New Books and My Ongoing Look at my Favorite Authors

We've had a bit of a windy morning here in the Valley today, also a fair rainfall. But it seems to have calmed down now. When I took the puppies out for their noon walk, it was mild and just drizzling.

I finished Top of the Lake, a crime TV series set in New Zealand, starring Elizabeth Moss, yesterday. I had been taping the 2nd instalment, Top of the Lake; China Girl, but I've deleted it. I don't think I got Top of the Lake, at least it really wasn't for me. I've also been watching a CBC TV series set in New Zealand, The Sounds, starring Rachelle Lefevre. For some reason, I've found it also a bit convoluted. Not as dark as Top of the Lake, but it's kind of how I perceive Killing Eve (maybe unfair as I haven't watched); he's dead! No, he's not dead! Yes, he's dead! That sort of thing. It sure makes that corner of New Zealand look beautiful, mind you, while I would never want to visit where Top of the Lake was set.

I was out doing some shopping yesterday and stopped in our newest bookstore, Books4Brains. It specializes in Young Adult books, but there is a nice little adult section as well. I bought two books there. I'll update those and also continue with my look at my favorite authors.

New Books

1. Dearly by Margaret Atwood (2020). I started reading Atwood's books back in my university days when I took a Canadian Lit course. I've enjoyed her fiction, science fiction, even her poetry. This book is her first collection of poetry in years.

"By turns moving, playful and wise, the poems gathered in Dearly are about absences and endings, ageing and retrospection, but also about gifts and renewals. They explore bodies and minds in transition, as well as the everyday objects and rituals that embed us in the present. Werewolves, sirens and dreams make their appearance, as do various forms of animal life and fragments of our damaged environment.

Before she became one of the world's most important and loved novelists, Atwood was a poet. Dearly is her first collection in over a decade. It brings together many of her most recognizable and celebrated themes, but distilled - from minutely perfect descriptions of the natural world to startlingly witty encounters with aliens, from pressing political issues to myth and legend. It is a pure Atwood delight, and long-term readers and new fans alike will treasure its insight, empathy and humour."

2. The Siberian Dilemma by Martin Cruz Smith (Arkady Renko #9). I read the first six books in this series quite awhile ago. There are two others before I get to #9, but I might read it anyway. It's been an excellent series.

"Journalist Tatiana Petrovna is on the move. Arkady Renko, iconic Moscow investigator and Tatiana’s part-time lover, hasn’t seen her since she left on assignment over a month ago. When she doesn’t arrive on her scheduled train, he’s positive something is wrong. No one else thinks Renko should be worried—Tatiana is known to disappear during deep assignments—but he knows her enemies all too well and the criminal lengths they’ll go to keep her quiet.

Renko embarks on a dangerous journey to find Tatiana and bring her back. From the banks of Lake Baikal to rundown Chita, Renko slowly learns that Tatiana has been profiling the rise of political dissident Mikhail Kuznetsov, a golden boy of modern oil wealth and the first to pose a true threat to Putin’s rule in over a decade. Though Kuznetsov seems like the perfect candidate to take on the corruption in Russian politics, his reputation becomes clouded when Boris Benz, his business partner and best friend, turns up dead. In a land of shamans and brutally cold nights, oligarchs wealthy on northern oil, and sea monsters that are said to prowl the deepest lake in the world, Renko needs all his wits about him to get Tatiana out alive."

My Favorite Authors - Alistair MacLean

Alistair MacLean

Alistair Stuart MacLean lived from 1922 - 1987, born in Glasgow and died in Munich. Back in my younger years, he was one of my favorite writers of wartime and spy thrillers. I read quite a few of his books back then and also enjoyed many of the movies based on his books. As I became a more 'serious' reader I stopped reading his books. But when I first came to Comox, I discovered his books again at one of the local used book stores and I've been enjoying them again. MacLean can be hit or miss, some of his later books seemed to be sort of paint by numbers; same theme, same type of characters, that sort of thing. But he has written some excellent thrillers.

1. The Guns of Navarone (1957). MacLean's 2nd novel. I had seen the movie many years ago, but finally read it in 2019.

"The Guns of Navarone was Alistair MacLean's second novel, published in 1957. I've read others of his earliest books, HMS Ulysses and South by Java Head and they, like Guns, were excellent. For some reason I never tried Guns, maybe because I've instead focused on the excellent movie. But I'm glad that I finally decided to read it.

If you want a wartime thriller, filled with action and desperation and heroism, you need to try The Guns of Navarone. It's a non-stop action story in a three day period. A group of 5 men, lead by New Zealand mountain climber and now Allied soldier, Captain Mallory, must make their way to the Greek island of Navarone and there to destroy the huge German guns that threaten a British fleet that must make its to withdraw a British force isolated on the island of Kheros. Previous attempts both by sea and by air have tried to neutralize these guns but they have failed.

So Malloy and his group, consisting of his Greek ally Andrea, an American explosive expert, Cpl Dusty Miller, a British sailor and communications man, Brown and a young office, Lt Stevens must safely make it to Navarone, scale the cliffs to get onto the island and then avoid German mountain troops to get to the fortress that houses the guns and dispose of them. Hindering their trip, besides terrible weather, is a spy within the British ranks and possible a traitor amongst the Greeks on Navarone.

