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Roderick Thorp
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Nothing Lasts Forever (The book that inspired the movie Die Hard) (Basis for the Film Die Hard 1) Kindle Edition

by Roderick Thorp (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,066 ratings
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High atop a Los Angeles skyscraper, an office Christmas party turns into a deadly cage-match between a lone New York City cop and a gang of international terrorists. Every action fan knows it could only be the explosive big-screen blockbuster Die Hard. But before Bruce Willis blew away audiences as unstoppable hero John McClane, author Roderick Thorp knocked out thriller readers with the bestseller that started it all.

A dozen heavily armed terrorists have taken hostages, issued demands, and promised bloodshed all according to plan. But they haven't counted on a death-defying, one-man cavalry with no shoes, no backup, and no intention of going down easily. As hot-headed cops swarm outside, and cold-blooded killers wield machine guns and rocket launchers inside, the stage is set for the ultimate showdown between anti-hero and uber-villains. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good fight to the death. Ho ho ho!
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  1. Book 1 of 2
    Die Hard
  2. Print length
    178 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    December 18, 2011
  6. File size
    1453 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Novel That Inspired 'Die Hard' Returns to Print After 20 Years. Roderick Thorp's Nothing Lasts Forever was adapted into the iconic franchise's first film. Die Hard has returned, and not just to movie theaters. The book that inspired the original film is back in print after 20 years. Late author Roderick Thorp's Nothing Lasts Forever is being released in trade paperback and ebook by Graymalkin Media to mark the 25th anniversary of its original publication. The book was adapted into 1988's Die Hard. But before Bruce Willis brought New York cop John McClane to life, he was an idea scrawled in Thorp's notebook. (The cop is named Joe Leland in the novel.) The ebook includes copies of Thorp's notes, the first time they have been published. He wrote them while living in Laurel Canyon, his house overlooking a high-rise building on the Wilshire Corridor. (That building became the inspiration for the one taken over by terrorists in the book.) Just as there are no flashbacks, there are no shifts in point of view. Everything is told -- discovered from Leland's interior, Thorp wrote in his treatment for the novel. Before Willis ultimately took the role, a number of other stars turned it down. The first to pass was Frank Sinatra, who played Joe Leland in The Detective (1968), based on Thorp's novel of the same name. Other stars who declined to play the now iconic role included Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds, Richard Gere, Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson. 'Die Hard very closely follows the book, so reading Nothing Lasts Forever gives fans the chance to enjoy the thrill of the Die Hard story in more detail, experience the scenes that didn't make it into the film, and discover the novel's shocking ending' said Graymalkin Media Owner and CEO David Zindel. --The Hollywood Reporter, 2/23/2013 by Aaron Couch

About the Author

Roderick Thorp is the bestselling author of The Detective, which was made into a film starring Frank Sinatra. Mr. Thorp worked as a private detective for nine years and did extensive crime reporting including a twenty-one-part series on cocaine traffic in southern California, which was published in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. His other titles include Rainbow Drive and Devlin.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B006NZWXO2
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Graymalkin Media (December 18, 2011)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 18, 2011
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1453 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 178 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,066 ratings

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Roderick Thorp

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
1,066 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Auntie Grizelda
5.0 out of 5 stars Action and suspense buckle up
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2023
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So many differences in the movie. Yet, some scenes and lines are exact. This book did not disappoint. It's a wild ride with unexpected occurrences. If you love the movie, you owe yourself the pleasure of reading this. Wish I'd read it sooner. Every thing is told from the protagonist's view. No flashbacks, no bouncing from character to character's viewpoint. Awesome read.
2 people found this helpful
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Justin R. Stebbins
4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but Grim and Depressing - don't expect "Die Hard"
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2017
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I bought this book because of my love for the 1988 Bruce Willis movie "Die Hard", possibly the all-time best action movie. Nothing Lasts Forever was put back into print for the 25th anniversary of Die Hard, which was somewhat loosely based on the novel. The film's central plot and setting (the whole "Die Hard scenario" of one man against impossible odds with little real help from the incompetent authorities), and several of the most memorable action scenes, are straight out of the book. Most of the characters are as well - with the notable exception of the hero. The fairly stereotypical grim, hard-boiled detective Joe Leland (played by Frank Sinatra in a film adaptation of the previous book, The Detective) shares only a few similarities with wisecracking everyman hero John McClane.

The overall tone of the story is the most significant change. The novel is mostly a downer, with Leland frequently reminiscing about his dead wife and the mistakes of his past as he slowly grows more accustomed to dehumanizing and killing his enemies, who are young (and often female) German extremists using terrorism to fight corporate greed - not a ragtag band of thieves only pretending to be terrorists, as seen in the film. In the end, the central theme is that there are no true heroes here. Don't expect a happy ending where our stars ride away into the sunset to the tune of "Let It Snow"...

While it feels almost wrong that the movie pretty much wiped out the novel's grim message about violence and replaced it with bombastic action, I have to say I prefer the 80's action flick over the 70's hard-boiled detective story. Still, I think that (despite all the terrible novel-to-movie adaptations out there) most movies benefit from having a book to provide a narrative backbone. It's probably one reason the original Die Hard stands so far apart from its lackluster sequels.

