The Golden Gate

This is an Alistair MacLean I've had sat on my shelf for quite a long while, without me realising that besides being one I had, it was also one I hadn't read.  There's a lot of others with similar titles (The Golden Rendezvous, The Golden Keel...) and Goodbye California is also set in California.  Anyway, I realised I hadn't read it and decided it might be a good idea to do so, rather than having it sat there gathering dust.

It's a good one.  In fact, it's one of his better ones, made all the better because I didn't know where the story was going.  Not quite as many twists, perhaps, but fast-paced and your standard Alistair MacLean character.  Undercover police officer, doesn't really care much about following orders, smart, tough...  You get the picture :)  Also the usual falling in love with somewhat hapless woman.  Actually, the hapless woman in this case did have a bit more of a personality than normal.  It sounds like I didn't like it that much, reading it over, but I did.  It was definitely a good set up.

A determined thief has kidnapped the president of America and two oil barons.  They were in a presidential coach (I want one of those!  They sound really awesome!), with two other coaches on the route too.  When they pulled onto the Golden Gate bridge, the thief struck.  Actually, the villain in this piece was pretty interesting.  Had a thing about not killing people, wasn't just a villain, more of a brainy thief who found having a real job too boring to bother with it.  The American government has to pay up, three hundred million dollars for the president and the oil barons, two hundred million more for the bridge.  And to keep himself safe afterwards, he demands a presidential pardon.  Looks like he's got it all figured out (and if you want to know quite how the security was breached, it's really rather interesting).  Unfortunately, in amongst the journalists who he's kept on the bridge in order to tell the world what he's up to, there's an FBI agent, who's determined to see the bridge remains intact and the money in Fort Knox.

I really rather enjoyed it.  I still think Fear is the Key is his best (what a twist!) but it's definitely one of the great ones.  Well worth keeping an eye out for.

Death Train

Based on a film script by Alastair MacLean, this is a fantastic book. Although you can kinda tell it's not an Alastair MacLean, cos one of the main characters is female *shocked gasp!*. And she's not just a pretty face, a damsel in distress, a femme fatale, or any of those cliches that you tend to find in older thrillers. She's got a brain, she uses it, and she's an integral part of UNACO. The United Nations Anti-Crime Organisation becomes aware that six kegs of plutonium, one damaged, are being shipped around Europe. A fascinating hunt ensues. All the drama you'd expect from an Alastair MacLean, but with even more interesting and well-developed characters than usual. Plenty of twists, plenty of action, plenty of intrigue. Kinda seems mean that Alastair MacNeill didn't get to put his name a bit bigger on the cover, given that he was the person who actually [I]wrote[/I] it, but there you go. I couldn't put it down, a great book that I highly recommend.

Bear Island

A brilliant Alaistar MacLean (you'll get fed up of reading about them before I get fed up of re-reading them I suspect...). Set in the Arctic, a film crew sets off to a desolate island to create a new movie. But something's not quite right. At first wondering if it's just film people in general who're fishy, Dr Marlowe is even more suspicious when a spate of disasters hit the ship while they're still heading for the island. And once they're dropped off on it, well, it starts to look like they'll be fortunate to make it out alive. Mary Dear and Mary Darling are somewhat weak characters, but the others are pretty impressive. From what I've seen, the film is totally different from the book--that seems to be about standard. However, I can only speak from experience, and yet again I was up till the middle of the night, again despite having read it before. Very enjoyable, an intricate plot, and plenty of twists.

Force 10 from Naverone

I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the first one. However, it's certainly still a good book. I think there're fewer twists, and there's not that much character development compared to the first. It did have me up till early in the morning though, and the action is still brilliant (there's a lot more tension in this one, rather than the somewhat more intellectual side that Alaistar MacLean's books usually have). Very enjoyable, just not quite as good as the first in my humble opinion.