It's a fascinating, thrilling story and features great acts of heroism. It draws you in immediately and holds your interest and attention throughout. How they manage to avoid and foil every attempt on their lives, makes for such an interesting story. If you enjoy thrillers, you really need to try this story, a page-turner and excellent war story. This type of story is Alistair MacLean's specialty. (4 stars)"

2. The Last Frontier (1959).

"This wasn't my favorite 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 favorite, but still entertaining. (3 stars)"

3. Ice Station Zebra (1963).

"I've read many of English thriller writer, Alistair MacLean's books. He can be hit of miss. I've read some that were not very good and then some that were excellent. Some of his war stories, HMS Ulysses, Guns of Navarone, South by Java Head are excellent. Generally, he writes an action-packed, tense thriller with 'secretive' anti-hero. With that preamble, Ice Station Zebra is one of his better stories. It was turned into a movie in 1968 which was also excellent but at the same time quite different from the book.

Basically, the US nuclear submarine USS Dolphin is called into action from its base in Holy Loch in Scotland to try to conduct a rescue mission under the polar ice cap. The Captain of the ship, Commander Swanson, is forced to take along British civilian, Dr Carpenter, who is supposedly an expert on Arctic survival. The reason for this rescue mission? Ice Station Zebra, a scientific outpost on the arctic ice cap has been destroyed by a fire and the Dolphin is to try and rescue any survivors. This will mean a trip under the ice cap and an attempt to breach the ice and then conduct the rescue attempt.

Of course, there is much to this story than just a rescue attempt. Like any MacLean thriller, Dr Carpenter probably isn't quite who he seems. What was the purpose of Ice Station Zebra? To discover the answers, the crew of the Dolphin and Dr Carpenter will be subjected to many threats and risks, sub-zero temperatures on the surface, risks to the sub under the ice and physical threats for forces unknown.

It would ruin the story for me to get into more detail. Suffice it to say that the action and tension starts at the beginning and continues to the end. You will be literally able to feel the severe weather conditions on the surface, be amazed at the strength, perseverance and dedication of the crew. Dr Carpenter is one of MacLean's better crafted heroes and his supporting cast; Commander Swanson and his irreverent, sturdy crew add to the story. One of the better MacLean thrillers. (4 stars)"

4. Circus (1975).

"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."

5. 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)

6. Puppet on a Chain (1969). This was one of the first ever MacLean books I read and one of the first movies I watched as well. One of the stars was Barbara Parkins, which didn't hurt. It helped me get hooked on his works.

"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)

7. 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. (4 stars)"

8. HMS Ulysses (1955).

"I'm left speechless by this story. A truly amazing story of heroism of men tired beyond belief fighting a war in conditions unbelievable but true. The HMS Ulysses is a Royal Navy cruiser whose crew have recently mutinied and are tasked once again to meet and escort a convoy on the Murmansk run to Russia. The crew is beaten, tired and the Captain is dying. They sail to meet the convoy of merchant ships at Iceland to take over from the warships escorting the convoy from Canada. The result is a fascinating, horrifying, touching story of this voyage; the love of the crew for their ill Captain, his love for them; the many personalities of the crew and the ordeal they must sail through. The story makes me think of my father as he also sailed to Murmansk, something he doesn't tell me much about. I've read this story before, but so long ago. I'm glad I read again. (5 stars)"

9. South By Java Head (1958).

"An Alistair MacLean story I'd not read previously. Excellent, MacLean at his very best. From the first moment, it was a tense, thrilling adventure; a group of British men and women escaping from Singapore during WWII in the face of the Japanese invasion. Going from threat to threat, displaying understated heroism and growth, the characters are interesting and well-presented. I liked the surprises and twists and ultimately the whole story. Excellent. (4 stars)"

10. Fear is the Key (1961).

"Alistair MacLean is my focus author for September. Fear is the Key was originally published in 1961 and is my first book of the month. I read many of MacLean's books back in the late '60s as he was a favorite of mine. But when I came to the Valley in 2001, I found his books again and over time have begun exploring his work again. So with that boring preamble, these are my thoughts on Fear is the Key.

Like every MacLean book, you have a sort of 'everyman' anti-hero caught up in a dangerous, thrilling situation. Of course this man is more than he seems and this will come out as the story progresses. In the prologue to this story, a small cargo aircraft carrying cargo (of some value it seems) from Colombia to Florida is shot down by a fighter jet. This is witnessed (via radio communication) by the partner (and pilot's brother) of the cargo business. Also on board is the wife and child of the man witnessing the event.

The story jumps to a trial in Florida many years later. The defendant escapes, taking along a woman as a hostage. People are killed during this escape. And so begins an action-filled, far-fetched but totally entertaining thriller. The adventure will take John Talbot to the 'home' of multi-millionaire oil baron, General Ruthven and then to his oil well off the coast of Florida during a hurricane. He will battle hardened criminals, search the ocean floor for a mystery cargo and ultimately risk his life for vengeance. 

As I say, it's often far-fetched, as most of MacLean's books are. His stories are often hit or miss. Fear is the Key is a hit, exciting, non-stop & filled tension. If you like to escape to this kind of story, try Fear is the Key. Most enjoyable. (4 stars)"

11. The Satan Bug (1962). This book came out as a movie in 1965. My dad was stationed in Chatham New Brunswick then and had a part time job managing the Base Cinema. I remember seeing the poster for this movie and, while I didn't see it until much later, I think it was one of the first books I read. 

"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)

I have read a few others but I'll stop there. 😉 The complete listing of MacLean's books can be found at this link. His earlier books are the best. I personally haven't read any since Circus.

Enjoy the rest of your week. Stay safe. 😷