Hello, everyone! Welcome back to my blog. Now, this post is neither about the San Andreas fault, nor the movie, but a book. Today, I will be reviewing one of Alistair MacLean’s last books, San Andreas. If you haven’t already read my previous blogs, please do so. But for now, let us begin:
About the Author:
Alistair MacLean was born in 1922. He grew up in the Scottish Highlands. His father was a Scot minister. In 1941, when he was eighteen years old, he joined the Royal Navy. For two and a half years, he served aboard a cruiser; it later gave him the background and idea to write his first novel, an outstanding documentary of war at sea – the bestseller HMS Ulysses. After World War II, he applied for and received an English Honours degree at Glasgow University, after which he became a school master. In 1983, he received a D.Litt. from the same university.
His writing skills landed him the title of one of the top-ten bestselling authors in the world, and the top selling Briton, by 1970. Currently he is recognized as one of the outstanding writers of the 20th Century. His most popular novels The Guns of Navarone, Where Eagles Dare, Fear is the Key, and Ice Station Zebra have been turned into films. Apart from these, he wrote twenty-five bestsellers which have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. Alistair MacLean died in 1987 at his home in Switzerland.
San Andreas:
The San Andreas is a hospital ship and at the beginning of the story, finds itself in the unforgiving Barents Sea, way above the Arctic Circle. They are sailing in the dangerous U-Boat infested Norwegian waters. It is pitch dark outside, with a heavy blizzard blowing. And suddenly, all the lights aboard the ship go off. Someone had tampered with the electric circuit. Soon, the ship’s crew realise they have a saboteur in the midst. The captain and other officers are wary. The only thing scaring bosun Archie McKinnon, is the reason of the saboteur’s actions.
The saboteur’s intentions are soon known. He, or they, have been using a secret transmitter to contact a U-Boat, and providing it with the San Andreas’ location. The next morning, the San Andreas finds itself under attack. First, by a Condor which bombs it and kills twenty crew members. But the Condor does not know about the frigate accompanying the San Andreas. The frigate shoots it down. Four Heinkel bombers with knowledge about the frigate follow it, and sink the frigate. The nightmare never seems to end.
Captain Bowen becomes seriously injured during the first attack, and the bosun takes over. They sink one U-Boat only to find another on their tail again. The first condor went down, but they just discovered another one keeping an eye on them. Just as one saboteur is apprehended, another is discovered. Instead of protecting them, the big red crosses on the ship’s sides are giving them away. For unknown to the ship’s crew, an unknown cargo on board has turned the San Andreas into a precious quarry, something the Germans are hell-bent on acquiring.
San Andreas is one of Alistair MacLean’s last novels. It follows the theme of naval warfare – something which he is best known for. It is a classic MacLean story, which is just as exciting as any other. But on the other hand, I found the book surprisingly tame. There was no serious plot twist, no surprising treacheries, and a calculated and somewhat normal ending. Nothing out of the blue. Its either that, or I have been reading too much of Jeffrey Archer of late.
Outro:
So that is it for today, everyone! I hope you like the review. And I hope you will enjoy reading the book even more. I will keep posting more such reviews, so stay tuned. And please subscribe to the blog. Until then, goodbye!