Getting Back [Hardcover]

William Dietrich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2, 2000

Stifled and frustrated by company policy, Daniel jumps at the chance to go on a wilderness challenge in the Australian Outback. However, when he arrives he realises that the corporation does not intend for him to survive the trip.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It's the late 21st century and all's right with the world, which is exactly what's driving Daniel Dyson nuts. Unemployment, hunger, war, are all in the past since mass privatization has revolutionized the quality of life and the entire planet is now run by the ultra-efficient United Corporations, a single entity with a name that speaks for itself. Dyson loathes his drone-filled office in the Pacific Northwest, and the feeling is mutual. He resorts to small acts of sabotage for minor thrills until he encounters beautiful and dangerous Raven, who tells him about Outback Adventure--an updated Outward Bound. The program drops city dwellers into an Australia recently depopulated by a bio-engineered plague, where they begin a survival trek to a pick-up spot on the coast. Dyson meets other malcontents during the brief training period and joins a trio of quirky misfits who are all seeking freedom and adventure. What they don't know is that Australia is actually a penal colony without jails, a la Escape from New York. Prisoners and the problem-citizen "tourists" are drugged, abandoned in different areas and left to fend for themselves. Dietrich (Ice Reich) pits the new arrivals against the criminals in a battle of wits that highlights the joys of discovery and the zest for life that wilderness can inspire. The novel's centerpiece is a terrific battle, with Dyson and his group defending an abandoned skyscraper against the onslaught of a prisoner-rigged siege tower, using desks and files as projectiles and auto parts as armor. Eluding Big Brother to return to the wild may be a familiar theme, but Dietrich's campy cinematic treatment makes it fresh again. Major ad/promo. (Jan.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Dietrich won a Pulitzer Prize for his Seattle Times coverage of the Exxon Valdez tragedy, then moved on to a bigger challenge: writing successful thrillers. His latest, set in the 21st century, concerns a restless young worker whose corporation has sent him on a wilderness competition in Australia's Outback. There's only one catch: the corporation isn't planning on his return.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (February 2, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446524573
• ISBN-13: 978-0446524575
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.2 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,292,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a novelist and non-fiction author, with a series on American adventurer Ethan Gage in the Napoleonic era that has sold into 31 languages. My newest novel, a Nazi thriller, is "Blood of the Reich."

I began my writing career as a newspaper reporter in 1973, published my first non-fiction book, "The Final Forest," in 1992, and my first fiction, "Ice Reich," in 1998, completing a first draft on an Antarctic research ship. I share a Pulitzer for covering the Exxon Valdez oil spill while at the Seattle Times and then taught for five years at Western Washington University's Huxley College of the Environment. While there I authored "Green Fire: A History of Huxley College."

My work at HarperCollins has been historical fiction that ranges from the Roman Empire to my latest tale that ranges from Germany to Washington's Cascade Mountains to Tibet. My Ethan Gage series starts with Napoleon's invasion of Egypt ("Napoleon's Pyramids") and continues on to the Holy Land, America's Great Lakes frontier, the Barbary Pirates of North Africa and (coming) the Caribbean and Haiti. I've also done thrillers for Warner Books (Ice Reich, Getting Back, and Dark Winter, now available again as E-books on Amazon) and non-fiction about the Pacific Northwest.

My award-winning first non-fiction book, "The Final Forest," was just reissued by University of Washington Press. For any Twilight fans, it's a book about Forks, Washington, written well before the vampire craze: it gives you the real Forks.

Research for my novels has taken me to the Arctic, Antarctic, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Australia, Sicily, Greece, Paris, Britain, Hungary, Tibet...hey, someone's got to do it. I've traveled on a sailboat in the South Pacific, landed on an aircraft carrier, flown in a B-52, visited the South Pole, and been terrified flying with the Blue Angels.

As a journalist, I was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard, won National Science Foundation fellowships to Antarctica, and speak frequently on environmental issues. I've covered Congress, the eruption of Mount St. Helens, the environment, science, social issues - even the military. I've traveled frequently for my writing, but live in the Pacific Northwest where I was born. I'm married, with two grown children.

I live in a house looking out at the San Juan Islands, surrounded by fir, cedar, and hemlock, and sometimes get to watch bald eagles while I'm writing. Connecting with readers is one of life's biggest thrills.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars very imaginative, March 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Getting Back (Hardcover)

Just finished this today after recently having completed Ice Reich. It was obviously very well researched; full of all kinds of fascinating details about wilderness living. It is not surprising that this author is a natural history journalist. His concern for the environment and the dehumanizing effects of technology is evident throughout. Like all good anti-utopian (sort of) novels, it is really frighteningly plausible. This is what could happen if our population just keeps on increasing and increasing. Anyway, thought provoking, gripping without being too grisly, and an altogether wonderful read!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top of the line fiction!, March 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Getting Back (Hardcover)

One of the most gripping novels I have read in the last 5 years! Superb character development coupled with compelling love and survival storylines shine and drive you to keep reading. Climaxes in the book are delivered with subtle twists surprise, and the imagagery makes me want to go see the australian outback and see how I change.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Book, January 31, 2001

By 

Reader from Bellevue, WA - See all my reviews

This review is from: Getting Back (Hardcover)

Getting Back is one of the best books I have read. It is simple and complex at the same time and leaves the reader hanging onto each page. One of my favorite things about the book is the intensity of it. The scary part is that something like this novel could really happen! The author is obviously a talented writer and weaves a suspenseful tale that is worthy of being read by all readers. I am not a reader that is usually attracted to this type of book but a friend recommended it to me and I am so glad that she did - I would recommend this book without reservation to any reader. It is a hit!