Originally serialized as
Seven Days to Never, (a much better title) this 1956 Pat Frank nuclear thriller delivers. Growing up in a small town in north Florida in the 70's, Frank's
Alas Babylon got passed around my group of friends sometime around 8th grade. "That's too scary for you kids" the more prudish adults said, it was quasi-contraband in middle school, but read it we did. While
Forbidden Area was only published three years prior, it has a very post-WWII feel whereas
Alas Babylon is firmly set in the Cold War. The shift in tone is subtle, but quite noticeable. In fact the main plot line, about Soviet saboteurs being delivered to U.S. shores via submarine, is lifted directly from the WWII German
Operation Pastorius.
So, a synopsis: Soviet sub drops off four saboteurs on a remote Florida east coast beach. A deep-secret DoD think tank, the "Enemy Intensions Group" surmises that the Soviets are in a wind-up for a nuclear first strike knock-out punch. Paths intertwine, action happens, sleuthing occurs, more action... and no more because that'd be a spoiler!
One flaw in this book is nailing down the year in which things happen. On one hand, most of the characters are WWII veterans of one sort or another with about 5 to 10 years' more experience and rank. That would place it somewhere circa 1950 – 1955, and that matches the book's feel. However, the B-47 and B-52 bombers were all mothballed and replaced by a fleet of "B-99"s – a high-flying beast that more or less corresponds to the never-built B-70 fleet. That would place it in perhaps the mid-to-late 1960's. ICBMs in this book are just coming online, but in secretive ways, and in limited numbers. Finally the Soviet submarines and their nuclear strike capabilities are like a late-1940's fever dream based on WWII pipe dreams. So, as for the real year? It's a work of fiction, so take your pick.
Apart from the anachronistic aspects of the characters and military hardware, a second flaw the book suffers from is an excess of "tell, don't show." Frank had much improved his writing by the time of Alas Babylon to reverse this to "show, don't tell," but in this novel it makes the story drag at times.
Having said all that, this book does fairly accurately anticipate the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, if not in specific detail, then more in the general nuclear brinksmanship and skulduggery departments. For that alone it is worth the read. It's an interesting time capsule, and a look back at a very different time here in America.
ps: It was adapted by none other than Rod Serling into
the first episode of Playhouse 90, with a cast of names you'd easily recognize. Probably worth digging around for a copy.
pps: Video of that Playhouse 90 episode
found!
