The Atomic Express (Book Reviews)

["Jim Hoerner" <jim_hoerner@HOTMAIL.COM>]

The Atomic Express

by Richard L. Miller

Paperback - January 1997

List price: $18.95



Available at

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/offering/list/-/0966941403/all/ref%3Ddp%5Fpb%5Fa/104-0699150-6543947



Reviews:



1. "Recommended by me. What could be better than a novel about the atomic

bomb that includes details of the doom towns, eccentric scientists, slick

politicians, flying cadillacs, and nekkid women flashing troops from blimps

before they (the troops, not the women) attack ground zero?" - Jim Hoerner,

Nuclear Geek





2. http://www.aracnet.com/~histgaz/atomi/biblio/miller1.htm

The Atomic Express

by Richard L. Miller



Miller's atomic thriller The Atomic Express takes an insider's view of the

activities at the Nevada Test site. His characters range from the scientific

technicians arming the weapons (test devices) in the tower cab to civilians

just outside the boundaries of the Top Secret installation. Miller's work

puts a suspenseful human perspective into the dry official histories that

dominate the recording of these atomic detonations.

Not a fan of fiction, I reluctantly got aboard The Atomic Express, and

traveled those 402 pages. When I was finally through, 3 sittings 150 pages,

150 pages, 100 pages end. I felt like I had been to one those few really

good atomic films: Night Breaker with Martin Sheen was one, Mullholland

Falls with Nick Nolte is another and Blue Sky with Tommy Lee Jones and

Jessica Lang is another one. It was every bit as good as any of those, much

better by the book as yet there is no movie director who knows little about

the subject to screw it up.



Readers of this troubling subject will enjoy the excitement of Miller's

fictional account. It was certainly a lot of background work for this book

and I could see throughout the story the fallout from Under the Cloud. The

fictional format was excellent, the character development was excellent, the

villians were well thought out and they got their just rewards. Right up

there as one of the best atomic era fiction stories. Ten megatons.

Contact Richard L. Miller by email to order his book, discuss movie deals

(only legitimate offers, please) and to arrange media interviews.



3.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0966941403/qid%3D1059529400/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/104-0699150-6543947



Exploding atomic bombs in the Nevada desert in the '50s must have been

surreal, but imagine the personalities involved: eccentric scientists

building bombs and theologies, ambitious military men building armies and

careers, slick politicians, enlisted pawns. If that's not weird enough for

you, sprinkle in flying Cadillac bombs, Mickey Mouse bombs, escalators to

parallel universes, avenging angels, orgasmic blimp rides through hell, and

train rides through the heavens. Creating a start to pre-empt the dawn-hell,

that's just the beginning. Then you want to ride it.



This work is cinematic in its sweep, setting, and nuclear grandeur. But it's

also put together very much like a film-composed of hundreds of sharp,

telling scenes. It might have been a screenplay, but superb descriptive

prose anchors the work. Miller has a real talent for bringing to life the

otherworldly, bizarre majesty of the 'schroom. In the grand tradition of

Pynchon and Heller, the book is an irreverent collage of absurdity and

symbolism. The ending is particularly satisfying, in that Miller manages to

surprise, delight, and horrify all at once. It's easy to read much of this

book with a smile, but it's hard to finish without a more thoughtful

expression. All the climactic elements are tied back to the beginning, which

gives the novel a satisfying unity.



The Atomic Express is an irresistible piece of transportation.."-Kevin

McCarthy, CROW Quarterly Review.



4. From the Publisher

Praise for Miller's earlier, nonfiction book, Under The Cloud: "Richard

Miller's account of United States and Soviet efforts to develop the bomb and

the history of nuclear testing in the U.S. from the first bomb up to the

abolishing of the Atomic Energy Commission in 1974 is outstanding." -Rosalie

Dunbar, the Christian Science Monitor. Jan 31, 1987.



"Why then should this book be published at this time? Perhaps it is part of

the Soviet-sponsored campaign to stop all nuclear tests, similar to the "ban

the bomb" propaganda of the early 1960s." -Dixie Lee Ray, former chairman of

the Atomic Energy Commission. Washington Times, Oct 27, 1986.



