The Spy Novel - Alistair MacLean

I'll start this off by wishing my mother a Happy Mother's Day. I miss her every day.

Our purple lilac

Today Jo and I are relaxing. I've read a bit. Yesterday Jo picked some lilacs from the tree out front. Today she picked some from the white tree we have in back. The house smells lovely.

I'm catching up a bit on The Fugitive TV series this afternoon. One episode had Frank Overton from To Kill a Mockingbird. The current one has Leslie Nielsen and was directed by Ida Lupino.

Now let's get on with my look at the Spy / Thriller novel. One of the classics of the genre is today's entry.

The Spy / Thriller Novel - Alistair MacLean

Alistair MacLean

1. Alistair Stuart MacLean. Alistair MacLean was born in Glasgow in 1922 and died in Munich in 1987. I first heard of him when the movie The Satan Bug, based on one of his books, came out. When we moved to Germany in the late '60s. While I can't remember the first book that I read, MacLean was a favorite of mine. He wrote excellent war stories; HMS Ulysses, The Guns of Navarone, etc. But he also wrote excellent thrillers. There was a definite theme, an unassuming sort of guy involved in intrigue who turns out to work for the US Treasury or some British spy organization. Always intriguing stories, some better than others but they definitely entertained. I've been slowly going through his stories again. So let's highlight a few of his thrillers.

a. Puppet on a Chain (1969). One of my favorites of MacLean's. I have enjoyed the book (a couple of times) and the movie. (It did have Barbara Parkins in it).










"From the acclaimed master of action and suspense. The all time classic. Paul Sherman of Interpol's Narcotics Bureau flies to Amsterdam on the trail of a dope king. With enormous skill the atmosphere is built up: Amsterdam with its canals and high houses; stolid police; psychopaths; women in distress and above all -- murder." (4 stars)

b. Night Without End (1959).

"One of Alistair MacLean's earliest thrillers, it's a well-paced, page-turner. Perfect setting, the frigid Greenland ice sheet, a group of scientists rush to save the passengers of a plane which has crashed on the plateau. What they find is even more surprising as some of the passengers are more than they seem. struggling to survive in sub-zero temperatures and survive a murderer in their midst, it's definitely an action packed story. Excellent stuff. (3  stars)"

c. Circus (1975). This was one of MacLean's later works, not his best in my mind.










"This wasn't the best Alistair MacLean thriller. In most ways, it felt like he was writing this by rote, a heroic protagonist, thrown into an impossible situation, working for the CIA behind the Iron Curtain. People aren't whom they seem; against impossible odds, he must get scientific papers and bring them safely to the West. Not his best work, more of a 2.5 than a 3. Ah well."

d. The Dark Crusader AKA The Black Shrike (1961). One of my pet beefs about different titles between English and US book releases. I read this as a kid under The Dark Crusader and then bought The Black Shrike.. Darn, doesn't this sound familiar?? Yup.. same story!

"I read The Dark Crusader by Alistair MacLean when I was in high school, many, many years ago when I was on a MacLean reading jag. I loved his adventure / spy thrillers. They were full of action and had lots of twists and turns. (NB - be aware that this book was also published under the title The Black Shrike. I learned this the hard way when I bought both versions)

The Dark Crusader is neither MacLean's best book (I rank HMS Ulysses amongst his best) nor his worst (I think his later books belong in that category). It's just a tense, exciting story with lots of twists and turns. Barry Bentall, an English secret agent, returning from a mission is sent on another immediately by his boss, described as a dusty man in a small dusty office. Along for the ride is another agent, Marie Hopeman, who is to be his wife for the mission.

English scientists and their wives have been disappearing. They seem to have been responding to an advertisement placed in various papers for jobs in the 'scientific' field. Since Bentall worked with the last scientist to go missing he is chosen to try as his replacement. Things happen at a rapid pace. Bentall and Marie are kidnapped while flying to Australia, taken from their hotel and put on a tramp steamer. They escape from the boat into the Pacific in the midst of a storm and manage to land on a coral island. They are rescued there by an old archaeologist but there is more to it than it seems. This is Alistair MacLean after all.

