By RODRICK THORP (W.W. Norton & Co.; 1979)

A very good novel that seems destined to be known primarily as the basis for the Yuletide classic DIE HARD. That’s hardly an inappropriate turn of events, as NOTHING LASTS FOREVER was apparently conceived with a movie in mind. Specifically, it was supposed to be the sequel to the 1968 Frank Sinatra starrer THE DETECTIVE (adapted from Thorp’s 1966 novel of the same name), with the lead role, of an aging WWII vet who has much younger women all-but throw themselves at him throughout, written with Sinatra in mind. But that proposed DETECTIVE sequel never happened, and NOTHING LASTS FOREVER ended up reaching the screen in 1988 as a standalone non-sequel with a TV star in the lead and a title filched from a then-current Shane Black script (which in turn was retitled THE LAST BOY SCOUT)—and the rest, as they say, is history.

You know the story, I’m sure: on Christmas Eve Detective Joe Leland (whose name was changed for the movie) is invited to a holiday party in an LA high-rise by his businesswoman daughter. Shortly after he arrives the building is hijacked by a band of Chile-based German terrorists protesting the United States’ actions in South America, who hold the party guests, including Leland’s daughter, hostage. The take-over occurs just as Leland is changing his clothes on an upper floor, so he winds up spending much of the remainder of his time in the building, i.e. the rest of Christmas Eve and the following day, barefoot.

A very good novel that seems destined to be known primarily as the basis for the Yuletide classic DIE HARD.

Much ass is kicked as Leland puts his combat training to good use, shooting one terrorist and breaking another’s neck, which nets him machine guns and several explosives—one of which he throws down an elevator and sets off an ungodly explosion. The odds are against Leland, obviously, but he succeeds in killing off one terrorist after another, dodging gunfire and fighting exhaustion all the while.

All this is as it was in DIE HARD, which changed most of the details but kept the book’s narrative structure largely intact, down to the friendly cop on the ground with whom Leland communicates via walkie talkie (along with two other characters who were combined into a single guy in the flick) and the shocking last minute reappearance of a character who was presumed to be dead.

All this is as it was in DIE HARD, which changed most of the details but kept the book’s narrative structure largely intact…

Where the book differs from DIE HARD is in its painstakingly achieved sense of reality. The story may be implausible, but Thorp, a detective turned novelist, does his damndest to keep the action believable, to the point that he frequently breaks up the action to expound upon the real life dangers of terrorism, police corruption and other such weighty topics, which never compromises the suspense of the tale. NOTHING LASTS FOREVER delivers, in short, precisely what it promises: fast, lean, cinematic action in a confined space, served up with blood, guts and real Christmas cheer.