, even if the barrier did get built.
A storm surge meets a high tide and rain laden Thames, and London is about to be overwhelmed. As the emergency response sees its coordination hampered by politicians trying to manage the news cycle, the water keeps rising, and a series of little dramas are set in play.
The author established early on that he had no problem killing likeable characters you expect to live, giving tension to the final rescue.
Dated in some ways, but the threat of flooding remains, even if the barrier did get built.
June 7, 2013
Brilliant and believable novel. The way that the series of seemingly-unrelated social, political, engineering and natural events and decisions compound and result in a disaster is realistic.
The disaster evolves as a compound result of a series of seemingly-unrelated social, political, engineering and natural events and decisions. If you look at analyses of real-life disasters they inevitably show that this is how they happened, and it is that that makes this book so realistic.
The disaster evolves as a compound result of a series of seemingly-unrelated social, political, engineering and natural events and decisions. If you look at analyses of real-life disasters they inevitably show that this is how they happened, and it is that that makes this book so realistic.
January 27, 2016
Taken me months to get through this book. Haven't finished it yet, might do so on some future day
April 25, 2017
Started, then lost interest. Seemed really formulaic to me....the self-loving politician out for his own interests, diligent engineers, I didn't want to keep reading to affirm my hunches. I'm sure the descriptions of the England towns were researched and accurate? Maybe. I just didn't want to invest the time at this time to read the whole thing. Seemed like so many others....including a review from the Daily Telegraph of "Another Towering Inferno"....
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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February 18, 2019Really enjoying reading this book. One I had started it, I could not put it down. Well researched, Doyle knows his stuff.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews