Charter Books (Sphere) - 1977 - 250 Pages
David McIlwain (aka Charles Eric Maine) wrote quite a few sci-fi/horror titles in his tenure as an author. He died in 1981, aged 60. Thirst! is my first time reading his work.
This book noted that it is "a revised version of THE TIDE WENT OUT first published by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. in 1958", so I guess it started as a short story and then was brought up to date and expanded some.
Even so, through the eyes of 2009, the story lacks a lot of things we take for granted (such as no Internet - which would play a key role when communication is key, and the government want to censor media), no cell phones and whatnot. On the other hand there are plenty of people guzzling Whiskey and chain smoking, so it's not all bad.
I'm not sure what attracted me to the book. I think it was the lure of getting one of those disaster thrillers we've all seen on TV at one time or another. Always awful, and always terribly dated. If I had got that I'd have been satisfied, but as it happens I got a lot more.
Thirst! tells the story of a world in decline. Fissures have opened up in the sea beds of the world, and all the water is simply draining away into underground caverns created by the shrinking of the Earths core over thousands of years. With the water level dropping there's no shipping, no international trade - soon we have famine, disease, and of course - a terrible Thirst!
Against this backdrop our hero (using the term loosely) is Phillip Wade. Wade is an editor on a so-so weekly magazine. His marriage is slightly rocky after an affair, but they stay together because of their son, David.
Phillip has prepared a story for the current issue telling the world of earthquakes, falling sea levels, mixed with tabloid speculation. On the day it is due to be printed and released, a government ban comes into force, and the story has to be pulled. Phillip is then mysteriously told "when you're offered a government job, take it, no matter what."
And so Phillip takes over as an intelligence officer writing propaganda to appease the frightened masses. His wife and son are whisked away to a secret base being put together at the North Pole, and with his privileged view of things, Phillip watches the world go down the proverbial plug hole.
In the end the story centres itself on covering the change in people as disaster, and death, come knocking on the door, the psychological effects, the impact on morals, truth, honesty, and integrity. The background of hell breaking out, as we hear the various intelligence reports, and the impact this has on old friendships, on the will to survive, and how Phillip sees himself is paramount. Of course, there is plenty of action along the way for gunfights, fires, explosions, rape and murder. You're never far from some excitement.
The writing is good, and although the science is silly at times, I truly think this was done to ensure the story was pared down, and stayed in focus. After all, such a novel could clearly be 1000 pages long and still have something to say. As it is, the author sticks to the central characters and themes, and never tells us more than we need to know.
Also worth mentioning is that the author doesn't balk at telling us like it is. Meaning there are pretty downbeat sections in this book, can there truly be a happy ending with so much death? Can the world be saved? What is the purpose of government and the military at times such as this? You'll have to read and find out.
The above cover is the best I could find on the net. It's not the cover I have, mine looks like an advertisement for an 80's Dr. Who episode.
All in all, a good read I think, and worth checking out if you like this sort of thing. JG Ballard loved these end-of-the-world stories, but if you prefer your disasters a little more down to earth and less introspective (without being blaise), then this book should fit the bill.
Enjoy, I did.
