THE NIGHT MANHATTAN BURNED by Basil Jackson

They baked the Big Apple! It had to happen ... like every disaster thriller! New York City, the busiest port in the world, handling the new supergiant liquid natural gas (LNG) tankers ... riding the razor's edge day in and day out, one minuscule mistake or oversight away from the spark that will ignite the all-consuming conflagration. Hard nosed reporter Vincent Ryder and his publisher friend Amura - shanghaied after wining and dining about a planned LNG protest by perturbed yachties - are headed for the heart of the inferno. A contemporary Kirkus Reviews entry notes "no human interest," and they're not wrong ... Jackson writes cleanly but without any particular concern for character, and the real intrigue is over the very realistic scenario of a LNG disaster, a timely threat that Jackson underscores in fine thriller fashion with quotes and excerpts from authorities.

Another edition ...

... with pictures stolen from ebay

That Kirkus review also mentions another LNG thriller titled The Deadly Frost, and how funny that dual disaster blockbusters have been with us since the '70s? Of course, the tanker blows, and NYC is inundated with a killing frost. Ryder and Amura make their way cross town, witness mass hysteria, find solace in a dive bar (striking a weird note as Jackson waxes poetic over an old black bartender who "isn't bitter over injustice,") and finally rescue a puppy from an abandoned car before running into some French tourists and learning that the entire NYC subway system has just exploded! Then the Army shows up, and ... "They're dumping corpses," he said in a cracked voice. Ryder gets his big scoop, but at what cost?

This is preformed disaster loaf from Welshman Basil Jackson, perfect for passing time on your train to Brighton or your flight to Majorca. Jackson cut his teeth on disaster thrillers like this and Supersonic (1975) before eventually settling into a series of "air detective" thrillers about crash investigations and espionage. We can see the seams holding everything together, and the personal melodrama is slack, but nonetheless the story moves and the tension rises before Jackson wraps it all up in a satisfying manner. If this was the bare minimum for disaster thrillers, that'd be okay by me!

This review wouldn't be complete without a reference to Justin Marriott's Paperback Fanatic Issue 44, focused on vintage disaster novels. The Night Manhattan Burned and many, many other titles are represented, and Marriott's work elicits the illicit dual thrills of recognizing an obscure title and also having your interest sparked by unknown works:

The Paperback Fanatic: get it now!

I just have to protest that I'd already read The Night Manhattan Burned when I found Marriott's series, but nonetheless I've added at least a dozen titles to my reading list thanks to his invaluable project!

The Night Manhattan Burned earns 3/4, for solid reliable thrills.

Sphere Books, 1983 (original pub. 1979)