Escape From New York

Mike McQuay

May 30, 2026

Originally published in 1981 and long out of print, Mike McQuay’s novelization of John Carpenter’s Escape From New York is a pulp thrill-ride that expands upon the film’s dystopian world with material cut from the final production.


In the crime-ravaged world of 1997, the island of Manhattan has been transformed into the nation’s most feared maximum-security prison. Without guards. Without escape. Without hope. When Air Force One crashes inside its walls, the government turns to the only man ruthless enough for the job: Snake Plissken. A war hero, an outlaw, and one of the most dangerous men alive. His mission: infiltrate the New York prison, rescue the President, and get out alive… all in less than twenty-four hours.

Based on the original screenplay by John Carpenter and Nick Castle.

Michael Dennis McQuay was an American science fiction writer. His series include Mathew Swain, Ramon and Morgan, Executioner, and SuperBolan. The Book of Justice series he wrote as Jack Arnett. He also wrote the second of the Isaac Asimov’s Robot City novels. His non-series novel Memories was nominated for a Philip K. Dick Award in 1987