"Drawing his material from government files, Miller gives a thorough and

formal look at the key events and the little-known side effects of all that

was taking place. . .the material is enough to make the story as fascinating

as it is chilling."-Robert Merritt, Richmond VA Times-Dispatch Oct 19, 1986.



"The greatest virtue of Under The Cloud is that it makes nuclear weapons

tests personal events, impossible to forget by those who participated in

them and forgotten only with difficulty by those who come to understand that

all of us have been unwilling and unwitting participants."-Gerald E. Marsh

(Office of Arms Control and Defense Sciences at Argonne National Laboratory

and co-author of Born Secret: The H-Bomb, the Progressive Case and National

Security) writing in the New York Times. Oct 5, 1986.



"A chilling documentary history of America's above-ground nuclear tests

conducted during the 1950s and early 1960s. Miller takes on the subject and

universalizes it, giving it the flavor of a Dos Passos novel. . .scary

stuff."-Kirkus Reviews Aug 15, 1986.





5. [5 of 5 stars]

Don't Read This Book If You Treasure Complacency!, March 14, 2000

Reviewer: Mary G. Constible from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Warning: this book contains materials which will provoke high amusement and

deep thought. The author operates at many different levels and will keep you

wondering what just happened, what is about to happen, and how on earth

human beings could ever have allowed such things to take place. Not only did

I find this combination of satire, adventure and modern history to be

totally engrossing while I was reading it, I found that I couldn't put down

some of the issues raised after I'd already finished the book. If you are

also a reader who enjoys being shaken up, hop aboard this train for a wild

ride.



6. [5 of 5 stars]

Call your Member of Congress, December 26, 1999

Reviewer: H. W. Cummins (see more about me) from Washington, DC

No doubt, at one time, man had the ability to learn from her

mistakes.  Sadly the gods, angered by man's hubris, arrogance and

over-reaching, must have withdrawn it.  Richard Miller in The Atomic

Express tries to teach us something about our recent mistakes; at least when

fiddling with the atom.  He weaves a set of parables inhabited by

inmates from a latter-day Catch 22.  If you have any doubt, just

sneak a peak at pages 314 to 316 for a blow by blow description of Rhinehart

trying to defuse a hydrogen bomb, named "Mickey," left at Ethel's roadside

cafe near the U.S. test site.  Or, if you're more in the mood for

classic catch 22's, try page 326 where the army officer can't tell one of

the bomb's designers about the results of a test, because the scientist is a

civilian.  Hmmm.  Read all about it as our government puts all

our lives at risk.  As Research Director of the Hanford Veterans

Cancer Mortality Study, I urge responsible citizens to read this

book.  What it tells us is what we didn't hear the last time.

How often must we be reminded. Long ago we were warned by the Sioux, "this

is the fire that will help the generations to come, if they use it in a

sacred manner.  But if they do not use it well, the fire will have

the power to do them great harm.  Read this book and call your

Member of Congress!



7. [5 of 5 stars]

Nuclear Hijinks, Awesome Trains, and Metaphysics, December 13, 1999

Reviewer: K.L. Shaw from Texas, USA

At the beginning of this original novel, a nuclear physicist with a

definitely bent view of reality climbs a shot tower, intending to use the

atomic bomb as transportation into the universe next door. Not far away a

hapless lieutenant named Perkins boards a bus bound for Camp Sagebrush and,

so he believes, a rising career in the New Atomic Army. As the countdown to

detonation to proceeds, a small civilian plane, piloted by a couple of

strong-minded women, searches the darkness for clues to a mystery that will

surprise and probably scare you to death. Reading The Atomic Express is like

watching an action movie, but the subtext is totally surreal. If you

appreciate off-beat humor, high intrigue, the metaphysics of quantum science

-- and of course trains -- you'll love this book!



Sold out again? Email rmiller at legis dot com .



Regards,

Jim





--

Hold the door for the stranger behind you. When the driver a half-car-length 

in front of you signals to get over, slow down. Smile and say "hi" to the 

folks you pass on the sidewalk. Give blood. Volunteer.



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