7 replies to this topic

[glidrose]

Entertaining article about an author whose reputation has been in decline for some time.

 

https://www.kirkusre...-be-read-again/

 

Denis Lehane ("Mystic River" and "Shutter Island") is a Maclean fan.

[AMC Hornet]

If anything caused his reputation to decline, it was the 'UNACO' treatments fleshed out by Alistair MacNeill. I started reading one and gave up after the first two chapters. Definitely not the work of the master. 'Detonator' - with Pierce Brosnan and Patrick Stewart - is at least worth watching, though.

 

If you haven't read any Maclean yet, here's a heads-up: think 'Icebreaker' for plots and twists & turns, only with more proactive action on the part of the protagonists. 'Where Eagle Dare' has to be one of his best.

[plankattack]

AMC - Agreed with your analysis. I would also recommend HMS Ulyssees to first-timers. As good as The Cruel Sea, IMHO.

[Dustin]

The Wikipedia entry on MacLean gives a good overview about his oeuvre (http://en.wikipedia....listair_MacLean). It seems he's had his fair share of problems with alcohol, that probably also impacting on the quality of his later works. I myself started with PUPPET ON A CHAIN followed by the classic THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, two very different novels from the 'quality' period of MacLean's work. Both immensely appealed to me - though I somehow preferred the dry sarcasm of the first to the down-to-earth no nonsense commando tale from WWII - and subsequently read many of his great classic thrillers, FEAR IS THE KEY, WHERE EAGLES DARE, THE GOLDEN RENDEZVOUS, WHEN EIGHT BELLS TOLL.

My enthusiasm for MacLean suffered a first dent when FORCE 10 FROM NAVARONE picked up after the film, suddenly missing a character without any explanation. But my general love affair with his tales continued during CIRCUS, albeit with a slight frown because of the lazy characterisation in that tome. The end came suddenly with the violent deadly blow that HOSTAGE TOWER delivered. That UNACO story (actually written by John Denis) cured me for good. I only later learned about the background of these works and to this day I have a number of MacLean's own books from his 'solid' era to discover.

Goes to show how important a first impression of an author can be. And how we should give every writer a second chance. Had I started MacLean with HOSTAGE TOWER or CIRCUS I doubt I would have given his classics a try.

Edited by Dustin, 08 October 2013 - 06:13 AM.

[chrisno1]

Indeed an interesting short assessment on MacLean.

I used to read MacLean as a teenager but found much of his work heavy going. I threw all my paperbacks out in the late '90s and rather wish I hadn't now.

IMO he is somewhat overrated in the thriller genre. His prose tends to be long winded and the dialogue suffers from being so, there is nothing very natural or believable about how his people talk. His later novels especially tend to feature action packed stories whose action takes place off the page and is related & recited by various characters (this is particularly true of FLOODGATE).

Having said that, story-wise he is very creative. I mined part of his novel SANTORINI for my Fan Fiction Gulfstream and many of his others still resonate today.

My personal favourite was always CARAVAN TO VACCARES which unusually for MacLean is almost non-stop action. I set part of A Whisper of Death in Carcassonne, which I think is where that novel opens. I also too rank WHERE EAGLES DARE, PUPPET ON A CHAIN, BEAR ISLAND and NIGHT WITHOUT END. I never read BREAKHEART PASS, but I enjoyed the movie immensely as a teenager. I understand THE SECRET WAYS is an excellent cold war thriller. I also recall the selection of short stories THE LONELY SEA was much better than most of what he wrote in the late '70s and early '80s.   

He may be due for a revival. At one time he was the most loaned male author from UK libraries. This may have had something to do with the success of those great films which were in the cinema or on television throughout the decade.

I agree all those ALISTAIR MACLEAN'S [ __fill in the title___] written by Alistair MacNeill did his reputation no favours at all.

Edited by chrisno1, 08 October 2013 - 12:58 PM.

[AgenttiNollaNollaSeitsemän]

Is Alastair MacNeill even a real person or a pseudonym used to disguise hack writers to make a quick buck? I am very fond of MacLean, especially his WW2 stories. Sure, they're unrealistic as hell but really appeal to my inner 12-year old.

[glidrose]

Is Alastair MacNeill even a real person or a pseudonym used to disguise hack writers to make a quick buck? I am very fond of MacLean, especially his WW2 stories. Sure, they're unrealistic as hell but really appeal to my inner 12-year old.

A real person by the looks of it.

http://www.harpercol...astair-macneill

http://www.christoph...stair-macneill/

[AMC Hornet]

Sam Llewellyn's continuations 'Storm Force From Navarone' and 'Thunderbolt From Navarone' are good reads, much more in the style of the master - right down to the sarcastic banter between Mallory and Miller.