Long Voyage Back

I love survival and "end of civilization" stories, and this one doesn't disappoint. I also love sailing adventures and this is a good one. Rather than using a multiple-viewpoint method that so many disaster novels utilize, with characters all over the world, this story sticks with the tight-knit group of survivors on the trimaran. The author does a good job in describing the sailing aspects and the challenges of crew interaction in a manner that will be appreciated by sailors and landlubbers alike. The nuclear holocaust angle is well done, and how people react to the terror. There is a good balance of on-water vs. on-land action in the book. Fast-paced adventure, hard to put the book down. Great character development. "Olly" is a treasure. Minor gripe #1: some of the fighting is a bit theatrical. At one point, somebody is actually knocked out by receiving a quick karate-chop to the neck. God I hate the knockout-punch myth as it appears in books and movies. Minor gripe #2: Since the boat is a trimaran (three-hulled) sailing vessel, WHY IS THE COVER PHOTO OF A SLOOP???!!!!!!! Somebody really screwed the pooch in the publishing house by putting a photo of a SLOOP on the cover of a novel that takes place on a multihull! To make matters worse, it was published by the Naval Institute Press of Annapolis, MD!! I bet the author still gets shudders over that to this day. Unbelievable error to anyone who sails. Great read -- recommended.

Although this book was written in 1983, it is just as scary and applicable today. Rhinehart wrote a very realistic book about nuclear holocaust that could still happen, except probably not by the Russians against the US. The scenario of thieves, pirates and desperate & fanatical people just trying to survive makes you feel like you are going thru it yourself. A horrible prospect, to say the least. I liked the idea to attempt to sail away and survive off the sea. Having just finished this great book, I feel like I was right there and part of the group. I wish there was a sequel. This is one book that is worth the read & hard to put down.

Using the topic of sailing away from a nuclear war, Luke Rhinehart creates a moving yarn of radiation clouds, near escapes, refugee centers, pirates, famine, plague, and survival. Insights into life in the Caribbean and South America after the war are prophetic.