Resurrection Day
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Resurrection Day (ISBN 0-399-14498-6) is a novel written by Brendan Dubois in 1999. It is an alternate history where the Cuban Missile Crisis escalated to a full scale war, the Soviet Union is decimated, and the USA has been reduced to a third-rate power, relying on Britain for aid. Resurrection Day won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History that year.
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[edit] Tagline
"Everyone remembers where they were the day President Kennedy tried to kill them..."
[edit] Plot
Set in the aftermath of a nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the United States, the book chronicles the investigations of Carl Landry, a reporter for the Boston Globe. As the story unravels, Carl attempts to uncover the events leading up to the war, while at the same time running from those who would have the truth buried.
The story begins in 1972, ten years after the global war which followed the Cuban missile crisis. Washington DC, New York, Omaha and other American cities have been destroyed by Soviet nuclear attacks. Philadelphia is the capital of the United States, and although a civilian President is nominally in office, the USA is effectively under martial law. The Soviet Union has been utterly devastated by US nuclear strikes (which accurately reflects the fact that at the time of the real Cuban crisis, the USSR's strategic nuclear forces were smaller than those of the USA). Cuba is an atomic ruin, with Spain responsible for relief efforts aiding what is left of the island's population.
One consequence of the war is that America's embroilment in Vietnam is abruptly curtailed. US military personnel in South Vietnam (and indeed across the world) are withdrawn in order to stabilise the USA in the aftermath of the Soviet missile and air strikes. The text of the novel also makes it clear that the People's Republic of China has collapsed, with numerous regional warlords waging a civil conflict against each other.
US nuclear strikes on the Soviet Union led to the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, and also to the release of a massive fallout cloud over much of Asia, killing further millions after the destruction of the USSR. As a consequence, many world governments regard members of the US Air Force (USAF) as war criminals, and its servicemen are advised not to travel abroad. After the 1962 war, nearly all the remaining countries of the globe have renounced possession of nuclear weapons. The USA alone retains an atomic arsenal.
Europe survived the war largely unscathed (this is an element of Dubois' scenario which lacks realism, as it is highly likely that US military bases in the UK and Europe would have come under Soviet nuclear attack at the onset of a war). NATO collapsed almost as soon as hostilities commenced, and France and (a united) Germany now preside over the continent. Britain remains an ally of the USA, and actually assists in post-war reconstruction efforts in US states hit hardest by the war. While British aid is welcome, there is also a sense of resentment in America over excessive dependence on the UK. The presence of British and Canadian military personnel in the USA is also a source of contention, with some Americans wondering whether their allies possess ulterior motives.
The story covers two parallel plot-lines. The first involves Landry's attempts to discover what happened in Washington DC in October 1962. US military propaganda accounts maintain that the Cuban war broke out because of John F. Kennedy's recklessness and incompetence, these claims are generally believed. Kennedy and his officials are regarded as butchers and war criminals and the only senior surviving member of JFK's administration - McGeorge Bundy - is imprisoned in Fort Leavenworth. In contrast US military commanders (notably the Chief of the Air Force, General Curtis) are portrayed as the saviours of the nation. During the course of the novel Landry gradually discovers that it was Kennedy who sought to prevent the crisis over Cuba from escalating into war, and that last minute attempts to achieve a deal with Nikita Khrushchev to end the crisis were deliberately sabotaged by Curtis and other generals.
The second plot-line concerns Anglo-American relations. Landry and a British journalist - Sandra Price - discover that elements within the British government and security services are plotting a military takeover (or 'anschluss') of the United States. This plan is under way near the end of the novel, and is called off at the last minute. Dubois' portrayal of the British is an even-handed one, showing both cynical and machiavellian officials who seek to exploit America's weakness and to make Britain a world power again, and honourable military and intelligence officers (including Price herself) who are both disgusted and appalled by the planned anschluss, and who are determined to foil it.
The novel it does not completely escape cliche (Landry and Price become lovers, and there is an unconvincing 'happy ending' in which the former is reunited with a long-lost sister he presumed died in 1962). Nonetheless, 'Resurrection Day' benefits from its thorough research. The book recreates the course of the Cuban missile crisis in Washington during October 1962, from the discovery of Soviet missiles in Cuba by US intelligence to the eventual US-Soviet deal which secured their removal. The only substantial difference is (of course) that in Dubois' fictional account the deal between Kennedy and Khrushchev is thwarted by hawks in the US military. It is also worth noting that real historical characters are present in the narrative. 'Curtis' is clearly inspired by General Curtis LeMay, who (as the historical record demonstrates) favoured an invasion of Cuba in 1962. There is also a reference to Senator George McGovern (who stood against Nixon in 1972) standing for the Presidency, and calling for an end to martial law and the repatriation of British forces. There are also references to the counter-culture and the anti-war movement that emerged in the USA in the 1960s, although in this case it is not a product of the Vietnam war.
[edit] Major Characters
- Carl Landry – protagonist; served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam before and California after the conflict.
- Sandra "Sandy" Price – British newspaper reporter and undercover operative for MI6
- General Ramsey "Rammer" Curtis – fictional United States Air Force general responsible for the Cuban Missile Crisis escalating into world-wide nuclear war; very loosely based on General Curtis LeMay
- "Two-Tone" – homeless man in Carl's neighborhood; veteran of the Cuban army's tactical nuclear strike on the invasion forces.
[edit] Part One
Death of Merl
[edit] Part Two
Meeting Sandy Price
[edit] Part Three
New York City Restricted Zone
[edit] Part Four
Searching for Final Clues
[edit] Part Five
Resurrection Day
[edit] Locations
- Tyler Air Force Station, New York – fictional United States Air Force base located in the outskirts of New York City
- Boston, Massachusetts