Oh, and the book is a pretty good read too. Just wish it hadn't been so depressing. But if you like that kind of thing, which a lot of readers do, then it's worth checking out.
13 people found this helpful
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Harcohen
3.0 out of 5 stars Don't Expect Die Hard
Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2023
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Roderick Thorp's Nothing Lasts Forever is one of the few instances where the movie eclipses the book, not just in terms of notoriety but quality. I won't get into all the changes, but for the sake of brevity the screenplay is better. One thing you will notice are the name changes: Joe Leland/John McLane; Anton Gruber/Hans Gruber; Rivers/Takagi; Klaxon/Nakatomi, etc. Another change is the location of the office tower. In the film it's the Fox Plaza tower. In the book it's the Klaxon tower in mid-city off Wilshire. There is also a subplot having to do with Leland turning the lights on and off on the radio tower on top of the Klaxon building to SOS for help. Leland gets a dialog going with an amateur radio operator in the Hollywood Hills who starts flashing the lights on his own radio tower and gets the attention of the police and the man in the hills contacts the police. Leland gets a walkie talkie from a dead terrorist which he uses to communicate with Al Powell as in the movie, but there are otherwise many more differences. The prequel novel, The Detective, made into a film with Frank Sinatra as Leland/McLane, is better. The film is good too, but don't expect Die Hard. It's a moody, brooding, hardboiled crime novel, not an action thriller. Overall, I can't recommend Nothing Lasts Forever, unless you are a completists and curious about the book that inspired the movie.
6 people found this helpful
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Alan D. Cranford
5.0 out of 5 stars Geezer Power!
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2012
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There are a lot of differences between movie and book--because they're different media--but the most important is the age difference between movie "John McClane" and novel "Joseph Leland." "Nothing Lasts Forever" was published in 1979 and there were enough references to set the novel in the mid-1970's; Joseph Leland had been a Depression Era New York rookie police officer before becoming a fighter pilot with more than twenty Nazi airplanes to his credit. I served with World War Two vets during the late 1970's and that would make Joe Leland at least age 55--reasonable, but hardly a youngster. And he could have been 60+. Plus only a handful of Army Air Force fighter pilots shot down just ONE enemy aircraft--a score of 20+ would have been notable. Still is notable. In the movie (1988) John McClane is apparently in his early 30's and strictly a New York detective. Joe Leland would have been a celebrity in the real world, at least among the gangs I associated with--but is believable as a character. John McClane is believable (and more likable) for the 1990's.

The heroes' guns vary--because of their time period. John McClane is armed with the Beretta 92-series 9mm pistol, then the new military pistol that was making its way into police service. At the time (1988) New York City cops still were armed with .38 revolvers--going 9mm in 1994 (with perhaps exceptions--but plain clothed police officers risked getting shot as a 'bad guy' for carrying non-issue guns). Joe Leland's Browning 9mm High Power (Model 1935) was THE 9mm pistol of the 1970's in gun savvy circles, and it is reasonable for a counter-terrorist consultant-- Living in Troubled Lands: Beating the Terrorist Threat Overseas  was published in 1981 and the author of that real-world antiterrorist manual recommended a 9mm pistol on page 108 for those "who will face a serious threat." In the mid-1970's that professional's 9mm pistol was the Browning High Power.

I've listed two differences--heroes' background and heroes' gun. There are more. I enjoy reading the 'novel that inspired the movie' and noting the differences. I purchased the Kindle edition because the paperback books are getting rare--and expensive. Kindle is useful because the print is more widely available and more convenient to read. Plus, the Kindle edition is delivered within seconds--the book takes at least a day or two. Roderick Thorp's novel inspired 'Die Hard.'

Next on my reading list:  58 Minutes , the novel that inspired "Die Harder."

Don't forget to get the movies, too!

 Die Hard Collection (Die Hard / Die Hard 2: Die Harder / Die Hard with a Vengeance / Live Free or Die Hard) [Blu-ray ]
13 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Ryan Pighin
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in Canada on March 2, 2024
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Almost done. If you are a fan of the movie than this is a must read
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bumblebee99
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Christmas Book Ever
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 24, 2023
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Thanks for the recommendation Nick.
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Serij
4.0 out of 5 stars 3,5 Stars
Reviewed in Germany on September 5, 2023
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Pretty solid read, although it's kinda short, there are many parts i thought dragged a bit. I think the story and characters are better than the movie, but the film has the better flow.
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Chris,
5.0 out of 5 stars Très bon
Reviewed in France on February 6, 2016
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Voici un livre de très bonne qualité. Envoi rapide et soigné, le livre est en parfait état.
Je le recommande à tout le monde
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable book
Reviewed in Australia on August 31, 2019
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I really enjoyed this book. I didn't even know the original die hard movie was based on this book until recently. I was surprised to find that the movie was actually very true to the book. I found this book much better than the first in the series, 'The Detective', which I think focused too much on his relationship with his wife. (I actually gave up about half way through the first book). If you are a Die Hard 1 fan, you should read this book.
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