The Guns of Naverone

I appear to have reviewed this one before. Never mind. I've read it again, so I'll review it again. It's another Alaistar MacLean, and it's brilliant. I watched the film version of it--it was on over Christmas. Unfortunately, I was watching it with my brother, who has a nasty habit of demanding to know 'who's that', and, worse, he kept asking me whether they managed to blow up the guns or not. Argh! The film was completely and utterly unlike the book. In fact, it was so different to how I remembered the book being that I wondered if I was getting confused and had to read the book again to make sure I wasn't. The book is definitely better than the film, moreover, the characters are much better portrayed in the book than the film. I enjoyed re-reading it, and even though I knew how it ended and could remember the twists, there's still a great deal of pleasure to be had from reading a book by Alaistar MacLean and I can particularly recommend this one. Especially because, as a bonus, it has a sequel. It's the only Alaistar MacLean book that does, and I love a good series because it gives me a bit more to read and I'm a fast reader.

Gotta go, it's tea time. Anyway, I'm about done. This is what you'd expect from such a great story teller--a great book. Don't read it at night or you'll be up till you've finished it.

Where Eagles Dare

I think I might actually have read this before New Year as well. If I did, it wouldn't have been much before. I was working quite a bit over the Christmas holidays, so the specific dates have gone a bit blurred. Did I even post about Christmas?

Anyway, Where Eagles Dare. Got my brother to record a film for me, thought it was this one. It was actually based on Jack Higgins' The Eagle Has Landed, not the Alaistar MacLean book of similar name. However, as the film was slightly disappointing, I decided that it was worth rereading Where Eagles Dare. I think this was actually the first Alaistar MacLean book I ever read. And it's still just as good as it was the first time. I have to say, that as far as these sort of 'inetellectual' thrillers, the sort of books where you have a million twists in the plot and that's what makes them exciting rather than just pure action, you can't beat Alaistar MacLean. Hmm, I was just looking on Fantastic Fiction to check I was spelling his name right (I am), and I actually seem to have all the books he actually wrote, with the exception of a book called Fire of Humiliation. Apparently it was published in 1993, but that's all I can actually find about it. Anyway, Where Eagles Dare is your standard brilliant book by Alaistar MacLean. You have no idea where it's going to end, and it seems that every page offers a new twist, culminating in a shocking conclusion in an aircraft at the very end. As usual, you don't really find out what's happening until the last page, as usual, you're gripped throughout. Brilliant action, brilliant plot, brilliant characters. What more can I say? Only that the library is foolish to hide these books away in storage because they're not brand new. They should be out on the shelves, so that these brilliant novels are not consigned to obscurity. This book (or, to be perfectly honest, any of the others) would make a much better must read classic than Jane Eyre.

Highly recommended. I have not yet come across a book from this author that I haven't enjoyed, and I've read all apart from the odd few that I have left to read. Oh, and of course this mysterious Fire of Humiliation. If anybody knows anything about it, I'd appreciate you letting me know. Could it be a different name for one of the others? After all, Aliastar MacLean died in 1987, this one came out in 1993. Hmm, I shall have to try and investigate a little more. Maybe one of the booksellers on the market knows something, though who knows when I'll be able to get in there again given the snow and the fact that more looks to be on its way.

Ice Station Zebra

I don't think I've reviewed this before, but it definitely wasn't the first time I've read it. By Alaistar MacLean, it has, like all of his book, plenty of excitement, unexpected twists, and intriguing characters. MacLean really is one of the greatest thriller writers ever--even though you'd expect his books to now feel out of date, they're still just as interesting as ever (although having seen the film of one of them, I must confess I found that one rather out of date...). This one involves a mission to the Arctic, to Ice Station Zebra, a meteorological station, in a nuclear submarine. The base has suffered a devastating fire, and the submarine is in a desperate race to find thin ice where they can surface, close enough to the Station that they can give effective rescue. But when they get there, all is not as it seems. Somebody set the fire deliberately. And of those killed, not all of them merely died from the fire. Some were shot, including the narrator's own brother.

A brilliant read, it's fast-paced throughout, and with plenty of unexpected twists. I'd certainly recommend it.

The Guns of Naverone

Classic thriller. What more can I say, really? This was one of the first Alaistar MacLean books I read, I've reread it at least three times now.

