In the novel, the protagonist’s name is Joe Leland, who is visiting his daughter, Steffie, at the headquarters of Klaxxon Oil. The main villain’s name is Tony (not Hans) Gruber, who is a German terrorist actually intent on stealing money. Joe Leland is clearly older than John McClane and the action is somewhat less intense (he doesn’t through himself off of the roof with a firehose wrapped around his waist) but many of the plot points are the same or similar, although I don’t recall anything like the obnoxious reporter (played to the hilt by the incomparable William Atherton) It isn’t a great book, although it is noteworthy that it is the sequel to a novel called The Detective that was made into a (very different) movie starring Frank Sinatra which was one of the highest grossing movies of 1968. Die Hard was originally written as a Schwarzenegger film (although not a sequel to Commando as indicated in the Wikipedia entry) but as the Governator was trying to soften his action image with more humorous roles like Twins and Kindergarden Cop he passed on the script, so it was eventually sold as a breakout vehicle for Moonlighting star Bruce Willis. Later in the series, a script titled Simon Says that had been floating around Hollywood for over a decade was redrafted into Die Hard With A Vengence. The story is almost as convoluted as MASH*.
With regard to the film: yes, it is both an awesome action film, containing a humanly flawed protagonist, a suavely sinister villain, an implacable henchman, a clockwork plot that sets up like dominos, a compelling reason why the hero can’t just walk away, and just enough comic relief to break the tension without becoming silly. Bonnie Bedelia is a perfect foil for Alan Rickman; she seems to be the only person he interacts with who he just doesn’t think he can control. This, along with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and Billy Wilder’s genre-twisting The Apartment are my stock Christmas movie viewing picks. (I’d wedge On Her Majesty’s Secret Service in there, too, but that would be a true marathon.)
As for the o.p.‘s question, the bomb takes out the floor that the recoilless anti-tank weapon is mounted on, which appears to be the third or fourth floor up. Personally, I think the way he triggered the block of C4 is pretty questionable; even detonators are pretty hard to set off. As to why he didn’t destroy or hide the bag, it is clear that he was planning to trade his wife for them and/or just didn’t have time to think about stashing them. Remember, between the time he finds the detonators and the time that Hans’ people come looking for him is only a few minutes, and he’s still under the hope that the LAPD is going to resolve the situation while he hunkers down. It is only after SWAT attempts to ineffectually storm the building (and why were they picking or cutting the locks rather than blowing open the doors?) that he realizes that it is up to him to save his wife.
Merry Christmas, and Yippie-Ki-Yah, motherfucker!
Stranger