The novel “Ground Zero Man” by Bob Shaw was published for the first time in 1971. In 1985 it was republished in a new revised version under the title “The Peace Machine”.
Lucas Hutchman is a mathematician who works for a British missile project and one day discovers a way to detonate all the nuclear warheads in the world. When a nuclear bomb explodes in Damascus, he decides to build the machine that triggers the detonation but he must do it in secret not only from government agents but also from his wife even if his strange behavior stimulates her strong jealousy more than ever.
When his machine is completed, Hutchman sends to all governments of the nuclear nations an ultimatum giving them a week to dismantle their nuclear warheads. After that deadline, he’ll activate the machine detonating all the bombs that still exist. However, he must hide until the ultimatum’s deadline.
“Ground Zero Man” is a novel published in both versions during the Cold War years, when more and more powerful nuclear weapons were built and the threat of a nuclear war was real. However, the fact that at the beginning of the novel an atomic bomb explodes on Damascus, the Syrian capital, makes it in line with the present events.
Bob Shaw’s stories often focused on an invention and its consequences. In “Ground Zero Man”, Lucas Hutchman discovers how to detonate all the nukes in the world but the novel especially explores the consequences for the protagonist’s life.
Lucas Hutchman is a good man who has a terrible power in his hands after his discovery. He doesn’t have a plan developed in all the details but after the destruction of Damascus he builds the machine that can cause the explosion of all the nuclear warheads and sends to the nations that have them his ultimatum.
Hutchman doesn’t try to extort money or something else, he only demands that all nuclear weapons get dismantled. In fact, he sends the projects of his machines to a series of scientific magazines around the world. The chain reaction he wants to trigger is in fact on the human level.
The first part of “Ground Zero Man” is focused on building the machine and the problems Lucas Hutchman faces to get the components he needs but also on the problems that this secret activity causes within his family. His wife is obsessively jealous and any excuse is good to make a scene.
Lucas Hutchman loves his wife and would never cheat on her but their relationship is sick because she’s obsessive yet he seems unable to split from her and not just for the sake of their son. The relationship between Hutchman and his wife is a fundamental element of “Ground Zero Man” and contributes to the stress of the protagonist while he’s building his machine.
Lucas Hutchman’s family problems are almost opposed to external issues in “Ground Zero Man” but I think the weight of the familiar story is too big. Obviously it’s a matter of taste but personally I started getting fed up with the protagonist’s personal problems quite soon. After all, this is supposed to be a science fiction novel, not the episode of a soap opera.
Towards the middle of the novel, the pace becomes faster and the tension rises. In an effort to send some of his letters containing the plans of his machine and his ultimatum to the USSR through an old friend, Lucas Hutchman starts a series of events unexpected that are a threat to his plan.
At that point, Hutchman starts his run from government agents and his attempt to hide until the ultimatum expiration. At the end of the novel, Bob Shaw describes the global consequences of Lucas Hutchman’s invention. The very bitter epilogue is narrated in first person from the protagonist’s point of view, as is the prologue, while the rest of the novel is narrated in third person.
“Ground Zero Man” is a short novel by today’s standards and maybe Bob Shaw has burdened the part about the relationship between Lucas Hutchman and his wife to avoid making it too short. In my opinion this’s its main flaw and for this reason I haven’t found it particularly good even as a thriller. Overall, I found it decent and if family issues don’t annoy you it can be a good read.