Captain Mallory and his group of four other men are going into Naverone 'the hard way'. A mission which is almost suicidal, in order to destroy the Guns of Naverone so that the men on Kheros can escape. A fascinating and thrilling action story unfolds, laden with tragedy, adventure, and great characters who persevere despite various setbacks (including the fact that Miller has vertigo). I love this book. You should read it.

The Satan Bug

It appears I may have reviewed this particular book before, seeing as it popped up when I was writing the title in. Never mind. It's such a good book I don't mind writing about it again. I think the word which best describes this book is 'fascinating'. From the incredibly well done first person narration which reveals details about the main character bit by bit and leaves you seeking more info about this enigmatic and intriguing man, to the plot itself which is magnificent in both scale and execution, to the nitty-gritty of the action, this book is one of those that a) you read over and over, and b) still keeps you up to an insane time in the morning every time you do so, regardless of the fact that you already know how it ends and know what twists and convulsions it will go through to get there. The truth of the matter is, I suppose, that the book follows such a sinuous, twisting plot that it's very difficult to grow bored of this. So yeh, fascinating about sums it up. That and the fact that I would really really recommend this to anyone who likes thrillers or conspiracy theories or any of that lark.

The Satan Bug

We were away in the caravan and by this point I'd run out of Biggles books to read. So I turned to an Alaistar MacLean I picked up, although I later realised I already had a copy of it unread at home. Still. The blurb on the back of this one was so totally different that I couldn't tell it was the same book until I was well over half way through. The blurb on the older version completely minimises how fascinating this book was.

The Satan Bug is an absolutely gripping thriller. The main character is fascinating, and as it's narrated from first person, you only get the occaisional hint of his actual physical description etc and his relation of his past. Wow he's an interesting guy. I know Alaistar MacLean never went in for serieses in a big way--the only one being the two books The Guns of Navorone and Force 10 from Naverone--but this one would totally work well as a series. Intrigue, plot, deadly biological weapons in fragile glass tubes, and nothing is what it seems. And I mean nothing. This really demonstrates just how much of a craftsman MacLean was, there are twists and turns everywhere, culminating in a dramatic final showdown in an unsteady helicopter that leaves you fearing for the safety of every person in London and, ultimately, the whole world. It's an incredible book and I strongly recommend it to anybody who wants to read a decent thriller which is actually within the realms of possibility and plausibility (unlike many others...).

Floodgate

If River of Death was mediocre, this one certainly wasn't. Nice twists, an interesting MC who could hold your interest well, and a fantastic plot. Terrorists have decided to start flooding Holland, blowing up the dams. Amsterdam airport is the first target. I started reading it a while back, then remembered I was going to be flying into Amsterdam in a few days and decided maybe not the greatest idea. Not amazingly scary, but it didn't need to be. Well written. Very clever plot. Really recommend it, one of my favourite Alaistar MacLean books for sure.

River of Death

So, I'm a pretty big fan of Alaistar Maclean, but this quite frankly wasn't his best. I'd read it before, but hadn't remembered it well enough to realise that I had until I was partway through. The twists weren't as spectacular as I'm used to from him, although it might have partially come from the fact that I'd read it before and could half remember what happened. Not as good as his others. Still good, and it's a decent enough book, shorter than most of his others too I think given by the fact that it didn't take me as long as usual to read, but not absolutely fantastic.

It's about an explorer who's found this amazing place and a business man who wants to get there, but the businessman is a Nazi and he wants to go there because an ex-friend stole from him and he's hiding out in this place. A decent enough tale, but like I said, not absolutely fantastic.

Puppet on a Chain by Alaistair MacLean

So. I'm figuring I'm well into this whole book reviewing lark now, so I may as well continue and talk about all the books I've read recently. And I'm going to try and post some sort of review for every book I read over the summer, just so I have a record of what I actually read and how much I manage to read.
Anyway, it was a real Alaistair MacLean style story. Lots and lots of action, plenty of twists, and I really liked the main character in this one. An interesting person. I would've liked to know a little more about his background in the drug tracking business, and the scars on his face being explained by a simple aircraft crash without any real cause were annoying. It would've been better if they were from some past incident with someone. Because of the kind of life he leads, it seemed odd that they weren't from anything like that.