Like most (all?) guys, I'm a big fan of the Die Hard movies. True, some are better than others. I haven't seen A Good Day to Die Hard yet and based on the reviews, I may be glad I didn't spend the money to see the film on the big screen. I figure it should be worth the DVD--when it's on sale.
In the meantime, I took a literary step back in time--to 1976 to be exact. That's when Die Hard: Year One takes place. In this initial prequel to the movie series, NYPD rookie cop John McClane finds himself "at the wrong place at the wrong time." On his first day on the job, during America's Bicentennial celebration, McClane, sporting a full head of hair, see...
...crosses paths with crooked cops, a murder witness and of course, a band of terrorists. It wouldn't be a Die Hard story without a band of terrorists.
I came across my copy during the same spending spree at Half Price Books I mentioned in my last two book reviews. (This is the last one from this batch, I promise!).
There are nearly two dozen copies available through Amazon.com, a dozen new and 20 used at the time of this post. Four readers reviewed the novel, which is a compilation of four of the original comic books. The point spread gives Year One a 4-star average rating, broken down as follows: 1x 5-star rating, 2 x 4-stars and 1 x 3-star. Some of the detracting comments were about the thin plot, jerky scene transitions, spelling and character-sketch errors.
It was also noted in the Die Hard Wiki that Year One was the first story that followed non-bad guy characters other than McClane. (Although, while writing this, I'm reflecting on the movies and recall not every scene was centered on McClane).
I didn't catch any of these, but I did think the plot was rather predictable, with a story-line typical of the movies. Still, I enjoyed the novel and admired the fine artwork. It was like reading a Die Hard movie and worth awarding it a 4-star review.
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