The action continues as Bentall continues to investigate and discover an evil plot on the island. He manages to survive dog attacks, attacks by Chinese killers, etc. It's all lots of fun and games with Bentall spending considerable time criticizing his own ineptitude and lack of smarts but still manages to fight through these threats.

It's an entertaining book with a somewhat unsatisfying ending but for all that it's worth trying as it's an easy, quick moving thriller. Nice to have tried again. (3 stars)"

e. When Eight Bells Toll (1966).











"Millions of pounds in gold bullion are being pirated in the Irish Sea--and investigations by the British Secret Service, and a sixth sense, have brought Philip Calvert to a bleak, lonely bay in the Western Highlands. But the sleepy atmosphere of Torbay is deceptive: many mysterious disappearances have occurred there, and even the unimaginative Highland Police Sergeant seems to be involved. But why?" (3 stars)

f. The Last Frontier AKA The Secret Ways (1959).

"This wasn't my favourite Alistair MacLean thriller. In this one, we find British agent, Reynolds, sneaking into Hungary during the Cold War, with the aim of bringing out British scientist, Jennings. Reynolds gets into trouble almost immediately but with the help of Hungarian underground, Janszi, the Major and their team, he continues with his mission. Reynolds continues to get into predicaments, but with the help of his new friends must try and get Jennings. There is a fair bit of action, but also considerable pontificating, on Communism, misunderstandings between nations, etc. As I say, not my favourite, but still entertaining. (3 stars)"

g. Bear Island (1971).











"I read a great many of Alistair MacLean's thrillers / adventures back when I was in high school (I won't say how long ago that was). Bear Island, originally published in 1971, was one of those books. So, yes, this is a reread. I've been trying many of his books again the past few years.

Bear Island is set on a frozen island, part of Norway's Svalbard archipelago, in the North Atlantic. An old trawler, the Morning Rose, is carrying a film crew to the island where they plan to make a movie. On the way, almost immediately, bodies start to crop up. The film crew's doctor, Dr. Marlowe, suspects murder. But there is more to Marlowe than meets the eye. He hides his suspicions from Capt Imrie and the company's producer, Mr. Gerran. When the Capt wants to take the ship to another location to have the murder's investigated, Marlowe sides with Gerran to have them still brought to Bear Island where the final events will be acted out.

There are many suspects, many victims. Why are the people being killed? We hear about NATO exercises being conducted north of the island. One of the directors was a prisoner in Russia during WWII. Is he a spy? We hear about the Nazis hiding spoils of the war at locations throughout the world? Is it a treasure hunt?
 
Marlowe is an interesting character and there are many sympathetic characters in the story as well; Smithy, who leaves the ship and hides on the island; Mary Stuart, the 'Latvian' girl who Marlowe likes but who may or may not be involved; the loving couple, Allen and Mary 'darling'. There are also many unlikeable characters who could be involved.
 
As with most MacLean's adventures, there is no shortage of action and he moves the plot along at a steady pace. It's a somewhat convoluted story, but that is part of MacLean's charm. Everything is resolved satisfactorily. Not MacLean's best story but still a good 'un. (3 stars)"

h. The Satan Bug (1962). I've now read this twice and seen the movie, great 'B' movie thriller.

"To the outside world, the Mordon Labs existed solely for experiments in preventive medicine… but in reality they were secret laboratories for the development of germ warfare. The most carefully hidden secret was the Satan Bug -- a strain of toxin so deadly that the release of one teaspoon could annihilate mankind.

Late one night, the Mordon security officer was found murdered outside that lab.
 
And the Satan Bug was missing..." (3 stars)

So there you go, a few of MacLean's books to give you a flavor for his writing. As I also mentioned he wrote some excellent war stories. The complete list of MacLean's books is available at this link.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. See you tomorrow.